End Sinister Questions

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Three Questions:

1. What is that little sack that Trevor pulls out of the baby alien/human and that the robot is cleaning up on the homeworld?

2. Just before Aeon finds the control, the alien sends her a telepathic message putting that sack in the space on it's abdomen. Is that how the aliens reproduce? What is the meaning of this?

3. After Trevor tells Aeon that the "aliens" are really humans that evolved, she goes back to the city and sees that they really are human because they have a bridge in between the space in their abdomen. Is it just me, or is that the only alien/human that has one of these? If so, how are the rest of the aliens really human?

I'm confused.....help me!

-- wayne tolbert (wayne.tolbert@mailexcite.com), August 14, 1998

Answers

here are some answers to your questions...... i hope you find them enlightening.... because i sure don't (1)that little sack eh?.... your guess is as good as mine..... but as trevor said, the actions of a modern human would be incomprehencible to a man a thousand years ago. There is more truth in that then the rather obvious meaning it applys. Lets hop in the DeLorean(or the "way back machine", whichever you perfer) and travel back to the year A.D 998... put a chloraform rag on his mouth..... drag him back to the Time Machine...and take him to the present..... lets say hes a Englishman.. just to make things as Familiar as possible(a Aztec would probably be even more out of place...but not much)How would he react?.... my Cigarret Lighter alone would be enough to terrorize him into permanment maddnes..... everything from powerlines, digital watches, elvis, the goodyear blimp, microwaves..... the concept is beyond him entirly...... the alien landscape was obviously incomprehensible.... look at the ground.... what was that?.... a grid of some kind?.... what for?.... theres no way to know.... that sack maybe a disconnected organ..... or a piece of the baby thats not attached.... maybe its a form of a reproduction organ.... ?...(2)...the alien was attempting to show that there is more to what meets the eye.... trying to show that they are evolved humans......as for what that sack is..maybe a reproductive organ..see(1)....(3)i watched it again the animators appered to make a conscient effort to not show the bottom "torso"... i believe all of the aliens had the "pelvic bridge" i hoped these answers helped....if they didn't....oh well..... goodbye

-- tak loufer (tak@loufer.bellona), August 14, 1998.

erreta......sorry..didn't proofread my message...if your a tad confused, its my fault..maybe this will help....put a "Find a native" between "A.D 998" and "Put a Chloraform rag" in my message ...thank you.....sorry for the inconvienice...i appoligize in advance for spelling errors Tak loufer...has anyone read Dhalgren?

-- tak loufer (tak@loufer.bellona), August 14, 1998.

I actually watched End Sinister for the 10th time this weekend and a couple of things popped into my mind. 1. I asked earlier why their was only one alien/human with a bridge between the gap in their abdomen. This could be because that creature was not infact an evolved human but an evolved alien (the last one Aeon sees that it is being washed with a sponge). I say this for a couple of reasons. First of all the alien sort of looked different than the others. It had a totally different hairstyle than the others, and some other characteristics as well (I can't remember right now, I think maybe it's eyes). Also, the way that the Aldus-B ray affected him or her was different than the other alien/humans. This alien first sort of glowed and then turned a shade of gray rather than develop spots all over it's body once affected by the reay. I think when Aeon saw this creature that she knew the rest were human because of these differences. When I also saw this episode again, I looked to see if there were any more alien/humans with the bridge between their gap and there weren't any. So that's why I think Aeon knew the rest were human and that Trevor was telling the truth. 2. About the sacks...I think it isn't really a crucial part of the story but is semi-important. I think they are there to show to the viewer that the alien has no gender whatsoever (Aeon and Trevor disagreed as to whether it was male or female) and that there is a distinct difference between sex and reproduction. Their version of sex is in the mind.

ps - sorry for the multiple posts earlier, something was screwing up on my end here!

-- wayne (wayne.tolbert@mailexcite.com), August 17, 1998.


