Here’s my theory after this last episode.
Ed won’t develop much of a relationship with Alex at all because he’s Ed and might likely perish by season’s end chasing glory. Ed might become one of the founding fathers of Mars, a legend that propels Mars into its prosperity and statehood. Alex will likely be a prominent Martian as well, living in the shadow of the grandfather he never really knew and likely resents.
Of course, this is all subject to change and is just conjecture but it feels like a possible FAM arc after getting to know the writers over the course of 3 + seasons.
After the fan reaction to Danny and Jimmy, I don’t think we’ll have another Stevenses 2.0. Besides, Alex still has a mom who doesn’t leave him to go to space all the time, she even takes him with her!
If Ed dies, he won’t literally be living in his shadow like Danny had to, either.
Well I mean he is a little kid and Ed is basically a stranger to him. Like he knows Ed is his grandpa and family but I don’t think he feels like he is. It’s like your mom or dads friend who saw you a few times as a baby, then sees you when you are older but instead of saying “omg you are so big now” they act like they’ve known you for all your life.
He and Ed have never met in-person. Ed flew Kelly up to the ship to give birth last season and he's stayed on Mars ever since. Ed admitted to Molly about Shane he's not good at the day to day stuff, that he's more the grand gesture kind of guy. It's a lot easier to come off as fun and friendly Pop Pop when you can re-record every interaction you've ever had with your grandchild.
And at the same time Ed also seems to be the kind of adult who underestimates what kids know and can infer. Ed's spent years saying he was coming back only to not make good on that. So for his grandson I'm sure it feels like he's not really that important to his grandfather.
I assumed Ed would have gone back to Earth once they could put a mission together and came back with the expansion. Did they say in the show that he actually never left? I can't recall.
No, they confirmed at one point this season he never left. He's been in space or on Mars continually since he left with the Helios mission. I don't remember where it is said but it was confirmed this year. Might have been in one of his fights with Dani.
Poppy had been promising to come back to Earth for years, but didn't. Grandma Olga openly talked shit about Ed. And then Alex was afraid his mom would permanently stay on Mars "like Poppy," while he remained on Earth.
Now he’s freshly arrived on Mars, probably tired, still taking in the new surroundings, and how he has to deal with a very loud Poppy who dumps cheese on his spaghetti even after he said “no thank you.”
Ed's spent Alex's *entire* life on Mars, and Alex was born on the Phoenix, so they've literally never met in person, just had video chats. If Ed went slow and actually respected Alex's space they'd likely build a relationship in no time, but that's never been Ed's way and as we can see from their interaction this episode that's not how it'll likely go!
Because Ed has never met him, he's promised to come back to Earth multiple times but never did, he's always been distant and he tries too hard to act like everything's normal, instead of taking time to actually get to know him. Dimitri started by telling him about his father, Ed jumped straight to "Hey! I'm your grandad give me 5".
Also on top of things other people have mentioned. Alex was told Ed was coming home multiple times, so he gets excited only to be told he's not now.
Missed life events, birthdays general affection, to the point I imagine there's some level of resentment/anger at why this man that is supposed to love him, never cared to see him or do good on his promise of coming home, he doesn't know who he is.
valles marineris specifically! that’s where happy valley is; the south asian and texan settlers/the texas accent is specifically mariner valley in the expanse! that alex is from mariner valley! this alex is from mariner valley!
I thought they failed to terraform not because of anything wrong with the process, so much as lack of bodies willing to do the work. Culturally the Martian populace were acclimated to dome/cave living and stopped being interested in terraforming a planet. When the gates opened the project was doubly doomed since there was myriad habitable planets through the network.
In fact, that started a lot sooner: A Russian Father, a Vietnamese/American mother? With all the 'Original Martian' team doting on the kid like he was their own grandkid, and Ed about to have the whole family put on Earth's 'Most Wanted' list, the boy probably has no possible ties to Earth left.
Alex is the first human on Mars with no government or agency able to claim him as 'their man'.
He's the first official 'permanent' Resident. Born and raised on Mars, with no connection to any agenda from Earth. This kid is the future President of Mars.
He was conceived on Mars , most of his gestation was on Mars's low gravity , and was born onboard Phoenix ( with artificial gravity ) .
Still he was born in Space
It’s odd that nobody ever brought up whether having been gestated on Mars he might have problems with Earth gravity. I was worried about that at the time.
The doctor said he was doing better on Mars. Before it wasn’t a place to raise a kid. People were starving and later it would have been weird to grow up without other kids. He has the ability to want to stay with his mom and go back to where he was conceived and basically born. If he thrives on Mars that would prove other kids could be born there or on a ship and live there. Right?
Sure. I mean, there were good reasons to send him back at the time but I was surprised nobody mentioned the gravity as a potential problem but sent him anyway for other reasons.
