Major^*Lieutenant (ME1), Staff Commander (ME2) Kaidan Alenko

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/KaidanME3_6455.jpg

Mom was right. I should have brought a sweater.

"We finally get out here and the 'final frontier' was already settled. And the residents don't even seem impressed by the view. Or the dangers."

Voiced by: Raphael Sbarge

A human biotic Sentinel Marine in the Systems Alliance military who specializes in technology and biotic support powers. If he survives the first game, he can return as a party member in Mass Effect 3. He is a romance option for a female Shepard in Mass Effect, and a Shepard of either gender in Mass Effect 3.

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A-E

Afraid of Their Own Strength: Kaidan has struggled with this ever since he accidentally killed a Drill Sergeant Nasty in self-defense and terrified the girl he was trying to protect to begin with. Kaidan has held back his powers ever since out of fear of hurting someone like that again, which is why, despite being one of the strongest human biotics on record, he turned down the Alliance's offer to train him as an Adept in favor of becoming a Sentinel instead. Eden Prime makes Kaidan realize that he can't afford to hold back anymore.
All Love Is Unrequited: Dialogues imply that he harbors feelings for Shepard (irrespective of gender) since the first game, but never acts on it because he is mindful of the hierarchy and because he believes that Shepard's Married to the Job. Obviously averted if Shepard choose to romance him, but played straight if they romance anyone but him.
All of the Other Reindeer: Kaidan rarely talks about it, but it is implied that people frequently give him a wide berth due to his biotics, and he is acutely aware of the fact that human biotics are still considered freaks by most. The outdated implants don't help matters.
Amicable Exes: If he and Shepard had something going in 1 and don't get back together in 3, he takes it significantly better than Ashley and still gets along well with the commander.
Anger Born of Worry: If he's romanced and taken to the final mission of Leviathan, he's not happy about Shepard almost getting themself killed.
Kaidan: Never do that again.
Animal Wrongs Group: One of his strategies for distracting the guards at the Silver Coast Casino is to claim to belong to one of these.
Kaidan: I'm with the "Varren Anti-Cruelty Association", and I cannot believe what I'm seeing up here!
Armor Is Useless: If Shepard is forced to shoot him, they only shoot him once with the Predator, the weakest pistol in the game. Despite wearing heavy armor, having kinetic barriers that have withstood dozens of bullets in cutscenes, a personal ability that makes said kinetic barriers even stronger, and having medigel on hand just in case he gets shot, the bullet goes right through him and he dies a few minutes after.
Asskicking Leads to Leadership: During the first act of the third game, he's made a Spectre. He also technically outranks Shepard after getting promoted to Staff Commander in the second game and then Major in the third provided he lives that long.
Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Kaidan is prone to the occasional non-sequitur and odd, childlike observation.
Badass Bookworm: He is a skilled technician and field medic, which are his official roles in the Alliance. Considering real-world standards for military officers, Kaidan likely has at least one advanced degree.
Barrier Warrior: In the third game, Kaidan takes this a step above standard biotics. His Barrier power reduces damage until he chooses to dispel it, and Reave temporarily reduces damage anytime it hits an organic enemy. Together, they make Kaidan nearly invincible.
Batman Can Breathe in Space: Most of his Mass Effect 3 outfits have a helmet for vacuum conditions, except his From Ashes DLC Palette Swap. The eyepiece apparently overrides it.
Battle Couple: With Shepard in the first and third games if romanced.
Beautiful Dreamer: Implied if he's romanced in the third game.
Kaidan: You, uh, left without waking me.
Shepard: I didn't have the heart.
Beehive Barrier: Reave gives him a temporary one when used on an organic enemy.
Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Shepard on Horizon in ME2 and Mars in ME3. Shepard's sex and relationship with Kaidan is irrelevant.
Berserk Button: Politicians claiming to "support the troops" while using that to further their own cause, as shown if brought along to the meeting with the Terra Firma protestors.
Beware the Nice Ones: For such a soft-spoken, easy-going, and nice guy, he can break your neck with a single powerful biotic blast, and is adept at making your weapons blow up in your face. The whole reason he is so self-controlled is because he knows how easily he could kill someone and doesn't want to.
Bizarre Baby Boom: Was one of the first human biotics after his mother was caught downwind of a transport crash in Singapore, exposing him to Element-Zero in-utero. He's reasonably confident that his specific case was genuinely accidental, but given the influence that Conatix had after human biotics began emerging and their questionable activities at BAaT, he's highly suspicious about subsequent similar "accidents".
