Liz continues her search for the truth, running tests on Max and following up obscure clues left behind by her sister with Maria as she attempts to unravel what (if any) involvement Max had in the death of Rosa. Michael and Alex’s relationship continues to develop. Isobel decides on a course of action, but surprises await.

So, episode three of Mills & Boon with Aliens brings us more of that teen-focused sexual politics and melodrama with very little emphasis on the sci-fi. Opening with a monologue about what science is, delivered by Liz as she readies herself to start testing Max, it jumps from turgid sermonising about the precision of the scientific method to a series of absurd leaps of logic so quickly you might almost miss it, especially if Jeanine Mason’s monotone delivery has lulled you into a nap.

But, wake up there, viewer, because there’s action to be had! Something happens during the testing that reinforces Liz’s absolute conviction that Max must have murdered dear departed sis, and she rushes to tell Kyle, while also insisting that they mustn’t tell anyone yet until she has some real proof.

Kyle is struggling with his conscience, unsure of whether he should follow his father’s legacy with Master Sergeant Manes or go his own way. By way of a bit of exposition dialogue between him and his mother (who I either hadn’t noticed before now or just hadn’t appeared before) we learn a little more about Kyle’s father and what happened to him, and specifically what the relationship between him and Manes was like, which adds further to Kyle’s indecision. Goody.

Max is still hopelessly in love with Liz, and has decided the best way to work that out of his system is to maybe push his booty call with Jenna into an actual honest-to-goodness relationship. Healthy stuff, and I’ll leave you to wonder how well that might work out for him. Honestly, the earnest exchanges between him and Liz might well be the actual worst thing about the show, as it becomes a genuine neck and neck race between Mason and Nathan Dean Parsons as to which is the least convincing actor or who has the absolute worst lines of dialogue.

There’s a scavenger hunt element to the episode as well, as Liz enlists the help of Maria to follow some obscure clues left behind by Rosa to… various items, at least one of which makes no sense in the context of the show and how it gets presented/explained. Possibly someone is just lying but it doesn’t really feel like a plot thread that’s that well thought-out.

Max’s siblings have issues of their own beyond looking out for their lovelorn brother. Michael and Alex continue to be the most compelling thing on screen, even as they pursue this odd off-again/on-again thing where each has issues committing to the other depending on what episode it is. This time out it’s Alex again, but it seems fairly obvious that he’ll be back in the thick of things with Michael soon.

And Isobel is having trouble being ‘present’ with her husband as she continues to worry about Max and whether or not Liz might expose their secret. Her attempt to take some action runs into a weird obstacle and a realisation that maybe her initial assumptions about her baby brother and the love of his life are all wrong after all.

What I think makes this a little too much to take is that there is way too much emphasis on the fact that each romantic pairing in the show is the ‘love of each other’s life’ like they’ve known each other from childhood and are somehow destined for one another. So many instances of this in such a small town just feels like too much of a reach. Oh, and there’s a mention of Space Force in there, because relevance, I guess.

Verdict: Continues to be hampered by the fact it chose the wrong leads. I honestly don’t care about Liz, or Rosa, or Max. Sack them all off and give me the Alex and Michael show, please. 4/10

Greg D. Smith