Y'all I'm so happy to have new content of this show! Over the past couple of months my brain has been completely overtaken by this crazy world and delightful characters. I hopped on board just in time to experience the final season week to week. Let's jump in!
Cons:
I thought this was a very strong premiere and set up a lot of the various dynamics that I want to see more of moving forward. I will say that the actual alien-related plots on this show are never all that gripping to me when they stray away from direct connections to our leads... so, I'm interested in Nora and Jones because of the pod squad, I'm interested in Project Shepherd because of Alex... but when you have these new characters and the Alighting and all that stuff, my brain does tend to wander a bit. It's not bad, it's just par for the course with a genre show like this. I guess what I'm saying is that none of this stuff is why I tune in, so it'll never be my favorite!
I was really excited about the Hatch Day group scenes, and then it ended up being so brief, our characters splintering off into different directions right away. I liked what we got, but it was too little. And no Alex, no Kyle at the party... one of my big hopes for this season is that we'll get at least a couple times of the gang hanging out and vibing together. We virtually never get to see that. For a lot of the show, and especially last season, Alex was especially banished from group scenes. I suspect actor availability was a factor there, but in any case, I wanted Alex to be at Hatch Day! Jeez.
I don't hate the idea of Maria and Dallas, but I'd like to lodge a formal complaint on behalf of Gregory Manes, who deserves the whole world! I don't want him to get his heart broken here. Adorable that he's off at grad school, though, good for him!
Pros:
When I really love a show I have a hard time keeping myself organized, and end up just listing every little thing that happens in the whole episode, so I'm going to try real hard to avoid that and take it subplot by sublot.
To start with, as much as I'm not as interested in the bank robbing aliens and the Alighting and all that, it was a super nice treat to see Cam again! I love her so much. It was so cute to see her and Max on the case together, and her encouragement of Max and Liz's relationship was wonderful. I love that this show doesn't go in for cheap characters who are only there to stir up the drama. Cam says "I love you" to Max in this episode, but it's the warm love of friendship, of someone who wants to be there for the wedding and cheer you on.
Maria's subplot in this episode is setting up some potentially interesting drama for later on. The good news is, her brain degeneration seems to be cured! The moment where Liz, Kyle, and Maria all shared a group hug was honestly so sweet. Would love to see more friendship energy this season. But Maria may be losing her psychic gift entirely, as the consequence for no longer being sick. I thought the Maria drama this year would be centered around her illness, the way her powers were killing her, so I'm pleasantly surprised to see this plot twist. Maria has tied a lot of her identity into her psychic abilities, so seeing her try to deal with that loss is bound to be fascinating.
Dallas played a bit of a supporting role this week, giving advice to various characters, but I did think his vibes with Maria were sweet. They're playing a game of virtual chess, he's bringing her an umbrella, he's working on his water powers... all very sweet and quaint and lovely. I'm happy to see more of Dallas!
Isobel and Anatsa... okay, I'm definitely on board the Kyle/Isobel train, but I'm not going to lie, these two are a pretty cute couple. They have that giddy energy to them, where they've been together long enough to start to really know one another, but there's still a lot of newness to it. The "I love you" moment, and Isobel's shocked, pleased reaction, was really cute, as was her running to the Hatch Day party and hiding the alien theme. She's trying to work up the nerve to tell the big secret. I hope we get to know Anatsa a little more on her own terms. There's a cute energy here, but she hasn't really been developed much in her own right.
Kyle, the poor thing, spends this episode working too hard. His uncle actually has to shoo him out of Deep Sky and tell him to go to the party. Things don't exactly go well for him once he's there, though, as Isobel ends up asking him for advice about Anatsa. Poor thing! I enjoy a good old fashioned pining every now and then, and Kyle's love for Isobel is really sweet. Isobel even tells him she loves him, although she clearly means it platonically.
Now let's turn to our actual leading lady and gentleman! Honestly, Max and Liz are too cute for words in this episode. There were so many moments to talk about, I don't even know where to start. Liz is so good as a teacher, it's a beautiful progression of her love of science and knowledge. The couch thing was funny, redecorating the house together was great... Max getting Abuela's ring from Arturo punched me right in the feels!
I also just like that this story had a bit of drama and stress but that Liz and Max are honestly in a good place with one another. It would have felt exhausting and unnecessary to have them immediately fall apart, after all the work we've seen them do to get to such a healthy place. So yeah, Max's proposal attempts are thwarted, and then Liz cuts him off before he can actually do it. They talk about how maybe it's not quite the right time, that Liz is still nervous about what catastrophe might strike them next. Max admits he's been trying to compartmentalize because he wanted them to just be happy and normal together. So it's agreed that Liz will say yes when Max decides to ask again. That's honestly perfect! I know in fiction it's often a big surprise when someone proposes, but I always think for a real relationship, you should absolutely have already talked about getting married before the actual asking occurs.
Meanwhile Michael and Alex are having their own relationship stresses, and let me tell you I kind of died of happiness when I saw Alex giving Michael his very own key with a little alien on the keychain... stahp it, so cute. Great acting in that scene, there was a lot of vulnerability and nerves and a bit of awkwardness between them as they make this next step. You could just see that Michael was pretty overwhelmed with the prospect of Alex clearing out the closet for him, and saying "everything here is yours." Meanwhile Alex is clearly very excited about it but I think he's also trying a little too hard to make it special and good and right. When Michael inadvertently breaks the model Gazebo that Alex had built with his mom, he spirals pretty hard.
Not to go on a total tangent about Malex here, but this show really does do such an excellent job of making the drama and tensions in its romantic couples feel grounded and real. Michael's nerves and insecurities haven't popped up out of nowhere to cause problems. We know about Michael's past, we know his insecurities around being abandoned. We've seen time and again how he'll do anything for the people he loves, and how he feels he needs to earn his keep, earn his place in people's lives. When he tells Max that he always felt "feral and undomesticated" when he stayed at the Evans's house, that's a stark reminder that Michael has literally never had a house of his own. That letting go of the Airstream, joining his life with Alex's, it's a huge, big, scary step. They love each other, but that's not enough on its own.
Props to Alex for handling the situation really well. He understood Michael's insecurities for what they were, and managed to reassure him and tell him he's wanted and appreciated. I love how all-in Alex is for Michael. Honestly just super proud of both of them for working out their issues in words and not letting things fester. I just want them to be happy!
A few other things I want to tease out: I noticed just a lot of really great "men being open about their emotions" content in this episode. You've got Michael and Dallas, with their shared connection of growing up in the system. Dallas giving Michael advice about Alex was so lovely! Then there's Max and Michael, openly talking about the next steps they'll be taking with their partners. The cutest moment was Max getting all nervous and asking Michael "think she'll say no?" and Michael just immediately saying "oh, buddy, she'll say yes." They had such a sweet brotherly energy together, it's like they've really gotten back to a good place with one another at last! You've got Arturo giving Max a sort of joking shovel talk as he hands over the ring and his blessing... you've got Max talking about Liz with Cam, Arturo talking to Liz about her feelings and her choices... I loved every minute of it!
So there you have it. Obviously I'm hugely obsessed with the Michael/Alex stuff already, and can only hope we get some cute domestic moments between the two of them before disaster inevitably strikes. We've got magic alien rain falling from the sky, bank robbers causing problems, and lots of potential relationship drama to come! I'm hyped!
8/10
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