This episode explores how memory impacts our lives. From the choices we make to the people we love. Oh yeah, and there’s lots of sex.
For Max it is a question of whether love transcends memory. Is the love Max had for Liz the result of a shared history or a fundamental compatibly? The ease between them despite Max’s missing memories is the reason Max gives it a shot. Liz is more reticent. Whether that's to shield herself from more heartache or to give Max space I’m not sure. However, Little Green Man milkshake aside, this question is resolved rather quickly.
As much as their storyline is about their common history, it is told through a series of firsts. Despite an established relationship, they embark on their first date. With the help of several slugs of whiskey, they share secrets neither of them dared reveal before. Liz confesses she was engaged less than a year ago. Max responds, not by running for the hills, but by admitting he killed a drifter to protect Isobel.
Two interesting things come out of his confession. The first is that it wasn’t about killing the man. The drifter was dangerous and bent on hurting Isobel. Max feared becoming the drifter, a man who killed innocent people. The second was upon hearing this, Liz jumps to the conclusion that if Max’s memories were intact, his worst memory would involve her. She wasn’t wrong, but she was missing the point.
Luckily, Max’s limbic system eventually lit up. Not because of a love for Little Green Man milkshakes but from the desire to protect and the fear of losing the woman he loved, brought home by the bullet she was shot with. His memories flooded back, allowing him to explain that while Rosa’s death may have been the worst moment of his life, it did not change his feelings for her. And then they had sex.
Isobel and Kyle attempt to escape their past by going to a place devoid of associated memories: a gay bar. After Noah’s manipulations, Isobel seeks a safe refuge. Kyle just wants a few drinks in quiet anonymity.
I love how at home Isobel has always been with her sexuality. She likes what she likes, and she doesn’t care who knows it. Kyle is hot. She’s horny. Why not tap that? When he declines she moves on. Was Blair a case of being three sheets to the wind and feeling safe in a woman's arms? Or is it that, in the absence of Noah, she’s discovering her true self? I was definitely picking up some Willow vibes.
Against my better judgement, I’m starting to like Kyle. He’s done little more than flirt with Steph and given his last non-conversation with her it is unclear if she reciprocated his feelings. Yet he turns down Isobel’s offer despite admitting he’s tempted. It seems he became a better man than his father. Although, I see Steph mistaking his affection for pity in the not too distant future.
Alex’s sexuality is entwined with painful memories. Being true to himself meant inviting his father’s wrath. His seven minutes of heaven with Maria offered a path to his father’s acceptance with someone he genuinely cared about. That he came out to Maria and forged a relationship with Michael in the face of his father’s cruelty speaks to his strength of character. That he could consider a future with Maria explains some of the many fault lines in his relationship with Michael.
Which brings us to the horror story portion of the evening’s entertainment. Complete with an axe wielding villain. I’ve watched this section several times because I’m convinced it is more than just the impetus for the MMAlex three-way. Here are my thoughts.
The paramilitary group that experimented on Travis is the same as the private securities firm that is after Cameron’s sister. And I wouldn’t be surprised if it is, or is connected to Project Shepherd. Now how that fits with Mama DeLuca’s disappearances and Cam’s abduction, I have no idea. But I believe they are all connected.
As for the aforementioned threesome, after I picked my jaw off the floor I realized I shouldn’t have been so surprised. Marie, Michael and Alex love each other. Maybe not equally or in the same way, but their love for each other is deep and enduring. That Maria initiated it was shocking, but in retrospect she’s the only one who could have.
While I don’t expect what happened to change how they feel about each other, it seemed to solidify their relationships. There was finally a sense of closure between Michael and Alex despite the many times they’ve quit each other. Alex is now free to move on. Maria has sloughed off her guilt and doubt and acknowledges her love for Michael. As for Michael, he loves them both. He probably always will, but he’s made his choice.
Finally, we learn Max’s childhood nightmares were actually forgotten memories. My first thought was that Max’s mysterious captor is the same man that set fires to the soldiers in "Good Mother." However, it's unlikely since it would make him at least seventy. And I suspect he is a character we’ve already met or soon will. Then again, there could be another pod floating around...
It would seem that despite the massive influence memories hold over our lives, our decisions are our own. The only question is what choices our heroes will make now that Max is officially back and new threats are emerging.
4 out of 5 warm glasses of milk
Parting Thoughts:
The title is from Marcy Playground’s 1997 release. Yet another song I did not know. FYI, Maroon 5 recorded a remake in 2014.
A beagle named Buffy and a lizard named Willow. Is this fate knocking?
David Anders, another Vampire Diaries alum, makes an appearance, complete with daylight ring jokes.
Alex and Maria’s “discussion” over who would get killed first in a horror movie made laugh out loud. Literally.
Quotes:
Michael: “You’ve been pumping this bag of hamsters full of antidote for three days.”
Liz: “Embarazado means you’re pregnant.”
Max: “Maybe I am. You’re not my gynecologist.”
Liz: “My hands have been inside your chest cavity, Max. Your gynecologist can suck it.”
Alex: “No, I mean I don’t wish I was straight. I just think that if I was, I wouldn’t have all of the bad memories.”
Liz: “Psychogenic amnesia limits retrieval of stored memories, but if we light up your limbic system and gustatory cortex with some familiar signals...”
Max: “Your milkshake might bring all my memories to the yard?”
Isobel: “I’m exploring my options. So, why don’t you surprise me.”
Alex: “Nice ring. Does that keep you from burning up in the daylight?”
Alex: “You want to split up? No, no. This is why I don’t like horror films. The gay guy always dies first (Maria glares at him)... or second.”
Max: “Last I heard, you were the love of my life."
Isobel: “Relax, Valenti. I’m a benevolent alien. I only eat humans who express enthusiastic consent.”
Alex: “Combat does not make you an axe murderer.”
Trevor: “If a paramilitary group ever asks you to take part in a study, you run the other way.”
Max: “I am not whole without you.”
Alex: “Nothing like getting stabbed in the middle of nowhere to really bring people together, right?”
Shari loves sci-fi, fantasy, supernatural, and anything with a cape.
I have to say that that well-set-up but still surprising menage was completely overshadowed by David Anders with an axe, singing "I Think We're Alone Now." I was laughing so much that it was impossible to take anything seriously.
ReplyDeleteI started laughing the minute Alex mentioned Daylight rings. Although David will always be Julian Sark to me.
ReplyDeleteThey did the freaking twin thing again lmao! Wtf is going on?? The overt axe-murderer thing was surreal enough that I was gearing up for an "it's all a dream and Maria is mentally ill/probed too"
ReplyDeleteAnd WOOOOO @ Maria living the dream... sex with two guys who are kinda into each other. Shame it wasn't explicit.
What a shame about Steph now apparently being a prospect... would've loved Kyle and Isabel. Making him feel bad with a fake memory was really charming... bummer.