Roswell 2.5: "The End of the World"
Written by Jason Katims
Directed by Bill Norton
In which Liz gets a visit from a future incarnation of Max, who convinces her that the fate of the world requires them to never be together, something that Liz must ensure…
Status Report
The theme of the second season has been the philosophical struggle between “free will” and predestination, centering on the character of Max. Max has a role to play, set before his creation, to retake the throne of an alien kingdom as the hybrid resurrection of a beloved if flawed leader. Part of that destiny means accepting his role as husband to Tess, the counterpart to his young and beautiful bride on Antar. But Max also has the life that he has created in the meantime as a young man in human society, and the love that he has found with Liz.
The two sides of Max’s world have been warring with each other since the moment his destiny was revealed, but in this episode, the writers take it one major step forward. As it stands, Max has a clear choice: responsibility for Antar or life on Earth. What Future Max reveals in this episode is a situation that should have occurred to someone a lot sooner: the fate of Earth is also at stake, because Max’s enemies have little reason to leave Earth untouched when they have already demonstrated a willingness to kill and manipulate American government.
In 2014, it seems, the war is once again lost, and Earth is devastated as a result. One has to wonder how Max could have let things get so bad before recognizing where it all went wrong, but he seems tortured by the fact that his decision to embrace “free will” led to the end of everything he holds dear. His solution is a one-time gesture to make things right, but even Liz’s future friends seem to realize the fact that Future Max changes everything simply by showing up.
The temporal mechanics of this episode are rudimentary, but that’s to be expected; the audience is not exactly proper for anything more complicated, and the plot doesn’t require it. However, it should be noted that Future Max chooses a specific moment because it sets off a series of events. Once that chain is broken, that future is eliminated, even if Max and Liz eventually end up together. That’s the beauty of the whole process.
Of course, without the benefit of retrospect, it would have been impossible to look at the situation with such a detached and clinical attitude. The writers leave enough ambiguity within the script to make it seem as though a permanent break is necessary; certainly Future Max is sure of it. But wouldn’t he be that sure, if he has seen the price of choosing Liz over his destiny? He wouldn’t have the objectivity to realize that it’s not as clear cut as keeping Tess in Roswell by pushing Max in her direction.
Considering the direction that the plot would ultimately take, it’s interesting to note how many of the elements of this episode still come to pass. After all, it doesn’t seem as though Tess betrays Max so explicitly in the timeline recalled by Future Max; then again, her activities after leaving Roswell are left very vague. And perhaps that explains one very big difference: Alex is still alive in that future, perhaps because Tess wasn’t forced into a corner as she was in the series. But “Graduation” proves that some pieces of that puzzle remained in place, even if the road getting there changed.
Future Max is trying to prevent a type of future, and that means pushing Max towards his destiny and away from notions of “free will”. That it turns out to be temporary in the scheme of things doesn’t take away from the feeling of loss in this episode. If the series is the story of Liz’s romance with Max in Roswell, told in three parts, then this is the beginning of the lowest point in that history. And that makes a certain amount of sense, since it wouldn’t be as satisfying at the end without the struggle.
At any rate, once Future Max pushes Liz to break things off with Max, however temporarily, the future is changed and all bets are off. One might assume that the end of the series, with Max and Liz on the run and eventually getting married, fits into the bleak future presented in this episode. But at the end of the series, too much has changed to make the “end of the world” a certainty; if anything, Max’s enemies have already achieved something of a victory by taking the throne and the Granilith.
Would Kivar continue to hunt down Max and his son? Considering the fact that Kivar pretty much left Max to his own devices in the third season, there’s no reason to assume that he would. But it’s always possible that Max’s son represents something important enough to wage war on Earth. Perhaps a fourth season would have answered that question, but it’s better left open-ended, all things being equal. “Roswell” is the story told from Liz’s point of view, and clearly that wasn’t the part of the story that mattered to her!
But as already mentioned, knowing the true future of the series doesn’t take any of the sting away, because it’s not just a question of Future Max advocating destiny. Michael is also proving that it’s hard to change, and his complete lack of awareness and self-control devastates Maria, who finally had reason to hope. Michael and Maria run a parallel course to Max and Liz, and in Michael’s case, the reversion to “destiny” is all too easy.
The visit to Madame Vivian is interesting because it is ultimately right about two of the characters, but utterly wrong about the other. Liz will eventually find love with Max, no matter how hard the road to that moment, and Alex never finds that moment of bliss with Isabel that he has wanted for so long. Maria’s fate, however, is nearly opposite of the prediction; even as volatile as it is, her relationship with Michael is rather solid in the long term. But the point of the episode is to give Maria reason to doubt Michael’s new intentions and to maximize the pain for Liz, so in the end, it doesn’t matter if the predictions are off for Maria.
