My thoughts on Control

This was one of those episodes where everyone is right AND wrong at the same time and you never know who's side to be on. That's the kind that makes it hard to fall asleep. (and hard to function the next day...) I don't like that! I did enjoy the episode, though.

I'll start with the light and easy stuff, before I get into the deep, psychological thinking.

I am so totally digging Hollywood Max!!! "Max Evans, Antar Films". Drool. And very impressive for such a bad actor (Max, I mean. Jason is amazing) Ah, the smile! Ah, the suit! Ah, the hair! Drool. Question: Did they write a haircut into the script because Jason wanted one, or did Jason get a haircut because it was in the script?

"You're just a low rent Tom Cruise with a $10 haircut". I resent that comment!

So Max does this little movie pitch, all very Hollywood (a bit risky maybe revealing his real identity and story, but I guess he figured no one would believe it. Kal didn't like it much though) but Roswell Max came back very quickly when Kal threatened to kill him ("I don't like this kind of movies unless someone dies"). That kind of threw him, didn't it.

Max can use Jedi mind tricks!!! Very cool. Of course, it only works on shape-shifters genetically programmed but hey, still very cool.

And please, I asked nicely last week, can we stop throwing Max against the walls and the stairs? Valerie will get mad if you don't stop.

"You're giving me direction? How many Academy Awards have you won?" Patience, producer-boy. Just give him time, I'm sure he'll have one in a few years. (Jason, not Max. Should I concentrate all my gushing and drooling over Jason in one paragraph so those who don't like him can skip it, or just sprinkle some over the whole review at my fancy? ;))

Isabel is going into total Christmas Nazi mode planning this wedding, isn't she? *lol* "You're the closest things I have to girlfriends" so you'll have to do. How very Isabel. That was a funny scene, I liked it.

Isabel is right. People should be more supportive of what could be the greatest time of her life. But the rest of the people are right also. She could be making a very bad mistake. A human mistake (getting married too young), an alien mistake (possibly marrying an enemy) and an alien getting a human in trouble mistake. So I don't know whose side to be on. That's a good episode to learn ambivalence. (Kryten would be happy. Obscure reference, sorry).

I may not agree with everything Brendan Fehr said about not wanting Roswell to come back, but I can see why playing Michael can be tedious at time. Typical Michael behaviour in any given episode: throw Michael in a situation he doesn't automatically agree with. Michael acts like a jerk. Someone calls Michael on it. Michael does something nice to make up for his initial jerk reaction. Michael doesn't really change his mind about the initial situation and therefore doesn't learn much. I know there are episodes where Michael learned stuff and grew as an individual (thank God) but most of the time, they stick to the pattern. And that's a shame.

"Why do you feel you're above doorbells" has got to be one of my favourite lines. Michael never uses the door! And then he goes proving me wrong just a few scenes later. :)

Not much Jesse, once again. How are we supposed to form an opinion about him if we never see him?

No Kyle, but I didn't realize it until the scene with Max and the spaceship, that's how engrossed I was with the storyline. Oh well, there's always next week.

These aliens never have problems with locking themselves out of their cars or their houses, do they? *lol*

We learned a hell of a lot about the aliens this week. The TV-guide promised some revelation about Max's son which we didn't get (I was hoping for something along the line of "there is no son" – but that's just my wishful thinking) but we did learn something about the aliens.

No sense of taste or smell, which would explain the extremely sweet mixed with extremely spicy. Very good. Something new that actually makes sense with something we were told in Season 1.

Speaking of taste, how sweet was Liz to make Max Tabasco M+M cookies? Sigh. But where was she going to send them? Is Max staying in an hotel? Does his car have its own zip code? More on my dream couple later. Get ready.

The shape-shifters are programmed to serve the Royal four. Were they born that way? Did they get a chip in their heads to make them act like that? I wish they'd explore this more.

Kal absolutely didn't want to go back to Antar. Why is that? Did it occur to anyone that Zan might have been a bad guy? I mean, all we know about him is that he made terrible mistakes and was "selfish and ungrateful". We see what a jerk Max can be when his alien (ie Zan) side takes over. What if Khivar actually delivered the population of Antar from a tyrannical ruler? That would be an interesting plot twist, but I don't think Max could live with the idea. Look how the whole Vilandra deal screwed with Isabel's head, and she didn't even know the whole story for sure. The Dupes were closer to the originals and look how "nice" they were. Maybe it's no wonder that Max turns into a jerk every time he's trying to embrace his alien side.

Kal said he was programmed to protect Max. That's why he couldn't hurt him. Were the two shape-shifters programmed to protect the 8 Royals? Did they each have their own set assigned to them? The no-hurt rule, is it only in the physical sense? Because if it's not, how could Nasedo make a deal with Khivar? Unless he was there to protect the Dupes, then dumped them in the sewers and proceeded to screw the real King, whom he was not programmed not to hurt? Once again, just thinking out loud.

And what about Kal's reaction when Max said he had a son? "You mated with another alien hybrid". What does that imply? Aliens can't have babies with human? Alien sex automatically produces a baby when it's between hybrids? I'm not sure I like where this is going.

Did Kal hire Joey because he didn't want to shape-shift anymore? Or is it because there was a chance he might have to hurt one of the four and he couldn't? Either way, it makes a bit more sense now.

