[Misha]

Hey guys! And the discussion is getting looooooonger

Roswelldesertsky, what do you mean system? The closest thing I can come up -assuming this is what you want of course- is to take a closer look to the credits in the beginning of season 3. You know, how the alien names turn into our alphabet

Otherwise... uummm...eeerrrr....

shapeshifter, nope... it was never stablished if the shapeshifters had to obey any other Royal. I don't think so, because Tess didn't seem to be able to command over Nasedo, for instance. Besides, I once had two bosses, and when they contradicted each other, it was hell... so I can't really imagine a shapeshifter in that position... (yeah, rant...)

But, it wouldn't be practical to have that kind of domain shared among the Royal Family. I think the shapeshifters were bodyguards, but that the priority was first and always the King.


The whole thing about Nasedo taking Liz. I think it was as he said: Liz was just bait and a hostage. Granted, he didn't care about if Liz survived or not, and he didn't believe her when she told him that she and Max had seen into each other's souls. The notion was laughable to him, knowing that Max already had a wife and destiny and all that. Now, Max was *not* supposed to be there. In fact, the only reason why Max and co. could find Nasedo was because they were following the Sheriff.

I don't think Nasedo spent an afternoon thinking: "So, I kidnapped Liz, and leave all these clues behind that the local sheriff is going to connect with me and Max's friend... that blondy... Maria, yeah, is going to come up with this plan to tell the Sheriff -who is already on the alert- that the real Max kidnapped Liz so please find him. And then, Max is going to bump into Pierce outside the Sheriff's office---"

See what I mean?

Too many things happened that were not in Nasedo's control. I do believe he wanted to lure Pierce and I do agree Nasedo was way too extremist on his plan, but he wanted Pierce away from Max, and he was really surprised to see Max in the Mirror Maze.

So, nope, I don't think Nasedo had this big scheme to trap Max. Even if he was working against Max, this whole thing with Pierce and all... it just happened. Too many unknown variables were in game here.

Besides, I do think that the NasedoPact was fake, but that's a whole other story...

miss3criss ditto to caring about someone 50 years from now! Definitely, a big, fat YES! You stop caring about people, ideas, situations, etc., etc., etc. in a shorter period of time... Especially if one is leaving a planet in war, and suddenly you find yourself with 50 years of freedom.

And if the Skins are not working for Khivar... then.. no, nothing makes sense They are working for Khivar for all we got to see. I can even stretch it by saying that maybe the Skins -or these particular group- were mercenaries or an elite group or some sort of bounty hunters, but they still would be working for Khivar.

Now I have to go back to work....

Misha

[Roswelldesertsky]

Originally Posted by Misha Hey guys! And the discussion is getting looooooonger Roswelldesertsky, what do you mean system? The closest thing I can come up -assuming this is what you want of course- is to take a closer look to the credits in the beginning of season 3. You know, how the alien names turn into our alphabet Misha

That's exactly what I did, but it does not make any sense to me.
The amount of symbols correspond to the amount of our letters, which made me think that every symbol stands for one letter.But then I compared the symbols from different names (e.g. Jason Behr,Brendan Fehr and Katherine Heigle) and realized that many letters,which appear in all names, are translated with different symbols...which destroyed my theory of course...

[Citrus and Vine]

Roswelldesertsky, I love your name! It took Alex using a supercomputer in Las Cruces to decipher the symbols. So, as far as I know, Roswell fans without supercomputers haven't been able to assign meanings to individual symbols.






Misha and miss3cris, you each say that you can imagine losing interest in the people you currently care about, 50 years into the future, especially if you went to another planet. So then you wouldn’t be the type of person to be selected to be protectors for a mission that would extend 50 years into the future, on another planet.

Not every person could be a protector. Neither Nasedo nor Kal had the personalities to protect other people. Both Nasedo and Kal were greedy, selfish people, abusive people, unsuitable to be protect anyone.

In the United States, the military screens people, before they are accepted into the military. Certain personality types are rejected for service.