"No one "knows". Doesn't mean they didn't happen. As big as the exposures were, it was hard to track down accidentals. [...] I'm not saying they intentionally detonated drives over our outposts, but in retrospect, they were damn quick on the scene."
Bleed 'Em and Weep: The defining moment of his backstory was when a turian Drill Sergeant Nasty beat the crap out of him and tried to kill him with a knife for trying to stand up for his girlfriend after the same turian broke her arm, causing Kaidan to lash out and snap his neck. Having never killed anyone before, Kaidan was horrified that someone died because he couldn't control himself, even if it was in self-defense. He now keeps a tight lid on his biotics to avoid any repeats of that situation.
Blessed with Suck: His L2 implants give him more oomph than the average biotic running the stabler and safer L3s, but he has to deal with frequent migraines. And he's one of the luckier ones in terms of side effects. Some of the other party members, such as Wrex and Garrus, argue that the power is worth the side effects.
Wrex: You don't stop using a gun just because the kickback has a little sting.
Blue Is Calm: Kaidan's default outfit in 3 is blue and white, and he is consistently one of Shepard's more level-headed companions.
Boarding School of Horrors: To learn how to use his biotics he was sent to one to undergo Training from Hell. It started with the corporation that funded it hiring an extremely racist turian mercenary to train them, who took an immediate dislike to Kaidan politely pointing out his family hadn't fought in the First Contact War, and ended with Kaidan breaking the jerk's neck in self-defense, which led to the entire thing being shut down and almost causing an interspecies incident.
Break the Cutie: Kaidan had a very idealistic view of the world in the first game, but he gets a lot darker in the following two.
Bring It: After Sanctuary, Kaidan will be seething with utter rage.
Kaidan: (Tranquil Fury) Can you feel it, Shepard? Feel the quickening? Illusive Man better say his prayers tonight, because we're coming for him. Murderous asshole. Oh yeah. Tide is turning. I can feel it.
Celibate Hero: If unromanced in 1, in 3 Kaidan will note that Shepard must have noticed he never dated anyone in all the time they knew him.
Character Development:
- In the first game, he takes a bit of convincing to loosen up and let himself go more often. Come the third, he has to convince you to take a "sanity check" with him on the Citadel.
- He completely writes off Cerberus as a terrorist organization in 2, seeing Shepard working with them as a betrayal. In 3, after the mission with ex-Cerberus scientist Dr. Cole, he asks Shepard if the people in Cerberus were good people and wonders if the Illusive Man was once a good person before he became who he is now.
Character Tics: In the first game, is often seen holding the side of his head on elevator rides, from his implant migraines. Depending on what dialogue is playing, it can resemble a Face Palm.
Commanding Coolness: He's reached the rank of Staff Commander in 2.
Consummate Professional: Definitely.
- In the first game, Shepard has to repeatedly tell Kaidan to disregard their rank and speak freely, after he admits to being a little uneasy with the idea of befriending a superior officer.
- Noticeably, whenever he's speaking to those of a lower or similar rank, such as Ashley and Joker, he's far more casual and informal. Dr. Chakwas also mentions he had an Odd Friendship with Jenkins.
Covert Pervert: He's surprisingly knowledgeable about extranet fetish sites, approves of EDI's new body once the shock wears off, doesn't think he would survive an encounter with an Ardat-Yakshi, is noted to be working very hard not to stare at Diana Allers, and implies that he was checking out Jacob during the mission on Gellix.
Crocodile Tears: Shows an unexpected talent for this if he helps infiltrate the casino in Citadel.
Kaidan: I've lost a lot of money. Who can I talk to about getting it back?
Guard: I'm sorry, sir, you can't... get it back... No, no, please, sir, please don't cry.
Dangerous 16th Birthday: Kaidan was sixteen when he received his L2 implants.
Deadpan Snarker: Not as obvious as the others tend to be, but he has his moments.
(after Shepard is asked for a favor in a dangerous situation) That's very comforting. Certain death for some, fine for us.
Defensive "What?": When he has his most notable Covert Pervert moment.
Lorik Qui'in: An asari in a pinstripe suit set tongues wagging among the younger male employees. So to speak.
Kaidan: It does sound like something that you'd find on an extranet fetish site... (Beat) What?
Establishing Character Moment: The first thing he says is him defending Nihlus against Joker saying he hates him solely for being a Spectre (and not being massively impressed with Joker's piloting abilities), proving that not only is he level-headed but also willing to stand up for those he feels are being mistreated.
Eye Color Change: Normally brown, but in ME3 they turn blue when he uses his biotics^note.

