Blindsided with disappointment.

[rogueslayer452]

For those unaware of what's been going on with The Expanse during the last few days, it has been revealed that Cas Anvar, who plays Alex Kamal, has been exposed to have multiple accounts of sexual assault and harassment of fans and being awful about women in general, all which seemed to go on long before The Expanse happened (ETA: an updated list of all the accusations so far). I'll admit that I was actually quite shocked when I first saw this. I know that I shouldn't be surprised, with how deep-seeded this is within the entertainment industry and with the second wave of the MeToo movement emerging lately so nobody is exempt from being exposed, however The Expanse was the last place where I thought this would happen. I don't know or follow the actor in question at all, but this is a series that absolutely love and am a massive fan of, including the character he played, so reading this and the accounts made by others really, truly stung. Thankfully, it seems that swift action is being taken place, there is a private investigation that is happening all which the creators and the cast support, so they are taking this very seriously, as they should. I hope that he gets fired and that these women get their justice, because that should come first and foremost before anything else.

It does leave a huge question regarding his character, however. If this was about a minor or supporting character it wouldn't be that huge of a deal, but Alex is one of the main central characters. As a disgusting creep the actor is, killing off the character would be a huge disservice and it would severely alter the way things operate with the rest of the characters and the story they're adapting from, and recasting would be quite noticeable considering he's been there for four seasons (with the upcoming fifth season which has already been shot). I like the suggestion of just putting his character on a bus and replacing his character with another known and beloved one, such as Bobbie or Drummer. That would be more preferable, imho. Plus, it would balance out the gender dynamics of the Roci crew.

Either way, all of this has been deeply disappointing and upsetting to learn. With that being said, I will not let this ruin my enjoyment of the show. It's still a fantastic and solid science fiction series that shouldn't be tainted by a disgusting rotten piece of trash.

Comments

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

If it comes to that, I am sure they will just recast the role. We are all adults and should be able to deal with a new actor being hired for the role, if that is what needs to happen. The story and character of the show are what matter and I'm sure they can find an actor to take on the role of Alex that hasn't sexually assaulted anyone ever.

I followed Anvar on social media and he is very charismatic and was one of the big supporters of the Save the Expanse movement, constantly posting and talking with fans so I know it really hurt a lot of fans to find out about his behavior. And I think the way the rest of the cast are handling it shows that they are taking it seriously and, sadly, at least one crew member says they are not surprised so that also speaks volumes.

He has been silent on social media for awhile now, before all of this came to light, which also makes me wonder if he knew it was coming or was trying to handle it some other way.

Ah well, enough guesswork.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I just find recasting in general to be a bit tricky, because most times it doesn't bother me, but sometimes it does. I know that realistically that is the nature of the business, actors get recast for whatever reason, and that we should be able to handle it like adults by understanding that these things do happen. But it also depends on the new actor and how well they integrate into the already established cast and atmosphere and fanbase, especially for something that already has several seasons under its belt.

Either way, at the end of the day I just want this dude fired. Whatever they choose to do in terms of the character we can ultimately deal with.

That's what I heard, and sadly that's what a lot of predatory people are like, charismatic and charming. I didn't pay that close attention to him tbh, but I knew he played a huge part in supporting the campaigning to save the show from cancellation, championing along with the fans and interacting with them. Which is probably why this hit so hard. Like, aside from him portraying Alex, a character that I love, his involvement with the support of the show and loving the show as much as the fans did, seeing this revealed about him feels like such a stab in the back. He betrayed so many fans who trusted him, and I cannot imagine what it was like for the fans who were victims of his behavior. It's just all very upsetting, and disappointing, and disgusting.

At least everyone else is taking this very seriously. I wonder if he'll break his silence and release some kind of standard PR statement, or just disappear without a trace.

[noybusiness.livejournal.com]

I haven't watched the show, but is it plausible his character could need plastic surgery to change his face for a mission or general anonymity?

