Chrisjen Avasarala
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Chrisjen Avasarala |
| Occupation: | Earth public servant |
| Relationships: | Arjun (spouse) Charanpal (deceased son) Ashanti (daughter) grandchildren various diplomatic and military colleagues |
| Fandom: | The Expanse |
| Other: | played by Shohreh Aghdashloo (IMDB) |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Chrisjen Avasarala is a popular character in The Expanse books and TV series. She is a career public servant on Earth, from an influential political family, who is thrust into the position of UN Secretary-General at various times throughout the story arcs. She struggles to balance her drive to defend Earth, her ruthless ambition, and her curiosity as her universe broadens beyond the “Inner Planets” of Earth and Mars.
In the TV show, she is notable for colorful South-Asian-influenced costumes and a dramatic use of profanity. She is played by Shohreh Aghdashloo, an Iranian-American actress.
Canon
Costume Design
From an interview with Joanne Hansen, the costume designer:
We wanted to ground her in a historical way but move her forward, not unlike the Belters I guess, in terms of a fusion approach. So we really wanted to open up, have no rules around draping a sari, have no rules about putting a jacket with it. Have maybe a 16th or 17th-century shape and collar with a traditionally wrapped sari, or a completely untraditionally wrapped sari. We looked to female leaders of the world and tried to just be very independent, and very female, and very powerful. And on her own terms.[1]
Chrisjen negotiating
Chrisjen walking across snow
Fandom
Costume-watching
Most of the fan activity around Chrisjen involves analyzing her costumes or cosplaying.
Over the years, there have been threads on both Tumblr[2][3] and Twitter[4] regarding her costumes.
Common Pairings
In fanfiction, the largest pairing is Chrisjen Avasarala/Bobbie Draper, since their characters escaped by themselves during a fraught situation, from a spaceship during Season 3, then found their way to working together to expose Martian corruption during late Season 4 and most of Season 5.
There are a few works with the threesome Chrisjen Avasarala/Bobbie Draper/Cotyar (Cotyar was Chrisjen’s intelligence operative, who also got along well with Bobbie as a fellow soldier), and a few works with the canon het pairing of Chrisjen Avasarala/Arjun Avasarala, her husband.
Example Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. cosplay, fanart, any fics |
Archive Links
- Chrisjen Avasarala works on AO3
External Links
- Chrisjen Avasarala (TV) and Chrisjen Avasarala (Books) at The Expanse Fandom wiki
- Portfolio page for Joanne Hansen, the costume designer
- Chrisjen Avasarala tag on The-Expanse-Fashion Tumblr, a blog about the fashion on The Expanse TV show that nonetheless has the subtitle “Let's be honest, this is mainly about Chrisjen Avasarala's outfits…”
References
- ^ Joanne Hansen (2018-06-18). "Interview by Gavia Baker-Whitelaw". dailydot.com. Archived from the original on 2021-07-20.
- ^ the-roci reblog from theexpansesource (2017-03-17). "Chrisjen Avasarala outfits in the premiere". Tumblr. Archived from the original on 8 April 2023.
- ^ allsonargent (2022-02-14). "Chrisjen Avasarala + season 5 outfits". Tumblr. Archived from the original on 8 April 2023.
- ^ @Lady8Jane (2020-10-21). "thread before Season 5". Twitter. Archived from the original on 2022-06-10.