F-J

Fan Disservice: In Mass Effect 3 you get to see plenty of shirtless Kaidan—while he's lying in a hospital bed, with his face beaten in and bruised. Sure, he gets better in subsequent trips to the Citadel hospital.
Fantastic Racism: He can become this if persuaded by a renegade female Shepard who is in a romance with him. He'll go from saying aliens are saints and jerks like the rest of humanity to calling them damn aliens by the end. This is completely ignored in the next two games. He hates the geth with a passion, being very happy if you let the quarians destroy them. Justified in that, after everything he went through against them, having a personal grudge would be understandable. If the quarians are destroyed instead of the geth and Tali commits suicide, Kaidan will not only blame them for it but admit he still blames them for Ashley's death on Virmire - and that even if Shepard can forgive them for it, Kaidan never will. This trope is subverted however, if peace has been brokered between the two races, which he shows approval and amazement.
Kaidan: Finally, we're rid of the geth once and for all. (suddenly quiet) Those murdering machines... I can't help draw the parallel. Know what I mean? Yeah, let's just hope the geth don't have the rachni's playbook.^note
Female Gaze: A romanced Shepard takes a good, long look at his rear as they return to the Normandy in 3. This took no time at all to go memetic. A random female NPC◊ can also be seen checking him out in the intro.
First Guy Wins: If romanced. For Female Shepard, she can start romancing him in the first game and carry it to the end of the third. For Male Shepard, he can stay celibate for the first two games and then jump at the chance to be with Kaidan in the third.
Flawed Prototype: Kaidan's biotic amplifier implants are L2, a model series that was made before humanity really knew what it was doing when it came to biotics. He suffers migraines... and he's one of the lucky L2s. He decides not to get retrofitted with L3s, because the L2s let his powers spike higher, the surgery that would be required has a high risk of complications, and he has a deep distrust of any Conatix offshoots.
Forgot About His Powers: In the second and third games in order to make sure his story arc matches Ashley's, such as on Horizon when he doesn't think to use a biotic barrier to keep the seeker swarms away, or on Mars when he tries to shoot Eva Core instead of sending her flying.
Freudian Excuse: Defied. Out of all of Shepard's human squadmates, Kaidan has the most justifiable reason to struggle with Fantastic Racism, especially against turians. But if suggested that this is the case, Kaidan is not amused and pointedly refuses to use his past like that, because of how hypocritical it would be for a human to do so.
Kaidan: If one ass was enough to judge a whole race, I'd hate humans too.
Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Subverted. After Kaidan reveals his full backstory at BAaT, Paragon Shepard is clearly gearing up for a speech about how not all turians are like Vyrnus and Kaidan shouldn't judge all aliens by his example, only for Kaidan to cut it short by revealing that he has already figured that out for himself before pointing out the inherent hypocrisy of judging other races by one bad example while not doing the same to his own.
Gay Option: In the third game.
Gonna Need More X: After Virmire, Shepard can try to comfort Kaidan by reminding him that humanity gave the turians a boot in the ass despite how much longer the turians had been around. Kaidan dryly remarks that, for the Reapers, they're going to need a bigger boot. How right he was...
Good Cop/Bad Cop: He implies in Citadel that he prefers playing good cop.
Handgun: One of his weapon types in the third game, along with assault rifles. In the first game, he was just slightly less terrible with handguns as he was with every other gun due to small bonuses on his passive class skill.
Handicapped Badass: Downplayed. The severe migraines and painful static shocks he gets because of his implants don't slow him down any.
Healer Signs On Early: He is conveniently the first squadmate Shepard gets in the first game and the closest thing the party has to a dedicated healer.