It would be easy to forget, in the wake of that prediction for Liz, that her relationship with Max has been on the rocks ever since “Destiny”. Liz has secretly wanted to get back with Max, but there are those lingering feelings that Max and Tess are fated together. Max, of course, has never changed his mind, and he has begun turning to gestures like the mariachi band. It’s an inspired scene, to say the least!
Michael, on the other hand, can apparently acknowledge the contributions of humans to his survival without getting a clue about how to understand human feelings. He knows enough about Courtney to know something has to be going on there, beyond the passive-aggressive flirting, but he can’t simply sit down with Maria and explain himself when she needs it the most. A lot of the painful moments between them in this episode could have been avoided if Michael had been willing to tell Maria what he’s thinking.
Tess’ attitude in this episode is odd, especially since one would expect her to have a vested interest in staying in Roswell and working at Max’s emotions a little harder. After all, there’s the whole secret plan to ensnare Max and go running back to Kivar, which doesn’t work quite so well if Tess goes running off. One could theorize that Tess is considering leaving Roswell to contact Kivar overtly, but the truth is that Tess’ plan wasn’t on the minds of the writing staff at this point, so Tess really was just thinking about whether she had a future with Max.
The writers do, however, follow up on the apparent attraction between Tess and Kyle hinted at in “Ask Not”. It might have been interesting if the writers had gone in that direction, since it would have taken the four hybrids and paired them off with four humans. If the producers hadn’t felt that the series would end with the second season, it’s possible that this is the direction they would have taken. As it stands, it’s another example of Tess being torn between the better angels of her nature and the overall scheme to entrap Max.
That consistency isn’t a mistake, since the lead writer and series creator were clearly working together. Katims was trying very hard to communicate something to the audience: Tess can be sympathetic. And at this point in the series, that was a tough sell. After all, she was created as the anti-Liz, and that made it very hard for anyone supporting Liz and her romance with Max to accept Tess as a anything but the enemy. Moore and Katims tried very hard in the early part of the season to make Tess’ plight easier to relate to by pointing out that she is a victim of destiny as well, no matter how much she might embrace that calling.
One of the best scenes of the episode takes place between Future Max and Liz. He describes the wedding in Vegas that will never be, and it cuts right into Liz like a knife, as one would expect. But it’s clear that Future Max is also looking back on that day with joy, and it breaks his heart to intentionally sabotage that moment. With both of them desolated, it’s not hard for the audience to feel the same way.
It’s even harder when Max realizes what Liz is up to, just moments later, and continues to love Liz even more. Liz knows all too well what has to be done, and now she knows what that price would be, and she’s faced with a Max still willing to risk it all for love. The conflict in her eyes is incredibly well-communicated. Anyone who doubts Shiri’s range should watch this episode.
By the time that Max comes to Maria, looking for advice, things are a mess. Katims manages to juggle the character threads with ease, keeping their reactions consistent with the episodes since “Destiny” despite everything happening with Future Max at the same time. Liz’s comments to Max match her behavior coming into this episode, and Maria’s opinion about relationships with alien hybrids also echoes her comments in “Ask Not”.
Liz takes a page out of the Michael/Maria subplot and turns to Kyle to stage the apparent loss of virginity, which is a nice way to touch on the relationship dynamics of the first season and play with past history. It says a lot about Kyle that he’s willing to help out without so much as a shred of surliness over that past history. If he wasn’t truly looking to help Liz get the message across, he could be far more sarcastic about the whole situation.
Alex really steps up to the plate for Maria, and it’s good to see someone taking Michael to task. That punch to the face was more than a little deserved, especially since Michael protests his innocence one minute and starts making out with Courtney the next! It’s quite possible that Michael wasn’t even sure of what he was thinking, and he certainly came to regret it, but he still willingly crossed the line.
That scene does say a few things about Alex, however. For one thing, he still has a problem when it comes to keeping his mouth shut about the hybrids. He shouts about alien powers with the door wide open, which is a recipe for disaster. Alex is also quite aware of how badly Isabel has treated him, and that says a lot about his character. If he didn’t care about her so much, he wouldn’t put up with it.
In the wake of Liz’s apparent choice to reconcile with Kyle, Max turns to the most obvious alternative. Not much passes between them, but it’s clear that Max is now willing to entertain thoughts about his true destiny. That’s the irony of the end of the episode; even Future Max reminds Liz that the future is now unknown. All it really took was something to keep the chain reaction from starting when and where it did. Liz is still in love with Max and always will be, and that fact is never lost as the series marches on.
