More Roswell S3 thoughts
Aug. 17th, 2005 01:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieI absolutely adored Max/Liz in the third season. Maybe because they are one of the few fictional couples where I enjoy RST as much as I do the UST. And they were together (and how!) for most of the season, with the exception of Ch-Ch-changes and Panacea. If they are establishing the boundaries of their relationship in S1 and S2 is their lowest point, S3 is undoubtedly the best in terms of togetherness (IMO).
Basically, Liz is what keeps Max grounded and sane. No matter what other crazy stuff is going on in his life, if he has Liz, he is OK. And the same is true with Liz. That is why there they are, at the end, on the run from the FBI, no normal future possible, but they have each other and their “created” family and they are doing good and are happy.
What I especially loved, however, was her freak-out in Changes and temporary pull-back. I was sure even before the ep that she was overcompensating, being such a perfect girlfriend in helping Max find his son. No one could be that OK with it, in her position. But she didn’t want to lose Max, and I think she also felt guilty for feeling jealous and horrible, because it was she who drove Max away in S2, and they weren’t together when he slept with Tess. But logic has nothing to do with emotions. So she tried to bury it all, but when she was in all that pain and out of control it came pouring out, and I think shocked and horrified her as much as it did Max. It’s good it came out in the open though, because it enabled them to deal with it.
And of course, the situation is not helped by the fact that she is not only transforming, but he can’t even touch her without causing her pain. That really does a number on Max. The only time we see him really fall apart the whole season is during this. Because he loves Liz more than anything else, and the thought that he is causing her pain merely by trying to be with her is driving him mad (and earlier, he is really freaking out in the desert, with Michael, trying to look for a cure).
And so when she blurts out her feelings re: Tess, during him causing her more pain as he tries to heal her? That scene breaks my heart. His initial incomprehension, and their pain…wow.
When he waits for her on the balcony afterwards, he really is falling apart in front of your eyes, because he is almost paralyzed with the fear of losing her, because of the pain, or because of Tess. And then she tells him she needs to be away. And she does. She needs to think how to deal with her emotional problem that has come to the fore, and how to be with Max without pain. But she does right in her “finding yourself” moment what Maria does wrong: she really does go away and sever connection. She reassures Max that she loves him and will come back. It makes perfect sense.
I love the fact that she tries to run away from it all to see how she likes the outside world. Because you do need to find alternatives to see if the path you’ve chosen is the one you want.
And then of course, come Panacea and Chant Down Babylon. And Max is dead (and how much do I love the fact that she can feel the moment he dies?) And I think this snaps her out of her pretend-world the same way Michael’s leaving, irrevocably, snaps Maria out of hers. And in both cases, it’s the realization that it’s too late, they are never going to see the men they love again, which makes them realize what they’d lost and what they’d missed and truly realize what it is they wanted all along.
Max is dead and that makes her realize that exactly what she wants, and she can’t ever have it again. Of course, she knew that she’d pick Max over other stuff, but I think it makes her see (for the future) that time is a luxury they don’t have. I love Chant Down Babylon (going on my all time fave lists) because you see Liz simply fall apart. The scene where she lies in the snow on the quad and laughs in a way that sounds like sobbing, and looks so utterly broken and destroyed, breaks my heart. And the scene where it’s she that is comforting the crying Maria, while she herself turns to stone? Love.
Also, melodramatic or not, I adore the fact that it’s Max’s love for Liz that has kept him alive and fighting. The scene on the quad where she first sees Clayton/Max and the heartbreaking look on her face, as if she is seeing a vision that is everything she’s ever wanted in life…I was crying. And then they kiss, kneeling.
And of course, the end of the ep where he fights for control and begs her to kill him because otherwise he’d harm her and she prepares to swing the club and then “Clayton” reasserts control and they go falling out of the topmost window and Max surfaces again and last thing he does is cast a protective net, but only over her, so she is saved and he is dead, and then, she kisses him and energy passes between them and he is back to life and it’s Max and only Max. And then Liz helping Max, and Maria all go back home. Love.
I think this little ep with dying really makes everyone revalue their priorities a bit, not just Liz. Max realizes that what he really wants and needs is Liz and everyday happy things with her, not quests to find his alien child or whatever. Liz, even though she wants to restart slow (understandable. She is still worried about the pain, which disappears after the kiss/heal thing. I don’t care why though I can spin a theory or two, because I just want them necking; and she did get chased by a killer wearing Max’s face), doesn’t. They are pretty much all over each other and are inseparable from that point on (I love her little “podiatry” exercise. Heeee). And after that ep is when Maria tries to get back together with Michael (Michael of course, is freaking out about loss and dealing with it NOT in a good way).
