Glad to hear you liked Fenric! Although not surprised. :)

I always had the impression that Ace hadn't realized the identity of the baby until she was forced to, maybe in large part because she didn't want to think about the possibilities and deliberately does not think much about her family. But it's been a while since I've seen it.

And Ace, to me, is very much the prototypical New Series companion.

"Survival" isn't the best of the season, but it definitely has its moments.