My thoughts on Ch-Ch-Changes
Hello

Let me apologize now if this review makes no sense. I feel a case of Cave-woman Valerie returning.

Normal sucks.

If this review had a title, that's what it would be.

She shut the window. There he was, his eyes bright with tears and she still shut the window.

Deep breath. I'll be ok.

Eventually ;)

Thank you Carrie for the warning. And thanks Colleen for the phone call. Both helped. Hell, I'm a grown woman (or so my driver's licence says), you'd think I wouldn't let a TV show affect me this much. Sigh.

I don't know where to start, though I hear the beginning is always a good place. Mentioning Vermont in the previouslys is *never* a good sign. Shudder.

I loved Maria and Jim singing together. Loved it! I understand Kyle's reaction to it, it must be kinda creepy to see your dad and his girlfriend's daughter sing stuff like that. "I have to go wash my eyes" *lol*

Max taking Liz to the dance floor is to make us feel worse later, isn't it? Jerks.

Hey, two of the cast members in school! And actually in class! ;) How adorable were they when they gave the same answer at the same time to Mr. Seligman? (I might go into Dreamer overload. I've been teetering on the edge for weeks and last night's ep might just push me over. If it happens, I apologize in advance!)

No, Doctor, there hasn't been any cementing, if that's what you're asking. At this rate, there won't be any cementing for a long, long time. Argghh. "You can catch something even from someone you love". Or the alien ho who got to him first. Ewwwww.

I LOVE Kyle. Kyle is too cool. Let the record show I'm with Kyle, it's a bad idea not to tell Max right away. If I can't have someone like Max, I want someone like Kyle. Kyle rules.

Message to Liz. In Control, you said "I love you but lately I haven't been feeling it back". Have you let him? I know Max has been, shall we say preoccupied (ok, let's say obsessed) with his son. But it works both ways. If you don't let Max in, he can't be there for you. Not telling him about the Harvard interview is a bad sign. It's been your dream since forever, he's the love of your life. He should be in on it. Okay? Sigh. End of my message to Liz.

"I want to help you get into Harvard". How great is he? Sigh. "Why?" Duh! Because he loves you, you idiot! (I hate calling her names, but she deserves it here). "Because this is really important to you." Good answer, Max. Points for being there for her without crowding her or asking anything in return. "Cambridge is really far". Yeah, but right now what matters is making your dreams come true, Max could have said. Isn't that what he said he'd do in Busted? They can work out the geographic details later. Heck, he could even go East himself. A lot of things have changed since he told Isabel she couldn't leave Roswell. There's no Granilith to "protect" or whatever, for starters. They could work it out if they gave it a chance.

"What is your greatest regret?" Is it just my Dreamer mind kicking in, or wasn't this the PERFECT opportunity to mention Future Max?

Drooling over Jason alert, I love his tousled hair in that scene.

Liz's powers (or at this point, side effects) are worse when Max is near, aren't they? How depressing is that? It's bad. Just bad.

I'm hardly ever on Michael's side, but I think Maria is not being fair with him. She's sending him mixed signals and acting... like a guy *lol* Seriously, these two need to straighten some things out.

Margaret, you were talking about stuff from the actors real life popping into the show every now and then, well, I found one, and it's not about Jason ;) Jim mentioned to Maria that they could sing "Islands in the Stream", which she is understandably reluctant to do ;) It was written by the BeeGees and Majandra was in a band with a BeeGees' daughter.

I like how Maria felt bad about taking something away from Jim with the record contract. It's very Maria. And I like how she didn't want to be a sell-out and be turned into a pop-princess. Not only is it very Maria, it's Majandra coming through as well.

Liz might be turning into an alien, but Michael is working on his human skills. I really liked his concern for Liz and the way he handled Max when they were digging in the desert. The old Michael would have walked away, I think. I also liked how he wanted to make sure Maria was not making a mistake by signing the contract. And on a side-note, I didn't even think of Jesse until Michael mentioned him. Whether he's there or not really makes no difference to me.

The song that was playing in that scene when Michael tells her about the contract, that was a remake, wasn't it? If anyone can tell me what it was, I would appreciate it. I know it'll just drive me nuts.

There is a lot in fanfic about what Liz means to Max and how, without her, he's just not the same. There hasn't been a lot of it in the show lately, (not too obvious since "Max to the Max", I think - or maybe it's just because I watched that last week) and I think the digging scene was great for that reason. She really is the world to him. He doesn't care about exposing himself (which is what stopped him from healing that man in the Christmas episode), he doesn't care about exposing his family, he doesn't care about his own safety. Without Liz, Max's world stops. He was willing to go to the FBI, knowing first-hand what they would do to him, if it could help her. I have no words to describe how that makes me feel, but trust me, it's all good.