Heartbroken Badass: Shepard's death messed him up pretty bad. When the Illusive Man tricked him into thinking his grief was all for nothing, Kaidan was livid. He gets better in 3 though, but only if you talk to him.
Hidden Depths: Kaidan initially appears to be just a quiet Nice Guy. Further examination reveals that he is very introspective about his and humanity's place in the galaxy, and he's so reserved because he's terrified of hurting someone if he loses control.
I Can't Believe a Guy Like You Would Notice Me: The in-universe explanation for why Kaidan wasn't a Gay Option in the first game is because he didn't think Shepard would, or could, feel the same way. Gender flipped if he didn't romance anyone in the first two games and female Shepard finally propositions him.
An Ice Person: Uses Cryo Blast, and the only character in 3 who can use it other than Shepard.
I Just Want to Be Normal: Kaidan occasionally implies that, deep down, he wishes he weren't a biotic. He's largely made his peace with it by the time the series starts, with the implication that he would be a red sand addict otherwise.
Incompletely Trained: By choice and the reason he's a Sentinel instead of an Adept. He got BAaT shut down before they could finish training any of the students and had enough residual trauma to turn down the Alliance's offer to finish his training in BAaT's place. He chose to train as a technician and medic instead.
Informed Deformity: According to Thane, he has scarring that clearly identifies him as a biotic, but even with all the times Kaidan has had his clothes off, those scars are never seen. Then again, Thane's observational and memetic prowess is much higher than a human's, so it might not be readily obvious to others.
I Regret Nothing: His last words if he dies on Virmire.
It Has Been an Honor:
- His goodbye if Shepard chooses to save Ashley instead of him on Virmire.
- If someone other than Shepard shoots Kaidan, Kaidan will be more forgiving.
  Shepard: Kaidan, why wouldn't you just stand down?
  Kaidan: Man... couldn't defend himself. Shepard... I... (dies)
  Shepard: (sadly) It has been an honor.
Jack of All Stats: In Mass Effect 3. Decent weapon damage, high biotic and tech power (and the only character aside from Shepard who can use both), extremely tough, and an unparalleled ability to contribute to the expanded power combo system.
Jerkass Has a Point: As harsh as he was about it, Kaidan was correct that the Illusive Man was using Shepard's gratitude about the Lazarus Project to manipulate Shepard, that he was blatantly feeding Shepard false information, and that he lured the Collectors to attack Horizon (TIM defends this as necessary though). The Illusive Man throws off all pretenses when Shepard decides to destroy the Collector Base, and he was using Shepard for more than just fighting the Collectors, with utterly horrifying results. The jerkass part was born from Kaidan being left in the dark on several essential details, since Liara didn't tell him about the events of Redemption and their other squadmates from the first game believe Shepard without a word because they weren't seeing the information about Shepard that the Illusive Man was intentionally leaking. However, he does actually backtrack on this a bit when talking to Shepard in the hospital in Mass Effect 3, feeling in hindsight that he was actually harsher than necessary since he didn't know all the details. This is also one of the few times he significantly differs from Ashley in conversation, as the latter never really seems to doubt her reaction on Horizon wasn't justified, in order to keep consistency over their respective personalities.
Just Friends: Regardless of their history from the first two games or Shepard's gender, Kaidan will confess his love for them in ME3. Shepard can either reciprocate or invoke this trope. Also applies Retroactively with male Shepard in the first two games, as before the third game he was only romanceable if you were female. Kaidan's love confession in that scenario is all about how he wants something more with someone that he's already friends with.