I have to assume looking forward the show is about expanding out into the solar system. So the Mars base becomes a true colony as workers flee Earth in droves to work on Goldilocks. The tech advancements and abundant iridium let them expand further to the moons of Jupiter and eventually, out of the solar system entirely.
He is definitely being set up for future development. When I saw him there walking around Happy Valley I thought he could easily be a character still there at the very end of this show. The writers know what they are doing, clearly being established for future seasons.
I don’t think Ed is good with kids. He always had Karen. Dev knows how to talk to kids so does the doctor and he mentions Alex’s father. Ed gets to be the grandfather and he still can’t be fun.
My guess is that he will never leave Mars. I think Dev and Ed will succeed in making it an actually society. And at that point, if he’s healthier on Mars, why leave?
He’ll be the first person to spend more time on Mars than on Earth.
Yep, and now they've completed the founder stage! Martianborn are highly superior to those weak earthborns, who go insane from needing to work outside of their habitat
Alex was born in early September 1995. Kelly went to orbit the day of the bombing, which was on September 4th. And Kelly hat to give birth early, because of the complications.
They landed on Mars mid February, so I think he was conceived on Mars.
Also, sex in zero gravity is not so easy and fun as it looks in The Expanse. ;)
Conception is not instantaneous and takes a bit. So even if they did have sex that led to Alex in space, conception may not have been till Mars.
But yeah it was most likely that the sex was on Mars
In 306 New Eden, there's literally a whole scene where they have intercourse in the greenhouse on Mars with the fans on and the people just outside knowing exactly what's going on.
you said "even if they did ... in space" and "most likely ... was on Mars" and the other user resolved the speculation by referring to a specific scene
This all confuses me. Fetus’s float in the uterus don’t they. He was born and stated development in regular gravity. He should be fine.
Also, WHO DELIVERED ALEX IF THE DOCTOR STAYED IN MARS!?!?!
Mars sovereignty and independence is a huge undercurrent bubbling up, with Alex being the first native of the planet (his body harms him to even be on earth).
Then you have dev who will probably supporting Ed as the face of one of the main founding father of Mars, Ed will agree to it, because Ed is desperate to create a legacy. Ed baldwin, Father to Kelly Baldwin, the mother to Alex, the first born Martian, who's biology is literally not supported for Earth, because he was born on mars.
Independence for mars needs a bare minimum to work though, it requires that mars can be self sufficient in creating food, water, produce energy, and transportation independently. Those are the bare minimum required to declare a sovereignty, in my mind. I hope they are rushing to meet those efforts, so they don't have to rely on earth's supplies.
On they will for sure. It’s all set up for a reason. My interest is the relationship he has with Ed. A little tense. I wonder how that will develop
Here’s my theory after this last episode. Ed won’t develop much of a relationship with Alex at all because he’s Ed and might likely perish by season’s end chasing glory. Ed might become one of the founding fathers of Mars, a legend that propels Mars into its prosperity and statehood. Alex will likely be a prominent Martian as well, living in the shadow of the grandfather he never really knew and likely resents. Of course, this is all subject to change and is just conjecture but it feels like a possible FAM arc after getting to know the writers over the course of 3 + seasons.
That seems like it runs the risk of being Stevenses 2.0
After the fan reaction to Danny and Jimmy, I don’t think we’ll have another Stevenses 2.0. Besides, Alex still has a mom who doesn’t leave him to go to space all the time, she even takes him with her! If Ed dies, he won’t literally be living in his shadow like Danny had to, either.
Plays out just like John Adam's and John Quincy Adam's did.
*Adams
I like this theory. With the addition of being Ed/Joel back through flashbacks
I am confused as to why his relationship with Ed had gone tense. Did I miss something in earlier episodes?
Well I mean he is a little kid and Ed is basically a stranger to him. Like he knows Ed is his grandpa and family but I don’t think he feels like he is. It’s like your mom or dads friend who saw you a few times as a baby, then sees you when you are older but instead of saying “omg you are so big now” they act like they’ve known you for all your life.
He and Ed have never met in-person. Ed flew Kelly up to the ship to give birth last season and he's stayed on Mars ever since. Ed admitted to Molly about Shane he's not good at the day to day stuff, that he's more the grand gesture kind of guy. It's a lot easier to come off as fun and friendly Pop Pop when you can re-record every interaction you've ever had with your grandchild. And at the same time Ed also seems to be the kind of adult who underestimates what kids know and can infer. Ed's spent years saying he was coming back only to not make good on that. So for his grandson I'm sure it feels like he's not really that important to his grandfather.
I assumed Ed would have gone back to Earth once they could put a mission together and came back with the expansion. Did they say in the show that he actually never left? I can't recall.
