Colony, TV Shows

What You Should Know About the Aliens On Colony

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The aliens on Colony are pretty much the show’s biggest mystery and we’re bound to get some answers soon. One of the things I really love the most about this show is how none of the “bad” characters are truly all bad, or vice versa. And I have a feeling the aliens are going to be exactly the same. This article is going to be an in-depth look at every clue we’ve gotten about the aliens on Colony so far. SPOILERS through last week’s episode. Once I see tonight’s episode, I’ll update this story. (If you haven’t seen Colony yet, you can purchase every episode for instant streaming here on Amazon Video.) 

Oh, and if you want to read only the theories about who the aliens really are, then just scroll down to the end of this article.

THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED. It now contains facts & theories about the aliens through Season 2 Episode 4. 

We’ll be writing more in-depth stories about Colony every week, so you’ll want to join our email list to stay updated. Join our email list by clicking here. 

What you should know about the aliens on #Colony. A must read. Share on X

1. The Aliens May Not Be All Bad or All Good

I’m making this assumption purely based on what we know about the other characters and groups from Colony so far. The Resistance has a lot of flaws and, in its own way, seems almost as bad as the aliens. While Katie complains about how Will is being manipulated by the collaborators, she was being manipulated by the Resistance. While it seems the collaborators kill to meet their own purpose, well, so does the Resistance.

Proxy Snyder is also a conflicted character. He’s separated from his family too. He wants to survive, just like everyone else. Yes, he lied to the DJ and let him die and that was absolutely terrible. But when he said that he’s doing everything for the greater good, to let this colony have a little bit of freedom, he might be right. He might really be the “nicest” that anyone in his position can be.

Because of this ambiguity (which was something I absolutely loved about Lost, by the way), I’m willing to bet we’ll get the same from the aliens. Maybe they had a compelling reason for coming here. Maybe they want to live peacefully, but for some reason it’s not possible. We can only wait and see.

2. The Aliens Experience Time Differently Than We Do

We learned this early on, before Will’s boss (sorry, I’m bad with names!) was killed. She was talking on the phone, right before her murder, and mentioned how the aliens don’t experience time in the same way that we do, which can make communicating with them difficult at times.

So what exactly could that mean? Are they outside of time somehow? Does time run slower for them? Are they fourth dimensional and can jump back and forth through time?

3. They Have Something Weird Going On Between the Colonies

The aliens have set up something weird between the colonies. In one conversation when Katie and Proxy Snyder were talking about what happens outside of the colonies, in the wasteland that isn’t protected, we learned that the characters should never, ever go out there. Something really bad goes on, apparently. And yet, Will’s son and his girlfriend sneak out there for supplies quite frequently. I can only imagine that they’re going to encounter something unpleasant one of these days.

[UPDATE] As of Season 2 Episode 3, we’ve learned that the bloc where Charlie was living was essentially just a free-for-all, with no government, no leader, just anarchy. Is this why people were told to never leave the colonies and go into the wasteland? Or is that about something different, related to the space between the blocs, that we haven’t seen yet? And this also begs a new question: were they just told about how scary things were outside the bloc so they would be too scared to leave?

4. People Have to be Decontaminated Before Seeing Them

This is a big one. In the first episode, we saw a group of people being sent to the “factory.” But in reality, they were being decontaminated (that’s why they had to strip down and get exposed to the bright UV light.) Then they filed into a room while wearing scrubs and masks. I’m going to assume that they were beamed onto a spaceship after that.

5. They Appear Far Superior to Us

This may be connected to the aliens’ being outside of time somehow. But Proxy Snyder described the aliens as being far superior. He said he met them once, and that was all it took to realize how insignificant humans are in comparison. Perhaps this is also what happened with Maddie and the cube in the initiation ceremony. Maybe they are so outside of time that you can only meet them in their “pure form” through some weird hypnosis method.

6. They Beam Something Into Space Periodically

Every now and then, the aliens beam something up into space, probably onto one of their ships. Are they gathering supplies or resources from Earth and sending it up to their own colony, for survival? (UPDATE: Or maybe, they’re just beaming up humans all the time. We know now that warlords in other blocs collect people for them.)

7. The Aliens Have Set Up Each Colony to Operate Differently

Each colony is its own self-sustaining society and each one is run differently. Snyder has hinted that some of the colonies don’t have nearly the amount of freedom that Will’s does. Is it possible the aliens are experimenting with different forms of government?

