Why is Kaiden Alenko so popular?

[Tono Makt]

OK I've been reading Mass Effect Fan Fiction(oh god what have I got myself into), and there tend to be A LOT of Kaiden ones out there. I am also aware of how popular he is among fangirls. And I don't understand why. Why is this character so popular? Please someone explain why he's so popular! Is it the head bump? Is it the fact he's voiced by the same person who did Carth in KOTOR? I'm not going to waste my time explaining why I hate him and I don't want people out there to post why they do. I just want to know why people like him.

I can't speak for anyone but my wife in this matter, so this is Mrs. Makt's reasoning why she is a fan (not a fangirl, or a fangrrl, or god(dess) help us all, a Shepalenko Shipper) of Kaiden.

My wife has no bisexual interest at all, so Liara was not an option for her when she played the FemShep. That left Kaiden as the only love interest, and so she took it. My wife is also a very loyal and monogamous person (and has a great deal of patience, or else she wouldn't be Mrs. Makt!), and so when the option in ME2 was not there for a romance with Kaiden, she was annoyed. It was a silly little thing (something we shared; for me it was Liara, and when Liara wasn't a romance option in ME2, I was annoyed) but she felt as if she was cheating on Kaiden. (which is why she went for a fling with Thane, since Thane was Alien, Male, and Dying.) In ME3, she's hoping that Kaiden is going to be her FemShep's love interest again.

So summation: It isn't Kaiden per se that is popular with Mrs. Makt, it's being loyal and monogamous to her first love interest in Mass Effect. It's part of how she see's her character of FemShep. (incidentally, I see my own Shep and FemShep's the same way - loyal to a fault.)

*toodles off to read the rest of the thread, to see just how weird Mr. and Mrs. Makt are*

 

[soren7550]

As a bit of a Kaidan fangirl, I hope I can shed some light on why some people really love him (keep in mind, I never played KotOR, so I can't draw any parallels between him and Carth, other than the fact they have the same voice actor [Raphael Sbarge]).

He's the Original Romance Option - He's the only option for FemSheps that aren't interested in Liara. So that railroads them into getting to know him, and some will start getting attached due to this, which in part due to...

Dat Voice - Mmmm... dat voice. Sbarge does such a good job, and he's just pleasant to listen to.

He's Good Looking - Yeah, 'beauty is in the eyes of the beholder' but that's one reason that I've heard why people like him. It's come up a lot. Many seem to really like his hair bump (admittedly, I'm one of them [http://soren7550.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d4e4z16]), which is a part of his charm.

He Doesn't Hate Aliens - Yeah, you can make him more xenophobic, but otherwise, he has no problem with aliens, even though you'd think he would (with the whole Vyrnis thing).

He's Level Headed - Can't really go into that more since that's all there is to it really. He can control himself, and is often calm under pressure.

He's A Nice Dude - I've kind of already said this, but he's just a nice dude.

I could probably go on some more, but I think I've made myself seem crazy enough. I'll just end this by saying his romance scenes play out very nice and sweet (esp.in ME3 [in my really trying to be unbiased opinion, his romance was done the best in ME3]), which is another reason why people love him.

 

[soren7550]

I have just one question, should I have left him on the planet or is Ashley just as annoying?

No matter who you let survive, they're distrustful of you since you've worked with Cerberus (play it right, they won't be distrustful of you anymore).

 

[CJMacM]

He's the only guy you can romance in Mass Effect 1 so it kinda makes sense. I romanced him in my first playthrough but I always found him to be not very interesting.

And I also went through a period of Mass Effect fan fiction but I found it to be mostly Garrus (I don't even remember Kaidan being in any of them), so I guess it just depends on what stories you read.

 

[RJ 17]

Surely I can't be the first person to say this out of 6 pages of comments, but I really never liked Kaiden. He reminded me of Carth Onasa from KotOR too much (gee, I wonder why ) and to be honest: I never liked Carth that much either.

I think it's the fact that I have a stigma against "starting characters", that is: the general-issued characters from party-based RPGs that you get at the very beginning of the game. The exception for this was in ME 2 only on Insanity mode. Miranda having both Overload and Warp is just too damn useful to pass up. Other than that I always go for the characters you get later in the game.

As such, Kaiden is my least-used character, the only character in the ME universe that I have not romanced (well him and James, but James not only falls under the "starting character stigma" but he's also one of the douchiest characters I've ever seen...seriously, looks like he enlisted with The Alliance after serving in the COG forces with Marcus Fenix as a CO), and really I just don't find him that great of a character. Yeah yeah, he's supposed to be your rock, your anchor of stability and the paragon perspective on things. I dunno, just never found him all too likeable.

Not like Legion who you only get to use for like, 3 frickin' missions. ::grumblegrumble::

 

[Jitters Caffeine]

People like him because they hated Ashley so much. I actually liked Ashley because of how boring Kaiden was. He was just Carth Onasi with migraines to me.

 

[ZehMadScientist]

Kaidan always seemes kind of douchy to me. He lacked backbone. I always preferred Wrex and Garrus covering my back instead of him.

That said, he's still alive in my game. I couldn't stand Ashley so the decision on Virmire was quickly made. And I have to say, the temptation of shooting him when he was protecting Udina almost got the better of me, but then I thought to myself: "No matter how douchy he may be, he's still your damn crewmember." All's well ends well I guess?