And then Tess and the baby come back. And Liz casts the deciding vote to save her, not as much out of any abstract humanitarian principle (I think) but for Max’s sake, because she doesn’t want to drive a wedge between them, or make Max suffer. She’s seen second season with Alex’s death what happens when she gets too carried away by principles to pay attention to people.
And in return, Tess gives her back her life. I don’t mean in “she blows up the base and dies” sense (as that is in part what leads the FBI to them). No, she does it when she tells Liz that Max had always loved her, and every time they kissed she’d see these flashes and they’d always be of her. And Liz can move on.
I adore The Graduation ep. I love Max’s proposal. The wonderful thing is, he means every word. He will be happy no matter what, as long as he has her. And I love her earlier, unhesitating comment about doing anything in order to be with him. I also love the fact that he wants to go on the road and help people. I wish we had a sex scene though, people. Michael and Maria had one (woooo!). Tess and Max had one (blech), so did Isabel and Jesse (yawn). I want Max and Liz ;)
I do love the moment during Graduation where they realize this is where they are going to die and they just look at each other for a long long moment. And then Max goes to the podium, doing the Max thing: sacrificing himself to save those he loves. And Michael (who I adore as usual) rides in and saves the day.
And I simply love Max and Liz’s wedding. It’s simple and not too dressy, and there are only six of them there, but Max and Liz are so deliriously happy and their friends so happy for them, and the last thing you see is Liz’s ecstatic face.
OK, going off on Michael/Maria tack of a moment. The more I think about it, the less problems I have with that resolution. I love that Michael rode up to Maria’s house and told her exactly how he felt. He didn’t demand anything in return, didn’t hold out any hope. Just put forward how he felt and how things were and then rode away. I think it’s only then Maria realized how she felt re: priorities and what exactly she had lost. Her earlier “fit” reminded me a bit of Michael in S1, where he was so busy trying to “protect” himself he didn’t care he was hurting Maria, or trying to ignore it. But Maria finally snaps out of it, and just like Max and Liz when Max turns not to be dead in CDB, when she gets a second chance she never thought she’d have, she jumps at it. I don’t think either Michael or Maria are much on verbal apologies, but are better at showing their feelings through actions. And Maria just gave up her whole “normal” life forever, rode off into the unknown, to be with Michael. I think that’s a pretty good start right there.
The thing is, by doing that, she’s gotten everything she wants. She was freaking out earlier because she’d have a humdrum life as a waitress, married most likely to an alien, and never go or do anything. Well, right now she’s got the guy she loves, and she is with a group of her friends, traveling all over the place doing exciting and useful and varied stuff. Sounds pretty great to me. I am also trying to figure out if Amy Deluca would be delighted to see her daughter do the hippie thing of traveling in a mini van, on the run from unjust law, with a bunch of friends and lover, trying to do socially good stuff, or just go into hysterics and die ;)
I also wonder about Isabel/Jesse, the wimpiest canon ship ever. Liz and Max are glued at the hip. Maria comes with Michael even though she is not married and they have been rocky earlier. Jesse, Isabel’s husband, just takes no for an answer. Hah. Most of the characters in Roswell tried to push their SO away to protect them at one time or another, but it didn’t stop the SOs then. Doesn’t say much for Jesse. I am glad though, because he is very very dull and a group outsider. The VW with Liz, Max, Michael, Maria, Kyle and Iz sounds a lot more fun.
Basically, Liz is what keeps Max grounded and sane. No matter what other crazy stuff is going on in his life, if he has Liz, he is OK. And the same is true with Liz. That is why there they are, at the end, on the run from the FBI, no normal future possible, but they have each other and their “created” family and they are doing good and are happy.
What I especially loved, however, was her freak-out in Changes and temporary pull-back. I was sure even before the ep that she was overcompensating, being such a perfect girlfriend in helping Max find his son. No one could be that OK with it, in her position. But she didn’t want to lose Max, and I think she also felt guilty for feeling jealous and horrible, because it was she who drove Max away in S2, and they weren’t together when he slept with Tess. But logic has nothing to do with emotions. So she tried to bury it all, but when she was in all that pain and out of control it came pouring out, and I think shocked and horrified her as much as it did Max. It’s good it came out in the open though, because it enabled them to deal with it.
And of course, the situation is not helped by the fact that she is not only transforming, but he can’t even touch her without causing her pain. That really does a number on Max. The only time we see him really fall apart the whole season is during this. Because he loves Liz more than anything else, and the thought that he is causing her pain merely by trying to be with her is driving him mad (and earlier, he is really freaking out in the desert, with Michael, trying to look for a cure).
And so when she blurts out her feelings re: Tess, during him causing her more pain as he tries to heal her? That scene breaks my heart. His initial incomprehension, and their pain…wow.
