My Opinion of Tess

I never belonged to any anti-Tess groups. I mostly thought the Tess wars were amusing. That is why I saved all the pro and against Tess stuff. There were certainly skewed opinions on both sides that didn't match up with reality.

I didn't hate her as a character, in fact I thought she could be pretty interesting, especially with Kyle. Sure she was sneaky and creepy at first, but if she would have left Max and the others alone and not tried to force her vision of destiny on them I wouldn't have had a problem with her.

Some people defend Tess and her actions, blaming everything she did on how she grew up, or what she was 'forced' to do to make the others see the 'truth' but the reality is that she made her own choices and did things because she wanted.

Sure, she grew up with Nasedo telling her she would be reunited with her family - blah, blah - and her 'husband' would love her - blah, blah - and when she got to Roswell Max didn't love her (boo-freaking-hoo) and they rejected her so she was 'forced' to be really creepy, sneak around and spy on them, use Kyle to get their attention, and use her powers on her family to make them have visions of 'destiny'.

The truth is she came to town sneaked around, mindwarping all of them, and acting really creepy. She forced Max to kiss her, used Kyle to lure them to the library, she wanted to go hide when Nasedo took Liz because she didn't think Liz mattered. For all those reasons the others rejected her.

Seems to me like she could have just been straight with them from the first, explained who she was, what the past was about. They might have welcomed her into the group instead of being scared of her.

And sure, Tess thinks Max is destined to be her husband, but he loves someone else. Deal with it. Just because she thinks they are meant to be together, doesn't mean that is what he wants. Yes, it is sad for her that Max doesn't love her, doesn't remember or want her, but instead of throwing herself at him and sending him sex visions, how about just give him some time to get to know her, and maybe he will start to like or remember her.

As we got to know her more I couldn't imagine Max being interested in her. She seemed so totally opposite of Liz, and what it seemed Max was looking for. Tess was self-centered, petty and annoying, talking about destiny all the time.

Well, it isn't all about her and what she wants and when she wants it to happen. So things didn't turn out like she wanted. Life often doesn't. You can't force people to do or feel what you want them to. And it certainly doesn't give her an excuse to use and manipulate people to get what she wants. Suck it up and get a life.

It is always interesting to me that the Rebels say how much Tess loved Max. I've looked through the transcripts and she never said she loved him. Not once. It didn't even seem like she was interested in getting to know him. It seems like the main reason she wanted to be with him because she thought it was their destiny. Talk about the wrong reasons to be with someone.

Then toward the middle of season two, Tess seemed to calm down, drop all the destiny stuff and become more human, and I really started to like her. Not to mention she and Kyle are just so dang cute together. They had real chemistry and it looked like they would pair up.

Now, I know some Tess haters didn't even want her with Kyle. They felt that he deserved someone better than her.

I felt like sure, she did a lot of stuff up to this point that was wrong, but it was certainly forgivable if she was really sincere about changing. And it looked like she was changing. She appeared to be really letting her human side come out, and she was trying to be part of the Valenti family.

But after Alex's death, she started getting creepy again. She was always with Max, 'supporting' him even when he was being a jack-ass. Looking back it is easy to see that she was using that time to separate Max from Isabel and Michael so he would be more vulnerable.

Then Tess and Max slept together. I lost it. I completely hated her and it took me a long time to get over it. Sure, Max was there too, and I really am not a Max apologist. He did have a choice, but Tess really manipulated him and took advantage of him when he was at rock bottom, and that is just despicable. (If it had been the reverse and Sean had done it to Liz, we would practically be crying rape.) And the next day, you can so clearly see the regret and anguish on his face.

And then we found out about Tess mindwarping and using Alex to do the translation, and the deal with Khivar. Some people defend that too but to me both of those are unforgivable.

I don't care how she grew up, she knew using Alex was wrong. She went to a great deal of trouble to hide the fact that she was using him, so no question she knew it was wrong. I don't believe she meant to kill Alex, but I don't think it really bothered her that much either, and she certainly used his death to her advantage.

