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Roswell
As more secrets continue to surface, is Max one step closer to home, or is it all for nothing?
"Control"
Season 3, Episode 5
Written by Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts
Directed by Bill Norton
Max finally locates the last of the shapeshifter protector that was sent along with the Royal Four to earth, hoping to find clues as to the whereabouts of their ship. What he got instead was a good butt kicking. After a brief interrogation by Kal, who tells Max to leave and never come back again, Max decides to crash Langley's party that very night -- in other words, he didn't heed the advice. Meanwhile, Isabel is busy planning her wedding in Roswell. Catching everyone by surprise, many people close to her don't even know who Jesse is. She reveals to Michael that she has no intention of telling Jesse the truth about her alien identity. For some reason, she's just in a big hurry to get married. Yet to Isabel's dismay, no one shares her enthusiasm at the engagement, not even her own mother.
Back in Los Angeles, Max explains to Kal that he needs the ship in order to get his son back from Antar. Comfortable with his life on earth, Kal refuses to help Max and almost kills him, but we find out that as the protector, Kal's genes are encoded in such a way that he cannot harm Max (probably Isabel and Michael also.) Furthermore, when Max gives a direct order, Kal has to carry it out without question. Now this is definitely getting interesting, but the thing is -- I don't recall Nasedo ever exhibiting these qualities. In fact, he was actually plotting with the enemies to get rid of Max. We also discover that shapeshifters lack the sense of touch, smell, and taste, and as Kal indicates, he hasn't shapeshifted in years to allow his body organs to adjust. Even with these physical limits, he is still happy with his life.
Through Kal's military connection they learn that the ship was moved onto the air force base. Under the cover of night, the two of them break in and locate the hangar where it's stored. In order to pilot the spacecraft Kal will have to shapeshift to take the controls, but he is reluctant to throw away everything he's worked for, so he pleads with Max to not make him do this. Unfortunately, Max is quite set to leave and refuses to listen. So he commands Kal to get into the ship and prepare it for launch. However, Langley is only able to keep the craft afloat for a few seconds before it falls back down to the ground. Apparently the generator overloaded due to the extensive damage sustained from the initial crash. Still weak from the experience, Kal and Max make it back to the mansion where he reveals that he has been keeping watch over Max, and advises him that "the more you embrace your alien side, the more you're gonna lose."
In the end, we find Max back in Roswell, and even though Liz is relieved to see him after being apart for a week, she is definitely upset that Max has not been keeping in touch as promised. Feeling that he has messed everything up, Max breaks down in Liz's arms, and we can't help but wonder where he'll turn now in his mission to get his son back.
Finally an episode that is beyond mediocrity -- good pacing and lots of information for us fans to ponder in the weeks to come. I sure hope we will see Kal again in the future. Not only did Joe Pantoliano do a great job portraying the character, there is still so much to know about this shapeshifter. Two things I didn't like though -- I'm troubled by the fact that Maria has been reduced to a supporting role that exists solely to listen to Liz's constant whining. Majandra Delfino is a great actress and someone needs to start giving her a bigger role this season. The other was the Isabel subplot. Personally I don't think it was handled very well. For some unknown reason she is being so pushy and insecure about this marriage. In the beginning the wedding was planned to take place in the spring, but by the end she decides to have it in two weeks. Although Michael finally congratulates and accepts her decision, I don't think Isabel is really as sure about going through with this as she appears to be, especially since she chose to withhold from telling Jesse the truth about her alien side. Anyway, from the looks of next week's preview there will be more Isabel and Jesse heading our way. But I for one am quite sick of this relationship if the writers don't start making it worthwhile soon.
Episode rating: 8 out of 10
- Zalasta
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