K-O

Keeping the Handicap: Kaidan could replace his implant with an L3 model and be rid of all the problems that come with the L2, but gives multiple reasons for not doing so. The surgery itself is extremely high risk; in his own words, "one wrong slip of the knife and you can't remember your own name." It is also extremely unusual for an L3 to give as much power as an L2, and Kaidan doesn't think it's worth both the risk and the loss of power when he "only" gets migraines. Perhaps most importantly, getting a retrofit would require going through an offshoot Conatix, and Kaidan refuses to go anywhere near them because he blames Conatix for the fiasco that BAaT turned into, and likely for the various other abuses they were responsible for in the early days of researching human biotics.
Killed Off for Real: Depending on your choices on Virmire... and midway through the third game.
The Lancer: A dual role in the first and third games:
- Shares the role with Ashley in the first game until one of them is killed off.
- Back in the part in 3, sharing with Garrus, though one or both of them may be dead at this point.
Lethal Chef: Implied to be this in the Citadel DLC. He offers to cook something, and Shepard worries that they survived Sovereign, the Collector Base, plus everything else during the course of the series, and can't believe that the one thing that will really off them is Kaidan's cooking. Later, Shepard can point out that the meal was actually pretty good, or that they were teasing Kaidan about how sensitive he is. Shepard is much nicer if they are in a relationship with Kaidan.
Let's Get Dangerous!: In an elevator conversation with Liara, he mentions that up until Eden Prime he'd been generally keeping his biotic mojo on a tighter leash. Afterward, his determination to stop Saren and the geth means he's holding back a hell of a lot less (which might also function as an explanation for why the supposedly already skilled biotic's skills start out so weak, and get stronger as the game goes on).
Locked Out of the Loop: One of the main reasons why the reunion on Horizon goes so badly. Shepard seems to be the only one to think it might be a good idea for Kaidan to know what the hell is going on. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late since all that left him with were the reports Cerberus itself was leaking to keep Shepard away from their old contacts. In the third game, rectifying this is an essential part of getting back on his good side. The player also has the option of continuing to leave him out of the loop, which potentially ends in his death because he can't be convinced that it's Not What It Looks Like. However, he does confess in one of the hospital scenes that, in retrospect, he could have handled the Horizon affair better than he did.
The Lost Lenore: Potentially. As Kaidan or Ashley will be the Sacrificial Lion for the first game, they can also be considered this if a romance was pursued and they died.
Magic Knight: Grew into one by the third game.
Magikarp Power: He starts weak, but with high levels, no other party member even comes close to competing with him for sheer variety of ways he can screw with the enemy.
Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: The Feminine guy to FemShep's masculine girl. Particularly prominent if Shepard is a Renegade, but still present if she's a Paragon. Kaidan also has this dynamic with Ashley.
Master of None: In the first game^note, though not nearly to the degree he's typically made out to be. Even though he does become more versatile as time goes on and his array of support powers grows, he can never match any of his teammates in terms of combat power. Averted in Mass Effect 3 where his versatility is one of his biggest strengths as well as gaining an assault rifle as a weapon and Barrier, the biotic equivalent of Tech Armor.
Meaningful Name: "Kaidan" means "shackle" in Ukrainian. In this case, it refers to the mental restraints Kaidan places on himself to avoid losing control and hurting someone by accident.
The Medic: Kaidan is the only squadmate in the first game to get the Medicine talent, which decreases the recharge time on the First Aid talent. This also technically makes him a Deadly Doctor, since Medicine unlocks the Neural Shock ability.
Mighty Glacier: Investing in Kaidan's Barrier power, especially without using his default outfit and choosing the evolution to halve Barrier's recharge penalty, significantly slows down his ability to use his powers in exchange for an enormous boost to his defenses.
Military Brat: Not as prominent as with Ash, but it is still part of his background and influenced his decision to enlist. If not for Alenko Sr.'s military career, it is very likely that the family would not have been in Singapore when that transport exploded. It is also very likely the reason that Kaidan was identified later than the other biotics created from the Singapore incident.
Kaidan: I think it's commendable to follow in a parent's footsteps.