And Nasedo may have started the deal with Khivar 40 years ago, but he died. Tess could have fessed-up at any time and told the others what was happening, but she went along with it because it gave her what she wanted.

Granted, the storyline was a total cop-out. They certainly could have come up with something more interesting and not so out of left field. It also didn't seem to fit at all with her character earlier in the season, unless you consider that maybe Tess tried to blend in with the others better so she could get closer to them and more easily betray them.

Some people have suggested Tess was set up and didn't really do anything wrong, but then why did she confess to Max? Was she being coerced in some way? Not that we ever saw.

At the end she really seemed to be in denial and maybe a bit psychotic. She knew that she was handing her 'family' and her child to their enemy and probably leading them to their deaths, but she still was mad that Max didn't love her and also seemed to think they would somehow live happily ever after.

So was it all some kind of revenge because they rejected her? Did she ever care about them at all? It didn't seem to bother her that they would die as long as she could get what she wanted. And she certainly didn't believe in Max, the husband she claimed was a great man and leader, who she would be with forever, because she chose the enemy over him. So it seems quite obvious to me that she didn't really love Max, her people, or anyone but herself.

It did take me a really long time to get over hating Tess. Tess being exposed as a villain helped a little. Writing Alpha & Omega helped because I made Roswell the way I wanted it to be. The biggest thing that helped is that now I think of the end of season 2 as bad fanfic.

I have written Tess as a bad guy in a few fics, mostly because she is convenient. In other fics I've written her as the deluded and confused person I think she is, who is hopefully a little better off in the end of the story.

So after all this time I think I can be more objective. If you asked me do I hate Tess, I would have to ask, "Which one?" The Tess who used and killed Alex and betrayed her family to their enemy? Or the Tess who flirted with Kyle and became a part of the Valenti family?

Mostly my answer is I don't hate the Tess we knew pre-'Heart of Mine'. And I'd be just fine with her afterward if she can leave Alex, Max and Liz alone. If not, all bets are off. ;)



My theory of Tess

To a lot of people Tess' actions seem so strange. If she loved Max how could she betray him? I've come up with a theory about Tess that I think explains all her actions in Roswell, including why she was willing to hand her 'great love' over to the enemy.

I know that a lot of people think that Tess came to Roswell to find her husband to be reunited with her 'great love', and everything she did was to try and make him remember their relationship.

They think that the end of season 2 was so shocking and out of character for Tess. But was it?

I have a different theory about her actions in Roswell.

Maybe at some point in their other life Tess loved Max, maybe. But in this life, her actions didn't appear that way to me at all. To me it looks like everything she did from the first day was to seduce Max and trap him into getting her pregnant, so she could follow the plan and hand him to Khivar.

She thought she could show up, easily seduce Max into being with her, and in no time she'd be headed home. She was frustrated and maybe even a bit pissed when she arrived in Roswell and Max didn't look twice at her because he was already in love with a human, so she did anything she could think of to get his attention.

She wasn't using all of those tricks to remind him of their 'great love', she just wanted his sperm. Basically she was an enemy agent sent to seduce the king.

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My Opinion of the Rebels

This is where I have to say a word or two about Rebels (Max/Tess shippers). Sorry Rebels if it's a bit bashy, but for the most part, you guys are pretty disconnected from reality.

But don't take my word for it, check out this synopsis of a Tess-centric story I stumbled across.

At Roswell Heaven, we save a lot of stories from closing sites, I came across one that had no pairing or category in the heading, so I opened it to see what it was. It was a Tess story, where she is the hero of Roswell. I couldn't stop reading it was so damn funny. I nearly peed my pants laughing.

Obviously written by a huge Tess fan who has put down her fantasy of how Tess was in the show. It takes place in season 3 when Max dies.



I am still chuckling.

For the category into, I was really tempted to put 'Tess fantasy'

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Rebel Reasoning

Below, I've divided the Rebels main arguments for why Max and Tess are so good together, and put my rebuttal underneath.



Liz never really loved Max

A lot of Rebels believe that Liz never really loved Max. They believe that the fact that she left Max in the episode 'Destiny' is proof that she never loved him. They think that the fact that she gave him up so easily, and then left town, and kept pushing him away is proof that she didn't have strong feelings for him.

