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Rebecca Jorden
Rebecca Jorden
First appearance	Aliens
Last appearance	Alien 3 (Short)
Created by	James Cameron
Portrayed by	Carrie Henn; Danielle Edmond (Short)
In-universe information
Nickname	Newt
Species	Human
Gender	Female
Family	Anne (Mother), Russ (Father), Timmy (Brother)

Rebecca 'Newt' Jorden is a fictional character portrayed by child actress Carrie Henn in 1986 movie Aliens, the second in the Alien film series. During her short appearance in Alien³ she was portrayed by Danielle Edmond.

Newt is a supporting character and sympathetic counterpart to the film's protagonist, Ellen Ripley (portrayed by Sigourney Weaver).

History

Colony activity

Newt is an 8-9 year old citizen of a terraforming colony on the planet LV-426, and the second of two children in her immediate family. As revealed via a photo award found by the character Ripley, Newt was in the second grade. Her real name is Rebecca Jorden, but she only answers to "Newt".

In the director's cut of Aliens, it is revealed that she, her brother Timmy (who is the only person she allows to call her "Rebecca") and the other children on the colony amuse themselves by competing to see how far they can sneak around the colony's air duct system. Newt is considered the best of the kids at this game, and the commentary for the Alien Quadrilogy edition claims that her ability to find her way into the most inaccessiItalic textble crawlspaces was the origin of her nickname.

In a scene not present in the film's theatrical release, Newt's family embarks on a survey of terrain beyond the main colony, where they discover the Alien derelict ship that had previously been discovered by the crew of Nostromo in Alien. Her parents decide to investigate the ship, and as a result Newt's father becomes the first colonist to be impregnated by an alien facehugger/chestburster. This scene has been restored in subsequent "Director's Cut" and "Special Edition" releases of the film.

Although not shown, it is implied that this discovery of the derelict ship started a chain of events that lead to the colony being completely overrun by Aliens. Newt survives this invasion by employing her extensive knowledge of the colony's air duct system, using tunnels that are too small for the Aliens to enter.

The Marines arrive

After communications to Earth have been cut off for several weeks, Colonial Marines are sent to the colony to investigate, bringing along with them Ripley, the only person who has any experience with the Aliens. During the early sweeps of the main building, they find Newt. Newt has been traumatized by the Alien invasion, and initially resists their attempts to get information from her. However, Ripley is soon able to communicate with Newt, who says that the Aliens cannot be stopped.

When their plan to leave the planet is delayed, the group has to stay in the colony building. Newt stays with Ripley, and the two spend some time together bonding. When the Aliens attack and cut off their escape routes, Newt helps by showing an alternate route through the ventilation ducts. During the escape, Newt falls down a shaft and is captured by an Alien.

Ripley insists that Newt is alive in the Alien nest and can be saved. She enters the hive alone and manages to save Newt, who says that she knew that Ripley would come for her. After a final showdown in which Ripley defeats Alien Queen, Newt rushes into Ripley's arms and cries "Mommy!"

Alien³

Although Newt is saved by Ripley at high risk during the climax of Aliens, she dies during the opening events of Alien³ as the result of the crash on Fiorina (FURY) 161 when she drowns in her cryotube. In his report to Weyland-Yutani detailing the crash and the casualties, warden Harold Andrews types that Newt (written as "unknown female child", as he did not know her name) was approximately 10 years old. Alternatively, in the Theatrical Version she is listed as approximately 12 years old by the computer.

Ripley insists that an autopsy be performed on Newt's body, just to make sure she wasn't impregnated by an alien. The resident doctor performs the procedure, concluding from her fluid-filled lungs that Newt died by drowning. Her body is then wrapped in a white cloth and a funeral ceremony is held for her and Corporal Hicks. Their bodies are cremated, as per Ripley's request.

Alien Resurrection

In the "Special Edition" release of Alien Resurrection Newt is briefly referenced twice. First is in an early scene where a clone of Ripley 8 is shown a drawing of a blonde girl, which seems to trigger an emotional memory in her. A later direct reference is during a discussion between the Ripley clone and Annalee Call. Both these scenes are also present in the film's novelization. In the opening voice-over she quotes Newt, saying "my mommy always said there were no monsters, no real ones, but there are."

According to script writer Joss Whedon, Fox Studios initially conceived of Alien Resurrection featuring a clone of Newt rather than Ripley. Whedon composed a thirty-page treatment surrounding this idea before being informed that the studio now intended on using a clone of Ripley forcing a complete rewrite.^[1]

Comics

More of Newt's story and how the Alien invasion of LV-426 began is explored in the 2-part comic Aliens: Newt's Tale.

An older Newt was a main character in Dark Horse's early Aliens comics, and was revealed to have spent ten years in psychiatric care due to the trauma from the events on LV-426. She and Corporal Hicks once again encounter the aliens and they are forced to fight for their lives. They later team up with Ripley and a few marines, and manage to destroy the Queen Mother alien and many of her offspring. Their excursions take them from the genesis planet of the Xenomorphs to a post-apocalyptic Earth overrun with the creatures. Reprints of the comics made after Alien 3 have Newt's name edited out and replaced with "Billie" (as well as having the name of Corporal "Hicks" replaced with "Wilks").

Character motivation

Newt was introduced in the movie Aliens to provide a sympathetic counterpoint to the lead character of Ellen Ripley. Newt, newly orphaned from the unseen events earlier in the film, quickly bonds with and adopts Ripley as a parental figure, creating an emotional bond that movie viewers could sympathise with. Ripley in turn loses her previously distant attitude that people who have been kidnapped by the xenomorphs are not worth saving, and in deciding to enter the xenomorph nest to rescue Newt, develops further as a strong and dedicated character. In deleted scenes which have been restored to the Director's Cut of Aliens, it is revealed that while Ripley was in suspended animation after the events of Alien, she outlived her own daughter by two years. It is the loss of her own daughter that results in the intensity with which Ripley decides to protect Newt at all costs.

References

^ In Focus | August/September 2005 | Serenity Now! Uncut

External links

Category:Alien (franchise) characters Category:Science fiction film characters Category:Fictional child deaths Category:Female horror film characters Category:Child characters in film Category:Film characters introduced in 1986 Category:Fictional sole survivors

[1] In Focus | August/September 2005 | Serenity Now! Uncut

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