We know people who are loyal to their cause, no matter how many years, no matter what the distance or hardship. We know certain personality types are good guardians and good protectors

Kal and Nasedo had posh lives on Earth. The got everything they wanted. They had no hardship. They lacked for nothing. But neither Kal nor Nasedo were or ever had been loyal to Max. Kal and Nasedo lacked the personalities to be protectors.

The Antarians had genetic engineering. They could combine factors to make hybrids. They created pods and hibernation systems. The Antarians knew about people's essences. The Antarians certainly wouldn’t have chosen people with selfish, greedy, abusive essences to accompany the pods to Earth.

We see from the actions of the aliens in the 1947 crash that those aliens risked their lives to save and protect the pods. Those aliens were true protectors. Kal and Nasedo weren’t.

Misha, you say that you don’t think that Nasedo had a whole big scheme to trap Max. But you don’t explain why Nasedo didn’t kill Pierce in downtown Roswell.

You don’t explain why Nasedo left clues to lure people to the carnival. You don’t explain why Nasedo created noises and shotgun blasts in Hank’s trailer, when we are shown that Nasedo easily, quickly and quietly murdered the agent in downtown Roswell, in broad daylight.

You don’t explain why Nasedo didn’t kill Pierce in the white room, even though he stood right next to Pierce. You don’t explain why Nasedo refused to leave with Max and Michael from the white room, to protect them, since Nasedo knew that Michael wasn’t an agent.

You don’t explain why Nasedo burned a photograph of Max, Michael, and Isabel on the library lawn in February. Burning someone’s photo is a sign of disrespect and disregard. You don’t explain why Nasedo didn’t warn Max, Michael, or Isabel that Pierce was in Roswell as Deputy Fisher. You don’t explain why Nasedo didn’t tell Max, Michael, or Isabel about their pasts on Antar or about Kivar murdering them. You don’t explain why Nasedo didn’t translate the book or tell Max, Michael, and Isabel about the ship hidden in the basement in Utah or the diamond key needed to operate it.

Nasedo and Kal were greedy, selfish, abusive people. They weren’t protectors. They were enemies of Max/King Zan. They had been punished for crimes against King Zan in their lives on Antar. As long as they stayed away from Max/King Zan and didn’t directly and personally interfere in his life, they could do anything they wanted.







___________________________

[Roswelldesertsky]

Originally Posted by Citrus and Vine Roswelldesertsky, I love your name! It took Alex using a supercomputer in Las Cruces to decipher the symbols. So, as far as I know, Roswell fans without supercomputers haven't been able to assign meanings to individual symbols. ___________________________

Thanks you.

Do I get you right then,assuming that the Roswell producers did not take it to seriously with the season 3 opening credits?I mean,did they just use any symbols in order to make the credits look more "mysterious"?Did they not pay attention to the correctness?Because if they did, they would be in the possesion of a "key",which brings me to the conclusion that it cannot be too difficult.

[Misha]

Well, Roswelldesertsky I seriously doubt whoever made those credits thought anyone was going to pay such close attention to them... And yeah, I was mad that none of the actor's name has one single "M" on them, because now I can't write "Misha" in Antarian!

But, seriously, I don't think they have any meaning, or code, or even a continuity from one name to the other. But just in case you do find something, let us know!!!

Oh, and I was thinking while coming home that this all debate wheather if Kal and Nasedo were the original shapeshifter, here are some hints:

1. Nasedo told Michael, Tess and Isabel that he knew Eagle Rock Military Base intimately because he had escaped once. Pierce told Max that -he believed- the one named Nasedo was the one who escape from the White Room in 1950.

2. Kal tells Max at the end of Control:

Max: I came all this way to find you. I need your help. You're our protector. Kal: don't call me that. Yeah... I was put on that ship to protect you. But that was 50 years ago.

