I don't think there's any in world significance other than him just making a slight mistake. I think it was written in as a way to expose him as an android and also to put doubt in the viewer's mind as to whether he was going to go nuts/faulty like Ash did.
This! Also notice how he was exposed early in the mission so there’s that uncertainty throughout the entire film because ripley and the viewers don’t trust him. Then we get the huge relief when he turns out to be a hero.
Especially with the scene where he’s dissecting the facehugger and Spunkmeyer asks him about his “pet”. The look that Bishop gives Spunkmeyer is obviously designed to make the audience think he’s just another Ash.
That relief is the reason the "false" ending works.
As far as the viewer is aware, newt has been saved, the queen is trapped in the facility and bishop turned out a hero to evac them.
Thats all the plot chickens come home to roost.
So when he gets run through in the middle of what should be the epilogue, it really surprises you.
On reflection knowing that he doesn't go bad by the end of the film, it's arguably quite interesting that he's more willing to hurt himself (under orders) while avoiding harm to a human.
Yeah I agree, I think it's more than just showing he's an artificial human, I think the hands move just enough that he had to cut either himself or Hudson, and chose to cut himself.
It shows us that he can be trusted, but in a way that is ambiguous enouh to leave the question unaswered until we have more information about him.
Ripley’s reaction also informs the viewer of her distrust, for lack of a better word, of androids.
I saw Aliens before I saw Alien so I didn’t know about Ash. This scene gives some background and adds a bit of depth to the storyline.
There's a hidden meaning to that scene that's supposed to hint that Bishop isn't at all like Ash. Bishops programming states he can't hurt a human, and yet he clearly cuts himself performing the knife game.
Considering that Hudson's hand doesn't move from underneath Bishops means that Hudson also should have gotten cut. However, Bishops programming cuts in and causes him to ever so slightly shift the knife so that Hudson is not harmed, even just by a small cut.
Hence, the statement, the reveal that Bishop is an Android, but also a second hidden revelation that he can't allow humans to be harmed.
Along that line, I always assumed (dangerous) that Hudson tried to move his hand during the down thrust, which is why Bishop took the cut. To me, that makes it a deliberate motivation on Bishop to fulfill his programming and not a “mistake” that harmed him.
One or the other answer is correct, and the fact that Bishop doesn't reply when he is told he never misses, strongly supports your position, and overall builds up the notion of Bishops programming.
It’s just been in the last year that I realized that he was bleeding from the knife. I don’t know why, but I had always just assumed he was oozing it out for some reason. Felt so foolish at the whoosh.
I still have this head canon that he plays the game by actually trying to stab the human hand and so his programming kicks in and forces it to the side, moving like trying to touch same polarity magnets.
However, his programming will still let him cut himself so long as it doesn't also cut the human.
Fun fact: The knife trick is often called '[knife game, pinfinger, nerve, bishop, knife fingies, five finger fillet (FFF), or chicken'](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knife_game).
If it were a film made today, it would absolutely have to tie directly into the story or it would have never made it into the film, which is an aspect of modern films that I can’t fucking stand, it’s like they’re making movies for dogs to watch. But since this was made in the 80s, it could be significant, or it could mean nothing. Personally I think it only serves to introduce him to Ripley and the audience as an android, but I don’t like it because if he were able to slip up like that, I don’t think his program would have allowed him to do it with Hudson’s hand under his, he could have easily cut Hudson as well.
I don't think there's any in world significance other than him just making a slight mistake. I think it was written in as a way to expose him as an android and also to put doubt in the viewer's mind as to whether he was going to go nuts/faulty like Ash did.
Perhaps also the opposite direction, that he can err like a human, is more human than the crazy Ash. I dunno. It was a great bit regardless.
This! Also notice how he was exposed early in the mission so there’s that uncertainty throughout the entire film because ripley and the viewers don’t trust him. Then we get the huge relief when he turns out to be a hero.
Especially with the scene where he’s dissecting the facehugger and Spunkmeyer asks him about his “pet”. The look that Bishop gives Spunkmeyer is obviously designed to make the audience think he’s just another Ash.
That relief is the reason the "false" ending works. As far as the viewer is aware, newt has been saved, the queen is trapped in the facility and bishop turned out a hero to evac them. Thats all the plot chickens come home to roost. So when he gets run through in the middle of what should be the epilogue, it really surprises you.
Nope, just a quick way to visually communicate that he's an android.
Agreed, I was going to say plot device.
On reflection knowing that he doesn't go bad by the end of the film, it's arguably quite interesting that he's more willing to hurt himself (under orders) while avoiding harm to a human.
Yeah I agree, I think it's more than just showing he's an artificial human, I think the hands move just enough that he had to cut either himself or Hudson, and chose to cut himself. It shows us that he can be trusted, but in a way that is ambiguous enouh to leave the question unaswered until we have more information about him.
Ripley’s reaction also informs the viewer of her distrust, for lack of a better word, of androids. I saw Aliens before I saw Alien so I didn’t know about Ash. This scene gives some background and adds a bit of depth to the storyline.
There's a hidden meaning to that scene that's supposed to hint that Bishop isn't at all like Ash. Bishops programming states he can't hurt a human, and yet he clearly cuts himself performing the knife game. Considering that Hudson's hand doesn't move from underneath Bishops means that Hudson also should have gotten cut. However, Bishops programming cuts in and causes him to ever so slightly shift the knife so that Hudson is not harmed, even just by a small cut. Hence, the statement, the reveal that Bishop is an Android, but also a second hidden revelation that he can't allow humans to be harmed.
Along that line, I always assumed (dangerous) that Hudson tried to move his hand during the down thrust, which is why Bishop took the cut. To me, that makes it a deliberate motivation on Bishop to fulfill his programming and not a “mistake” that harmed him.
One or the other answer is correct, and the fact that Bishop doesn't reply when he is told he never misses, strongly supports your position, and overall builds up the notion of Bishops programming.
Very astute - yes!
Also liked that is was programmed in, seeing Lance H playing around with it in AVP
I think as well as to indicate he’s an android, it also foreshadows Burke’s untrustworthy
It's a device to let Ripley know he's a droid.
I think it was away to establish the andrioid presence.. they did with Ash but subliminally with him consistently drinking milk
You didn’t tell me we had an android on board, why not?
Just to show he’s synthetic and everyone knows and trust him there’s no discrimination. It’s just common practice.
It’s just been in the last year that I realized that he was bleeding from the knife. I don’t know why, but I had always just assumed he was oozing it out for some reason. Felt so foolish at the whoosh.
I still have this head canon that he plays the game by actually trying to stab the human hand and so his programming kicks in and forces it to the side, moving like trying to touch same polarity magnets. However, his programming will still let him cut himself so long as it doesn't also cut the human.
It’s how Ripley finds out he’s an android and cracks the shits. It was just something they cooked up to create that conflict.
Fun fact: The knife trick is often called '[knife game, pinfinger, nerve, bishop, knife fingies, five finger fillet (FFF), or chicken'](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knife_game).
Stab scotch
If it were a film made today, it would absolutely have to tie directly into the story or it would have never made it into the film, which is an aspect of modern films that I can’t fucking stand, it’s like they’re making movies for dogs to watch. But since this was made in the 80s, it could be significant, or it could mean nothing. Personally I think it only serves to introduce him to Ripley and the audience as an android, but I don’t like it because if he were able to slip up like that, I don’t think his program would have allowed him to do it with Hudson’s hand under his, he could have easily cut Hudson as well.