Many fans hated this episode when it first aired because of the finality of the break-up, but in many ways, this is a necessary step along the way. Max has to have the chance to explore his own choices about destiny and responsibility, and he can’t do that while still holding on to the assumption that his human life is unchanged. Apart from Liz, Max has that chance, and it allows the season’s theme to spiral into unexpected territory.
This is easily one of Katims’ most consistent scripts, one of the rare occasions where his final act wasn’t completely ludicrous. Usually Katims paints himself into a corner and can’t get out of it gracefully. Michael seems to have learned nothing from the previous episode, but it works within the context of the episode. Jason Behr does an amazing job of portraying an older, battle-scarred version of Max; filming all of those scenes must have been exhausting. Whatever the case, this is one of the highlights of the second season, thanks to the efforts of the writing staff and the cast.
Memorable Quotes
MARIA: “Are they a good 48 hours?”
COURTNEY: “Well, I guess it’s time for another night curled up in my sheets, fondling my remote control.”
MICHAEL: “I guess.”
COURTNEY: “Unless, of course, you want to be my remote control for the night?”
MICHAEL: “I’d better go home…”
KYLE: “You look really great when you’re pissed.”
TESS: “Yeah, right.”
KYLE: “No, I’m serious. I feel, like, all this energy coming from you right now. In order to trim the lamp of wisdom, we must attend to our bodily needs.”
TESS: “Let me tell you something, Buddha Boy…I got a lamp that needs some serious trimming…”
TESS: “We’ll finish trimming my lamp later.”
KYLE: “Right…I’ll keep my equipment on the ready…”
MICHAEL: “A clean girl is a sexy girl!”
MARIA: “Granted, Michael is the world’s worst boyfriend. I know that, you know that…America knows that!”
KYLE: “I’m here to help. My body’s merely a vessel.”
LIZ: “OK…”
Final Analysis
Overall, this episode is one of the best of the season. Jason Katims delivers one of his most consistent scripts of the entire series’ run, avoiding his usual pitfalls in favor of some truly tortured storytelling. Jason and Shiri shine in this episode, and there are enough character moments to give the rest of the cast highlights as well.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 3/4
Final Rating: 9/10
Directed by Bill Norton
In which Liz gets a visit from a future incarnation of Max, who convinces her that the fate of the world requires them to never be together, something that Liz must ensure…
Status Report
The theme of the second season has been the philosophical struggle between “free will” and predestination, centering on the character of Max. Max has a role to play, set before his creation, to retake the throne of an alien kingdom as the hybrid resurrection of a beloved if flawed leader. Part of that destiny means accepting his role as husband to Tess, the counterpart to his young and beautiful bride on Antar. But Max also has the life that he has created in the meantime as a young man in human society, and the love that he has found with Liz.
The two sides of Max’s world have been warring with each other since the moment his destiny was revealed, but in this episode, the writers take it one major step forward. As it stands, Max has a clear choice: responsibility for Antar or life on Earth. What Future Max reveals in this episode is a situation that should have occurred to someone a lot sooner: the fate of Earth is also at stake, because Max’s enemies have little reason to leave Earth untouched when they have already demonstrated a willingness to kill and manipulate American government.
In 2014, it seems, the war is once again lost, and Earth is devastated as a result. One has to wonder how Max could have let things get so bad before recognizing where it all went wrong, but he seems tortured by the fact that his decision to embrace “free will” led to the end of everything he holds dear. His solution is a one-time gesture to make things right, but even Liz’s future friends seem to realize the fact that Future Max changes everything simply by showing up.
The temporal mechanics of this episode are rudimentary, but that’s to be expected; the audience is not exactly proper for anything more complicated, and the plot doesn’t require it. However, it should be noted that Future Max chooses a specific moment because it sets off a series of events. Once that chain is broken, that future is eliminated, even if Max and Liz eventually end up together. That’s the beauty of the whole process.
Of course, without the benefit of retrospect, it would have been impossible to look at the situation with such a detached and clinical attitude. The writers leave enough ambiguity within the script to make it seem as though a permanent break is necessary; certainly Future Max is sure of it. But wouldn’t he be that sure, if he has seen the price of choosing Liz over his destiny? He wouldn’t have the objectivity to realize that it’s not as clear cut as keeping Tess in Roswell by pushing Max in her direction.