So, yeeeeeeaahhhhh... you could dismiss this whole thing and make up your own elaborate theory, or even just take pieces here and there, but I think the intention always was that Kal and Nasedo were the original protectors. If they turned, didn't care, had their own agendas, lost interest, yadda, yadda, yadda in the next 50 years, that's open to write some darn good fanfiction. But that is what we got

So, yep, I'm sticking to that fact, and that priorities change in 50 years, because circumstances change and life is one weird ride

Misha

[miss3cris]

Originally Posted by Misha So, yeeeeeeaahhhhh... you could dismiss this whole thing and make up your own elaborate theory, or even just take pieces here and there, but I think the intention always was that Kal and Nasedo were the original protectors. If they turned, didn't care, had their own agendas, lost interest, yadda, yadda, yadda in the next 50 years, that's open to write some darn good fanfiction. But that is what we got So, yep, I'm sticking to that fact, and that priorities change in 50 years, because circumstances change and life is one weird ride

ITA.

Knowing the exact reason, Kal (b/c Nasedo didn't lose interest since he returned and ended up dying in the line of duty) lost his belief in the R4 would be fascinating. It's too bad we'll never know more about him.

Roswelldesertsky there was a site that discussed the symbols on Ros and their possible significance, but i don't have the link to the site (my old laptop crashed and I lost it) but I think if you try googling it you might get lucky.

[Citrus and Vine]

Hi, everyone! Naturally, each person can decide the theory they prefer.


Misha, you say, ”Nasedo told Michael, Tess and Isabel that he knew Eagle Rock Military Base intimately because he had escaped once, and that Pierce told Max that -he believed- the one named Nasedo was the one who escape from the White Room in 1950.”

Pierce didn’t say that Nasedo escaped in 1950. Here is the scene between Max and Pierce:

PIERCE: All right. How about this: May second, 1999, Agent Daniel Summers, the man who brought me into this unit, the man whose job I now have, did you kill him, too? Or was it one of the others?
MAX: What others?
PIERCE: You know, I might not have been around in 1947, but I know all about the crash. About the four aliens they captured: two dead, two alive. I’ve spent my entire career studying the documentation. Especially the three years of observation they made on the one held in captivity, right here in this room.
MAX: I thought you said there were four.
PIERCE: One of them escaped. Nasedo. Isn’t that what you call him?

Notice that Pierce doesn’t say what year the alien from the 1947 crash escaped. He says that one alien, the one who didn’t escape, was held for three years in the white room. The other alien escaped at an unspecified date.



Pierce guessed that the alien who had escaped was named “Nasedo”, because he watched a taped conversation between Michael and Isabel, about Liz’s vision.

(Scene: At an undisclosed location, someone is watching a video of Isabel and Michael in Michael’s apartment, taken with the hidden surveillance camera.)
ISABEL: That would mean that each of us has this information in some part of us we’re just not conscious of.
MICHAEL: Or Liz is getting the messages from somewhere or someone else.
ISABEL: Nasedo?
(Tape rewinds.)

Again, Pierce knew the name Nasedo, because Isabel mentioned the name Nasedo in the video Pierce watched of Michael and Isabel’s conversation in Michael’s apartment. [Pierce repeatedly watches the tape, in the episode Max to the Max. The taped scene in Michael's apartment occurred in the episode Sexual Healing.]

Pierce lacked any personal knowledge of the name of the alien who had escaped. Pierce didn’t know that Ed Harding, who came into the Sheriff’s office, was Nasedo. Michael and Isabel didn't know who Nasedo was, when they were discussing him, in the taped scene.

Nasedo knew the Special Unit and the base intimately. Nasedo told Isabel and Michael that he knew it intimately, because he had escaped it once. Nasedo knew that Isabel had doubts about belonging with him.

ISABEL: I don’t think we belong with him.
MICHAEL: He’s Nasedo, what choice do we have?
ISABEL: We could go back up there ourselves.
MICHAEL: Four is stronger than two. We need them.
ISABEL: He could be working for Pierce. You know, we don’t know anything for sure.

By telling Isabel and Michael that he had once escaped the place, Nasedo was justifying how he knew so much about the place.

Nasedo knew exactly where Max was, even though Nasedo claimed that he couldn’t get past the security door. And, even though Nasedo claimed that he couldn’t get past the security door, without Michael’s help, Nasedo refused to leave with Michael and Max. Nasedo didn’t kill Pierce in the white room, even though he stood right next to him.

Because Nasedo didn’t kill Pierce, Pierce ordered a lock-down. If Michael hadn't authortatively told the agent to go help Pierce or if the Sheriff hadn’t arrived at the right moment and shot Pierce, then Michael and Max would have been captured and held.

