The Band Played On
Elder Max watches from the shadows, talking discreetly with Liz.
As the young Max tosses Liz a bouquet of red roses, Elder Max explains that he remembered mid-toss that Liz prefers white ones. On cue, the younger Max changes the flowers' color.
Elder Max explains that the aliens' enemies caught up with them 14 years in the future, destroying everything. To prevent that outcome, their actions now must be "precise, surgical."
Most of all, Liz cannot let present-day Max know what is going on.
Mr. Parker interrupts, wanting to know what all the noise is at 11:00 on a school night and whether it's Max again. He seems sheepishly pleased at the scope of Max's wooing efforts.
Turnin' up the heat with Mikey G
Meanwhile, Maria is in the Crashdown kitchen trying to tell Michael that the next 48 hours are critical to their relationship.
Courtney enters, and Maria tells her, "No waitresses in the kitchen," ignoring the fact that she is a waitress herself.
Appearing not to hear, Courtney caresses "Mikey G" and tells him how she wants her food. Maria is outraged at the display.
Michael admits that Courtney can't be trusted. Perhaps she is an alien or a government agent.
"The slut wants in your pants," Maria summarizes. Michael is taken by this idea.
Days of future past
Back in Liz's bedroom, Elder Max stares longingly at a picture of his younger self with Liz.
She resents the intrusion and wants to know why he can't bother present-day Max instead. Unfortunately, he says, a "quantum mechanics reaction" would cause both of them to be destroyed, according to "Serena" -- a friend Liz hasn't met yet.
The next few days are critical to the future. This is when Max and Liz drew closest to one another. Elder Max says, "And nothing comes between us again until--"
Liz thoughtfully completes the sentence by quoting the episode title. "The end of the world."
Elder Max describes the events leading up to the end. His actions led to a breakdown with Tess, who eventually left Roswell because of how Max treated her.
Sadly, she was "critical to our survival" because she and the other three aliens made "a complete unit. We all had different gifts, and with one of us missing, we weren't as strong. Everything fell apart."
Liz wonders why Elder Max has come to her. "I need you to help me fall out of love with you," he says.
Burning down the house
Michael drives Courtney home on his motorcycle. Impressed with his skills, she invites him inside.
Initially he resists, but then pauses. They kiss; he goes inside.
Meanwhile, in Kyle's former bedroom, Tess takes down a football poster and uses her powers to shift the wall's paneling.
A modern-day Darren Stevens, Kyle walks in and says, "Hey, I thought I didn't want you to do that bewitch-crap in the house."
Tess launches into a litany of complaints about Roswell, Max, everyone.
When she pauses, Kyle tells her that she looks great when she's upset. She seems so full of energy. Spouting his
.
Like it or not, Tess needs help in this, and Liz can provide that.
Amway would be envious
Courtney rubs Michael's back while he idly asks what brought her to Roswell. She replies that she's always been into the alien thing. They kiss again.
Michael tells her to take a shower since he fears germs. "A clean girl is a sexy girl," he tells her.
"I'll play any game you want, Mikey G," she responds.
Once she's gone, Michael starts looking through her cabinets, only to find many bottles of Ultra Silk body lotion.
There's a knock on the door: Maria come investigating after discovering a picture of Michael, Max and Isabel in Courtney's Crashdown locker. Michael's face was circled.
Courtney compliments Michael's kissing technique from the shower. Maria slaps him and then, when Courtney herself arrives in a towel, throws a hair clip at her.
Maria sees that 48 hours was too generous a time. She leaves, knowing it's over.
Michael leaves moments later.
Watching them connect
Tess sits alone, reading in the Crashdown while Elder Max and Liz watch across the street. Liz notes that Tess is wearing a top Max likes.
Present-day Max enters the Crashdown. Liz narrates: "Just don't look at him. Show him the book. Make sure he sees it. Tell him Steinbeck's your favorite author."
Elder Max is having emotional difficulty, remembering how he and Liz got married at 19, eloping to Vegas to be married at the Elvis Chapel.
Their friends met them outside Phoenix and sang and danced the night away. Their song, "I Shall Believe", came on late, and they danced some more.
Saddened, Liz says, "If this works, I'm not going to have that day."
Back in the Crashdown, Max is confused but Tess is sympathetic. She accidentally reveals that she's been talking to Liz.
Instantly suspicious, Max looks around and sees Liz across the street. Elder Max hides as his younger self confronts her. Why the setup?
The two kiss and have a psychic flash. Tess can never replace Liz. Max has even bought them tickets to a Gomez concert.