I just recently reread my posting. I'm embaressed. While I was typing the rather disjointed(to say the least!) message, I was under the influence of many(5-6) cups of coffie.... and about 12 pills of Benedryl (it has diphenhydramine... makes me hear things and think bad craziness). That should explain some of the nonsense that was written. Sincerly I believed that posted message would shine the light of reason upon the whole situation. Now I realize it just sounds stupid. I wrote it right after I saw Mission Infinite. I just rewatched the scene when she enters the city and notice how there is a obvouis attempt at not showing the space between there legs. One could best assume that Aeon was so terrorfied at seeing the Alien/humans that she didn't notice the pelvic bridge (if there was one). After Aeon fires the Aldus-B ray, theres a scene where it shows some of the alien/humans, it appears(I maybe wrong)that some have the bridge and some don't. Hear me out now, watch in the lower right hand corner when they show the scene where a couple of A/H's are climbing stairs and some are walking(the wide shot), if you'll look in the lower right hand corner you'll notice a black A/H. It seems "it" has a bridge, but then again, maybe not, I may be seeing what I want to see, grasping for something thats not there. I still believe the sac, robot(?), and alien landscape are unimportant in and of themselves; but are there to illustrate the fact that the aliens actions, methods, and even biology are incomprehensible to our primitive minds. My conclusion is that the only aliens without the bridge are the "original" aliens, the others seem to be a new "breed/race", or maybe a step in human/alien evolution. Who knows? I hope this posting is more logicaly based then my former. Any more input anyone? P.S-Any thoughts on the snake scene? Its fairly self-explanitory (Adam/eve symbolism), but I'd like to hear other opinions.

-- Tak Loufer (tak@loufer.bellona), August 18, 1998.

I will definately rewatch the epidsode and look harder to see if there are any more "humans" with the bridge. Unfortunately, when I put the video on pause, all these stupid lines show up on the TV screen, so I can't see the picture to well. Anyways, can you explain what you mean by the snake referring to adam and eve? My interpretation of the snake was that it symbolized the death of the entire human race (re: venom). I took it as the entire human race getting one huge poisonous snake bite, so to speak. But I am interested in your adam and eve theory. Tell me more. Never heard of Dhalgren.

-- wayne tolbert (wayne.tolbert@mailexcite.com), August 19, 1998.


When I first watched the episode, I didn't think much of the snake. I just thought it was a pretty effect. A couple weeks ago I rewatched it (for the 5th time) and finally came to the conclusion that the animators didn't put a snake there for looks. Think of it this way, the remote control for the Aldus-B probe is the forbbiden fruit (from the tree of knowledge), Aeon is Eve, Trevor is Adam(?), the snake is the devil, and (maybe) the Aldus-B probe is the wraith of God(lightning). The story goes like this, Eve is temped by the devil(in the form of a snake) and eats the fruit, thus she commits the first sin and causes the downfall of mankind and its eventual death. When Aeon activates the probe she causes the destrution of humanity, she essentialy does the same act as Eve did. The devil maybe symbolised by the snake in the episode, but the real devil was Aeon's misunderstanding, which had genecidal consequenses. I think the snake was place there to illustrate the metaphore, because otherwise it would be impossibly subtle. On the otherhand I maybe wrong. It may be similar to the briefcase in Pulp Fiction, some people say it had Marselus Walleus' Soul in it, others say it simply had money or drugs. Theres no right answer. Any more thoughts to add? This may be a stupid question, but if Aeon was in suspended animation for @1000 years, are we to believe that in all that time nobody disturbed her? I mean it wasn't like she was hidden or anything, she was out in the open. i'd think somebody'd come across it. Any thoughts? -tak loufer

-- Tak Loufer (Tak@loufer.Bellona), August 19, 1998.

Okay, here goes. 1) I gather from some good sources that these "sacks" are the future evolution of the alien/humans (I'll refer to them as aliens for the sake of ease). See the next response. 2) Peter Chung says in his interview in cinefantastique that the image should have shown the alien pulling the thing out of itself, not putting it in, to symbolize that this is what the aliens would eventually become. The fact that the thought of this makes Aeon cringe could be her desire to see things, mainly herself, as unchanging, and the suggestion that people are constantly evolving entities seems to repulse her, probably for that reason. She was treating the aliens as miscreant beings throughout the entire episode, as threats to the things she loves (the situation between Bregna and Monica, between her and Trevor), the things that she sees as eternal, and to suggest that the aliens are what lie in her future is blasphemy to her rigid philosophy. 3) The missing link, so to speak. I only seemed to notice this bridge in the single individual at the end, but I'll have to watch it again. I always thought that this was an older specimen, the last of its kind, a throwback to an earlier evolutionary age. This could explain the grey wrinkly skin and the fact that it was being specially cared for. As for the glowing part, I don't know.

-- Mat Rebholz (matrebholz@yahoo.com), August 19, 1998.