Nasedo knew the base intimately, because he planned for Max and Michael to be captured and held on the base. Once they were both captured, then Nasedo could shape-shift to look like Michael or Max and then get Isabel and Tess captured, too.





Misha, you quote a portion from this scene, in the episode Control, between Kal and Max, as explaining why you think that Kal was a protector.

KAL: Why do you think I know where this ship is?
MAX: You knew it was in Utah.
KAL: Who else knows?
[Max, coughing]
MAX: Please, the...
KAL: Answer me!
[Max, breathing hard, then coughing]
KAL: So, this is the mighty King of Antar. A low-rent Tom Cruise with a $10 haircut? Buddy boy, you have no idea what you're gettin' yourself into.
MAX: I came all this way to find you. I need your help. You're our protector.
KAL: Don't call me that. Yeah... I was put on that ship to protect you. But that was 50 years ago.

In the scene, it is Max, who first believes that Kal is their protector, because Kal knew about the spaceship in Utah. But Max doesn't know all the bad things that Kal and Nasedo each did against him and the others.

Notice that Kal told Max not to call him protector. Kal knew that if Max had instructed Kal to protect, then Kal would have had to protect Max. But in the scene, Kal didn’t protect Max.

In the scene, Kal has his foot on Max’s face and chest. Before that, Kal had blasted Max into the wall, causing Max to go unconscious. Kal set fires in the small room. Kal wanted Max dead. Kal wasn’t a protector. He hadn’t been programmed to protect Max. His genes weren’t encoded to protect. Kal abused and harmed Max.

Kal wasn’t the kind of person that would be selected to protect people. He lacked the personality and the loyalty to protect anyone, except himself. Kal was a selfish, abusive person. He harmed Max, without provocation. He got Max arrested in Utah, to keep Max from the spaceship. Kal knew that Max could fly the ship away, by himself. Kal interfered in Max’s life, to keep Max from the spaceship. Kal wanted the spaceship for himself, in case he needed or wanted to leave Earth.



I think that Kal and Nasedo arrived on Earth around 1958-1959. I think they arrived on the beautiful, fully functional ship they hid under the convenience store in Utah. Neither Kal nor Nasedo behaved as protectors.


Nasedo began his silver handprint murders in 1959, with Atherton’s murder, in order to locate Max/King Zan, who healed people, leaving a silver handprint. Nasedo left his victims in plain view for humans to discover, so that humans would report silver handprint incidents. Nasedo didn’t know in 1959 that the Royal Four were in hibernation pods, hidden in the rock formation. Nasedo couldn’t find Max, Michael or Isabel, until after Max healed Liz. So, I don’t think that Nasedo had ever been part of the 1947 mission. Otherwise, Nasedo should have been able to find Max, Michael, and Isabel sooner.




____________________

[Roswelldesertsky]

Originally Posted by miss3cris ITA. Roswelldesertsky there was a site that discussed the symbols on Ros and their possible significance, but i don't have the link to the site (my old laptop crashed and I lost it) but I think if you try googling it you might get lucky.

I think I found the http://thesmudge.com/shapeshifter/Ro...ex.html#symbol you have reffered to.
But as far as I have been searching, unfortunatley there is nothing that would help me out.

But anyway,the more I think about it, it seems clear that the antarian letters cannot be compared to our letters.Because otherwise the podsters would not have had so many problems to find out the meanings of them.

Oh well,that kinda su*ks, because I don't want to get tattoos which do not make any sense in the end...

[Roswelldesertsky]

All right,here's a site which summarizes the symbols and meanings of them little better:
http://redhawksroswell.tripod.com/symbols/index.html

and to make the links complete:http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/poitier/92/id3.htm


by the way: Of course,I know some sites where to find screencaptures, but mostly the quality only reaches VCD- Niveau.In addition, I haven't been able to buy the Roswell DvDs myself yet(german version was only released like a few weeks ago and I'm wondering if a box set will be released,too)..so I cannot do it on my own.