Rebuttal - Ummm, were we watching the same show?

All of those reasons are proof of exactly how much Liz did love Max.

Liz didn't walk away from Max easily. It was torture for her to leave him and to cause him pain but she believed that she had to leave him for his own good. Max had a higher purpose and she thought she was standing in his way.

She thought it would be easier for both of them if she left for the summer because she knew it would be so hard to see him every day. She knew he would be trying to get her back, and didn't know if she would be able to keep saying no to the man she loved.

And when she got back, she kept pushing him away, but she never stopped loving him. You can see it in her face every time they are together. But she tried to stay away from him because she thought that was what was best for him.

You see, real love isn't selfish, it isn't about what you want. It isn't about trying to force what you want on someone. Real love is about wanting what is best for the person you love, and sometimes that means sacrificing what you want for the one you love.

Liz believed that she had to sacrifice being with her soul mate for his own good. That is real love.

Tess believed that because she and Max were 'destined' to be together, he should just fall in line and be with her. She didn't care what Max wanted at all. She just knew what she wanted, and was willing to do just about anything to make it happen. That is selfishness, and possibly even obsession, but not love.



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Liz was the other woman, not Tess

Rebels often say how Liz was the other woman, because Tess was Max's wife. Liz stole Tess' man, she is a homewrecker, and she was standing in the way of destiny.

Rebuttal - Neither Liz nor Max knew that Tess even existed. They fell in love. They were in love and going out when Tess showed up. How was that stealing anyone?

After they found out that Tess was Max's wife, Liz left and cut off all ties with Max, so she wasn't standing in the way of anything. But Max didn't want to be with Tess. He still loved Liz. It wasn't Liz that preventing Max from being with Tess, it was Max himself. He did not want Tess.

It is sad for Tess that Max didn't love her, but Liz didn't do a dang thing to come between Tess and Max. Liz even tried to get Max together with Tess, but he didn't want that.

If you want to get technical, it is Tess who is the home wrecker. She knew Max was with Liz, but that didn't stop her from trying to steal him for herself.



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Liz made Max fall in love with her

Rebels often say how Liz manipulated Max and tricked him into falling in love with her.

Rebuttal - Ummmmm, when did this supposedly happen? We see almost from the beginning that Max has been in love with Liz since the first time he saw her when they were eight, and he has been watching her from afar ever since.

So did Liz cook up this plot before she even met Max in third grade to manipulate him into falling in love with her?

Or maybe the rebels think this happened later. When?

After he risked his life to save hers?
When he tells her he saved her because 'It was you.'?
At the Crash Festival when he tells her he wishes there could be more between them?
Or maybe one of the other million times that he shows or tells her exactly how he feels about her.

Yup, that Liz manipulated Max to fall in love with her just by existing.



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Tess always supports Max

Rebels also like to point out how supportive Tess was of Max. She never disagreed with him, she always thought he was right.

Rebuttal - Does this bother anyone else beside me? You could call it supportive, you could also calling it having no identity other than being Max's wife. She echoed what he said and had no opinion of her own.

Does Max really need a 'Yes' man? Or does he need someone who will tell him the truth, even if it is painful?

In Max in the City, Max is trying to talk to her about the deal to decide what to do. She doesn't give her opinion at all. Instead she says, I know whatever you decide will be the right thing because you were a great husband. How is that relevant or helpful? She sounds more like a Stepford wife than a powerful queen. She may as well have said, I know you will make the right decision because you are hot. If I were Max I would have been so tempted to slap her.



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Liz hated Tess and treated her badly, and influenced Max's behavior and treatment of Tess

Rebels are constantly complaining about how badly Liz treated Tess, and how she was always trying to turn the others against her.

Rebuttal - When exactly did Liz treat Tess badly? Show me one place in the transcripts.

When they thought Tess was Nasedo, Liz said she was scared of her, but the others were too. They knew Nasedo had killed a lot of people and they knew Tess was manipulating them. They didn't know what she wanted with them. She was sneaking around and giving them dreams and visions and she forced Max to kiss her. It would scare me too, and I certainly would think she didn't have my best interests in mind.