Mind over Matter: One of the oldest human biotics. His L2 implant makes him one of the strongest, but at the cost of severe migraines.
Misery Poker: Inverted. Kaidan tends downplay his own struggles in favor of pointing out how much worse others have it. When it comes to his implant-induced migraines, "I'm one of the lucky ones," borders on his Character Catchphrase, since at least his implant hasn't rendered him physically helpless and/or completely insane like it has others.
Motor Mouth: When hopped up on coffee.
Mr. Fanservice: Like default Male Shepard, Kaidan's face is based on a model. Combine that with Raphael Sbarge's voice...
Mutually Exclusive Party Members: With Ashley after Virmire. One of them will always die so it's impossible to finish the game with both of them.
My God, What Have I Done?: Even though Vyrnnus, the turian Drill Sergeant Nasty Kaidan killed in self-defense had been a violent and abusive thug who'd threatened Kaidan with a knife for standing up for another girl in the program, Kaidan still regrets that someone, no matter how deserving, died because he lost control and lashed out without thinking.
Nice Guy: One of the outright nicest characters in the series. It in no way impedes his ability to kill someone with his brain. In fact, he is actually the nicest squadmate in the first Mass Effect: in the first Mass Effect game, during any major Paragon/Renegade choice, one squadmate will always advise you to take the Paragon option, and the other will always advise you to take the Renegade option. If Kaidan is one of your squadmates, Kaidan will always advocate the Paragon option, no matter who the other squadmate is (so even the normally Paragon Liara will advocate the Renegade option if Kaidan is the other squadmate). The one exception is the rachni queen if Liara is present, and even then he only pragmatically points out that the acid tanks are not there to be capricious.
Noodle Incident:
- In the beginning of the first game, Chakwas mentions that Kaidan has over a dozen special commendations. These are never explained.
- In the third game's Citadel DLC, Kaidan mentions that he once had a run in with the vorcha Mafia at a casino. His only elaboration is that it involved five-thousand credits and a bottle of whiskey.
Officer and a Gentleman: He's polite, open-minded, and keeps strict control over himself and his biotic abilities. And he can kick your ass.
Old Soldier: Even though he is thirty-six, at most, by the end of the series, everything he's gone through by that point has made him feel like one of these, especially compared to his students.
One-Man Army: It was offscreen, but Kaidan apparently fought through Cerberus's soldiers completely on his own to reach the Council during the coup.
Optional Party Member: After nearly being killed on Mars, he's absent until Udina's attempted coup, wherein he can actually be killed or, barring that, have his request to return to the Normandy refused, making him a War Asset instead of a squadmate.
Out of Focus: Like Ashley, Kaidan has a central role in Mass Effect 1's plot, but plays a much more minor role in the sequels compared to the other original party members. The intended subplot about the Illusive Man turning Shepard and Kaidan against each other was significantly stripped down, most likely because of the number of Idiot Balls everyone involved needed to grab for the original plan to work. Particularly jarring if you romanced him in the first game, though it can be mitigated significantly if the player goes to talk to him when he asks, especially since he does confess the shock of seeing Shepard again and with Cerberus made him act more rashly than he feels was appropriate.
Overranked Soldier: This applies in the sequels, where he is promoted unreasonably quickly. In the 2 years between 1 and 2, he's been promoted twice, from Staff Lieutenant to Staff Commander. Then 6 months later in 3, he's been promoted again to Major (O-6 in the Alliance's rank structure, equivalent to Anderson's rank of Captain in the first game), and is 2 ranks higher than Shepard, yet still answers to them aboard the Normandy. To anyone who knows modern military ranks, this is the equivalent of an officer achieving about 15 years worth of promotions in 2 1/2 years. This might make more sense in wartime, where attrition and military need can see promotions happen much faster, but the Alliance is at relative peace before the Reapers invade in 3.
Overshadowed by Awesome: By the third game, he's actually been promoted over Shepard, but he still takes Shepard's orders because... well.
- Gameplay wise, he suffers from this in the first game. With proper skill point allocation, he can single-handedly render any enemy that's not a thresher maw or the final boss's first form completely helpless, but that's often overlooked in favor of the more exotic and flashy abilities other squad members can use.
- With all the biotics that join the squad in ME2, it's easy to forget that Kaidan is one of the strongest known human biotics, only behind Jack and possibly Gillian Grayson, and about even with Biotic Shepard.