-->would someone of you(who's in possesion of the dvds) please capture the cave painting after Michael has placed the healing stones properly?("The Balance")?

Thanks in advance!

[Citrus and Vine]

Hi Roswelldesertsky! Sorry, I don’t have any screen captures of the cave paintings. You might try asking someone on the Roswell Fanart thread here.

There are also two captures of the scene at http://episodes.bittersweetblue.net/...e-PDVD_150.jpg and at http://episodes.bittersweetblue.net/...e-PDVD_152.jpg . More screencaps of the episode are at http://episodes.bittersweetblue.net/...hebalance.html (you can click each picture to enlarge it)





The symbol on the orbs matches the symbol on the necklace Isabel found at Atherton’s. It is also the symbol on the ship that had been hidden in the basement under the convenience store. So, it may be a royal symbol.

Max and Isabel drew the symbol in the sand, when they were children. Michael recognized the symbol on the necklace, too. Nasedo left that symbol in the woods, to test whether or not Max, Michael, and Isabel would respond to the symbol. When they illuminated the symbol, and then erased the symbol, Nasedo then knew that he had finally found the other three of the Royal Four. Until then, Nasedo didn’t know whether or not the reported silver handprint incident in Roswell had been real or a hoax. Nasedo left the symbol as a test.

After Max, Michael, and Isabel showed who they were, then Nasedo began photographing them and watching them. He wanted to get them captured. That’s why he didn’t identify himself to them. That’s why he burned the photograph of them on the library lawn, signifying that he was their enemy. Later Nasedo generated the symbol in the night sky at the carnival to draw Max, Michael, and Isabel to the carnival. He knew that the symbol had special significance to them.







_______________

[xmag]

Not every person could be a protector. Neither Nasedo nor Kal had the personalities to protect other people. Both Nasedo and Kal were greedy, selfish people, abusive people, unsuitable to be protect anyone.

If they were left alive and meant to serve people, no way in hell would they have been given the protection of the precious saviors of a whole planet. Sorry, I can't believe that.

[Citrus and Vine]

xmag, try considering the idea that Kal and Nasedo were never protectors and were never meant to serve and were never on the 1947 spaceship.

Try considering the idea that Kal and Nasedo arrived on Earth, after 1947. Try considering the idea that Kal and Nasedo had each done something wrong on Antar. Then, I think that things may make sense to you.

Imagine if Princess Diana had been able to program obnoxious paparazzi to obey her direct orders, if they ever again personally and directly interfered in her life. Imagine if paparazzi who demonstrated bad behavior towards her got programmed not to be able to personally kill the Princess. In such a world, Princess Diana could still be alive today, and she wouldn’t be harassed by paparazzi.

Try considering the idea that Kal and Nasedo each committed an offense against King Zan, like being obnoxious paparazzi, while they lived on Antar. Because of their offenses, they were programmed to have to obey King Zan (Max), if they ever directly and personally interfered in his life. They also couldn't personally kill King Zan (Max).

Kal and Nasedo weren't protectors. Kal and Nasedo were bad people who hurt and harmed and killed people, unnecessarily.

Again, try considering the idea that Kal and Nasedo weren't put on the 1947 ship. Try considering the idea that Kal and Nasedo weren't ever meant to serve Max, but were each programmed in an attempt to convince them to avoid Max/King Zan.

Nasedo worked to get the Royal Four captured by humans. He killed innocent people and left silver handprints on the bodies over many years, so that humans would help him find Max (King Zan), who healed people leaving a silver handprint.

If Nasedo had been part of the 1947 mission, then he should have known what Max, Michael, and Isabel looked like and when they would be getting out of their hibernation pods. But Nasedo didn't know what Max, Michael, or Isabel looked like in their new bodies. He didn't know that they left their pods shortly before he found Tess. He couldn't find them, even though they looked like specific humans.




________________________________________________________

[miss3cris]

Alright Citrus and Vine, I think it's time to give it a rest of the shapeshifter/protector theory. Obviously, you don't believe that Kal and Nasedo were the protectors while xmag, Misha and I do. Fine. We don't have to agree. We'll just have to agree to disagree on that point because the going back and forth and the constant restatement of the same "facts" by you to "prove" your theory is getting tiresome for me.