When he waits for her on the balcony afterwards, he really is falling apart in front of your eyes, because he is almost paralyzed with the fear of losing her, because of the pain, or because of Tess. And then she tells him she needs to be away. And she does. She needs to think how to deal with her emotional problem that has come to the fore, and how to be with Max without pain. But she does right in her “finding yourself” moment what Maria does wrong: she really does go away and sever connection. She reassures Max that she loves him and will come back. It makes perfect sense.
I love the fact that she tries to run away from it all to see how she likes the outside world. Because you do need to find alternatives to see if the path you’ve chosen is the one you want.
And then of course, come Panacea and Chant Down Babylon. And Max is dead (and how much do I love the fact that she can feel the moment he dies?) And I think this snaps her out of her pretend-world the same way Michael’s leaving, irrevocably, snaps Maria out of hers. And in both cases, it’s the realization that it’s too late, they are never going to see the men they love again, which makes them realize what they’d lost and what they’d missed and truly realize what it is they wanted all along.
Max is dead and that makes her realize that exactly what she wants, and she can’t ever have it again. Of course, she knew that she’d pick Max over other stuff, but I think it makes her see (for the future) that time is a luxury they don’t have. I love Chant Down Babylon (going on my all time fave lists) because you see Liz simply fall apart. The scene where she lies in the snow on the quad and laughs in a way that sounds like sobbing, and looks so utterly broken and destroyed, breaks my heart. And the scene where it’s she that is comforting the crying Maria, while she herself turns to stone? Love.
Also, melodramatic or not, I adore the fact that it’s Max’s love for Liz that has kept him alive and fighting. The scene on the quad where she first sees Clayton/Max and the heartbreaking look on her face, as if she is seeing a vision that is everything she’s ever wanted in life…I was crying. And then they kiss, kneeling.
And of course, the end of the ep where he fights for control and begs her to kill him because otherwise he’d harm her and she prepares to swing the club and then “Clayton” reasserts control and they go falling out of the topmost window and Max surfaces again and last thing he does is cast a protective net, but only over her, so she is saved and he is dead, and then, she kisses him and energy passes between them and he is back to life and it’s Max and only Max. And then Liz helping Max, and Maria all go back home. Love.
I think this little ep with dying really makes everyone revalue their priorities a bit, not just Liz. Max realizes that what he really wants and needs is Liz and everyday happy things with her, not quests to find his alien child or whatever. Liz, even though she wants to restart slow (understandable. She is still worried about the pain, which disappears after the kiss/heal thing. I don’t care why though I can spin a theory or two, because I just want them necking; and she did get chased by a killer wearing Max’s face), doesn’t. They are pretty much all over each other and are inseparable from that point on (I love her little “podiatry” exercise. Heeee). And after that ep is when Maria tries to get back together with Michael (Michael of course, is freaking out about loss and dealing with it NOT in a good way).
And then Tess and the baby come back. And Liz casts the deciding vote to save her, not as much out of any abstract humanitarian principle (I think) but for Max’s sake, because she doesn’t want to drive a wedge between them, or make Max suffer. She’s seen second season with Alex’s death what happens when she gets too carried away by principles to pay attention to people.
And in return, Tess gives her back her life. I don’t mean in “she blows up the base and dies” sense (as that is in part what leads the FBI to them). No, she does it when she tells Liz that Max had always loved her, and every time they kissed she’d see these flashes and they’d always be of her. And Liz can move on.
I adore The Graduation ep. I love Max’s proposal. The wonderful thing is, he means every word. He will be happy no matter what, as long as he has her. And I love her earlier, unhesitating comment about doing anything in order to be with him. I also love the fact that he wants to go on the road and help people. I wish we had a sex scene though, people. Michael and Maria had one (woooo!). Tess and Max had one (blech), so did Isabel and Jesse (yawn). I want Max and Liz ;)
I do love the moment during Graduation where they realize this is where they are going to die and they just look at each other for a long long moment. And then Max goes to the podium, doing the Max thing: sacrificing himself to save those he loves. And Michael (who I adore as usual) rides in and saves the day.
And I simply love Max and Liz’s wedding. It’s simple and not too dressy, and there are only six of them there, but Max and Liz are so deliriously happy and their friends so happy for them, and the last thing you see is Liz’s ecstatic face.
OK, going off on Michael/Maria tack of a moment. The more I think about it, the less problems I have with that resolution. I love that Michael rode up to Maria’s house and told her exactly how he felt. He didn’t demand anything in return, didn’t hold out any hope. Just put forward how he felt and how things were and then rode away. I think it’s only then Maria realized how she felt re: priorities and what exactly she had lost. Her earlier “fit” reminded me a bit of Michael in S1, where he was so busy trying to “protect” himself he didn’t care he was hurting Maria, or trying to ignore it. But Maria finally snaps out of it, and just like Max and Liz when Max turns not to be dead in CDB, when she gets a second chance she never thought she’d have, she jumps at it. I don’t think either Michael or Maria are much on verbal apologies, but are better at showing their feelings through actions. And Maria just gave up her whole “normal” life forever, rode off into the unknown, to be with Michael. I think that’s a pretty good start right there.
