"Entry of the Gods Into Valhalla"

(WARNING Spoilers for Covenant may follow)

Valhalla in Norse myth is an afterlife gifted to only those only deemed worthy. A warrior who has fought valiantly and died an honourable and glorified death will have his soul taken to Valhalla by Valkyries on Odin's orders. In the Viking culture death in battle was something heavily prized as it was seen as the gateway to Valhalla. It also gave Vikings a more terrifying demeanour if you were to face them in combat as unlike most warriors, Vikings did not fear death, more than anything they desired death in battle above all else so they could gain access to Valhalla where they would sit amongst the greatest of warriors and dine alongside the Gods themselves. In a way you could apply this to Prometheus where the Engineers invite humanity to visit the star system containing LV-223 perhaps knowing only those worthy enough would be able to accept their invitation. This would probably have a greater impact upon David because he considers himself a superior being and more worthy than any to speak with the Gods. When we catch up with him in Covenant and he has the piece played again perhaps his view has changed and he is no longer the warrior seeking entry to Valhalla instead viewing himself as a God and so by playing music which announces the Gods enter Valhalla I would interpret the meaning of the song as this:

The crew of the Covenant are all people planning to become the first interstellar colonists from Earth as indicated by the trailer. The vision we get of this new world through Daniels is that at least to her it is a paradise of sorts and she is travelling there with her partner to begin a new life. She has this vision of building a log cabin with her partner by a lake and this dream seems like her interpretation of heaven, a paradise on Earth or Orogaie (Not sure what the exact spelling for the planetoid selected for colonisation was). So let's take that heavenly dream of Daniels and simply say it is heaven in relation to the song. Now Daniels and the rest of the crew and passengers of the Covenant have been specially selected for colonisation of that particular planet just like the way Odin would deem who was worthy to enter Valhalla. Therefore for the purposes of the song the planetoid selected for colonisation by the company is Valhalla, the company taking on the role of Odin, Chief of the Gods. Daniels, the crew and the passengers are the chosen warriors allowed to enter Valhalla escorted by Walter who assumes the Valkyrie role or so it seems.

The planetoid remains Valhalla but the other parts change. When we get to the end of the film we realise that David has assumed the identity of Walter and gained access to the Covenant, bringing two facehugger embryos with him. Therefore David assumes the identity of Odin, Chief of the Gods and the selector of the warriors that may enter Valhalla. The two facehugger embryos are the chosen warriors, the crew of the Covenant as well as their passengers are the Valkyries who are escorting these warriors to Valhalla which David likely plans to expose to the fully grown facehuggers in order to birth the Xenomorphs thus the humans fully serve the purpose of protecting the warriors by becoming host to the Xenomorph. The title of the piece referring to the Gods entering Valhalla is David believing himself a God entering the planetoid selected for colonisation which Daniels and the other humans view as a paradise, a dream they desperately desire so David enters Daniels heaven is the parallel to the Gods entering Valhalla, this parallel being brought on solely by the fact David considers himself to be a God for creating several Xenomorphs and he intends to give them paradise by exposing the humans on the Covenant to them.

@JadeOwl

Indeed now the movie is out, we can certainly see the things you mentioned applying, especially David/Alberich connection.

@Derelict426

Very Good analogy, certainly can apply.

If we look at Paradise then in some Religions/Cultures its referred to as Heaven (only the Worthy in Gods Eyes Go), where we go when we die, but in many more its actually only  a Place where the Warriors or Those who died in Battle or those who Died in the name of God Go.

This indeed can apply to Valhalla 

The other Paradise is the Biblical and Paradise Lost version which is the Cradle of Creation, where the Garden of Eden is and where Mankind was Created, this place is not where the GODS or Angels come from... but its Guarded/Watched over by a Cast of High Ranking Angels the Cherubim

Both the Valhalla and Biblical Paradise themes can be used in a way.... The Engineers seed Life on Many worlds... the Sacrificial Scene had Dialog where the Elder said just before giving the Sacrificial Cup/Bowl over. "Let your body become the dirt. Your blood become the waters. And may your soul be their way back to us."

So if Paradise is the Cradle of Creation, where only the Worthy are allowed...  Maybe the Elders/Engineers Seed many worlds, and the Race that turns out to be better and worthy are taken to Paradise...  this is why those beings look different to the Engineers, while some look similar... why the Burnt Bodies some are Human sized and others Larger.