8. They May Have Been Here Before

This one isn’t set in stone. But when Will and Katie’s nanny was talking to their daughter, she described Jesus as being an alien who had visited Earth before the big arrival. (At least, that was my interpretation.) So we might be able to guess that at least one new cult thinks the aliens have been to Earth before.

In episode 2 of season 2, we got even more of a hint that they’ve been here before. The episode started with a flashback, where scientists from 1969 heard mathematical music coming from a beacon on the moon. Here’s a video of that flashback:

9. They’re Good with Technology, But Not *That* Good

The aliens knew everything about us before they landed. They have information on their fingertips about each person, all stored in a digital “rolodex” of sorts. But, despite all of this, they didn’t know that a member of the resistance was embedded in their group because he had a fake profile. Will knew immediately that his profile was fake, but somehow the aliens missed that he had a million fake identities, all searchable online. Either this is a gaping plot hole, or the aliens aren’t as smart as they pretend to be.

10. Children May Be Important to Them

Whether it’s just for indoctrination purposes or not, children are very important to the aliens for some reason. Now, obviously this doesn’t mean that they won’t send older teens to labor camps if they disobey rules, because they certainly will. But they’re also putting a lot of effort (it seems) into indoctrinating the children. Just look at the lessons that Will and Katie’s nanny is sharing with their daughter. And remember when Will and Charlie were climbing up the wall and the drone wouldn’t shoot them? The prevailing theory is that the drones are programmed to never shoot & kill children, because they’re slowly indoctrinating them so that the planet will be easier to rule in 30 to 40 years. (Another theory is that it wouldn’t shoot and kill Will because of his role in the government. Or that it won’t shoot and kill anyone with their DNA.)

The idea that children are special to the aliens does lose a little strength when you consider where Charlie’s been this whole time. His life has been in danger since the walls came down, and the aliens weren’t exactly in a hurry to let Will be reunited with his son.

So in a nutshell, we know that the aliens experience time in a way far different from us, are visibly superior to us, may be incredibly sensitive to germs, have some weird experiments going on between the colonies, and may have a history with our planet. So here are a few theories about the aliens based on what we know: 

Theory #1: The Aliens Are Creating a New Colony of Humans on Another Planet

Could the aliens be creating a NEW colony off Earth? Share on X

What if the aliens “planted” humans on Earth in the first place and now they’re creating an entirely new colony of humans on a different planet? They’re beaming resources from Earth onto their spaceship and are decontaminating the people before sending them off.

Theory #2: The Aliens Are Using Humans As Body Pods, Food, or Fuel

Maybe the aliens are immortal and need humans as new bodies. Share on X

This is actually several theories rolled into one, but all involve needing the humans for the aliens’ survival. The first theory is that maybe the aliens are really old, ancient humanoids and their immortal bodies are dying. Maybe these people who are sent to a camp are actually decontaminated and then beamed to the aliens, so they can have new bodies to inhabit.

Another spin on the theory is the idea that they’re using the aliens as food or fuel. They’re decontaminating them before transporting them to the aliens, and the humans are kept in pens (the blocs) while waiting to be used as food. It’s also possible that only the insubordinate humans are used as food, and the aliens have a different plan for everyone else.  (Or maybe they’re just using everyone else to procreate and keep their food supply growing.)

Theory #3: The Aliens Aren’t Really Aliens

Could the #Colony aliens actually be people, and not aliens at all? Share on X

The aliens’ identity is likely going to be a huge twist to the show. Either they really are just humans from the future or they are modern-day people with access to highly advanced tech, and are hiding their true identity through subterfuge. They could be just another group of humans, or the government, taking over everything.

Or maybe they aren’t biological at all. Could the drones actually be part of the alien’s real identity? Maybe the aliens are actually an artificial intelligence, perhaps even one that originated from Earth itself, and then took over.

Maybe the #Colony aliens are a very advanced AI. Share on X

What do you think? Leave a comment below and let me know what your theories are about the aliens or if I left anything out.

And if you liked this article, please join our email list by signing up in the right column. 🙂 We also have a bunch of additional Colony stories, so please click here to see them all. 

    Stephanie Dwilson started Post Apocalyptic Media with her husband Derek. She's a licensed attorney and has a master's in science and technology journalism. You can reach her at [email protected].

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