Let's change the subject.

Poster's choice:

1.) This was briefly mentioned by me earlier, but I was wondering what anyone's thoughts were on Antarian culture. Do you think they were militaristic like the ancient Spartans or the Kligons of Star Trek? Were they powerful and decadent like the Roman Empire? Did they respect women like the ancient Celtics or keep their women on pedastals like the ancient Athenians? Were the R4 regarded as semi-religious figures like the pharoah of ancient Eygpt or merely chosen by God like the medival Kings of Europe or chosen by the people like the American president (supposedly is)?

2.) Why do you think that Max/Tess seemed to be more affected by their "destiny" programming while Michael/Isabel were not as affected by it? Was it because Michael/Isabel were raised to believe that they were siblings? Was it because Vilandra/Rath didn't love each other while Zan/Ava did? Other reasons?

3.) What do you imagine was the nature of the "Golden Age" that Courtney claimed Antar was a the brink of before everything fell apart for the R4 and their planet?

[Misha]

I'll go with the second one

Max and Tess. Just for the record, though I am a dreamer and I can't stand Tess, when it comes to discussing her, I like to do so logically and try to remain objective

Well, on one hand, I don't think Michael and Isabel ever had a chance. I bet Michael might have thought in the beginning they had because of his comment to Isabel in Max to the Max:

ISABEL: Michael, this can’t be. MICHAEL: I know. But why not?

But we know that Michael really wanted to believe and thought he had to follow everything that was on that book, whereas Max didn't.

But Max had more pressure to deal with from Tess than Michael from Isabel. Whether Tess was evil, misguided, in love, following the NasedoPact, whatever, the fact was that Tess did want to be with Max, or at least thought it was the ultimate goal, or her right as his previous wife. She did want that life back -for whatever reason, good or not- so Max had to be constantly walking in circles around her.

Opposite to Michael, who wanted to embrace his alien heritage, Max was too scared of it, and Tess was just about the best representation out there of that alien side. So I think that Max was afraid of her in the beginning, and afraid of what Tess made him feel, and had made him seen.

Max had more pressure from Nasedo as well -at least for a little while- while both Michael and Isabel seemed to have let it go, and no one had argued the point. Tess never said anything to them, and they just dropped it.

It seems that after The End of The World Max had finally seen in Tess something more than the girl that was out to get him. He might have started to see her as a possible friend. And he must have felt guilty of rejecting her -however reasonable his reasons were - beause it's not nice to do that. And Tess was there, supporting him.

The Summit must have drove the point home to Max that there really was another world out there, and other four planets that did recognize him as Zan. Now, I don't believe for one second that Max and Tess are Zan and Ava. Zan and Ava could have been soulmates, as well as have hated each other, but I don't think that played any role on Max and Tess now. They were told they were these people, but in reality, without those memories, they are just Max and Tess, their own persona.

But, beside that, it gotta be hard to be next to this person you were married to, and not recognize her or him I do believe that Tess was in love of an idea of Max but not of Max, because she didn't really know him. And I don't think she ever really let go of that notion, that Max was hers, or that they belonged to each other.

Or, if she was following the plan, then she was just waiting for the right opportunity, but she knew that Max would have to come to terms with it first, which Max did by the end of season 2: He came to terms that, because everything was falling apart on his world -his very human life- all was left clear was his alien destiny.

At least, that's how I see it Max and Tess did not just happen. There were a lot of circumstances around them both -most of them unknown, especially from Tess' past- but if Tess had never believed in her destiny, I bet Max and her could have been good friends, without the pressure of being a couple regardless of their own feelings and wants.

So, in conclusion, Max and Tess had more pressure because Tess wanted it, when Michael and Isabel never did so. Besides, Max and Tess were married, and the leaders, so I guess that sort of sucked too

Now I think I'm ranting...

Misha

[miss3cris]

Originally Posted by Misha Well, on one hand, I don't think Michael and Isabel ever had a chance. I bet Michael might have thought in the beginning they had because of his comment to Isabel in Max to the Max: Quote: ISABEL: Michael, this can’t be. MICHAEL: I know. But why not? But we know that Michael really wanted to believe and thought he had to follow everything that was on that book, whereas Max didn't.

