I edited this post for rnmmarchformeta Day One: I love Max Evans, and I love that he doesn’t fit into a traditional hero mold (at least that’s what I argue here).
The hero’s journey, according to Wikipedia, is when a character goes on an adventure, is victorious in a decisive crisis, and comes home changed or transformed. I also like how this site defines the hero's journey. There are many different definitions, just as there are different definitions of an anti-hero. For argument’s sake, I’ll use the wikipedia definition: An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero)[1] is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality.
Max's story doesn't follow the hero’s journey. Max doesn't go on an adventure, he stays in the same town with the same job, and the ultimate crisis/decision point for him is more about the past than his future. Although Noah is the villain of s1, I think Max should be considered an anti-hero (whereas I would consider Liz and Isobel the heroes of s1).
Max spends most of s1 believing Isobel killed Rosa, just like the other characters. He hides this truth even though he wants to start a relationship with Liz, because he won’t betray Isobel. He even tells Liz to keep the anti-alien serum and protect herself, because he could never choose between Liz and his family. This tracks with what we find out later about Max - he only started wearing a uniform and became a police officer because he wanted to protect Michael. Family comes first in Max’s mind, no matter the consequences. Max doesn’t see an ideal world where Isobel and Michael and himself can live as aliens out in the open. He knows it would end badly for them, and that’s why he must protect their secret.
Then Max finds out Rosa is in a pod, so he sacrifices himself to bring Rosa back to life. I'm convinced he knew the toll it would take on himself, considering how physically ill he was after saving Liz. He trades himself for Rosa, as a final act of love for Liz. I think Max knew Liz & Isobel & Michael would never have agreed to his chosen course of action, but he thought it was still a fair trade. This choice could be seen as courageous, because he does take on this final act all by himself. I agree, but I think the even more courageous choice would have been to tell Liz. Again, Max is unable to believe in an ideal world where he gets to live and Liz is able to find a cure for Rosa and bring her back too.
It's easy to forget Max killed a random person pre-canon, because it seemed like he didn't mean to do it - he just acted instantly to protect Isobel. We learn from Noah that killing probably made Max feel satisfied, or at least powerful. Max must have realized the true power he held at that point, if not before. And he never saved anyone else before Liz, even though he watched several people die as a police officer. He knew he could of done something to save them, and yet he chose not to.
Additionally, Max is the one to kill Noah, and that wasn’t a tough moral dilemma for him. He had been resolved to that course of action as soon as he found out what Noah did to Isobel (and Rosa, and all of the other women). Even when Michael argues to keep Noah alive (very logically, I think), Max has already made up his mind to neutralize the threat that Noah presents.
The bottom line is that Max is motivated by his love for his chosen family, and he doesn’t see any limits to that love. Even if he knows Liz or Isobel or Michael will disapprove or be angry, he still goes forward with protecting Isobel and then saving Rosa. Max's moral compass is defined by his end goals, instead of doing what is 'right' or what his loved ones want him to do. He’s not an idealist, and he doesn’t try to follow a stringent moral code.
Saving Rosa does have consequences for Max that he couldn’t have predicted (being awake in the pod, and then forgetting Liz for a time), but I’m not sure that they change his outlook. He’s steadfast in his protector role even after that. I think he finally has to confront himself/his motivations when Jones arrives, but that’s meta for another day.
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Date: 2023-03-16 02:29 am (UTC)The hero’s journey, according to Wikipedia, is when a character goes on an adventure, is victorious in a decisive crisis, and comes home changed or transformed. I also like how this site defines the hero's journey. There are many different definitions, just as there are different definitions of an anti-hero. For argument’s sake, I’ll use the wikipedia definition: An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero)[1] is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality.
Max's story doesn't follow the hero’s journey. Max doesn't go on an adventure, he stays in the same town with the same job, and the ultimate crisis/decision point for him is more about the past than his future. Although Noah is the villain of s1, I think Max should be considered an anti-hero (whereas I would consider Liz and Isobel the heroes of s1).
Max spends most of s1 believing Isobel killed Rosa, just like the other characters. He hides this truth even though he wants to start a relationship with Liz, because he won’t betray Isobel. He even tells Liz to keep the anti-alien serum and protect herself, because he could never choose between Liz and his family. This tracks with what we find out later about Max - he only started wearing a uniform and became a police officer because he wanted to protect Michael. Family comes first in Max’s mind, no matter the consequences. Max doesn’t see an ideal world where Isobel and Michael and himself can live as aliens out in the open. He knows it would end badly for them, and that’s why he must protect their secret.
Then Max finds out Rosa is in a pod, so he sacrifices himself to bring Rosa back to life. I'm convinced he knew the toll it would take on himself, considering how physically ill he was after saving Liz. He trades himself for Rosa, as a final act of love for Liz. I think Max knew Liz & Isobel & Michael would never have agreed to his chosen course of action, but he thought it was still a fair trade. This choice could be seen as courageous, because he does take on this final act all by himself. I agree, but I think the even more courageous choice would have been to tell Liz. Again, Max is unable to believe in an ideal world where he gets to live and Liz is able to find a cure for Rosa and bring her back too.
It's easy to forget Max killed a random person pre-canon, because it seemed like he didn't mean to do it - he just acted instantly to protect Isobel. We learn from Noah that killing probably made Max feel satisfied, or at least powerful. Max must have realized the true power he held at that point, if not before. And he never saved anyone else before Liz, even though he watched several people die as a police officer. He knew he could of done something to save them, and yet he chose not to.
Additionally, Max is the one to kill Noah, and that wasn’t a tough moral dilemma for him. He had been resolved to that course of action as soon as he found out what Noah did to Isobel (and Rosa, and all of the other women). Even when Michael argues to keep Noah alive (very logically, I think), Max has already made up his mind to neutralize the threat that Noah presents.
The bottom line is that Max is motivated by his love for his chosen family, and he doesn’t see any limits to that love. Even if he knows Liz or Isobel or Michael will disapprove or be angry, he still goes forward with protecting Isobel and then saving Rosa. Max's moral compass is defined by his end goals, instead of doing what is 'right' or what his loved ones want him to do. He’s not an idealist, and he doesn’t try to follow a stringent moral code.
Saving Rosa does have consequences for Max that he couldn’t have predicted (being awake in the pod, and then forgetting Liz for a time), but I’m not sure that they change his outlook. He’s steadfast in his protector role even after that. I think he finally has to confront himself/his motivations when Jones arrives, but that’s meta for another day.