Paul Carter: Ellen Ripley's Second Husband
Paul Carter was Ellen Ripley's second husband and the stepfather of Amanda Ripley in the Alien: Isolation novel. He appeared mostly in flashbacks to Amanda's childhood, drinking, losing jobs, and piling up debts. Ellen divorced him, yet Amanda still stayed at his apartment while her mother flew, and after the Nostromo vanished he raised her alone in a careless way. His story in the book ended with his arrest for assaulting two RCMP officers. The wider Ripley family page places him among Ellen's husbands.
Biography
Marriage To Ellen Ripley
Paul married Ellen Ripley after Amanda's biological father walked out when she was three, and Amanda called him Dad as a small child. He lost one job after another. In one flashback he admitted he had been fired the week before and escorted out of the building, insisting his coworkers were morons and the job was beneath him. Ellen accused him of drinking away the rent money while she lined up work such as a Saturn run on the Kurtz. Once she had to pay a police fine to get him released after he picked a fight with someone twice his size.
The Divorce
Amanda overheard her mother tell Paul she was done and wanted a divorce, adding that he would need a lawyer he could not afford. Even so, when Ellen flew on the Sephoria to the Oort Cloud and back, she left Amanda with Paul for months. His apartment was filthy and dark, with one small bedroom he gave to Amanda while he slept on the couch or on the floor by the door after nights out. Ellen came back with enough money to clear their debts, then argued with him over new debts he had run up in nine months. Because they had been married so long, he remained legally Amanda's stepfather.
Tereshkova Terminal And Dallas
When Ellen left on the Nostromo, Paul met her and Amanda at Tereshkova Terminal, unshaven and smelling bad. Captain Arthur Dallas greeted Amanda warmly and shook Paul's hand, and Paul stared at him without knowing what to say. Once Dallas left, Paul accused Ellen of sleeping with him to get the assignment, and she answered that she was good at her job and took pride in it. After she went through the gate, he led Amanda out the south exit instead of the north one, promising a quick stop, which Amanda knew meant a bar.
The Nostromo Goes Missing
About a month before Amanda's eleventh birthday, Yoshiko Tanaka of the company came to his door to say all contact with the Nostromo was lost. Leaning drunkenly on the door frame, Paul asked what the bad news was, called his ex-wife a stupid bitch, and claimed he had been raising her kid alone all along. Tanaka suggested coming back when he was sober. On her eleventh birthday Amanda waited at Tereshkova Terminal for her mother, and the police brought her to a station. Paul arrived an hour later, knelt to her level, and gently told her it was not her mother's fault before taking her home.
The Loader Accident
When Amanda was sixteen, Paul worked at Diamantakis Shipping. On the ninth of April a crate slipped from his loader at Loading Bay 9, and he hurt his back dodging it. The injury left him unable to lift things or stand for long, and he expected a good settlement. Desperate for supposed data about the Nostromo from a con man named Okeke, Amanda took his credit chip while he was passed out and moved one hundred fifty from his account using the code she had once used to pay rent. He never noticed the money was gone.
The Compensation Hearing
Paul brought Amanda to the hearing to help him stand, introducing her as his daughter, though she noticed he only called her that when he needed something. Mr. Chan reported that the loader had worked properly and that the company doctor had found his alcohol level over the legal limit. Amanda recalled him coming home blind drunk the night before. Chan denied compensation and fired him, and Paul gave up only when threatened with removal by Diamantakis security. On the way out he decided Amanda should quit her school, Delaj, and find work, and she went along with it.
Arrest On Amanda's Eighteenth Birthday
By the time Amanda turned eighteen, he drank nearly every night and depended on her completely. She came back to his apartment at three in the morning for her toiletries and her stuffed tiger, Daniel, and found the floor closed by police. Detective Annushka Balidemaj told her Paul had assaulted two off-duty RCMP officers in a bar in Anmore after arguing about a lunar eclipse and calling them Mounties. Amanda said he was no longer her problem, walked away, and left even Daniel behind for a sublet she had already arranged.
In RCMP Custody
Paul tried to reach Amanda after his arrest, but she refused all contact. Later, her supervisor Mendez found in the records that he had spent two years in RCMP custody and faced two more unless he made parole. Amanda predicted he would not, because he told parole boards they were morons. On Luna she kept trashing his messages unread, and she later told Nina Taylor that she had not spoken to him in years and had not thought of him as Dad since the divorce.
Relationship With Amanda
Paul called Amanda baby girl even when she was sixteen, and once told Ellen that she was already smarter than both of them. Amanda learned from life with him not to antagonize people looking for a fight, and she called his attempt to raise her alone a poor one. She often made dinner herself and bought meals when he was too drunk to get food. After the Nostromo vanished she saw herself as the only grown-up in the house, and on her eighteenth birthday she left him for good.
Behind The Scenes
Paul Carter appeared in the Alien: Isolation novel by Keith R.A. DeCandido, published by Titan Books. He never appeared in the present-day story, only in flashbacks, records, and messages Amanda ignored. The novel never stated his age, his first job, or what became of him after his custody. He is also said to be mentioned in episode 2 of Alien: Isolation The Digital Series, where Amanda recalled running away, but that appearance could not be confirmed from the book or from existing site pages.
Conclusion
Paul Carter was the stepfather Amanda Ripley grew up with when her mother was in space, and later after Ellen disappeared. His drinking cost him his marriage, a string of jobs, his injury claim, and in the end his freedom. He showed flashes of tenderness, as at the police station on Amanda's eleventh birthday, but mostly leaned on her. His arrest on her eighteenth birthday freed her, and by the time of the Sevastopol story she had cut him out of her life entirely.
Appearances
- Alien: Isolation (novel, Titan Books, 2019)
Tag Categories: Alien Universe Characters | Alien Lore