When Liz and Max were together and Tess was trying to get with Max, Liz never said one negative thing to Tess. She didn't even blame Tess. When Max told Liz he'd kissed Tess because he was drawn to her, Liz was mad at Max not Tess.

Liz worked with Tess on several occasions and was never anything but polite, keeping her feelings to herself even when it had to be killing her, knowing that she had to hand over the man she loved.

The only time Liz ever said anything negative to Tess was when they were in Vegas. Tess had been complaining about not having fun, and nastily tells Liz that of course she shouldn't expect to have fun with Liz. But Liz still has a restrained answer, telling Tess that she isn't having fun with her either.

So where was all this bad treatment of Tess that influenced Max?

It is a Rebel invention. It is another excuse to blame Max's indifferent behavior toward Tess on someone else. But it wasn't Liz keeping Max away from Tess. The truth is that Max didn't want to be with her.



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Tess was so strong and would make a great queen

Some say Tess was so strong, never wavering in her devotion to Max and saving her world, doing anything she had to do to make it happen.

Rebuttal - My question is, was she devoted to Max and her people, or was she just out for what she could get?

She followed the deal with Khivar and was going to hand her family, her 'beloved' husband and son over to the enemy. And she had to at least suspect that Max would be killed by Khivar. She'd be an idiot if she didn't consider it a possibility. How is that devotion to anyone but herself?

A wife who really loved her husband wouldn't have been making deals behind his back, she would have told her husband about the deal and helped him fight.



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Tess understood Max so well

Some Rebels also point out that Tess was so patient and devoted to Max that she even gave him space to be with Liz, because she understood him so well.

Rebuttal - Really? The truth is that Tess threw herself at Max over and over again, and sent him sex visions but it didn't work. Max told her several times that he didn't remember her and didn't want to be with her. She didn't give him space because she was so understanding, she was just trying another tactic because the frontal assault wasn't working.

Tess knew and understood her 'husband' so well that instead of attracting him she repelled him. Liz was the one who had to coach Tess on how to behave to attract Max's attention. So who really knew and understood Max better?



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Max is a boy, Tess is a queen

A lot of Rebels are firstly Tess fans who think she deserves her 'happily ever after', and the way they see her getting that is to be with Max.

The funny thing is, most Rebels don't really think that much of Max. They see him as a confused boy who needs Tess to show him what he should want in life. They think Tess knows him better than he knows himself, and she is right about what he wants even if he thinks he wants something different.

Rebuttal - So if Max is such a blind doofus who can't see a good thing staring him in the face, why do they want Tess with him? It seems like the main reason is because he is a king and that would make her a queen.



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Tess and Max are destined to be together

The Rebels also claim Max and Tess had this 'great love' in two lifetimes, and think it is so romantic that their love lasted after death, and it is their destiny to be together.

Rebuttal - Yes, they were married in their last life, but that doesn't necessarily mean they were in love. Where is the proof that they were? Neither of them ever said they loved the other.

Yes, Max remembered Tess from their last life, but he certainly didn't jump into a relationship with her like you would expect if he remembered their 'great love'. Max was freaked out by the idea of anything between them. Doesn't sound like love to me. To me that is proof that Max never loved Tess in either life.

Yes, Max eventually slept with Tess, but even if it was of his own free will, sex does not equal love. It just proves he is a teen boy with hormones. And quite the opposite of love, Max was full of regret the next day.

Yes, Max stayed with Tess after she got pregnant, but taking responsibility for your actions does not equal love either.

And what about them being 'destined' to be together? Who said? Tess? Nasedo? The book? So what? Destiny is just someone else telling you what you are supposed to do with your life. How does that equal love?



Loving someone across death and two lifetimes is a really romantic idea, but I don't think that happened in Roswell at all. Where was the supposed love? Tess never once told Max she loved him.

No matter what else happened, Tess was going to hand Max to their enemy to be killed. Where was her 'love' for him then?

Sorry, Rebels. I just don't see it.