Honestly, really liked this episode!
Cons:
In some ways, I liked it so much that it shed a light on some of the pacing issues this season has had thus far. This felt like the point in which several plot threads were finally starting to find their footing, things moved forward in interesting ways, and I think if I were taking a red pen to this season, we'd want to have hit this point in the story maybe just one episode earlier? Cut away some of the sluggishness and extraneous stuff?
I was so happy to see Rosa again! This is maybe a nitpick, but I wish that the scene at the restaurant had gone a little differently. It felt super hasty for Rosa to get up and storm out after Liz and Shivani were talking science for like... forty-five seconds. It undercut Rosa's attitude in the next scene where she's being all mature and telling Liz to be herself. I would have rewritten that slightly so that Rosa stays at the restaurant but looks visibly uncomfortable/annoyed, and then afterwards when they get back to Rosa's place, says something to Liz about her behavior. That would have felt more mature and less awkwardly extreme. How many times have you actually gone out to a restaurant, sat down to eat, been annoyed by a family member for a minute, and actually got up to leave?
It's so funny to me how Max has become like the only person on the show who's thinking about Alex's role in things... specifically, when Michael is talking about going home, Max is like "uh you have a boyfriend." I'm just petty and selfish and Alex means so much to me, but it bothers me that Isobel didn't also think of Alex when she and Max were discussing Michael's future and his dreams.
Last thing I'll say negatively about this episode: the timeline of this season is BONKERS if you think about it for more than a second. I'm bad at tracking these things, but I'm fairly certain it's been like... less than two weeks since the season started with episode 4x01. This makes sense in some regards: Alex has been missing for say, seven or eight days, and that's well within the bounds of how long he said he'd be gone for his work, so it makes sense that Michael isn't panicked about him. But in other regards, when you think about how little time is passing? Mimi died like... what, five days ago, or something like that? Maria's walking around and reminiscing fondly and talking about her mother being at peace, as if it's been months or even years! And Michael only met Bonnie and Clyde like a week ago, all of this relationship development and wondering about home and the future has happened lightning fast when you really think about it. Max was going to propose to Liz just days ago! Isobel and Anatsa went from "I love you" to their breakup in less than a week! It's just kind of bonkers and poorly paced all around. Probably shouldn't consider it too hard.
Pros:
But as I said, I really enjoyed this episode.
To start with, seeing Rosa really was such a treat. I've missed her terribly this season, but she's living her best life in New York with cool artsy roommates, and it makes me so, so happy for her! I love how she was able to step in and be big-sister for Liz in that conversation. Liz was able to acknowledge that seeing Rosa's success made her feel small, which is an understandable thing that happens sometimes with siblings. And Rosa was able to feel settled in her own accomplishments and also give Liz advice on how to stay the course on the path that will make her happiest.
Max really pissed me off with his decision to give up his powers last week, but I kind of like being angry with him. I like that this feels like a real, concrete thing for he and Liz to clash over. Liz, I felt, could have been a little less self-righteous, and acknowledged that while Max shouldn't have done it without discussing it first, it ultimately should always have been his decision. It's his powers, his body, and Liz's position in that argument was very much "but we need your powers" instead of acknowledging what Max actually wants. BUT, ultimately even if Liz could have handled things slightly better, Max is still so in the wrong for continuing his pattern of unilateral decision making, always trying to be everyone's savior. I like a conflict I can really sink my teeth into. I do wish Max had already learned some of these lessons, but hey. These things take time.
Isobel and Dallas hanging out in the hot tub made me smile! They're so cute, I love how much Dallas fits in with the rest of his alien family. It was so funny when Isobel got all flustered at shirtless Dallas, and also how she made sure to check that he wasn't about to spring surprise feelings on her, the way Kyle did. Then, we get some juicy backstory details for both of them, in the form of flashbacks! It was so lovely to see Roy again, and to learn more about what Theo and Dallas were up to during the '40s. Dallas was able to learn the location of the special glasses, and we also got some insights into what Nora was working on, and hints about where her ship might have been hidden. I just really like spending time with Dallas, getting to see more of Theo, and Roy. Since the start, this show has always done a good job making the flashback stuff feel relevant and interesting, instead of a waste of time since we already know the outcome. This is no exception!