Considering the direction that the plot would ultimately take, it’s interesting to note how many of the elements of this episode still come to pass. After all, it doesn’t seem as though Tess betrays Max so explicitly in the timeline recalled by Future Max; then again, her activities after leaving Roswell are left very vague. And perhaps that explains one very big difference: Alex is still alive in that future, perhaps because Tess wasn’t forced into a corner as she was in the series. But “Graduation” proves that some pieces of that puzzle remained in place, even if the road getting there changed.
Future Max is trying to prevent a type of future, and that means pushing Max towards his destiny and away from notions of “free will”. That it turns out to be temporary in the scheme of things doesn’t take away from the feeling of loss in this episode. If the series is the story of Liz’s romance with Max in Roswell, told in three parts, then this is the beginning of the lowest point in that history. And that makes a certain amount of sense, since it wouldn’t be as satisfying at the end without the struggle.
At any rate, once Future Max pushes Liz to break things off with Max, however temporarily, the future is changed and all bets are off. One might assume that the end of the series, with Max and Liz on the run and eventually getting married, fits into the bleak future presented in this episode. But at the end of the series, too much has changed to make the “end of the world” a certainty; if anything, Max’s enemies have already achieved something of a victory by taking the throne and the Granilith.
Would Kivar continue to hunt down Max and his son? Considering the fact that Kivar pretty much left Max to his own devices in the third season, there’s no reason to assume that he would. But it’s always possible that Max’s son represents something important enough to wage war on Earth. Perhaps a fourth season would have answered that question, but it’s better left open-ended, all things being equal. “Roswell” is the story told from Liz’s point of view, and clearly that wasn’t the part of the story that mattered to her!
But as already mentioned, knowing the true future of the series doesn’t take any of the sting away, because it’s not just a question of Future Max advocating destiny. Michael is also proving that it’s hard to change, and his complete lack of awareness and self-control devastates Maria, who finally had reason to hope. Michael and Maria run a parallel course to Max and Liz, and in Michael’s case, the reversion to “destiny” is all too easy.
The visit to Madame Vivian is interesting because it is ultimately right about two of the characters, but utterly wrong about the other. Liz will eventually find love with Max, no matter how hard the road to that moment, and Alex never finds that moment of bliss with Isabel that he has wanted for so long. Maria’s fate, however, is nearly opposite of the prediction; even as volatile as it is, her relationship with Michael is rather solid in the long term. But the point of the episode is to give Maria reason to doubt Michael’s new intentions and to maximize the pain for Liz, so in the end, it doesn’t matter if the predictions are off for Maria.
It would be easy to forget, in the wake of that prediction for Liz, that her relationship with Max has been on the rocks ever since “Destiny”. Liz has secretly wanted to get back with Max, but there are those lingering feelings that Max and Tess are fated together. Max, of course, has never changed his mind, and he has begun turning to gestures like the mariachi band. It’s an inspired scene, to say the least!
Michael, on the other hand, can apparently acknowledge the contributions of humans to his survival without getting a clue about how to understand human feelings. He knows enough about Courtney to know something has to be going on there, beyond the passive-aggressive flirting, but he can’t simply sit down with Maria and explain himself when she needs it the most. A lot of the painful moments between them in this episode could have been avoided if Michael had been willing to tell Maria what he’s thinking.
Tess’ attitude in this episode is odd, especially since one would expect her to have a vested interest in staying in Roswell and working at Max’s emotions a little harder. After all, there’s the whole secret plan to ensnare Max and go running back to Kivar, which doesn’t work quite so well if Tess goes running off. One could theorize that Tess is considering leaving Roswell to contact Kivar overtly, but the truth is that Tess’ plan wasn’t on the minds of the writing staff at this point, so Tess really was just thinking about whether she had a future with Max.
The writers do, however, follow up on the apparent attraction between Tess and Kyle hinted at in “Ask Not”. It might have been interesting if the writers had gone in that direction, since it would have taken the four hybrids and paired them off with four humans. If the producers hadn’t felt that the series would end with the second season, it’s possible that this is the direction they would have taken. As it stands, it’s another example of Tess being torn between the better angels of her nature and the overall scheme to entrap Max.
That consistency isn’t a mistake, since the lead writer and series creator were clearly working together. Katims was trying very hard to communicate something to the audience: Tess can be sympathetic. And at this point in the series, that was a tough sell. After all, she was created as the anti-Liz, and that made it very hard for anyone supporting Liz and her romance with Max to accept Tess as a anything but the enemy. Moore and Katims tried very hard in the early part of the season to make Tess’ plight easier to relate to by pointing out that she is a victim of destiny as well, no matter how much she might embrace that calling.
