#bottomkeplerweek2025

Zach Valenti: Kepler, Zach Libresco, at the beginning of season three, it sort of appeared-- so this is the person who's asking the question-- it appeared to me, at least to me, to be very close to Maxwell and Jacobi, but towards the end of the season, it seemed like their closeness was more out of fear than loyalty. In your opinion, is this an accurate description of their relationship? Does Kepler actually care about Jacobi and Maxwell? Or are they just people he works with?

Zach Libresco: I got a lot of that information from the mini episodes and how people are recruited and what they're interested in, why they're on the project, so for our recently departed Maxwell, I think what brings her onto the project-- what gets me to get her onto the project-- is like the scientific advancement; the possibility of the resources at hand to make that kind of advancement and to have the license to do it when other people are saying 'you can't do it'. So what's enticing-- how I serve her, is being the person who says 'here, play with these toys. These are your resources. I trust your ethics. I trust you to do the job; I'm just gonna let you go and do it. So, there's affection, but it's more like I have the keys, and she makes the rocket go-go. For Jacobi, there's more of a... I think we... there's a lot more about the history of how much I ride him. I don't know if it's a... There's definitely a longer history between them, and more of 'I'm near an explosive, you're near an explosive, what's the right thing to do in this situation?' They've been through the worst together, in a different connecting way than Maxwell and Kepler have. Would you guys have thoughts on that as well?

Noah Masur: Yeah I think Jacobi has been Kepler's first mate for a while, even if they're not mates.

Zach Libresco: And he rose to that point, he did not start there.

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Zach Valenti: It sounds like they have, and will immortalize 'Kepler riding Jacobi hard'. Phrasing. Phrasing, Libresco.

Zach Libresco: Kepcobi!

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Noah Masur: All I know is... Kepler's been riding Jacobi hard for years.

Zach Libresco: And we're not saying that's canon, but we're not saying it's not canon.

Gabriel Urbina: Well said. Well said.

Zach Libresco: Great joke, Noah.