I feel really bad for Liz about the interview. I hope she'll get another one in Vermont. Oh, and that guy? *Really* cute.

I did mention already how much I love Kyle today, didn't I? Well, I don't care, here it is again! "I just have this totally cool window of time where I just get to obsess about it" *lol* My favorite line of the episode.

Max gave Kyle a strange look when he came into the room. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I'm sensing a "End of the World" flashback for Max.

That scene in the desert was kinda hard to watch. Liz was hurting, Max was hurting her trying not to hurt her and Kyle was helpless :( Liz made the healing stones explode! And then everything else exploded, to quote Kyle. I know that what Max did was wrong and is something they will have to deal with and talk about. I absolutely do not blame Liz for feeling the way she does. Heck, I feel like that and I'm not even dating Max! But throwing the accusation of being unfaithful at him was a little harsh and uncalled for. I mean, he did wait for her for 11 months even though she kept pushing him away and had him believe she slept with someone else. I won't defend Season 2 Max here, I know a lot of people don't agree with me on the subject, but Max and Liz are both to blame for what happened. (And of course that evil witch, but I'd rather not think about her right now.) Someone should break the cycle of silence! If they just talked about it, the way Max said they should, and the way Liz knows they should (from her conversation with Kyle) then things would be a lot better between them. There's no point in letting things fester any longer. They have to have that talk, and the sooner the better. And if I may say it one more time, I think now is the time to let Max know about Future Max. He's the reason they are still dealing with all of this. They should get all of this in the open. She said to Kyle that she couldn't take it back. I don't think she has to. Max knows she has some issues about him and Tess. It always brings me back to the same thing, they have to TALK ABOUT IT!!!!! Or all the love in the universe won't help them.

I *hate* to see it happen, but obviously Max and Liz aren't as close as they once were. Or all of it, the feelings she kept hidden about his night with Tess, the whole Future Max thing, and Max's own feelings about his son and Tess, all of it would have been seen in flashes. Hopefully, they can get that back when Liz comes back from Vermont.

"Stop hurting me." "I wasn't trying to." Notice how she said "But you do. You always do." and not "you DID". Max wasn't expecting that, or her throwing the TessMess in his face at that moment. Lots of points to Jason for the look in Max's eyes. It was just heartbreaking.

When she was talking to Maria, she said "You should find a way to compromise without losing what's most important to you." Here's hoping she follows her own advice. Oh, and in that scene? Anyone noticed the girls in the window? To me, they looked like fans trying to get a glimpse of the actresses.

That last scene was not End-of-the-world heart-wrenching, but it was very, very sad nonetheless. The tissue did come in handy, thanks again Carrie for the heads-up. Random thoughts about the scene, I'm not sure I can be coherent just yet. ;)

How sweet was Max waiting by the window? How depressing is it to see her move away from him every time he moves towards her? And then he leaned against the window and she started to close it and he said "Liz, please don't shut me out." I think that's when I lost it. It was just so sad. He looked so lost when he asked what they were going to do. And she still shut the window. Can you tell I'm not quite over that yet? ;) And just when I thought I couldn't get more choked up, he gets up and says I love you. Why don't the writers kill me now?! So I'm a hopeless romantic. So sue me. And still the window didn't open. The Dreamer part of me who likes Max is mad at Liz for that. The Dreamer part of me who likes Liz understands why she's doing it. But it doesn't make it anymore fun to watch. He still smiled at her from the fire escape. Brave-face Max is just too much for me to take. Like that Jeep-scene in Departure. I lose it every time. Still.

I was really excited to know there was a Travis song on the Roswell soundtrack. I love that band. I was hoping it would be a Max and Liz song. Be careful what you wish for. I think the line "I'm too busy holding up the world to carry on" is exactly how Liz felt in Roswell. Some time away will be good for her. I just wished she didn't break Max's heart in the process. I mean, they could have talked a bit before she left, no? It was so sad to see him just standing there with the letter in his hand. Hug for Max.

That framed picture on Liz's desk looked like the 4th (and missing) pic from the photostrip Future Max picked up in EOTW. Can't seem to get FM out of my mind, today.

"My life is out of control" is such a Season 1 – Liz thing to say. Points to the writers.

"What's so great about normal? Do you remember when you asked me that?" Hey, I'd like to know the answer to that one too! :)

There's nothing great about normal. Normal sucks. Period.

And don't get me started on next week's promo. My brain won't accept that last shot of Max on the floor. It just won't. (Denial, much? ;) )

Gotta go back to work before I get Busted for writing Roswell reviews instead of the translation I'm supposed to be doing...

Valerie