P-T

Perma-Stubble: In 3. The Legendary Edition backports it to the first game as well.
Platonic Life-Partners: If not romanced with Shepard. Shepard even calls Kaidan a brother to them.
Precision F-Strike: Kaidan rarely curses, but after the Sanctuary mission, Kaidan gets so angry, he calls The Illusive Man a "murderous asshole". Before that, in 1, when Udina screws Shepard over, Kaidan calls him a bastard for it.
Properly Paranoid: When Kaidan appears in 2, he warns Shepard that the Illusive Man is using the Reaper threat and Shepard's gratitude to control them. If he is brought to Cronos Station in 3, Kaidan is not surprised to find a recording of the Illusive Man laying out his plans to make Shepard sympathetic to Cerberus.
Real Men Wear Pink: At the beginning of the second game he comes to Shepard's aid wearing the pink and white Phoenix armor (though he's wearing a black one when you meet him later on Horizon).
Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Ashley's red.
Refuge in Audacity: Second only to Javik if he helps infiltrate the casino in Citadel. He outright threatens a guard when pretending to mistake him for someone who owes him money, loudly claims that he represents the Varren Anti-Cruelty Association and is very unhappy about what he's seeing, and convinces a guard that he's going to cry.
Relationship Upgrade: Shepards of either gender can start a new romance with him in 3.
Relationship Values: Possesses this in 3 with Shepard and it culminates in a Mexican Standoff at the Citadel. A high value will make him side with you, a lower value requires a reputation check, or he'll refuse to budge and either you or a party member will kill him.
The Red Mage: Kaidan uses both biotic and tech powers.
Scars Are Forever: At the point of his examination by Thane, Kaidan has had his implant and the matching scars for roughly twenty years.
Semper Fi: A special operative, like all biotics, but still a Marine.
Sensitive Guy and Manly Man
- The sensitive guy to MaleShep's manly man. Particularly prominent if Shepard is a Renegade, but still present if Shepard is a Paragon. Unlike most examples, they totally avoid the "Manly Man = Seme, Sensitive Guy = Uke" implications if they are paired up.
- In the first game, Kaidan and Wrex represent the two extremes of the Paragon/Renegade meter. Kaidan, Shepard's most Paragon squadmate, is the Sensitive Guy while Wrex, Shepard's most Renegade squadmate, is the Manly Man. This is also reflected in their classes, as Sentinels focus on support while Vanguards focus on offense.
Shock and Awe: He has Overload.
Space Marine: Again, if you're a soldier in the Alliance military, you're a Marine.
Star-Crossed Lovers: With female Shepard in the second game if romanced in the first. With male Shepard in the third game unless a specific ending is chosen.
Stone Wall: When he's fighting organic enemies, the combination of Barrier and Reave can make him harder to kill than James, even with the health disadvantage.
Stop Being Stereotypical:
- He expresses the belief that a lot of humanity's problems are because of people like Udina pushing for too much too soon. This also explains his hatred of Cerberus.
- He is also noted to have zero sympathy for biotic extremists.
Survivor's Guilt: If Ashley dies, though he handles it better than she does in the opposite situation.
Sympathy for the Devil: In 3, after he reconciles with Shepard, Kaidan will reminisce about a mission wherein you can rescue a group of rogue Cerberus scientists. He comments that they were all good people despite being in Cerberus's employ, and wonders if the Illusive Man himself was ever a good person. Shepard has the option of either being accommodating or dismissive towards this line of thought.
Took a Level in Badass: In ME3, he went from a Red Mage focused on crowd control to a Magic Knight with Stone Wall tendencies. Storywise, he received a rank up to Major and was declared the second human Spectre; IE, the most badass human in the galaxy after Shepard. Lampshaded in Citadel.
Kaidan: I may be L2, but I've worked very hard, and now I can reave!
[everyone else stares at him]
Jacob: Really? That's... no.
Liara: That's a bit strange.
Took a Level in Jerkass: A renegade Shepard romancing him can actually push him to become more aggressive, even outright xenophobic, to the point where he demands the Council being sacrificed during the endgame. How bad is it? Every character has a relative renegade/paragon score, which causes characters to give different advice based on who else is in the squad. Wrex, normally your most Renegade squadmate, will actually advocate for the Council to be spared if Kaidan becomes this. It's all gone again in the sequels.
Training from Hell: In his backstory at a Boarding School of Horrors. Kaidan notes that a significant number of his classmates suffered psychotic breaks, and a few even died.
Tranquil Fury: The mess with Vyrnus left this as Kaidan's default state when he gets angry, but a particularly extreme case occurs after the mission on Horizon in 3, where the Illusive Man and Henry Lawson were turning people into husks to try and control them, Kaidan's seething hatred of the Illusive Man manifests itself in him very calmly wanting to rip the man in half.
Kaidan: After what I saw down there, I have never been more filled with rage.
- Dips into this again when recounting the atrocities committed by the geth if Shepard lets the quarians destroy them, referring to the geth as "murdering machines" in a quiet yet intensely acidic tone.
Transhuman: By nature of being a biotic human. Particularly notable for being one of the very first.

