PLOT
Reprise: Max, Isabel, Michael, Liz and Maria hear footsteps above
them. Sheriff Valenti explores the geodesic dome before being hit
from behind by Topolsky. In
the hidden room, Michael starts stuffing papers into a box, telling the
others that whoever is in the dome above them isn't going to stop until
they find them, so he's going to find out everything he can before they
do. The others start to follow suit. Topolsky
finds the keyhole and uses her own key to unlock the entrance to the
hidden room. Valenti recovers consciousness but after seeing who hit
him, pretends that he's still knocked out. Maria
is alarmed to see a rat but Liz watches it escape into a tunnel, which she
points out to Max. Michael, Maria and Liz make their escape but
Isabel is staring at a necklace, which she snatches up when Max urges her
on. The pair follow the others into the tunnel. Topolsky
has followed them into the hidden room and along the tunnel, emerging into
the open just as the jeep drives off. Liz
is sitting in the back of the jeep. Max is driving and Isabel is
sitting in the passenger seat. It's
November 11th, I'm Liz Parker. All logic is gone. Here were my
plans last night - finish my shift, dinner with the parents, then a half
hour of talking to Maria on the phone, then dive into this issue I've been
having with geometry, and hopefully finish in time to watch this A&E
biography on Madame Curie. Instead, I took off in an open-air
vehicle that probably shouldn't be allowed on the road to begin with,
broke into a house, essentially stole things from it, and engaged in
general bonding with aliens. Welcome to my world. As
she and Maria drive back in her mom's car, Maria tells Michael that she
didn't realise there was a whole different side to her. Michael
tells her that what happened was just because they were on the road - they
talked, but it's all over. "Of course," Maria
replies. "Wait. You think that something happened between
us?" Isabel
searches through an old photo album before pulling out a photo of two kids
playing on a beach, which she takes into Max's room. She reminds him
of the year their parents took them to Florida and that one day the pair
of them drew a symbol on the sand and asks him to draw it. Max
reluctantly draws it and Isabel shows him the photo, which matches Max's
drawing. He asks what made her think of it and she shows him the
necklace she took from Atherton's dome. They're disturbed by their
mom telling them breakfast is ready. When she's gone, Isabel tells
Max that she hates lying to her. At
school, Maria tells Liz that Michael is weird, but surprisingly
interesting, although obviously not interesting for her. Besides,
"there's a number of obstacles. His hair, his personality, the
fact that he was hatched." Liz asks what happened in the motel
room. Maria tells her that nothing physical happened, and nothing
very verbal did either. Michael is the sort of person that her mom
refers to as a "vibrator" since he communicates by sending out
vibes. Liz
asks what vibes these would be but before Maria replies, she sees Kyle,
who she has to talk to. Maria tells her that she'll see her at Max
and Isabel's later to go through the files. Michael told her that
they'd pick her up after school, but it's obvious that no one's said
anything to Liz. Liz
wants to talk to Kyle in private, so they both go into the janitor's
closet. She says that she wants to make sure that he didn't get hurt
the previous night and whether or not he's going to tell anyone where they
were. He wants to know what she was doing there, but she won't
say. He tells her that he won't say anything - which Liz thanks him
for - but goes on to add "not until I have something on him that will
destroy him." Topolsky
is exercising while talking to Agent Stevens. He reminds her that
her assignment was to covertly observe the suspects to determine
whether the theories about them are substantiated. Drop-kicking the
Sheriff is not being covert. Stevens tells her that he wants to know
what the kids are up to now, and tells her to use any means necessary. Milton
is giving a talk at the UFO Center when Valenti asks him about James
Atherton. He tells the Sheriff that Atherton was supposedly onto
something big before his disappearance in 1959. Back
in his office, Valenti compares the photo of Atherton in the back of his
book with one of the corpse from 1959 which he had hidden in his
desk. He's disturbed by Deputy Blackwood, who tells him that they
have a situation. Max,
Isabel and Michael are heading home in the jeep. Michael tells them
that he's "sort of" invited "that Maria girl",
claiming that she pushed him into it. He also calls her a
"vibrator" because she "sends out these vibes."