Poor Mrs. Evans. "What is happening to our family?" It must be really hard on her. Her son moving away, to California without so much as a word to anyone. He changed his cellphone number the minute he left. Now, why is that, Max? Leaving the house didn't necessarily mean cut all ties with your family. Call your mom once in a while. She had nothing to do with this.

The shape-shifter knew about his mom. If he knew, it means other enemies can know too. It's not protecting them better to remove himself from them completely. It's just hurting everyone, himself included.

And Isabel. Putting myself in Mrs. Evans' shoes I totally see her point. Her family is slipping away from her and there's nothing she can do about it. She was rather cold to Isabel when Michael came to the house, but I can't say I really blame her. I can't blame Isabel either, and I do think her mom is right, that she took the earlier date just to spite them all. Not that it will make any difference if it's a mistake.

And they're calling it, "Roswell: The Wedding"?! What is this, the WB?

Doesn't Diane know Liz is forbidden to see Max? She must be really desperate to talk to her son to ask Liz for his phone number. And why was Liz so hostile? It's not really Diane's fault they're not together. Is she just standing by Max?

Well, Max is wrong in the first place to shut his mother out like that, so... Maybe it's just a case of "all parents are the enemy until Max and I are together" thing.

Oh, and Maria? Please don't compare them to Romeo and Juliet anymore. Romeo and Juliet *died*, ok? We don't want that.

But Maria did have one of the funniest line with "Are we breaking up?" And the thing about taking it out on Michael. Go Maria. Everything Liz said in that scene was true. You go, Liz. It still breaks my heart though.

I know there is bound to be tons of Max bashing after this episode (and quite frankly, I don't think I can stand anymore "let's bash Max for the fun of it") but people have to stop and think that on a purely intellectual level, this character is very rich and gets more and more complex all the time. It doesn't stop my heart from breaking or stop me from wanting to slap some sense into him when he was getting ready to leave (I mean, ignoring a phone call from Liz? (Valerie shakes head. Max, Max, Max...), but it's fascinating to watch. I understand him and I'm on his side for this one. Well, Liz's side, actually, but her side is ultimately Max's side, so there you go.

Max, I love you, but you'll have to stop channelling Zan. Kal was right to tell you to listen to your human side. The alien-ess just screws up with your head. Come on, Max, I mean, did you even stop and think? This could be a trap, you know. The last time you let your Zan personality take over you made the biggest mistake of your life. Doesn't that tell you anything? You should try to let your Max side solve the problem.

That last scene with Liz was heartbreaking on so many levels. First, that song was perfect, does anybody know what it is? The key to that whole scene was Liz taking that step back from him when he tried to hug her. Had this been a book, they could have spent a whole chapter on this one scene, but they didn't have the time and I think they did a really great job with what they had. Kudos to Jason and Shiri.

Max is not used to making mistakes. If you think about it, he has never really failed before. Michael fails all the time, he developed some kind of defense mechanism for when it happens. Max *never* failed. He always had to be perfect; some of it was self-imposed, some of it was to protect the others from (usually) Michael's mistakes. When they learned he was King, the others didn't help and blamed Max for his one slip every chance they got (telling Liz about them). And now Max made a mistake. But not just any little mistake, it's a biggie and he has no idea how to deal with it. All summer he's been avoiding it, thinking if Liz forgave him then it would be ok. But it won't be ok until he forgives himself and he doesn't know how to do that because he never had to do it before. He knows he's supposed to say he was wrong, so he does, and figures if Liz says it's ok and hugs him, then he can go on pretending that it's fine. But Liz has been hurt too. What she said is true,she knows he loves her but she's not feeling any of the love back. So when he tries to hug her she steps back, putting herself first maybe for the first time since Max saved her.

And that's when it dawns on Max. He almost gave Liz up for a chance to go home and correct that mistake (or so he thinks. "It's not that easy"", Kal said. If Max had paid attention and asked what Kal knew then, maybe he would have saved himself a lot of heartache). He has realized on his drive home that he cannot live without her. She really is what makes him human. So when she steps back from him, it hits him like a ton of bricks that he's pushing her away, in a sense, and that's what he needed to finally admit to himself that he failed. He admitted it to Liz before, but I don't think he fully realized it until then.

And yes, Liz has been hurt, but she loves him more than words can say. She'll always be there for him. She might have resisted him if he hadn't said that he had messed her life (and I don't think Max was playing the guilt card there. It really is something he's sorry about). Everytime he says that Liz has this reaction that if it wasn't for him, she wouldn't be alive. Which is true. So that's why she's there for him, and I'm happy that she is. Max needs her right now.

I know it's not fair because she's always the one who's there for him and not vice-versa, but hopefully next time she really needs him he'll be there for her too. And now, I think he will.

And when he says "I'll never leave you", I think that for the first time he truly realizes what that means. He almost did give her up and I think he's appalled at the thought, since he knows how much he needs her. So I hope that he'll stop channelling Zan from now on.

I know this review was a bit rushed, but I wanted to do it now because I don't know when I'll have time to do it. They're burying me with work today at the office (they really picked their day! usually Wed. are quiet) Hopefully what I wrote made sense.

Talk to you later!

Valerie