Oh, forgot some bits. The machine-type thing that was eating "the sacks". I speculate that Trevor's ship landed on a world even further in the future than the "alien"-dominated world we see at the end, a world where the aliens have evolved into the sack organisms (see the last post by me). The machine-thing could be a predator? Then Trevor and the alien travel back in time using the alien craft. After all, it's obvious that the aliens have time travel technology, not just the simple way (using cryogenics to preserve one's body through the natural movement of time), but they can also travel backward. After all, how else did they travel to the beginning of the episode, in their past? One thing I just realized: Notice how the aldus-b ray causes the appearance of shapes on the body that look just like the sack organisms? This could be a symbol of the evolution-inducing ability of the ray, as the sack shape is a symbol of evolution later in the episode. There could also be a scientifically plausible explanation: It's been theorized that cells acquired mitochondria and other organelles by absorbing smaller cells. Maybe this is a reverse process? Perhaps the ray causes tumorous growths in the body, that will eventually detach and live on their own. And finally, the snake. My idea on that is a bit simpler. It could just represent the fact that Trevor is sneaking up on Aeon, and Trevor ends up being a target of Aeon's anger a moment later, thus the snake could be how Aeon sees Trevor.

-- Mat Rebholz (matrebholz@yahoo.com), August 19, 1998.

Interesting answers from both you guys! I would never have thought this. How clever...I really like how Aeon Flux invokes so much thought and allows for so much interpretation and analysis. Aeon undisturbed in the time capsule for 1000 years also crossed my mind. I'm not too sure why she wasn't disturbed. Now I'm curious...

-- wayne tolbert (wayne.tolbert@mailexcite.com), August 20, 1998.

I suppose the detail of why she was left alone is just another departure from reality, in Chung's words, that take place so often in the series that it shouldn't really be a matter of debate. Not to say that we shouldn't discuss it, but there's really not much to discuss about it.

-- Mat Rebholz (matrebholz@yahoo.com), August 20, 1998.


All this analyising and interpetation are intrieging and do illuminate the episodes, but the fact remains that nobody is right or wrong. The snake could easly symbolise venom, the devil, or someone sneaking on someone else, or anything else that can be thought of. Who's to say who's correct? Not even Peter Chung. A hidden symbol could easly be inserted completely by coinsidence, unintentionaly. Anyalyising is not a exact science, if you see something thats beyond what meets the eye, that has a double meaning, or contrast/parallels' a event; you've found a metaphore, analogy, symbol or something of the like. Its there whether anyone put it there or not. That half of the fun in watching Aeon Flux. Of coarse it is tempting to believe that Peter Chung (or whoever wrote the episode) purposely slipped in these hidden messages to test the audiences intellegence. Maybe they did. There's no way to tell and really it doesn't matter. Any thoughts?

-- Tak Loufer (Tak@loufer.bellona), August 20, 1998.

There are definitely some points and symbols in the episodes that Chung specifically intended, as you can see if you read the very comprehensive cinefantastique article (although in this episode, he comments that somehow, certain dialogue and symbols were actually done wrong). Still, everything is up for grabs.

-- Mat Rebholz (matrebholz@yahoo.com), August 20, 1998.

If you notice, at the end of this episode, Aeon puts Trevor and herself into the hibernation chamber inside one of the time/space ships, and they travel to the far future, where human life is reduced to a bunch of floating pods. They'll be the only "humans" there... I wonder what they'll do? Maybe this is Aeon's version of what Trevor tried to do in "Utopia or Deuteronopia?", that is, maybe she's establishing this as a solitary place for the purposes of love making. Since they're the only two humans left, maybe this simplifies Aeon's life, allowing her to do things she wouldn't normally do, I.E. Fall in love with Trevor (a la "A Last Time for Everything"). When I first saw the end of this, I somehow got the idea that Trevor and Aeon stowed away on the ship full of infected aliens, but now I see they didn't. The aliens are completing the loop, going back in time to begin the whole episode again... I wonder, will Trevor and Aeon be there to greet them in the past? Or do they now only exist in the future?

-- Mat Rebholz (matrebholz@yahoo.com), August 21, 1998.