One of the best scenes of the episode takes place between Future Max and Liz. He describes the wedding in Vegas that will never be, and it cuts right into Liz like a knife, as one would expect. But it’s clear that Future Max is also looking back on that day with joy, and it breaks his heart to intentionally sabotage that moment. With both of them desolated, it’s not hard for the audience to feel the same way.
It’s even harder when Max realizes what Liz is up to, just moments later, and continues to love Liz even more. Liz knows all too well what has to be done, and now she knows what that price would be, and she’s faced with a Max still willing to risk it all for love. The conflict in her eyes is incredibly well-communicated. Anyone who doubts Shiri’s range should watch this episode.
By the time that Max comes to Maria, looking for advice, things are a mess. Katims manages to juggle the character threads with ease, keeping their reactions consistent with the episodes since “Destiny” despite everything happening with Future Max at the same time. Liz’s comments to Max match her behavior coming into this episode, and Maria’s opinion about relationships with alien hybrids also echoes her comments in “Ask Not”.
Liz takes a page out of the Michael/Maria subplot and turns to Kyle to stage the apparent loss of virginity, which is a nice way to touch on the relationship dynamics of the first season and play with past history. It says a lot about Kyle that he’s willing to help out without so much as a shred of surliness over that past history. If he wasn’t truly looking to help Liz get the message across, he could be far more sarcastic about the whole situation.
Alex really steps up to the plate for Maria, and it’s good to see someone taking Michael to task. That punch to the face was more than a little deserved, especially since Michael protests his innocence one minute and starts making out with Courtney the next! It’s quite possible that Michael wasn’t even sure of what he was thinking, and he certainly came to regret it, but he still willingly crossed the line.
That scene does say a few things about Alex, however. For one thing, he still has a problem when it comes to keeping his mouth shut about the hybrids. He shouts about alien powers with the door wide open, which is a recipe for disaster. Alex is also quite aware of how badly Isabel has treated him, and that says a lot about his character. If he didn’t care about her so much, he wouldn’t put up with it.
In the wake of Liz’s apparent choice to reconcile with Kyle, Max turns to the most obvious alternative. Not much passes between them, but it’s clear that Max is now willing to entertain thoughts about his true destiny. That’s the irony of the end of the episode; even Future Max reminds Liz that the future is now unknown. All it really took was something to keep the chain reaction from starting when and where it did. Liz is still in love with Max and always will be, and that fact is never lost as the series marches on.
Many fans hated this episode when it first aired because of the finality of the break-up, but in many ways, this is a necessary step along the way. Max has to have the chance to explore his own choices about destiny and responsibility, and he can’t do that while still holding on to the assumption that his human life is unchanged. Apart from Liz, Max has that chance, and it allows the season’s theme to spiral into unexpected territory.
This is easily one of Katims’ most consistent scripts, one of the rare occasions where his final act wasn’t completely ludicrous. Usually Katims paints himself into a corner and can’t get out of it gracefully. Michael seems to have learned nothing from the previous episode, but it works within the context of the episode. Jason Behr does an amazing job of portraying an older, battle-scarred version of Max; filming all of those scenes must have been exhausting. Whatever the case, this is one of the highlights of the second season, thanks to the efforts of the writing staff and the cast.
Memorable Quotes
MARIA: “Are they a good 48 hours?”
COURTNEY: “Well, I guess it’s time for another night curled up in my sheets, fondling my remote control.”
MICHAEL: “I guess.”
COURTNEY: “Unless, of course, you want to be my remote control for the night?”
MICHAEL: “I’d better go home…”
KYLE: “You look really great when you’re pissed.”
TESS: “Yeah, right.”
KYLE: “No, I’m serious. I feel, like, all this energy coming from you right now. In order to trim the lamp of wisdom, we must attend to our bodily needs.”
TESS: “Let me tell you something, Buddha Boy…I got a lamp that needs some serious trimming…”
TESS: “We’ll finish trimming my lamp later.”
KYLE: “Right…I’ll keep my equipment on the ready…”
MICHAEL: “A clean girl is a sexy girl!”
MARIA: “Granted, Michael is the world’s worst boyfriend. I know that, you know that…America knows that!”
KYLE: “I’m here to help. My body’s merely a vessel.”
LIZ: “OK…”
Final Analysis
Overall, this episode is one of the best of the season. Jason Katims delivers one of his most consistent scripts of the entire series’ run, avoiding his usual pitfalls in favor of some truly tortured storytelling. Jason and Shiri shine in this episode, and there are enough character moments to give the rest of the cast highlights as well.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 3/4
Final Rating: 9/10
posted by John Keegan | 15:46
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