Michael Guerin (Brendan Fehr)
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Who is Michael Guerin?
Michael Guerin is one of 3 main characters in the TV (and book) series Roswell (AKA Roswell High). Roswell is a show about a group of teenagers living in the town of Roswell, New Mexico, USA which is the site of the much-debated 1947 alien spaceship crash. The story begins with a boy called Max Evans saving a girl called Liz Parker's life when she is accidentally shot, when a fight breaks out between to men in her parents Diner/Cafe (where she works as a waitress). The amazing thing about the rescue is that Max healed Liz's gun shot wound by holding his hand over the wound and 'willing' her back to life.
You see it turns out that Max, his sister Isabel, and their friend Michael are all aliens. All 3 aliens have mysterious powers, such as the ability to heal wounds, play CDs with their fingers and enter other people’s dreams. They also have a peculiar liking for extremely sweet and spicy foods and tend to smother every thing they eat with Tabasco sauce (one of their favourites being chocolate cake & Tabasco sauce).
After Max saved her life Liz found herself increasingly attracted to Max (despite her boyfriend Kyle, the sheriffs son), and completely unable to stop herself accidentally telling his secret to her friends, fellow waitress Maria, and loveable nerd Alex. Despite initial reservations, fear and resentment on all sides the 6 teens quickly become friends and band together to protect the alien’s secret form the local sheriff and a secret alien hunting unit of the FBI. (Ok so it's a little clichéd but it was well scripted and it played very well)
Max, Michael and Isobel (lovingly referred to as the Pod squad by fans as they hatched from pods hidden in a mountain) have no idea where they come from until a new alien, Tess, arrives and brings with her the revelation of who they really are and why they were hidden on Earth.
It turns out that the aliens are the Royal Four - rulers of a distant alien empire, sent to earth to be reborn and hidden safely until they can reclaim their home world. Max is the King and leader, Tess (alien number 4) is Max's wife and can 'mind warp' people getting them to do/think/remember any thing she wants, Isabel is Max's sister and the thinker of the group and Michael is Isobel’s Fiancé, Max's second in command and a warrior (who tends to act first and think later). These revelations come as quite a shock as Max has developed a relationship with Liz and Michael is with Maria. Michael and Maria stay together though, as he and Isobel don't have any romantic feelings towards each other, considering themselves to be more like brother and sister than anything else.
In the second season of the show the Royal Four face a threat from a group
of aliens from their home world (the skins) who were sent to destroy them by
the rebels who have taken control of their home planet. The aliens are led by
Nicholas a rebel leader who appears to be in his early teens but is actually
much older. During the climax of a confrontation between the 2 sides it is
discovered by Isobel that in her former life as the princess Vilandra (which
she doesn't remember) she conspired with Nicholas to overthrow her brother.
As if that wasn't enough, we also discover that there is a second set of the
royal four who were sent to New York (The neural patterns of the original royal
four were added to bodies made of human/alien DNA and sent to earth). The New
York 'Dupes' tell the Roswell pod squad that they were created after it was
feared that the Roswell set were too human. We also find out more about Isabel,
and that Vilandra betrayed the others for love.
The second season also sees the aliens discovering that they have an ally in Sheriff Valenti who was initially suspicious of them, but now dedicated to protecting them despite the damage it is having on his career and reputation.
Character Profile
Michael was a military leader in his former life and tends to take the most aggressive line of action in dangerous situations. Michael often gets impatient with Max's indecisive leadership, but at the same time he's slightly fearful of his powers, having used them to kill last year.
Against his better judgement, he finds himself powerfully attracted to Maria. Their on again off again relationship has caught the attention of many a fan.
Most likely to say: "I think we should act now."
Character sketch by Jerry D.; updated by MyrnaLynne.