Ugh, yes, I myself have been abused (non-sexually, but still abuse and harrassment) by a charismatic person that most people still don't know about.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I mean, the show does feature advanced technology for certain things (i.e. regrowing loss limbs, regrowing a damaged spinal cord), so I wouldn't say it's necessarily implausible, but it's not like with Dark Matter where a person can literally change their entire physical appearance to look like someone else. I'm not saying impossible for The Expanse to go that route if they needed to, but it would take a very long time for that to happen in order to be believable and realistic enough.

(Although, I know in the books there are some time jumps later on, one book even time jumps 30 years. So, y'know.)

I'm sorry that you were abused. :(

[green-wing.livejournal.com]

Wow, the kiss of fandom death strikes again *sigh*
Alex was my favourite character, so this has left a rather unpleasant aftertaste :/
I hope they just recast the role and keep Alex the character around, but with another actor <3
I don't want to lose such a wonderfully written character just because an actor was a total dick! :(

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

It's going to make rewatching his scenes very uneasy for a little while, unfortunately. :/

Yeah, this is why I'm debating whether the whole recasting or just writing him off thing. Because regardless, Alex Kamal is a vital part of the Roci crew, and we've seen his character develop over the course of the series, and as much as I would prefer the idea of writing him off instead of killing him off, I also wouldn't want to lose a well-written character like him just because the actor was a creep. It's not far to the character, or the fans who love him. Idk. I know that this is something they're going to figure out.

[green-wing.livejournal.com]

I suspect it will be a kill-off/write-off at this point 😞
They won’t want the character around to remind people, so he’ll probably just disappear one day (like most of the characters in S1)

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I'm sure it's not an easy decision to make at figuring out what to do in that regard, so we'll just have to see what happens.

[valeria-sg-1.livejournal.com]

Since The Expanse is based on books, unless they're willing (or they already have) to diverge wildly from the books, recasting the character would be the best choice imho.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

From what I've heard, since I haven't yet started the books, the show has remained mostly incredibly faithful to them, so unless they're prepared for an entire retooling I highly suspect that they'll simply do a recasting. It'll be sad, but I think it's a better choice especially if Alex plays an important role later on.

[violateraindrop]

I thought exactly the same, like The Expanse is a show where something like this would not happen. I don't even know why I considered it safe. That said, it is a relief to see that nobody is making excuses or immediately telling stories about how he was never inappropriate in their presence etc.

Since I only finished the second book, I have no idea how important Alex is to the story going forward. However, I've seen several times now that recasting would be the best choice since he becomes more important in the future(?)

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I think it's a combination of a lot of things, but ultimately it'll always hurt more when it's something you deeply love. Also, for the most part we tend to assume the best in people, not the worst. So when something like this is revealed it feels like such a gut-punch, a massive betrayal.

It is good that everyone else involved with the show is taking this very seriously and not defending him.

Yeah, I haven't started reading the books yet, but I've heard from several others that Alex is an important player later so, while I do like the idea of switching him out with another character instead to be among the Roci crew, I think recasting is definitely the better choice to avoid any retooling just because of the actions of one person. It's unfair to the characters and the story being told on the screen. It'll no doubt be difficult to adjust to at first considering how long the original Alex has been with the show, but with the right actor it can definitely work.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_profiterole_/]

I'm sorry for the women who had to go through that. I hope they'll be fine.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Me too, and I hope they get their justice.

[tabaqui]

DAMN.
I had not heard about this *at all*, and yeah, that sucks hardcore.

I can't imagine how they'll deal with this in the show 'verse, because just switching out people doesn't work for the future events (I've read all but the last book, which is still in progress).

DAMN. I love that show and no, not going to let this ruin it for me, but fucking hell. Men, knock it the *fuck* off.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the more I think about it the more likely they'll just simply recast the role. I haven't read the books, but from what I've been hearing he does play an important part in the later ones, so getting rid of the character wouldn't make much sense unless they are to deviate from the plot of the story, which I doubt they'll do. This is just one person's despicable actions coming to light, and with the investigation underway, I don't think they'll sacrifice the character of Alex or the importance he has to the story just for the actions of the actor. That's not fair.

