The emphasis is not being placed on was because it’s past tense, it’s being placed on was because the shitpost is ironically somewhat accurate. You can replace it with is if you’d like for the same meaning. On the other hand, everyone knows we’re talking about Neil as there is no other relevant subject, so bringing attention to the word he doesn’t really make any sense.
Perhaps it would read better if they had said “…he actually was an alien”?
Why would he be italicized? ‘Was’ would be italicized because the emphasis is being put on the fact that he actually was an alien.
Because HE is the alien there. Not that he is and then is not anymore, he always is the alien there.
The emphasis is not being placed on was because it’s past tense, it’s being placed on was because the shitpost is ironically somewhat accurate. You can replace it with is if you’d like for the same meaning. On the other hand, everyone knows we’re talking about Neil as there is no other relevant subject, so bringing attention to the word he doesn’t really make any sense.
Perhaps it would read better if they had said “…he actually was an alien”?
On the moon he is the alien. Otherwise/usually he is the human and others are the aliens, hence the emphasis that we can be aliens.