I think that Aeon and Trevor are destined to "live happly ever after", which is a fitting end since it appears to be the last episode(even though they can easily make more... its not like there's any continuity). They'll probably restart the "human" race, since being a little floating sac doesn't seem to be much fun. It's a attempt at simplifing her life; no longer will the Breen/Monica politics be a factor anymore. Now its just Trevor, Aeon, and a bunch of floating sacs. How romantic. The "consequenses" that Trevor mentioned in "Thanatophobia" that force him to maintain the defences are immaterial. Life now is primitive and basic. Any more thoughts? Completely off the subject, I decided to use my real e-mail address from now on(the other was bogus). :)

-- Tak Loufer (TakLoufer@aol.com), August 21, 1998.

Two new questions to pose:

1.) Why is Aeon playing with an etch-a-sketch in the apartment scene? Or is it something else?

2.) Isn't it odd that Aeon just happens to have some bottles of a beverage that allow you to consume it through the eye socket?

-- Mat Rebholz (matrebholz@yahoo.com), August 21, 1998.



Also notice that Aeon has a different apartment here... but it's still near the border and Goodchild Tower as well. And isn't it odd that the two Breen soldiers guarding the border are on the Monican side of it?

-- Mat Rebholz (matrebholz@yahoo.com), August 21, 1998.

And I thought this message board was slowing down. :) I just rewatched the scene to refresh my memory. Here are my conclusions... 1)The thing Aeon is playing with does appear to be a Etch-a-sketch, I don't know why she would be playing with one. There entertainment potencial is rather limited. Pehapse its like throwing a ball in the air and catching it. You do it for no good reason other than to pass time and to focus your mind. It may symbolise that Aeon is a bit immature, even impulsive (which would come up later in the episode[i.e. destroying the human race]), seeing that etch-a-sketches are considered children's toys. Any more thoughts? 2)I was under the impression that it was not so much a beverage as it was a ointment. Maybe its a medicine for your eyes. Then again it could be a beverage. There are lots of little gimiky products on the market now and in the recent past(examples include "fish in heels" shoes, "musical" blow-pops, pet rocks, feathery pens, ect) Its not to hard to beleive that in Aeon's world there is a beverage for your eyes. Any other thoughts? -tak

-- Tak Loufer (TakLoufer@aol.com), August 21, 1998.

Remember, just because Aeons apartment is in a certain place in one episode doesn't mean it'll be there in another. Continuity has no place in Aeon's universe(exept in Chronophasia). Maybe in this episode she lives in Bregna?....more thoughts anyone :)

-- Tak Loufer (TakLoufer@aol.com), August 21, 1998.

On the beverage/whatever: I think it's intended as a beverage in this case... upon letting the alien in, Aeon asks, "Would you like...", then the alien gets mad (?) and stress that it doesn't have a mouth to drink with. So Aeon thinks a moment and gets out the eye stuff.

As far as which side of the border she lives on, I'm sure it's Monica... why would the guards escort the alien across the border from Bregna into Monica? They are taking her (it) to Trevor, after all. But you're right, ultimately, it doesn't matter.

-- Mat Rebholz (matrebholz@yahoo.com), August 21, 1998.


Oh well, I didn't catch that they took her(it) across the boarder.(I just watched again to see for myself). I need to be more observant. :)

-- Tak Loufer (TakLoufer@aol.com), August 21, 1998.

Could it be the alien's new appartment? Something arranged by Aeon. As a navigator, she may think it'd enjoy fiddling with dials to plot a course, and she'd stock some eye-drink in the fridge. Perhaps even close to the border just to piss off Trevor, showing off her prize.

-- Philip Mills (philip.mills@cableinet.co.uk), August 21, 1998.

Now that's a cool and plausible idea... after all, Aeon does seem to have a desire to get the know the thing in the beginning... she isn't upset with the alien until just after the apartment scene, when it beams her its intent to be with Trevor.

-- Mat Rebholz (matrebholz@yahoo.com), August 21, 1998.

Any thoughts regarding the removable eyeballs? They obviously seem to be a form of sexual organs(am I wrong?) but does this symbolise anything more? Is there a relationship between vision and sex? For some reason I believe I'm grasping.

-- Tak Loufer (TakLoufer@aol.com), August 22, 1998.

Definately the eyeballs are the vehicle for sex with these beings, as Trevor comes to find out first hand. It could just be an interesting concept conjured up by the writers, or maybe there is something deeper there...

-- Mat Rebholz (matrebholz@yahoo.com), August 22, 1998.

