The Once and Future King

Over the course of the three years that Roswell blessed our TV screens, many of us became obsessed with the mythology of Roswell. We had the classical star-crossed lovers, Liz and Max. We had alienation. And we had the Arthurian romance in which the universal themes of birth, death, rebirth populated and repopulated plot, subtext, characterization, and visual symbolism.

Nowhere is it more apparent in our characters than it is with Max, "The Once and Future, King", a reluctant king who emerges from the Celtic/Christian blending of the pagan Fisher King with the Christian Arthurian romance cycle. In "Harvest", the roots of Roswellian mythology is finally acknowledged in the "church" of the Universal Friendship League (UFL), a front for the Royal Four's enemies, the Skins. The Rev. T.R. Greer, head of the UFL, says to Max. "You must be the once and future king ... and this must be your young bride." This direct homage to T.E. White's classic reinterpretation of the King Arthur legends, "The Once and Future King" clearly brands Max as the Royal Antarian version of King Arthur.

Fictionally speaking, Max and King Arthur are interchangeable (with a twist here and there). King Arthur was a king murdered and buried in a "tor" or hillside to be reborn in a time of need. Max is a king murdered, cloned, buried at the Pod Chamber Rocks, to be reborn in a time of need. Both Arthur and Max are seen as the hope and salvation of their people's future. King Arthur was betrayed by his wife, Guinivere, and his half-sister, Morganna. Max was betrayed by his wife, Tess, and allegedly by his sister, Isabel. King Arthur was seduced by magic to produce an heir that would lead to his death while Max was seduced (perhaps by illusion?) by Tess to produce an heir to replace Max while Max, had he returned to Antar, would have been executed by his mortal enemy.

However, before the "fictional" Arthur came into being as realized through the stories of Chretian des Troyes in the 12th century, Geoffrey of Monmouth gives us the first formal "in-depth look at the "historical" Arthur in The Life of King Arthur. From this history, we begin to see the Arthurian mythology take shape and how it applies to our beloved Roswell, specifically to Max.

King Arthur, from the genealogy presented by Geoffrey of Monmouth, was a king of mixed blood -- half Roman, half British. Max is an alien king of mixed blood -- half alien, half human. In Arthur's age, the Romans were the foreign colonists; in Max's age, the Special Unit viewed the aliens as the foreign colonists.

As a youth, King Arthur was known for his cruelty. In Roswell, we see signs of this cruelty in Max's treatment of Isabel when she wants to go away to college. Max threatens his sister and shows a ruthlessness that was probably part of King Zan's temperament as well.

The historical Arthur was a formidable military leader, educated to military life, and victor of many military campaigns. King Zan was a respected military leader by Nicholas, a general in the army of Max's mortal enemy, Kivar. Nicholas, in "Wipeout" clearly notes that King Zan was a powerful leader, a commander who could decide the fate of armies with a flip of a coin. "In those days, I was no match for you," implying that Zan was the better campaigner. To do so, King Zan must have been a great strategist and not afraid to make decisions, even if the cost with great. Zan played to win.

King Arthur's father, Uther Pendragon died of poisoning while Arthur was still a youth. For a time he was under the control of a regent. While we are not sure what King Zan's father's fate was, we do know he died while Zan was fairly young. Was there a regent? Possibly, but it can't be confirmed with what has been written to date. What can be confirmed is that, like Arthur (adopted by Sir Kay), Max was adopted -- in Max's case, by the Evans, with Philip Evans providing the "fatherly and strong hand," By age 15, Arthur is commander in chief while Max is 17 by the time he learns he's "the leader", the rightful King of Antar.

As commander-in-chief, Arthur wins a great naval battle and settles into a "Golden Age" which lasts about 12 years. At this time, he marries Guinevere. She is thought to be of noble Roman birth. At some point, Guinevere is kidnapped (shades of Tess!). The next time we hear of Guinivere, she has married Prince Mordred and usurped Arthur's kingdom! In a three-day battle against Mordred's army, Arthur is wounded and dies. He is roughly 40 years.

While we know nothing of King Zan's military battles, we do know that during his rule, Antar was on the verge of "a Golden Age" (according to Courtney) which was destroyed because of unknown reasons. Courtney implies its Zan's fault but offers nothing to back it up; Larek implies that it's Zan's fault because Zan tried to make too many changes to quickly. Arthur was also blamed for "moving too fast". Ironically, Guinivere usurps Arthur's throne while in Roswell, we have Tess implicated in a plot to usurp the rightful king, Max, with his heir, baby Zan. More about this later in the "fictional Arthur".

There is little information about Merlin's education of Arthur. It is very sparse, much the same as Nasedo's training of the pod squad for their future roles. What is known is that Merlin is credited with teaching Arthur how to "light a fire" and helped him select his bride. Nasedo, while not wholly responsible for teaching Max "how to light a fire" (the use of his powers) he certainly pushed Tess as Max's intended bride.

Much of the historical information that Geoffrey of Monmouth provides about Arthur's life comes from an older source, an unidentified book believed to have been written by Merlin and loaned to Geoffrey by Walter, the archdeacon of Oxford. (Could this be the Destiny Book?) His other source comes from Nennius, a 10th century historian, who chronicled the battles fought by a "captain" named Arthur. The Nennius manuscripts also claim Arthur "wore (or bore) the image of the Virgin Mary" and that his Christian beliefs helped him to victory. In the Liz Mythology threads of the Crashdown's FanForum board, Roswellian mythologists have equated Liz with the Virgin Mary. Symbolically, we could take this claim and say that Max bore the image of Liz with him." It is widely agreed among Roswellian mythologists that Liz is the "problem-solver" who helped Max win his "little victories".