[tabaqui]

Yup. Comments in the reddit discussion were putting forth a lot of good names for recasting, and a lot of support for that, so I hope they go that way. It would be a little weird, but fuckit - the character is important, and we do what we gotta do.

[awakenyourfaith.livejournal.com]

Oh dang. That really sucks. I'm so sorry for the women who had to go through what they did.

[malicat.livejournal.com]

It shouldn't be a pleasant (?) surprise that everyone of the cast and crew have voiced the support of the investigation but I am glad that they take it so seriously and didn't give one of those awful "They never did anything to me" statements. I have no idea how they can go forward now. I'm sure Cas is done,and rightly so,but if they will actually do a recast? Especially when season 5 is already shot, I can't imagine that they have the budget to do anything about it like do reshots? So they will most likely air season 5 as it isw,with him,and then whatever they decide would apply to season 6+. I personally don't mind a recast but maybe not that late in the game...

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I'm also glad for that, as well. Nobody seems to be defending him, and are taking the entire thing very, very seriously. And you're right, it shouldn't be a pleasant surprise whenever that happens, because it should be a default. But I think we're getting better. By no means perfect, we still have a long, long way to go, but it's definitely a ripple effect we're seeing due to the overwhelming result of the MeToo movement.

Recasting is quite a tricky thing especially late in the game, though considering the seriousness of the situation I'm hoping that most will be understanding. As for S5, we'll just have to wait and see what happens. Because it's not like we can retroactively remove him from previous seasons, and the fifth season is finished filming so what's done is done. So we'll just have to see what happens.

[lighthope.livejournal.com]

That's so very sad and while I am on the fringe of the fandom for this show (I'm barely through season one), it's going to be difficult to continue with this knowledge. I feel for all the women who were deeply impacted and hurt by his criminal acts. I find it positive that many people are starting to think more deeply about these issues and not immediately jumping to the defense of the man but we still have such a long, long way to go. In terms of the story, I'm not sure where it's at but I think out of respect to everyone deeply impacted and hurt by his abusive and violent actions, allowing for one of the existing characters to slide into that main role (hopefully a woman) and write his character off or recast would be best and NOT keeping him on the show.

We have such a problem in our world. I always think that the stories of abuse and assault we hear are only the ones we're HEARING about. We'll never know about the other people he or any other man has hurt, abused and harassed along the way. I hope the show gets rid of him and doesn't pull a House of Cards where technically Spacey was not IN the last season but the entire last season revolved around him and left me with such a sour taste in my mouth. Bah.

I'm sorry. Some men are just fucking atrocious.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

As a fan of the show, it's going to be uneasy rewatching his scenes for a little while. It won't affect my enjoyment of the series, because the show as a whole is so much more than just him and I don't want his actions to affect everything else amazing and beautiful about this fantastic piece of storytelling, but it's going to take some time especially with this news being very recent.

I have a high suspicion that they'll just recast the role. The character apparently plays a large part in the later books, from what I hear, so it wouldn't be fair to completely write him off the show entirely just because the actor is an asshole.

I always think that the stories of abuse and assault we hear are only the ones we're HEARING about. We'll never know about the other people he or any other man has hurt, abused and harassed along the way.

Someone on the Reddit thread commented about how it's upsetting how celebrities are turning into such predatory people, but someone corrected them in saying that they're not suddenly turning into that, they're being revealed as such. And the current MeToo movement has definitely helped in exposing a lot of these predatory individuals within the entertainment industry and taking action. It's not perfect, but at least we're getting better.

I doubt that The Expanse will pull a House Of Cards, because this is based around a book series and the character still exists, but they can just recast the role after firing the actor. I'm mostly curious about what they're going to do about the fifth season, which has already been shot and set to premiere later this year.

[haebin.livejournal.com]

It is horrible how many women have to suffer through the wrong behaviour of a lot of man. :(

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I know, especially within the entertainment industry where this is unfortunately extremely common for a long, long, long time. At least the MeToo movement has helped in exposing this behavior and having proper consequences of these people's actions. It's not perfect, but it's a start.