#andressa

He's on his way back to earth after helping them rebuild on their world until Andressa asks him to take Oliver. He was willing to help them some more but would be accepting to finally leaving until that point. He even conveys disbelief with a gasp at her request for a moment because his concept of family is strong (mentioning that she's his mother/so she should be the one to raise him). Instead of coming at her and giving her an attitude or outright refuse after all he's been put through and the lies he was told in order to even be there, he instead tries to comfort her during her speech. Which she stops him from doing while getting her piece in.

It would be understandable if he refused her request. After all, he still has his own life to live and the conflicting relationship he has with his father. Helping rebuild Thraxa would've been as far as he was willing to go for for all he was put through during his time there.

He's only known her for a couple of weeks at this point and understands to some degree that she's right. He tried to comfort her, and that specific scene/gesture is only a solid second, but it does well to display how willing he was to reassure her. Whether it was about the love his father had towards her or about the family he made there or even just his brother.

He even holds out his hand, indicating that he is about to physically console her during a vulnerable moment. His "wait that's not-" you can tell he was gonna tell her what she thought wasn't "true" [Wait, that's not true]. To give her some relief even though things have gone awry and with them being practically strangers. He probably even felt bad at the cold truth that his father would look for him instead of his other family, one Nolan took better care of and showed more affection to.

To him, she's just another woman his father was romantically involved with aside from his own mother and is the mother of his only brother. However, he had enough sense and compassion to try and make her feel better, even if it would've only been a moment. This probably would've been the farthest their complicated relationship could've gone, but she dismisses his attempt to try and get him to understand and try to convince him.

I also slightly think the reason Andressa kept him from getting another word in was because she didn't want this decision to weigh on him later on, to keep him from feeling bad about the situation and circumstance and take things as they are. I think in doing so, she also manages to teach him that there's value in the little things and that facing bad situations head-on can end with a positive outcome. This can also be taken as her being motherly towards him even though he isn't her child.

Yes, things went to shit but good things can still be found in the bad (Oliver). It doesn't all have to be terrible in the end. Her and her people already managed to show him that their lives are important even with how short of a lifespan they have, and by entrusting Oliver to him she directly causes him to have a better appreciation of his family, given how little time she had with hers.

I just overall loved their dynamic with how conflicting of a time it was for him. Technically, he had no reason to accept her request (nore did he owe her anything) but did so anyway. He had no relationship with Oliver, nor was it even implied he was around him often while on Thraxa. That just makes this scene all the more satisfying later on when Oliver becomes a part of his family.

I like to think he at least grieved her in his own way or thinks of her sometimes, wondering if she's finally lived out her lifespan. I also think that Andressa is part of the reason why he ends up loving Oliver so much, apart from being his only brother, he's able to see the sacrifice she was willing to make at that moment. She was content with never seeing her son again if it meant he'd take him.

At this point in the story, he understands he will have a bigger lifespan and outlive Earth, so maybe having Oliver by his side helped alleviate some of his anxiety towards that. I dont want to think about how he felt when he got back home to Debbie, especially with his interaction with Andressa being the last conversation he probably had.

That would just be heartbreaking for me to think about because later on, we see how much Debbie is willing to go for Oliver. Mark surely knows how much his mother loves him at this point, but having to see both these women be so loving and willing to sacrifice themselves for their children had to have some effect on him mentally.

[This also slightly pmo later on when the Invicible war happens, but that's a conversation for another time]