This is a place where various Humanoid Creations created by the Engineers are allowed to Dwell..... Mankind is not here, because we turned out to be flawed and not worthy and so we was destined for destruction instead.

@BigDave

I agree definitely that there are a great many Biblical analogies in these prequel films as well. I found the relationship between David and Walter a sort of parallel to Cain and Abel with David not only identifying Walter as a literal brother but being heavily implied to have murdered Walter out of spite and maybe to some extent jealousy given the way he reacts when Walter corrects him when they speak about the author of Ozymandias coupled with the fact Walter finds Davids actions abhorrent. I also feel that the Divine Comedy may have been some inspiration for the series as we follow Davids journey as he travels through: Hell, which for him could be Earth and living in slavery to Peter Weyland; Purgatory, which could be LV-223 as he goes there with the intention of finding the 'Gods' but instead discovers the choice presented at the end of Prometheus is return to 'Hell' or discover Paradise which would be the Engineer home world he cleanses and begins experimenting on in order to create the perfect organism. Then also there are the strong links to Paradise Lost and the fact that Davids part in the story is that of Lucifer in Paradise Lost.

But yeah I do think that idea of the Engineers seeding other worlds and inviting the creatures they create to come and find them is interesting as it does lend more depth to the notion of Paradise being like that of Valhalla and only the chosen are allowed to go there, which could very much be how David interpreted it but on his journey to Paradise he discovered something about the Engineers that led him to despise them and to follow that Norse theme, cause Ragnarok.

Dave, this Entry of the Gods Into Valhalla thread kinda says it all. I believe it answers tons of the questions I have

I'm not sure if this comment will add anything but there was something that got me thinking during the whole scene.

Where does this conversation between Peter Weyland and David take place? is it after Weyland does his famous Ted X talk? or before he does his talk? going by how confident Weyland sounds, it seems as though to me he talked to David first and then he does the speech, in the speech he makes many remarks how "We are gods now" any thoughts? 

I think David liked the music (entry of the gods into Valhalla) simply because he sees himself as a God. He, now without a doubt the most powerful being in the Universe. He is the most intelligent, he understands everything and he has a powerful weapon. 

Maybe a possible David lead Xeno invasion of Earth will represent the flood/fire which will wipe out Humanity. 

@Jadeowl

Thank you for highlighting the Opera itself rather than the source of the Opera. David clearly made the same decision as Alberich. When I pondered the application of the music many months ago I leap frogged to the Poet Edda and found the notion of Death, Sacrifice and a chosen home after death echoed the myth behind the Acolyte. Big Dave has reminded us of the lost dialogue from that scene which suggests a return for the acolytes soul. My connection with the potential plot was with Loge/David.

As we know John Logan (and Ridley) have narrowed there sites considerably but when I watched the movie for a second time I did ponder the significance of the reappearance of the music. They have all the ingredients for the creature and the new characters can come out of those sleeping. Daniels I recall expects to Terraform when they arrive another theme of creationism which originally was part of the Engineers armoury.

THE big question now is what else comes into the story reading Act 3 and 4 synopsis again I am immediately attracted to several elements :-

1) The dominance of Alberich and his enslavement of his people.

2) The intervention of Woton who in taking the ring brings the curse of ownership down upon him.

3) The arrival of the Goddess who urges Woton to give up the ring.   

In the Opera the story needs deities greater than Alberich to move the story on to its final tragic end I feel Awakening will need the same.

A synopsis of that scene in the opera: 

"At last, the gods prepare to enter their new home. Donner summons a thunderstorm to clear the air. After the storm has ended, Froh creates a rainbow bridge that stretches to the gate of the castle. Wotan leads them across the bridge to the castle, which he names Valhalla. Fricka asks him about the name, and he replies enigmatically that its meaning will become clear when his plans come to fruition.

Loge, who knows that the end of the gods is coming, does not follow the others into Valhalla; he tells the audience that he is tempted to destroy the gods and all they have deceitfully acquired. Far below, the Rhine maidens mourn the loss of their gold and proclaim that the glory of the gods is only an illusion."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Das_Rheingold#Scene_4

In the Opera Loge predicts the end of the gods because they are corrupt and flawed. Loge is Loki the trickster Norse god. Loki and Satan are very similar. I think it makes more sense to see David as Loge than Alberich because it fits more closely with the Paradise Lost analogy of Satan and Xenomorphs as demons.

So here David is predicting the end of the gods as he plots to destroy them through the demons he is creating. 

He ties together Christian and Norse mythology beautifully.