Tearing up my heart
The problem is that Liz and Max never went to see Gomez. Instead, he came to her room, and they made love. Liz would never allow such a thing. She had no intention of doing so and didn't even have protection.
Max did, though. Liz makes the discussion about her readiness to have sex. For Elder Max, this is a matter of history. It happened, and now they must stop it from occurring.
At her Crashdown locker, Maria tears up a photo of herself with Michael. When Alex enters, Maria tries to send him away, but he hears her crying and persists. She tells him what she saw at Courtney's.
The strong friend, Alex listens and holds Maria. His eyes are cold.
How tragedies end
Liz goes to Max and finds him shirtless and doing pull-ups. She asks him to get dressed. This speech will be hard enough as it is.
She says she was rereading Romeo and Juliet and is reminded that the title's first words are "The Tragedy of. . ."
For most people, she says, the idea of danger is sexy. Because of who he is, Max will always be in danger, but Liz doesn't have to be.
She tells him about all that she wants to do. Dates with normal boys. Birthdays. A wedding day. Children -- human children. Liz tells Max, "I may love you, but I don't want to die for you."
If he loves her, Max will let her go.
Conversations in real time
Later, Maria and Max discuss Liz in the Crashdown after hours. Still stung by the Michael situation, Maria tells Max to give up on Liz. The hybrid aliens are simply not meant for humans.
Elder Max tries to comfort Liz, who is crying on her balcony. He reaches for a tissue, but his hand goes intangible. Their plan has worked!
But back at the Crashdown, Max confesses that he is not ready to let go of Liz. He loves her, and that's all.
Maria calls him hopeless. Suddenly, Elder Max's hands become tangible again. They need a new plan, but Liz begs him to look for help elsewhere.
He tells her, "Twenty-five minutes before I came here, I held Michael in my arms, dead. Isabel died two weeks before that." Liz must find a way to prevent this.
Out of the ashes of one relationship
Later, Liz comforts Maria about the Michael situation.
Maria is bitter that Madame Vivian was right. What made things terrible, though, was the look of guilt on Michael's face when Maria caught him with Courtney.
Liz hugs her friend, but we know her thoughts are elsewhere. She goes to Kyle and asks for his help.
Lucy, you've got some explaining to do
Liz and Kyle undress separately, keeping on their undergarments. Kyle talks about how he has "found Buddha" and is more spiritual.
Out of his sight, Elder Max expresses his skepticism. Liz tells him to go away.
When Liz comes to bed in a towel, Kyle says this brings back memories. It's the towel, not the bed, that's the trigger. They laugh over a time at the YMCA pool.
She wants to be sure that he understands exactly what she wants, or rather what she does not want. Kyle is clear. He tells her, "I'm here to help. My body's merely a vessel."
At his apartment, Michael watches football and eats a bachelor dinner of Chex. Alex storms in, turning off the TV. He wants to know what Michael thinks he's doing with Maria.
"I don't care that you've got 30 pounds on me," Alex says, "or that you could kill me with some twisted alien power. I will not let you treat her like that."
Adding fuel to the fire, Courtney arrives. Alex punches Michael and sends him backwards. Michael points out that Alex has just risked his life, but he's a good friend.
Having apparently made his point, Alex leaves Courtney to comfort Michael. His hands wander over her body, pulling a handful of skin from her back.
She's a Skin! She escapes through the window. Michael uses his powers, but misses, destroying his TV.
One moment of true happiness
Kyle and Liz lie in bed together, talking while they wait for Max to arrive. This is really the first time they've talked in a while.
He points out that they have something in common: Max brought both back to life.
She wonders if Kyle has had any psychic flashes. He has not, but jokes that "since he healed me, I keep getting flashes of Max Evans naked." Liz laughs.
Max appears outside her window, seeing the two within. Hidden from sight, Elder Max struggles to listen. Liz looks up to see the present-day Max. She is aghast.
Hurt, Max walks away.
Alone Again, Naturally
Later, Max sits alone on a park bench. Tess wanders over. She asks if he is OK.
He is not. She asks if she can sit down, and Max says "sure."
Back with Liz, Elder Max admits that this is the hardest thing he's ever done. Maybe this will all be for the best. Perhaps Liz does deserve a human -- as Elder Max grudgingly admits, Kyle seems to be a great guy.
Liz tells Elder Max that anyone else would only be second best.
Tess offers to listen to what Max has to say, but he doesn't want to talk.
Liz wants to know what will happen now. Elder Max says that this is a different world. As he's told her before, they really can make
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