“This is Ripley…last survivor of the Nostromo...signing off.”
- Watching poor Ripley weeping in grief at the revelation of the Alien Queen curled around her heart, as she is essentially forced to mourn, and even worse, accept her own imminent death.
- The ending scene, where the camera pans over interiors of the prison. Then we hear Ripley's final log entry from the end of the first movie, with bits of static and small gaps in the audio that makes it sound like she's trying to keep from breaking down crying as she makes the entry, and those final words: "This is Ripley...last survivor of the Nostromo...signing off."
- Ripley's death. The music doesn't make things any easier
.- There's an eerie and very dark beauty to her death, made especially so when the alien queen bursts through her chest and she simply cuddles it close to her with an almost motherly smile as she falls into the lead. The second movie showed that dying from a Chestburster was one of her worst nightmares, and yet here, she seems to have finally come to terms with her fate and is seemingly at peace with both that and the creatures who have haunted her since the first movie.
- Newt's autopsy and subsequent cremation alongside Hicks. Ripley's absolute devastation throughout only adds to it.
- The fact that Ripley wanted an autopsy just to make sure she didn't die because of either alien, and wanting closure. Hell, even the people of the planet agreeing to cremate them, even. It just goes to show you that Ripley, who could never be a mother because of her job, thought of her as a daughter and loved her as such. Hicks and Ripley were the closest things Newt had to real parents. And Newt was the closest thing Ripley had to a child. Even people who hate this film find that hard not to cry over, because face it, it really is sad and heartbreaking.Dillon: Why? Why are the innocent punished? Why the sacrifice? Why the pain? There aren't any promises. Nothing's certain. Only that some get called, some get saved. She won't ever know the hardship and grief for those of us left behind. We commit these bodies to the void... with a glad heart. For within each seed, there is the promise of a flower. And within each death, no matter how big or small, there's always a new life. A new beginning. Amen.
- The fact that Ripley wanted an autopsy just to make sure she didn't die because of either alien, and wanting closure. Hell, even the people of the planet agreeing to cremate them, even. It just goes to show you that Ripley, who could never be a mother because of her job, thought of her as a daughter and loved her as such. Hicks and Ripley were the closest things Newt had to real parents. And Newt was the closest thing Ripley had to a child. Even people who hate this film find that hard not to cry over, because face it, it really is sad and heartbreaking.
- Ripley's death. The music doesn't make things any easier
- Bishop's only scene is short, but quietly depressing. He spent most of the previous film proving to Ripley he was there to help and earning her respect despite his synthetic status, and he seemed fairly at ease with being an artificial person. Here, Ripley reactivates what's left of him, and while he's still a sweetheart (even complimenting Ripley's new haircut), he also calls himself a 'glorified toaster' and quietly bemoans his damaged state. He even asks to be shut off since even with repairs, he would never be at the level he once was. Ripley respects his wishes and disconnects him permanently, putting an end to the only friend she had left from the previous film.
- From the Theatrical Cut, it's quite sad to see Murphy's dog Spike giving birth to the Dragon, especially for viewers that love dogs. Spike paces around nervously feeling that something very wrong is nearby but being unable to do anything since it's inside of him, other than barking at nothing. Then, finally, the poor dog whines, growls and trashes on the ground helplessly as the Xenomorph violently pushes against his belly before gorily bursting out. To make it even more tragic, Spike's owner Murphy ends up being the first victim of the Dragon.
- In a small but poignant moment from the novelization, Ripley realizes that, given the time she has spent in the hypersleep, Jones is probably dead. By that time, he was her last friend left alive, and the first two movies have shown us how much she loved him.
- Clemens coming clean as to why he's on Fury 161. Despite a secret addiction to morphine he was a stellar medical student, but during his first residency he pulled a 36-hour shift and got drunk afterwards. He was immediately called back to aid with the victims of a boiler explosion- 11 of them ended up dying, not due to their injuries, but because in his intoxicated state he prescribed the wrong dosage of painkiller. He felt his 7-year prison sentence and reduced medical license was too lenient for his mistake, so when his sentence was up he was compelled to stay, even though almost everyone else there were criminals with far greater crimes. Even worse is that Ripley still trusts him to treat her medically, would have been a positive- except Clemens dies only seconds after telling his tale. You can see the sadness in his smile as he reveals the only positive of the entire affair.Clemens: "At least I got off the morphine."
