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"Maybe something is planning all of this..."

posted 10 years ago by illyrianX
3 replies | jump to latest

"...and maybe you need to respect that."

The Roswell Christmas episode is one of my all-time favorites but I always get so angry when Liz says that. First of all, as an atheist, the line just bothers me for obvious reasons. Secondly, she herself was brought back by Max, so was Kyle, and SHE was the one who told him about the little girl in the first place. So...by her standards, it's okay to save her own life and to fiddle with the divine plan for a couple of other people but not a handful of dying children? I found that so tacky and out of character.

Additionally, even if there was any evidence of intelligent design, does she really think Max is going to outsmart it? If everything is planned already, then obviously Max's involvement is too and he's just playing his part. It seems so stupid to assume that any single individual could in any way affect or change some sort of epic cosmic plan.

Ugh, I love the ep to death but that one scene bothers me every time.

[–] wbfanaticeva 10 years ago

I think you're being just a tad harsh towards Liz here. Yes Max had saved her life and Kyle's but it is not like she ASKED him to do these things. And she said a few times throughout the series that she wished he had just let her die that day. It was Max's decision to save her so it's not like she's putting her life above anyone else. Plus even if she was, she knows there is a fine line between saving the lives of a few people close to him and going out and altering the lives of 100s or even 1000s of people. Saying "maybe something is planning all of this and maybe you need to respect that." Is just a way to remind Max that he can't save everyone and has no clue the repercussions of going out and changing all these lives.

[–] illyrianX 10 years ago

I understand what she's trying to say; I just felt it was tacky. He's saving kids' lives. Repercussions? What if one of them grows up to cure the cancer that was killing them? If someone has the ability to save lives, then I think they should do it. It's not like he was going to the morgue and resurrecting the dead; he was saving children who, for all we know, could do amazing things if they lived long enough.

Citing personal belief in a higher power was downright obnoxious because as far as people like Max are concerned (and myself, obviously), there is no such thing, therefore no special plan, and using one's abilities to save innocent children, especially at great risk to oneself, seems to me to be about as noble as it gets. I would've thought Liz would appreciate Max for that, not get on his case. I just didn't think it was fair for her to dampen his good deed with her superstitions, especially when she knows he doesn't share them.

That said, it was a beautiful episode and I love Max and Liz. I just think she was out of line there and I find it annoying that they had her say that. But it's a minor part of an otherwise incredible Christmas special.

[–] wbfanaticeva 9 years ago

It's interesting rereading this thread because I just started a rewatch of the show and just watched 'Leaving Normal' and when Liz askes max if there's anything he can do to help her grandma he says he can't stop things that occur naturally he's not God. So perhaps in this instance Liz is just reminding Max of something he already knows and it has nothing to do with her own "beliefs"