But still, his job on the Normandy in my playthroughs was taking shifts with Vega for making coffee for the rest of the crew, because aside from Mars and the Palaven Moon, neither of them set a foot outside the Normandy. Because the other aliens are all so much more interesting than a boring old human.

Why couldn't Kaidan have Kepral syndrome instead of Thane?

 

[putowtin]

If I had to guess, I would say it's because his counter-part is Ashely, who's about as likable as a brick.

I don't know, I've met some very nice bricks!

OT he's more interesting and less racist than Ashley? I don't know, I know my femshep saw Garrus and there was no other man in the universe for her!

 

[LittleBlondeGoth]

As a bit of a Kaidan fangirl, I hope I can shed some light on why some people really love him (keep in mind, I never played KotOR, so I can't draw any parallels between him and Carth, other than the fact they have the same voice actor [Raphael Sbarge]).
~Sniiiiiip~

Basically what you said. I can't argue with that.

I've always liked Kaidan. I thought he was a decent bloke in the first game, even before I realised he was romanceable. He also complimented my FemShep's Infiltrator skills nicely. Once I did cotton on to the whole romance thing, he was my natural choice. Liara just wasn't right. So when it came to Virmire, there was really no thinking required - Bye Ashley.

Shep was a bit annoyed at his reaction in the second, but after a bit of thought, I felt it was a reasonably honest portayal of his character - he's a straight down the line kind of guy, he's probably going to be a bit pissed to see you with what's in effect an extremist group. Though I will admit to screaming at the TV to just give me five minutes alone with him to explain. Maybe ten minutes. Sod it, an hour, tops...

I'm playing through the final game now, and have actually just done the bit in the cafe. I did squee a little, I admit.

To my mind, a character doesn't need to have issues, or complex personality flaws, or hidden tragic pasts for me to find them interesting and attractive. OK, so Kaidan's design is pretty hot. And the voice is... rawr. But overall, I like him for who he is.

He's probably designed more for the FemShep players, to appeal to us ladies more. It's not going to work for every woman out there, because we're all different. But yeah. Kaidan deserves some love too, and damnit, if my Fem isn't going to be the one to give it to him.

 

[go-10]

I like Jar Jar Binks but I hate Kaiden... I don't know what this is...

 

[Margarita]

Kaidan is sensitive, yet not weak. He's very loyal which he made painfully clear in me2 but he's also capable of realizing mistakes - like in me3 when he apologizes for being cold and distrusting in me2. Did you see the look on his face in the beginning sequence of me3? I was melting away in an instant.

I actually like any of the other characters, too though. The Krogans are less agreeable, a bit rough from time to time, but Wrex and Grunt have honest and strong minds and a loyal heart. They can be counted on - basically like anyone else in the team.
I like Ashley because she has a sense of humor and a strong will.
I like Liara because she's thirsty for knowledge, open minded and vulnerable, yet quite the opposite of stupid.
Thane: I find him hot for the person he is, less his appearance, although if you only consider his form, he has a nice male body. Ok, his alien face and voice screw it up a bit, but hey...we were taught it's the inside that matters more, right?
Garrus: Best buddy. Bit too scary looking for me, but I adore his personality. The romance gets a little too awkward for me, though - sooo we just stayed friends.
Jacob: Nice person to have around really, loyal, cooperative, handsome and all. For romance not reliable enough - he did make that clear in me2, though, so I wasn't surprised in me3.. ^^
Tali: Sweet thing, isn't she? I was just a little upset that as a FemShep she did take away that mask on Rhannoch but I only saw her from behind...glad there's youtube.. ^^ Sometimes she's a little fearful or stubborn (Geth-situation) but that's comprehendable and in the end she always gets over it.
Joker: Always funny, smart-mouthed, stubborn. A good guy.
Miranda: found it hard to trust her first and still think she's not the kind of person that tells you more about herself than is absolutely necessary. She's good-looking which, as a female player, doesn't interest me that much. Sometimes she's a bit bitchy but she gets over that, too - so, yeah, I like her.
Samara: I sooo adore the justicar. Have you seen her eyes? I could listen for hours to her voice, too. Her powers are quite usefull and through her loyalty mission she had something motherly about her that made me feel comfortable whenever she was around.
Jack: A little aggressive first but when I came to know her better I knew why she was that way and while she freaks out over many things she's never trying to fool you. Strong will and powers and lot more vulnerable than she likes to admit.

So, essentially...if I boil it down to who's my favorite..it's Kaidan, really. It's everything about him. Gives you the feeling he can be trusted. And as much as I was annoyed in me2 about him not listening to Shepard, I also felt this wasn't the last I've seen of him and I believed him when he said, he'd never forgotten my FemShep. Not because it was what I wanted to hear but because it's in his character. And he's hot. =]
I like his story, his voice..
Just think there was too little convo in me3 with him or with any other LI I've seen.
And..well, als much as I don't begrudge anyone who wants to play a homosexual Shepard with Kaidan, I don't like the feel of him digging guys.
Hopefully next time Bioware gives us ladies a LI who's not into guys even if it's Shepard. Didn't we have less choice anyway?

What I like most about all those characters is how there's someone for everybody. If you don't like one character..well, it doesn't matter that much, cause there are so many ppl to choose from to fight alongside you.

Oh..and yes..I also loved Carth and Alistair. The latter right to the point when he dumped me for being an elve. That really screwed it up. Corso Riggs is also just my kind of man.