Michael/Maria: Well, what can I say? I was blubbering like a fool over the whole "I want you to see me" scene, with Michael finally opening up to Maria! I was so glad that he finally admitted that he wanted Maria to "see" him like she had allowed him to "see" her. I know I’ll be wearing a hole in my tape from rewatching this scene over and over and over and over… This is, hands down, my favorite scene of season 2. (The one from Independence Day is still my favorite of the series - what is it about Michael crying that gets to me so much?!) Kudos to Brendan for playing this scene so well! Oh, and something tells me that Italian dinner went to waste, but that was so sweet of him. Although I love it when Michael gets sentimental, I do hope they don’t get too lovey dovey; I love it when the sparks are flying as well! ;-)

I absolutely loved that Michael wasn’t able to go through with it. I wonder if Maria will be conflicted. On the one hand she should be ecstatic that Michael loves her so much that he would make such a supreme sacrifice - giving up what he assumes is his one and only chance to go home - to be with her. On the other hand, will she feel she’s not worthy of that much love and devotion? Does she love him as much? I was a little disappointed that she didn’t even broach the subject of going with him.

I was also very disappointed that they consummated their love at such a young age. I understood why Michael did it, and I was a little upset he didn’t tell her he was leaving first and then see if she still wanted to proceed to that stage. It would have been a little more reasonable then, for her to want to as well. When he told her he was leaving and she said "I know" I thought she meant she knew he was leaving imminently. It would have made sense. When he made the connection with her, that was what was foremost on his mind and he wasn’t holding anything back, so she should have sensed it then. And her deciding she wanted to make love to him, for him to be her first, and not wanting to lose this opportunity forever, would have made sense. Anyway, I do hope Michael took his own advice to Max, and was "smart enough" to use protection!

I was a little disappointed that Michael didn’t hug Jim (or at least shake his hand). I thought they had bonded, at least a little, in Skin and Bones.

Max/Liz: I was glad that Liz finally told Max that she didn’t really feel he was responsible for Alex’ death, but I was wishing she had apologized for making him think she did.

I felt so sorry for Liz, having to take in so much bad news at once - the fact that Max had sex with Tess (I KNEW she’d be crushed that he lost his virginity to Tess), the baby (I was a little surprised that Michael never said anything to Maria, who would have said something to Liz), the baby being sick (Liz would feel bad about that for Max’ sake) and then the worst news of all, Max leaving for good! I was surprised she held it together as well as she did.

I was also surprised that she didn’t want to spend every last possible minute with him before he left. Even if she was hurt by all the things he said, he’s still the love of her life and she thinks she’s never going to see him again. I was shocked that she got out of the jeep and walked into the Crashdown. Granted if she had stayed with him, she never would have found out about Tess, but they could have found some way for Kyle to figure it out on his own (you see Maria should have been with Michael till the last minute too!), and then come save the day!

I was devastated that she ran to Sean! Thank God she came to her senses before it was too late.

I found Liz’ slip about SAVING herself for Max interesting. That’s different than saying she wouldn’t be with anyone else but him; that would mean she would rather remain chaste than be with anyone else. But she said she was SAVING herself for HIM, which means she thought they would be together some day soon. Has she been in denial all this time? Telling Max they can’t be together, that he has to be with Tess, pretending to be sleeping with Kyle; obviously she was hoping he would ignore all that and insist that he and she HAD to be together. I was disappointed that she didn’t mention Future Max at that point. What was there to lose if he was leaving? She said in Wipeout that she didn’t want to die without letting Max know the truth - well, if she let him leave without telling him it would be the same thing. It’s not just the fact that she didn’t sleep with Kyle that he should learn, but also that all those horrible things she said to him, like not being willing to die for him, were lies.

Why did Liz ask Kyle "how much further" when on the way to the pod chamber? She’s been there before, not him. Shouldn’t it have been him asking her?

I was disappointed that when Liz asked Max if he loved Tess, he qualified his answer by saying "Not like I love you." Did that mean he thought he loved Tess a little? (retching! Must have been a mind warp!) And after waiting so long for them to kiss, the lack of passion was a bit of a letdown; the sadness making it bittersweet.

Now that Tess is no longer there to manipulate Max, will he continue to have "memories" of home?