Brendan's current role is the part of "Michael Guerin" in the prime-time WB drama "Roswell." Michael Guerin is in many ways the most complex character on "Roswell," and the most driven as well. Unlike Max and Isabel, he has grown up in a very unhappy environment, being bounced around from various foster homes with neglectful caretakers who have given him no support or encouragement. He lived in a trailer park with his latest foster dad, Hank, who was a mean and abusive drunk. As a result, Michael has become a complete outsider, coming close to flunking out of school despite his hidden brilliance, and trusting no one but Max and Isabel. He has become obsessed with finding out the truth about his origins as a means to escape the world that he has come to despise, and he often acts in an impetuous way to achieve this goal. Michael is also the most emotional of the alien trio, and the one most likely to act on his feelings. Michael has the least amount of control of his powers, due to his insecurity and inability to control his emotions. His feelings for Maria threaten to disrupt his carefully maintained alienation from everyone except Max and Isabel. These feelings for Maria scare him a great deal, and he simply doesn’t know how to deal with them. Because of Michael's unhappy and uncertain childhood, he has not learned many of the niceties of human interpersonal behaviour and also has built a shell around himself to protect him from being hurt. He is totally unskilled in relationships and his feelings for Maria are disturbing and frightening to him, so he wants to keep her at arms' length.
However, Maria is a very warm and accepting and loving person and, in spite of himself, they grow very close, especially after his mean foster dad Hank threw Michael out and threatened him with a gun (in "Independence Day"). Michael ended up crying in Maria's arms, coming to her as the only person who could comfort him. Hank disappeared after that and Michael was granted legal independence (Hank was killed by Nasedo, but Michael was unaware of this). Michael got a job as a cook at the Crashdown Cafe and an apartment and began to build a life on his own. He and Maria continued to grow even closer.
However, events soon conspire to push Maria and Michael apart. Tess arrives in town and Michael starts getting visions that he might be with Isabel - at one point they think she might even be pregnant with his child through some alien dream connection. Michael thinks for a time that Riverdog (Ned Romero) is Nasedo, and that Nasedo might be his father. When he meets the real Nasedo, it is quite a let down - nothing is as he imagined. Michael uses his powers to kill Agent Pierce, then feels he has become a bad person and a danger to Maria. He pushed her away totally - because he loves her and wants to protect her from him, and also because of the mission he has to do for his alien people.
The second season finds Michael with new, non-spiky, longer hair and a motorbike. He is still not the ideal boyfriend or the most charming or tactful person. If anything, his anger and frustration have increased and he is annoyed by Max's sudden appointment as king and leader, and they argue frequently.
Michael comes to trust Sheriff Valenti, and with his mission and finding out more about himself, he has overcome some of his anger and found new strength and new focus. Together the pod squad discovers new facts about their alien and human origins.
Michael and Isabel have rejected any thought of a relationship with each other. Maria and Michael continue to bicker and be close, but he initially stands firm on his resolve not to continue his romantic relationship with her.
The battle with the Skins heats up and Michael is not sure he is ready, or that he will be strong enough. The new waitress at the Crashdown, Courtney, comes on to him outrageously, amusing Michael and making Maria very jealous and annoyed. Michael is not interested in Courtney at all, but they become closer when he finds out she is an alien - a 'good' Skin and on his side. In a very touching gesture, in the episode "Harvest" Michael saves Courtney's 'husk' (her new human body being grown to replace her current shedding old one) before they destroy the Skins' headquarters in Arizona. Unfortunately, she dies to protect them soon afterward to keep the secret of the Granilith from falling into the hands of Nicholas, leader of the 'bad' Skins.
Michael has the unsettling experience of meeting his 'dupe' Rath, who is ten times more uncouth than Michael ever could be. The totally unbelieving and cynical Michael discovers some faith during Christmas when he helps Max heal sick children and Isabel helps him out and manages to get Maria a Christmas gift she loves. Also during the holiday season, there seems to be the beginning of a thaw in Michael's resolve to keep Maria at arms' length.
As Max grows more confident and stronger as a leader, Michael begins to doubt Max less and to become more confident in his own powers as well. He wants to forge ahead with things and still chafes under Max's cautious wait-and-see approach to life; while Max sees Michael as a person who 'leaps before he looks.' But Max never doubts Michael's friendship or loyalty, or that Michael will be there for him and will continue to be the driving force in their search for their identity and their origins.
Page created: 9th March 2002
For more on Brendan visit his official web site BRENDAN-FEHR.COM