“…despite the fact that I had become secretly addicted to morphine, I was considered to be most promising. A man with a future.” - Clemens
Alien 3 - brutal, emotional, heartbreaking. It’ll probably be forever unpopular for what the first 20 minutes did to our beloved characters from Aliens; but make no mistake, this film is the perfect ending to the horror of Ripley’s unflinching story.
One of the standout characters of the original trilogy is Dr Clemens (Charles Dance), who carries on the tradition of thoughtful, level-headed characters acting as Ripley’s close allies across the films (Dallas and Hicks being the others).
Whilst watching Alien 3 (the assembly cut in particular), you get to witness the true sorrow and regret of “a man with a future” and in his final scene (and best IMO) learn about the heartwrenching tragedy that led to his life on Fury 161.
It’s rare for a character from the Alien franchise to have their backstory explored in such an explicit way, but as Clemens gives the recovering Ripley ‘one of his cocktails’ in the infirmary, we get a glimpse into his sorrow over being responsible for the deaths of 11 people due to his intoxication.
We see someone haunted by regret, who has long since accepted that the future he was once promised is no longer available to him. And by opting to stay on the planet with murderers and rapists, he has found a way to extend the prison sentence he feels he rightly deserves.
Yet Clemens proves that even the darkest of times can lead to redemption. He uses his ‘self-imposed exile’ to beat his addiction, he gets the opportunity to become the doctor the inmates need, and in the context of Alien 3, be the glimmer light Ripley desperately deserves after her harrowing experience coming out of hypersleep.
Clemens shows that regret and sorrow cannot be forgotten or overcome, but used as tools to shape some kind of future - even if it wasn't the one he expected or hoped for. He can offer a sobering sanctuary for Ripley, despite her being lost in the hellscape of Fury 161. A place where the misplaced judgement or presumptions of others cannot reach her, even for brief moments (and even if it wasn't to last).