One of the reasons i never liked this episode much is the achingly huge plot holes. Aeon being undisturbed for thousands of years, waking up at exactly the same time Trevor returned, figuring out that the aliens evloved from humans because of a bridge across the torso gap...it just doesn't hold water! Another thing i thought i'd point out: We see the world outside Aeon's hibernaculum mature, undergo an ice age, grow a new ecosystem, ect... and yet when Aeon wakes up, she's able to find the control for the sattelite! Now unless the whole ecosystem-evolution thing is some surreal imagery illustrating the passage of time (which I seriously doubt) then certainly the control would no longer be operational, much less in the same exact place Aeon left it!

-- Frostbite (foo@bar.com), September 28, 1998.

Perhaps the female alien has been away from home so long that her people evovled as far beyond her and she is beyond present-day humans. And I know she's been gone such a long time because when Aeon asks the rocketship's computer how long it will take to get from Earth to the planet it tells her a very large number of years which I don't remember right now. The alien is so sad because now she's so completely out of place(kind of like how Aeon felt when she returned to future Bregna/Monica). Why do they imeadiately return to Earth? Because she figures that by the time she and Trevor get back humanity will have evolved to her level and she'll fit right in.

-- Frostbite (foo@bar.com), November 02, 1998.

Oh, and about the etch-a-sketch: I think it was just for humor, like the duck in the tub in Last Time For Everything

-- Frostbite (foo@bar.com), November 02, 1998.

The sack that Trevor removes is the torso of the baby. The aliens have no main body cavity (they're mostly a scant framework) because they evidently have evolved past the need for internal organs. But they are still born with a main torsal (i think the medical term is viscous) cavity, which is removed after birth (not unlike the appendix or wisdom teeth being removed - parts we don't need but are still born with). I think the alien sends that image to Aeon to demonstrate to her the same thing that Trevor tells her - that they had evolved from what she was. The alien does this basically by showing her the process in reverse. The alien with the bridge in its pelvic gap proves to Aeon that Trevor was right. It WAS the only one of the creatures with this bridge. The reason for this is because that alien was older than the others, and as such had not evolved as far as the younger ones. Therefore it still had part of the body cavity which had completely disappeared in the younger generations. It was grey because it was old and sick, not because of the ray (although being old, the ray probably affected it more severely than the others). Also, i think the etch-a-sketch thing was just incidental, a cute thing for Aeon to be doing while bored, but also in keeping with her general character: creative-minded, physically adept (excellent dexterity), but not overly intellectual. The suggestion that this is the path of human evolution is logical in the context of the show. The Monican/Breen physique compared to our own is much like the alien physique as compared to that of Monicans or Breen. Overall thinner, less body fat and more muscle tone on average, etc. I also think it says something significant that Trevor is able to see through the alien's eye after apparently gouging out his own and sticking someone else's in the socket. This would seem to suggest that they - or at least he - is already well on the way to becoming what the alien is.

-- alex (meat_machine@hotmail.com), November 08, 1998.

I must be getting slow. I never thought about Trevor having to physically gouge his eye out in order to have sex with the alien. Ilch.

-- Frostbite (foo@bar.com), November 09, 1998.

I love this episode... Okay, my thoughts about the bridge: Correct me if I'm wrong, but the alien being bathed is not the only alien with a bridge. I think one of the ones who confronts Aeon when she enters the city also has a bridge. I discovered this using the pause button on my VCR, but it was a couple years ago, so I can't remember exact details.

These creatures sure don't breed like we do. Since they apparently feed on thoughts, it seems to indicate that they could spawn children through some sort of thought-sex ritual, perhaps like the scene when the Alien is showing Aeon what he/she/it intends to do with Trevor. I don't think this is a major issue, though.

The Alien projecting its last image to Aeon, putting something in its body: I didn't know that Peter Chung intended for the Alien to be shown taking something out. But in either case, I thought this was the Alien's effort at being sympathetic to Aeon, and showing how she could evolve herself. Aeon's gut reaction was to flee from change.

The ending: Brrrrrr.... I thought that the capsule containing Aeon and Trevor wasn't going to let them out, perhaps due to a malfunction. They're going to sit there for eternity with the jolly, candy-like button blinking. It looks like someone needs to touch the button to open the capsule. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, since Aeon expected that the Alien's home planet would be populated. (I don't think she grasped the meaning of the Alien's thoughts, showing what sort of state the other planet was in.) The floating things on the planet could be the decayed remains of dead aliens, with their skins turned paisley thanks to Aldus-B; who knows?

Oops, back to work.

-- Zach (rapacity@usa.net), November 12, 1998.


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