Max tells him that she can't come with them and Michael's just about to
call her when they see something going on outside the Evans' home.
Max tells Michael to get out of there and that they'll meet him at the
Crashdown later. Valenti
and Mrs Evans tell Max and Isabel that their house has been broken
into. Max and Isabel go to check their rooms - the files they took
from the dome are missing. Isabel realises that this was why the
house was burgled. Valenti arrives on the scene and finds it strange
that Isabel checks out Max's bedroom before her own and that it looks like
they were looking for something. Fortunately, Mrs. Evans stops him
interrogating her kids, while Isabel goes to check if any of her stuff is
missing. In
Isabel's room, Deputy Blackwood asks her about the necklace she's
wearing. He tells her that he hasn't seen anything like it since he
left the reservation just outside town. Michael,
who thinks he's being followed, enters the Crashdown via the back.
Max admits that when they were on the road he thought someone might have
been following them, but he didn't want to get anyone worried.
Isabel says that she can't believe what's happening to them - someone
broke into their house, someone's following them, it's all too real. She
notices Michael staring at the necklace. He says that he also
recognises it. Isabel tells them that she picked it up from
Atherton's and that Deputy Blackwood also recognised it. Michael
wants to go to the reservation but Max tells him that they can't make any
suspicious moves right now. Valenti
pays a visit to Topolsky's office and brings up the break in at the Evans'
house, and asks if there's been any trouble, adding that he knows she
likes to keep a close eye on her students. He tells her that she's
obviously the sort of person who takes their work home with them, on the
road with them and that he woke up with a hell of a headache.
"Must've had your head in the wrong place," Topolsky tells him. Liz
shows up outside Max's window and climbs through, falling into Max.
She tells him that she's going to reservation - today they came for the
files, what if tomorrow they came for him? She
tells him that it was his saving her life that started all this and that
she couldn't live with herself if anything happened to him, Isabel or
Michael. She adds that she hasn't come for his permission, she just
wants the necklace, which he gives to her. Night.
Liz visits the reservation and browses through a gift shop. She
shows the necklace to a native American woman who tells her that the
symbol means "tree of knowledge", but she then admits that she
made that up. Liz's arm is grabbed by an elderly native American,
who leaves without saying anything. Liz asks the woman who he is,
but she just tells her to stay away from him. Outside,
Liz is heading back to her car when River Dog asks her for the
necklace. She lets him examine it and he asks where she got it, who
else knows about it and whether she was followed before warning her that
it brings death. At
the Crashdown, Liz is visited by Eddie, another Native American, who tells
her that he's got a message from River Dog. He holds out his hand,
and Liz matches the piece that he's holding to the necklace Isabel
found. He tells her to come to the reservation tonight at ten
o'clock. Max,
Isabel and Michael are in the jeep, checking if they're being
followed. Michael is frustrated that he's not the one who's meeting
River Dog. They drop Max off outside the movies and then speed off,
with a Topolsky in pursuit. Max and Liz make their way through the
cinema and escape out the back, where Maria is supposed to be waiting for
them. She shows up late before Max and Liz drive off in her mom's
car. Topolsky
is pulled over by an off-duty Valenti. He tells her that she's got
enough violations for him to be able to hold her overnight while he does a
background check on what she's up to or they could just have a nice
conversation. Max
and Liz arrive at the reservation. Eddie shows up to meet Liz and
tells her that he only invited her. He starts to leave but Max shows
him the necklace and tells him that he knows the symbol. Eddie tells
them that there'll be a test, and if they pass it, River Dog will answer
all their questions. Michael,
Isabel and Maria are waiting in the closed Crashdown. Michael is
agitated that Liz and Max haven't returned yet, but Isabel points out that
they've only been gone for just over an hour. Michael helps himself
to some cake before Isabel picks up on his and Maria's flirting with each
other. "Could my life get any worse?" she asks before
leaving them to it. Max
and Liz are following Eddie. Max asks where they're going and Eddie
tells him that they've arrived before wishing them good luck and leaving
to it. Liz shines the torch upon a cave opening and the pair explore
it before Liz screams and the light goes out. Max cups his hands
together to create some light and River Dog tells him that he's passed the
test. Valenti
and Topolsky are having a drink in a bar. She asks if he's noticed
anything unusual and he tells her that besides an FBI agent being assigned
to the High School he also knows that she's got a hell of a going on
her. He tells her that she's made a lot of mistakes and that he's
going to tell her superiors that her cover's been blown. Topolsky
offers to trade information with him and Valenti promises to think about
it. River
Dog tells Max and Liz that he knew someone like Max once. He hasn't
seen him for 40 years and the only man he trusted was Atherton, who he
gave the necklace to. Max asks what happened to him and River Dog
replies that Atherton was murdered by the man but he was too far away to
see exactly what happened. Max asks him when this happened.