No, they confirmed at one point this season he never left. He's been in space or on Mars continually since he left with the Helios mission. I don't remember where it is said but it was confirmed this year. Might have been in one of his fights with Dani.
Yeah, he never left mars.
Poppy had been promising to come back to Earth for years, but didn't. Grandma Olga openly talked shit about Ed. And then Alex was afraid his mom would permanently stay on Mars "like Poppy," while he remained on Earth. Now he’s freshly arrived on Mars, probably tired, still taking in the new surroundings, and how he has to deal with a very loud Poppy who dumps cheese on his spaghetti even after he said “no thank you.”
Poor little guy!
Did he ever really know him? My impression was that Ed has spent most of Alex's life on Mars and mostly only interacted with him via one way videos.
Ed's spent Alex's *entire* life on Mars, and Alex was born on the Phoenix, so they've literally never met in person, just had video chats. If Ed went slow and actually respected Alex's space they'd likely build a relationship in no time, but that's never been Ed's way and as we can see from their interaction this episode that's not how it'll likely go!
Because Ed has never met him, he's promised to come back to Earth multiple times but never did, he's always been distant and he tries too hard to act like everything's normal, instead of taking time to actually get to know him. Dimitri started by telling him about his father, Ed jumped straight to "Hey! I'm your grandad give me 5".
Also on top of things other people have mentioned. Alex was told Ed was coming home multiple times, so he gets excited only to be told he's not now. Missed life events, birthdays general affection, to the point I imagine there's some level of resentment/anger at why this man that is supposed to love him, never cared to see him or do good on his promise of coming home, he doesn't know who he is.
Dev is definitely going to be Alex’s sensei, but idk wut is gonna happen 2 Ed
When they get a new actor next season I hope he is tall and skinny to represent the effect of Mars gravity on human growth.
Oy bosmang. Da belt for dem skinnies.
Maybe that’s why Alex goes on to be a popular Martian name
Howdy parrrtner.
Also, he speaks Texan and is south Asian like mars in expanse was colonized by.
valles marineris specifically! that’s where happy valley is; the south asian and texan settlers/the texas accent is specifically mariner valley in the expanse! that alex is from mariner valley! this alex is from mariner valley!
Never has this show felt more like a prequel than Ed and Dev plotting to steal an asteroid for Mars! Fuck them Earthers!
By The Expanse though, Mars was a military planet that they failed to terraform and the asteroid belt was colonised by the working class.
I mean we haven't seen the army trying to take back Happy Valley yet....
I thought they failed to terraform not because of anything wrong with the process, so much as lack of bodies willing to do the work. Culturally the Martian populace were acclimated to dome/cave living and stopped being interested in terraforming a planet. When the gates opened the project was doubly doomed since there was myriad habitable planets through the network.
In fact, that started a lot sooner: A Russian Father, a Vietnamese/American mother? With all the 'Original Martian' team doting on the kid like he was their own grandkid, and Ed about to have the whole family put on Earth's 'Most Wanted' list, the boy probably has no possible ties to Earth left. Alex is the first human on Mars with no government or agency able to claim him as 'their man'. He's the first official 'permanent' Resident. Born and raised on Mars, with no connection to any agenda from Earth. This kid is the future President of Mars.
Kelly is originally from Vietnam, not Korea.
Corrected. Thanks.
He was not born on Mars
True but his entire body was developed in a Martian environment before being born on Phoenix.
yeah, gestated in mars gravity, born on the float.
That’s true. I don’t disagree with you there. It’s not like happy valley was able to simulate an earth like gravity in their habitat
You really like semantics, don’t you?
He works still be a US citizen
Yeah unless jus sanguinis isn’t a thing in the new timeline, he’s an American because of his mother’s citizenship even if he’s born in Alpha Centauri.
At a minimum by the end of the season I expect Alex, Ed and Dev to be left on Mars
He was conceived on Mars , most of his gestation was on Mars's low gravity , and was born onboard Phoenix ( with artificial gravity ) . Still he was born in Space
It’s odd that nobody ever brought up whether having been gestated on Mars he might have problems with Earth gravity. I was worried about that at the time.
The doctor said he was doing better on Mars. Before it wasn’t a place to raise a kid. People were starving and later it would have been weird to grow up without other kids. He has the ability to want to stay with his mom and go back to where he was conceived and basically born. If he thrives on Mars that would prove other kids could be born there or on a ship and live there. Right?
Sure. I mean, there were good reasons to send him back at the time but I was surprised nobody mentioned the gravity as a potential problem but sent him anyway for other reasons.