Personally, I don't think Michael ever wanted to be with Isabel. I think he wanted stability, something he very much lacked in his childhood, and believed at the time that following his "destiny" would provide him with that stability. If he had a mission then all the confusing questions (Why am I here? Why did I end up with Hank while Max/Isabel ended up with the Evans?) that plagued him as a child would cease to be an issue. He would have the answers. It was all for an ultimate goal.

Plus, I think another part of the stability that Michael craved was having a real family. If he had his own family, he wouldn't be an outsider anymore like he was with Hank or the evans. So, he didn't want to be with Isabel but he did like the idea of the family she represented at that point in the story. The minute this possibility ended, he stopped entertaining the idea. It was dropped in favor of Maria who did understand his issues with stability because of her similar background.

Isabel, who didn't have any of these issues, never wanted to be with Michael. Having a child didn't represent stability to her but loss of control and solid proof of her alieness. This is the last thing that she wanted. Therefore, I think she was repulsed by the idea of being with Michael.

As you pointed out, much of this situation was reproduced in Max/Tess' relationship. However, I do think there was more to Max/Tess coming together than just Tess' pursuit of Max because by the time the first true spark of Max/Tess actually happening began to become a real possibility, Tess had largely given up on Max (she was ready to jump Kyle) and, if Liz hadn't changed the timeline, would've soon totally given up on Max.

So, Max had to want it too. The question then is: What changed in Max?

From the moment he saw her, Max was intensely attracted to Tess. (Conversely, Isabel/Michael never felt that attraction. They recognized each other as fellow podsters as children, but there was never anything romantic about that recognition. I would liken it to the instant affinity Isabel felt for Tess in the lunchroom scene.) There has been speculation that Tess mindwarped him into this attraction, but there was never any textual proof of that and in fact proof from FMax that the physical attraction he felt towards her was genuine.

So, Max thinks she's hot, but he has a GF and, as you said, he, just like Isabel, is afraid to explore the alieness that Tess symbolizes to him. He rejects her. I don't think he felt too badly about doing this either. FMax expressed remorse for his treatment of Tess, but I think that was more about his regretting that his actions led to the destruction of Earth than regretting the actions by themselves.

So, what changed?

Three things: As you said, his view of his alien side changed by becoming more real to him, but also his view of both his human life, as represented by Liz, and his view of Tess herself.

As of EOTW, the human life that Max had been pursuing with Liz came crashing down on him. She was supposed to support him, understand him. Rather, she walked away from him then betrayed him. (She had her reasons, but I'm just talking from Max's perspective right now.) Enter Tess. He's been fighting his attraction to her and rejecting her support up until now but the Liz situation makes him reconsider his former position. Maybe there's something to his alien life?

Then, he meets the Skins, the Dupes, the delegates from the summit, and starts his memory retrieval techniques. He remembers Ava. He remembers something of their life together.

Not only is his alien side/life becoming realer than ever to him, but Tess is becoming more human to him too. She has relationships with humans in Kyle and Jim. She starts wanting, or finally feels comfortable enough to express her desire for, "human" things like Christmas and the Prom. Plus, and this is to me the most important aspect of their relationship, he starts going to her to confide in like in CYN and she understand and supports him while his traditional support group (esp Liz and Isabel but Michael too) don't.

As for Tess, I don't believe in the NasedoPact (<begin mini-rant>it was a shoddy piece of writing that contradicted everything that had taken place before it was inserted into the storyline- Nasedo died at the hands of the Skins, Tess was taken and tortured twice by the Skins, she worked to destroy the Skins in Harvest and WO, and the angst she felt over Max (the scene with Kyle) when he would never see it and the joy she felt over being with Max expressed in those doodles on the prom invite and the newpaper was just a little too throrough for me to believe that it was all her plan to get preggers then kill him. </end mimi-rant>) so I do think she sincerely was in love with Max. You do bring up a good point about whether or not she really knew him though, but it's almost lunch here and I'm starving so I'll have to tackle it and the Zan/Ava element in my next post.