I had the same thoughts as Liz when I saw Leanna sewing - wondering why an alien would bother sewing a button on a shirt when a simple wave of her hand would fix it. Why didn’t Max? I’m rather disappointed in him. He was much too willing to kill Leanna without knowing for sure that she was an alien and that she killed Alex. Didn’t his experience with Brody [in Ask Not] teach him anything? And the fact that he would start a fire in a dorm, putting others at risk, destroying private property and risking nearby property, was truly repugnant! We never did see him repair the damage he caused to the furnace. If he didn’t , that could cause a fire later. I doubt that Jim would be very honored to know him if he had heard about that. Actually, I don’t understand why he thought taking care of Leanna would solve the problem. Did he honestly think she acted alone?

I was glad that Max finally said something about the fact that they would not be seeing a welcome mat when they arrived on Antar (and why is it that they have yet to SAY the name of their planet? I thought since it appeared in the translation of the book, they would finally let the word be spoken!) Now, Tess knew she would receive a warm welcome but shouldn’t Max and company have felt that their return would be construed as them coming back to reclaim the throne and therefore, they would be summarily executed? And how do they even know if they can survive in Antar’s atmosphere? Max thinks the baby is sick, that it can’t survive in Earth’s atmosphere, even though the idea was for Max and Tess to mate and have children, so if the Antarians were wrong about that, could they be wrong about the hybrids surviving on Antar? Personally, I don’t think the baby is sick. I just think someone should have brought up the possibility.

How does Max think he will be able to save his son?

Tess/Jim: I was tearing up over Jim’s speech to Tess about her always having a home with them. I was wishing, at the time, that she had told him it felt good to call him Dad, but now I’m glad she didn’t. He wouldn’t want to feel like a Dad to HER. Talk about having regrets for taking in a stranger and helping them out, making them a part of your family! I wonder if this will affect Jim’s trust in Max. Max is the one that brought her to his home.

Why didn’t Tess use Brody to translate the book? She knew he was susceptible to mind control and he was a computer expert.

Tess indicated that King Zan was a different person than Max. Was Queen Ava a different person than Tess? And speaking of Ava, does anyone know if Emilie signed a contract for season 3? Since Tess is on Antar, will Ava reappear on the scene? I think Emilie and Nick have great chemistry together and it would be a shame to waste that. Bringing Ava back could prove interesting.

I find it interesting that in Four Square, Max, thinking Tess was Nasedo, asked if she was going to kill Alex, Maria and Liz, and it turns out he was right to be afraid of that. She wasn’t Nasedo, she was even worse! Does it make you wonder if these people are worth helping? Can any of them be trusted (besides Max, Michael and Isabel)? Do we really want the pod squad preparing to fight a war for people who may not be worth their lives?

Nasedo made a deal!? 40 years ago!? Then why did they kill him before he delivered on his promise? Why did he think of them as the enemy? Sounds more like Tess made a deal that didn’t include him! When Tess said the aliens at home were not her enemies, did anyone else wonder if she was Vilandra after all? Or was it that Zan was just surrounded by traitors?

General: OK, Future Max came back to prevent Liz and Max from getting back together because if they did Tess would leave and the world would end.

Now that the hybrids have no way back to Antar, will Kivar call off the Skins or will he heat things up to get rid of them once and for all?

Blooper - Alex’ gravestone said he was born June 21, 1984, which would mean he was 15 in December 1999, but in Heat Wave, which took place in December 1999, he distinctly mentioned to Sheriff Valenti that he was 16! Granted, it would have been more appropriate if they had all been 15 in 1999, but they made them 16 so they should just stick with it and stop screwing around with the ages so much!

So, was Alex visiting them from the grave, to help them remember, or did the mind warp just fade over time and they remembered on their own?

When I saw the granilith take off in the promos, I suspected only Tess would be aboard (although I had no idea why) but I had heard that this episode was going to be a cliffhanger so, when it was just Max and Tess left in the chamber, I was afraid they were going to cut away before we knew who got aboard and we would just see the granilith take off without knowing if Max went with her. THANK GOD that didn’t happen!

Who else knew they were videotaping their good-byes to their parents the minute Max smiled? I wish they would just tell them already!

Was the pod chamber destroyed? Did they lose all the stuff they had collected from Antar? I was disappointed we didn’t hear anymore of the translation of the book than the first few lines we were able to read on the screen anyway!

OH NO! Bob died!!! Will Max be able to revive it? It just won’t be the same seeing them drive something else. Will the Jetta be next!? ;-)

Max telling Liz "I was right about one thing. To get you into my life, to be around you, to love you." tells me that Roswell will be back on track in season 3. Now that Tess is out of the picture, Max and Liz can concentrate on clearing the air and repairing the damage that was caused by her. I have high hopes that UPN will leave Jason Katims alone, to bring us his true vision of Roswell, and write the stories he wanted to write.