U-Y

Unresolved Sexual Tension: If Kaidan was not romanced in the first game, there will be considerable UST in the third. This applies equally to both male and female Shepards.
Unwitting Pawn: Since Kaidan was unaware of the Lazarus Project, the Illusive Man was able to turn him against Shepard by strategically leaking information about their survival, something Udina follows up on if Shepard makes no effort to reestablish their friendship with Kaidan.
We Used to Be Friends: Basically has this with Shepard in 2, carrying over into 3.
James: You know the Commander?
Kaidan: I used to.
What the Hell, Hero?:
- He's got some things to say about Shepard apparently faking their death and working with Cerberus in ME2, though he does get better in ME3 once he's no longer Locked Out of the Loop. He also protests if Ashley kills Wrex, regardless of whether it is on your orders.
- If Shepard is forced to shoot him in Mass Effect 3 when trying to arrest Udina, and never even tried to patch things up in the hospital, his last words are a lot less apologetic.
  Shepard: You stood up for the wrong man.
  Kaidan: Better... better than killing the wrong man.
Willfully Weak: The incident in his past where he accidentally killed his biotic teacher caused him to slightly fear his biotic potential, so instead of developing further he instead focused on other fields to improve on. It's commented a few times that he is a pretty strong biotic, suggesting if he were to sit down and really focus on it, he could be really powerful, but he decides not to due to his concerns over being potentially dangerous to others.
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: To an almost excessive degree regarding his biotics, stemming from an incident where he actually did kill someone without intending to.
You Shall Not Pass!:
- In the first game, at the same time as Ashley's. It's up to you whether he survives over her.
- In the third game, this happens again, when he, as a Spectre, stands between you and Councilor Udina. If you haven't done enough socializing with him beforehand, what Ashley did to Wrex, you do to him.

Characters / Mass Effect - Kaidan Alenko

Major^*Lieutenant (ME1), Staff Commander (ME2) Kaidan Alenko

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Major*Lieutenant (ME1), Staff Commander (ME2) Kaidan Alenko

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Major^*Lieutenant (ME1), Staff Commander (ME2) Kaidan Alenko