And Isobel... apparently Tezca was once her teacher, back on Oasis! This is an interesting twist, and brings Isobel back into the main story in a way I didn't realize we were missing. She's been sort of banished to relationship drama land for most of the season thus far, and here we finally get to see her with her mother's sword again, ready to face down Tezca while her brothers lie there with tranquilizer darts in them. It was such a cool moment to see Michael, Max, and Isobel teaming up to learn more about their origins and their enemy's plans. I want more pod squad time, please!
Bonnie and Clyde's relationship is so screwed up and twisty! I love how Clyde manipulates our heroes into going to the cave where they think Nora's ship might be hidden, when all along what he was after was Theo's bible and glasses. That was a good switcharoo I genuinely didn't see coming, so when we get to that standoff between Clyde and Dallas at the end, with Bonnie as Clyde's bargaining chip, I genuinely wasn't sure what he was going to do, what he might be capable of. He seemed genuinely anguished about having to use Bonnie like that, but a second later he threw her into the quicksand, so... it seems Clyde's fanaticism about the Alighting is no joke. I'm so excited that Dallas has been pulled into quicksand land, and found Alex's necklace... we're so close, guys! Do we think maybe Dallas will find Alex next week? It's possible!
Before I turn to Maria, I want to give a shoutout to Max and Michael having their chats and supporting each other. Their relationship has really come so far from where we started with them in season one. Max is being the pragmatist, raining on Michael's parade a little bit, but Michael admits that he was keeping the map from the rest of his family because he wasn't ready to exit the dream part of things and think about the practical side of things. Max in turn admits that his savior complex is a problem, that he needs to spend more time contemplating and considering the consequences of his actions. Look at that. Some real growth, there. Please let the lesson stick this time, Max!
So all season I've been moaning about the lack of Alex, frustrated that we weren't moving a little faster, at least towards someone realizing that he was in trouble. But honestly? After this episode? I'm already forgiving them for a lot of the Alex drought. Maria has been trying to figure out what her mom wants to tell her, since her mom died. And we saw last week that strange things have been happening around her, signals that we assume came from Mimi. My trust issues with this show means that I never even considered that it might be Alex trying to reach out to Maria. Why? Because Alex doesn't seem to matter much to his friends outside of Michael! If you think about season three, how much screen-time did Alex get with any of his supposed close friends? Barely any with Kyle, and virtually none with Maria or Liz. So to have a plot setup where Maria's whole subplot the past couple of weeks has actually been leading her to Alex? To see Liz and Maria discussing Alex, his favorite soup and milkshake flavor, the concert they went to as kids... it brings Alex into the fold in a way I have been missing, honestly, since season two.
I was worried that the Alex rescue mission was going to be Michael alone, which obviously I would have loved seeing for the sake of the Malex of it all, but I like Alex as a character a lot! I want him to matter to a larger contingent of the cast. I want his absence to be a Big Deal and the Main Point of next week's episode, and having that cliffhanger ending with Maria and Liz realizing the truth, and then Dallas finding that necklace, it gives me hope that we're going to get something truly awesome for 4x08. I miss Tyler on the show, but if they can make Alex matter to the other characters even if we don't get to see him, I'll be more than satisfied.
So, yeah! That's where I'll leave things! I've already seen people hating on this episode because they hate Maria for like, existing, and for her having anything to do with Alex because they think she's an evil monster or whatever. Honestly at this point I just have to roll my eyes and feel kind of bad for those people. Imagine willfully misreading the show to support your continued irrational hatred of a fictional character who honestly has just as much of a right to take up space and time on the show as any of the other leads. Sounds exhausting and not so much fun.
Can't wait for next week! I'm vibrating with excitement!!!
8.5/10
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