The thing is, by doing that, she’s gotten everything she wants. She was freaking out earlier because she’d have a humdrum life as a waitress, married most likely to an alien, and never go or do anything. Well, right now she’s got the guy she loves, and she is with a group of her friends, traveling all over the place doing exciting and useful and varied stuff. Sounds pretty great to me. I am also trying to figure out if Amy Deluca would be delighted to see her daughter do the hippie thing of traveling in a mini van, on the run from unjust law, with a bunch of friends and lover, trying to do socially good stuff, or just go into hysterics and die ;)
I also wonder about Isabel/Jesse, the wimpiest canon ship ever. Liz and Max are glued at the hip. Maria comes with Michael even though she is not married and they have been rocky earlier. Jesse, Isabel’s husband, just takes no for an answer. Hah. Most of the characters in Roswell tried to push their SO away to protect them at one time or another, but it didn’t stop the SOs then. Doesn’t say much for Jesse. I am glad though, because he is very very dull and a group outsider. The VW with Liz, Max, Michael, Maria, Kyle and Iz sounds a lot more fun.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-08-17 06:26 pm (UTC)If Max/Liz was the star crossed romance and Michael/Maria was the dysfunctional one, Isabel/Jesse is the one that had no purpose whatsoever.
And Michael putting down all his cards is a very Michael thing to do. I understand that he would take her back because he loves her, but I still don't think he would take her back that fast or not be hurt over the whole matter (which he has a right to be, and Michael isn't a patient guy to begin with). It felt rushed, and I have a feeling that if they had gotten another season, it wouldn't have felt so banged together. I could have seen a season spent with distrustful Michael and Maria realizing what a moron she was. Unfortunately, there was none of that. And I still don't understand Maria's devotion to Michael up until that point only to drop it for a flimsy reason. I think the writers just were trying.
no subject
Date: 2005-08-17 06:36 pm (UTC)Jesse looked like he worked out, but that was about the beginning and end of his interesting and positive qualities.
I always found Isabel to be the most boring character among all the regulars, and giving her a half-baked, pointless romance didn't make it any better.
still don't think he would take her back that fast or not be hurt over the whole matter
Oh yes. I think they are going to work on their relationship (whatever that means or entails) on the road. They got plenty of time ad proximity. I agree about the rushedness. It would be much better explored with more time. But I decided I can live with it and imagine it all happen offscreen.
I still don't understand Maria's devotion to Michael up until that point only to drop it for a flimsy reason. I think the writers just were trying.
Yes. They were trying to create artificial angst and conflict (why? Liz and Max had plenty for everyone). As I said, I can fanwank about Maria having some kind of a panic attack about her life being out of control and making a last ditch, desperate effort to get her life "normal" and just not being clearheaded enough to do it right, and being thoughtless so she won't feel guilty, but it would still be better if it hasn't happened.
no subject
Date: 2005-08-17 06:46 pm (UTC)The stupid part is that they could have had angst that didn't look so forced. They didn't need to make Maria look like a fickle user to make Michael angsty, especially since her character has been understanding and grounded as a matter of point for the two previous seasons. Michael had some pretty good angst when he was having to deal with his powers.
And I think the basis of my displeasure is that Michael/Maria almost made it through the series being relatively normal (albeit quirky) and having a sweet secondary romance to balance the angst fest that is Liz/Max. They just didn't NEED the romantic trauma to have their plot work. Lazy writing.
no subject
Date: 2005-08-17 06:51 pm (UTC)Even if they were hell-bent on giving us M/M romantic angst (I don't see why. I had so much fun watching them as an RST but still oddball and bickering couple), there were plenty of ways of doing it through some kind of outside influences. Heck, Maria could have freaked out when she saw Liz have alien powers (or Michael could have) and they could have angst that way.
I am all about angst, and angsty Michael is yummy, but there really were better ways of doing it. I can deal with it, and ultimately M/M even with the weirdness of S3 works for me. But it would have been better without that.
no subject
Date: 2005-08-17 06:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-08-17 07:01 pm (UTC)I guess I should be worried about myself too, then. It's the Florence Nightingale principle. When cute and nice guys are in pain, you just want to take care of them and make it better :D
no subject
Date: 2005-08-17 07:11 pm (UTC)And some guys can do it better than others. They have to strike the "awww, here have a cookie and a cuddle" note without verging into the "oh stop your whining and get your act together" territory.