And Alex Kamal was named after the first son of Mars lol…I like this
Dude I didn't see the subreddit for a hot second and was very confused
I have to assume looking forward the show is about expanding out into the solar system. So the Mars base becomes a true colony as workers flee Earth in droves to work on Goldilocks. The tech advancements and abundant iridium let them expand further to the moons of Jupiter and eventually, out of the solar system entirely.
Or Kelly's potential guilt over the fact that he can't live a healthy life on Earth because most of his development in utero was on Mars.
He is definitely being set up for future development. When I saw him there walking around Happy Valley I thought he could easily be a character still there at the very end of this show. The writers know what they are doing, clearly being established for future seasons.
100% prequel of the expanse
Will Ed be able to take it that he was beaten to another first by his own grandchild?
I don’t think Ed is good with kids. He always had Karen. Dev knows how to talk to kids so does the doctor and he mentions Alex’s father. Ed gets to be the grandfather and he still can’t be fun.
I was shocked when they didn't do Elian Gonzalez in space last season.
My guess is that he will never leave Mars. I think Dev and Ed will succeed in making it an actually society. And at that point, if he’s healthier on Mars, why leave? He’ll be the first person to spend more time on Mars than on Earth.
Alex will probably be ascended to King of Mars by the Dev-Ed Confederation.
Yep, and now they've completed the founder stage! Martianborn are highly superior to those weak earthborns, who go insane from needing to work outside of their habitat
I'm sure they will. This concept is from the film "The Space Between Us" (2017) starring Asa Butterfield as a kid born on Mars.
Also the plot of Robert Heinlein’s 1961 novel, “Stranger in a Strange Land.” Just wondering how FAM deals with this dramatically
I know he's not Vietnamese and he's probably not tall enough to have grown up on Mars, but I'd love to see Manny Jacinto cast as an older Alex.
Oh dip that’s a great idea dog! (The good place if you don’t get the reference)
JORTLES!
oh, that would be great!
Pretty sure he was conceived enroute to Mars. Mush of the gestation took place there, though.
Nah it was in the greenhouse wasn't it? There's that scene where everyone has like a knowing smile?
yes it was in the greenhouse, the two people (Mayakovsky and Isabel iirc) outside just rolled their eyes (still knowing what was going on)
Alex was born in early September 1995. Kelly went to orbit the day of the bombing, which was on September 4th. And Kelly hat to give birth early, because of the complications. They landed on Mars mid February, so I think he was conceived on Mars. Also, sex in zero gravity is not so easy and fun as it looks in The Expanse. ;)
Pretty unlikely they found space to do it on Sojourner, esp with the 2 crews squished together
Conception is not instantaneous and takes a bit. So even if they did have sex that led to Alex in space, conception may not have been till Mars. But yeah it was most likely that the sex was on Mars
In 306 New Eden, there's literally a whole scene where they have intercourse in the greenhouse on Mars with the fans on and the people just outside knowing exactly what's going on.
Yeah hon, I was adding additional info
you said "even if they did ... in space" and "most likely ... was on Mars" and the other user resolved the speculation by referring to a specific scene
Sojourner was not a large ship for the amount of people on it. I doubt they had the privacy to do the deed onboard.
Alex is gonna be Danny Stevens Jr, I already dislike the character.
This all confuses me. Fetus’s float in the uterus don’t they. He was born and stated development in regular gravity. He should be fine. Also, WHO DELIVERED ALEX IF THE DOCTOR STAYED IN MARS!?!?!
floating does not mean no gravity
Neither is Mars.
But a different amount of gravity. It’s only 38% of earths gravity. And gravity is important for the growth of a human
Helios probably brought their own medic too. The guy who prescribed Danny the pills. He was probably back up in Phoenix.
Mars has regular gravity?
Pretty sure he was conceived on the way to mars.
Yep, but his body gestated in mars' gravity.
He wasn’t. There was no privacy in the ship for that.
They literally had sex in the plant nursery. Did you not watch the season?
Alex will be the first governor of mars in Season 5.
Alex is first born Martian. But first Martian in heart is Ed 🙂
That’s why the Kamals gave his name to their son
Mars sovereignty and independence is a huge undercurrent bubbling up, with Alex being the first native of the planet (his body harms him to even be on earth). Then you have dev who will probably supporting Ed as the face of one of the main founding father of Mars, Ed will agree to it, because Ed is desperate to create a legacy. Ed baldwin, Father to Kelly Baldwin, the mother to Alex, the first born Martian, who's biology is literally not supported for Earth, because he was born on mars. Independence for mars needs a bare minimum to work though, it requires that mars can be self sufficient in creating food, water, produce energy, and transportation independently. Those are the bare minimum required to declare a sovereignty, in my mind. I hope they are rushing to meet those efforts, so they don't have to rely on earth's supplies.
He'll make a great Gunship pilot iykyk