Introduced in the first Mass Effect game, human biotic Kaidan Alenko was attracted to a female Commander Shepard almost immediately. A Systems Alliance Marine, Lieutenant Alenko spent a good portion of the the game feeling guilty for what happened to Shepard when the Prothean Beacon was activated on Eden Prime. He feared that its activation was somehow the result of his powerful biotics, which had been a source of pain that often affected the people he cared about all his life.
Though was somewhat shy about his feelings for Shepard, Kaidan didn’t balk at calling her beautiful in an effort to at least make them known. Launching a romance with him granted an opportunity to carry that relationship across all three games, even if Shepard took comfort in another lover before attacking the Collector Base on the other side of the Omega 4 Relay. With the release of Mass Effect 3, BioWare offered a chance for male Shepard to launch a romance with Kaidan, making him accessible to anyone who wanted to romance him.
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Love & Mutiny
Kaidan offered his insight to Shepard regarding her actions and choices, his military career and experiences granting him an outside perspective. Talking to Kaidan between missions gave Shepard an extra reason to flirt with him. As time progressed, they even almost shared a kiss before being interrupted by Joker. Kaidan confessed that he was uncomfortable with the things they had to do, but he also understood their necessity. He supported Shepard’s choices if she went about carrying them out diplomatically.
Saving Kaidan on Virmire by sacrificing Ashley Williams was not something Kaidan took lightly, and he carried a lot of guilt over it. At times, he even wondered if Shepard saved him because she had feelings for him that compromised her decision.
On the eve of their mutiny, Shepard and Kaidan had an opportunity to spend the night together. However, Kaidan wanted to make sure nothing would change and that they would still put their duty to the Normandy crew first. Little did Shepard know, spending the night together meant more to Kaidan than just a comforting one night stand.
Treachery & Cheating
Kaidan was not a squadmate in Mass Effect 2, but he did appear on the human colony Horizon, where the Alliance sent him to improve the defense towers and, potentially, intercept Shepard. He was surprised to discover his lover was still alive, but the fact that she was working with Cerberus did not sit well with him. Kaiden didn’t trust Shepard, even though he was happy to see her and joyfully embraced her when they were reunited.
That joy quickly became anger. Not only was Shepard working with Cerberus, but Kaiden had spent two years grieving her death, and she never reached out to tell him she was still alive. He called her a traitor to everything they worked for and stormed away, but later sent her an email to apologize. Kaiden reminded her of their night together, but also pointed out that a lot had happened over the last two years, and he couldn’t ignore that. He says that after things settled down, they could talk, but given the circumstances, the time wasn’t right.
Shepard could enter into a romance with someone else in the second game, move on and forget about Kaidan, or she could stay true to their romance and resume it again in the next game.
Together Again
Kaidan and Shepard reunited early in Mass Effect 3. Though they didn’t quite pick up where they left off, they did take a moment to discuss their relationship before Kaidan was severely injured. He confessed that he still had feelings for her, but was worried she wasn’t the woman he fell in love with anymore.
While visiting Kaidan in the hospital, he talked about their relationship again. If Shepard romanced someone else in the second game, he asked her about it. She could either confess or deny it, though denying it would make him angry enough that he asked her to leave. Buying him a bottle of Peruvian whiskey helped smooth things over between them, but after his release from the hospital, he and Shepard did not meet again until Cerberus attacked the Citadel.
After the Citadel attack (assuming things went well) Kaidan rejoined the Normandy crew. He and Shepard could resume their relationship over time, leading to several opportunities to spend time together throughout the plot and in the DLC.
New Love
A Shepard who never romanced Kaidan in previous games had the opportunity to launch a new relationship with him in the third game, and that also included male Shepard. Buying him that whiskey while he was in the hospital was a trigger point that led to the two of them having lunch and talking at the Apollo Cafe, where he confessed he never really thought about romance before. He shared his feelings with Shepard, which opened up the romance for the remainder of the game.
A romanced Kaidan fought side-by-side with Shepard to save Earth from the Reapers, but he was injured in the final battle and forced to watch Shepard go on alone. While professing their love for one another, Kaidan told Shepard that he led an amazing life, thanks to them, and he would fight harder than ever before just so he could hold them again. Whether or not Kaidan will ever see Shepard again remains to be seen, but hints in the trailer for the next new Mass Effect game suggest that the possibility shouldn’t be discounted.
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