"November, 1959," River Dog tells them. At
the Crashdown, Maria is transferring sugar from one container to another
and back again. She thinks it's taking too long and that they should
go after Max and Liz. Michael tells her that they should just wait,
to which she tells him that he's obviously the last person to be around in
a crisis. She wants him to say something that will calm her down and
to tell her that things are going to be all right. Michael
points out that maybe things won't be all right and the pair start
squabbling. Maria says that all she wants him to do is to make her
feel better. Michael kisses her, telling Maria that it was to make
her calm down. In
the cave, River Dog shows Max some cave drawings that the alien
drew. Max says that they're familiar but that he can't
remember. River Dog tells them that the alien was afraid that the
people after him would kill him and that he promised him that he would
never share the information with anyone unless they passed the test - Max
is the first person to come. River
Dog tells them that it's time to leave, that they can't come back again
and that there's nothing more they can learn. As Max and Liz try to
leave, he grabs Liz's arm and tells her to make sure that Max deserves her
trust. Max and Liz walk out hand in hand. CAST
Tod Thawley played Hus in Buffy
The Vampire Slayer: Pangs. CONTINUITY
James Atherton's Among Us was published in 1955. According to
Milton, legend has it he was abducted by aliens but in reality he was
murdered in November 1959 by the one who befriended River Dog. Max
and Isabel once spent the summer in Florida. Isabel had sunstroke
for all of August and Max sprained his ankle on the shuffleboard court. Kyle
and Liz's first kiss was in the janitor's closet on the last day of school
last year. The
aliens' "little dietary quirk" means they like extremely sweet
things mixed with extremely spicy ones, as demonstrated by Michael and
Isabel putting Tabasco sauce on some cake. NOTES
One of the items on the Crashdown's menu is Redskin Basket. Liz
tells Eddie that she's being trying to get it taken off the menu for
months. ("Thanks for the effort," he tells her
dryly. "My people are indebted.") Max
possibly has some sort of total recall as he doesn't seem to make any
attempt to copy the symbols on the cave wall. The
films playing at the cinema are The Lady Vanishes and The Secret
Agent. The
BBC cut Max's "frickin' Eddie" line. COMMENTS
River Dog provides a satisfying conclusion to a two-part story as
well as providing further questions that will hopefully be resolved in
further episodes - what do the symbols on the cave wall mean, just what
are the FBI and Valenti up to, reviving the mystery about the 1959 murder
(although the photo looks much clearer here than it did in the Pilot)
and the increasingly close relationship between the aliens and Liz and
Maria. After
commenting on the rather amateurish operation run by Topolsky in previous
episodes, it's nice to see her getting some flak from Agent Stevens for
the way she's running things. Surely feeling underneath a drawer to
see whether something's been taped there would be pretty standard
procedure so how on Earth do they miss the envelope Valenti keeps the
photo in? Max
and Liz continue to be immensely watchable, with the scene where Liz
stumbles against Max when climbing through the window and their closeness
just before she leaves highlighting the pair's feelings for each
others. Shiri Appleby continues to look great, especially in the
scene where she's chatting to Maria before she goes to talk to Kyle. Michael
and Maria are also developing into a great double act, with their drive
back to town, Maria's denial that she finds him interesting, Michael
claiming that Maria forced him into asking her to help go through the
files and the scenes at the Crashdown while they wait for news of Max and
Liz being particular highlights. Back
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