Two other small bits to consider: Arthurian authorities are split between the insignia of King Arthur's standard. Some Arthurian scholars contend that the Red Dragon (from Uther Pendragon) was King Arthur's standard and, in the TV series, Roswell, a Chinese Red Dragon does make its presence known on Liz's window. The Scots believe it was the "Bear's gamb", a bear paw with it's claws extended! Consider how ironic that is in lieu of the casting of Jason Behr (pronounced bear) who uses a extended bear claw as his personal logo.

Another one of Roswell's unanswered questions is whether or not Zan was a good and fit ruler. Perhaps by turning to the historical Arthur, we might get a glimpse of King Zan. First, a look at Zan. Again, from Courtney, Antar was in a Golden Age which she believed King Zan ruined for unknown reasons. Langley calls King Zan "selfish", implying that he didn't care for anyone but himself. Yet ... we also know that he was also loved. The mom-o-gram, if legitimate, looks to King Zan as the savior of his people and it confirms a mother's love for her children.

He had enough support among his people and the five-planet federation to command an army run in Max's absentia and that Kivar needed Max's presence at a peace summit. One of the terms of the peace treaty: that Max ask his supporters to lay down their arms. If Max was so reviled as a "bad king", there was no need for such a condition.

Nicholas appears to have respected King Zan's military leadership, but accuses him of making "bad decisions" and "putting his faith in the wrong people?" Is this propaganda to demoralize Max or a statement of fact -- that Zan really was a bad king. This is a charge also laden to the historical and fictional Arthur, especially with regards to Guinevere, his wife. Then there is Larek, who genuinely likes King Zan, but cautioned him not to implement change to rapidly. Again, a charge faced by the historical and fictional Arthur. King Zan, like Arthur, ignores this advice and Larek implies it led to King Zan's downfall. It certainly became Arthur's.

But, in contradiction, we learn that the reason King Zan's forces are defeated is not because of King Zan's lack of military skills. King Zan's government falls because his lovestruck, foolish sister Vilandra, opens the floodgates believing her boyfriend, Kivar, wants peace.

So at best, we have a king with a split personality! Or a king with good military skills, a progressive agenda, but a soft spot for friends and family who inadvertently or deliberately betray King Zan. Again, this is similar to the "fictional" King Arthur, but how about the "historical" Arthur?

Arthur apparently was crowned twice. The second coronation of Arthur provided plenty of pomp and circumstance and plenty of dignitaries and lasted three days. It was an extremely lavish affair. Historical sources note Arthur's generosity among his allies, but Arthur was not above parading his vanquished and forcing them to participate in the ceremony as part of the show. He apparently was considered a "good king" and according to Norma Lorre Goodrich's book, King Arthur, "[Saint] Gildas lashed out at those very kings who succeeded Arthur in the 540s, after the Battle of Camlan, for failing to rule properly (as Arthur had done)." We also know that Queen Guinivere was also crowned at the second coronation, that she was a "vicious" warrior queen, probably a cheiftainess in her own right, and not well loved by medieval writers. Sound familiar?

The marital status of the historical Arthur turns out to be incredibly interesting. While the fictional Arthur only speaks of the one Guinivere, some sources make reference to three! Not just three, but three all named Guinivere. Whether this was intentional or coincidental in the Roswellian mythology, it opens the door on a few theories: The first completely removes Liz from the picture as "the bride" and presents "Antar Ava, Tess, and Dupe Ava" as the three Guineveres. The second reasons that the three brides would be Antarian Ava, Tess as the "young bride" sent to Earth with Max, and Liz, as Max's bride of choice. The third theory suggests that King Zan married twice on Antar before he marries Liz on Earth.

This third theory would be in keeping with the second coronation of a historical Arthur. Zan marries an unknown bride (who disappears from the scene early, dies shortly after Zan's first coronation. He then turns around and marries Tess who is officially recognized as queen when a second coronation after their marriage confirms her status. Then, of course, the third marriage would be Max's marriage to Liz, a conscious choice of love. Liz's role with the historical and fictional Arthur will be discussed separately.

The rest of historical Arthur disappears dies with his death. What happens to Arthur, the historical chieftain, fades into the air ... as Max's memories of Zan. In death, the historical Arthur was said to have been buried at the famed Glastonbury Abbey in England with Guinivere, just below the equally famous Glastonbury Tor where the fictional Arthur is supposed to be buried with his men "to rise again." There is a marker to "mark" this alleged grave site. However, this very same Abbey was wrecked during Henry VIII's dissolution of the churches and the bodies of Arthur and Guinivere were said to have been removed to an undisclosed location.

Coincidentally, we have Zan and Ava, killed on Antar and their bodies physically removed from Antar to Earth ... to an undisclosed location which we know as Roswell, a fact that is hidden to all but a few select chosen Knights Templer, the Protectors in the shape of Nasedo, Langley, and possibly, the elusive TicTac. The idea that Max and Tess's pods are deposited at The Pod Chamber enhances the similarities as the historical Arthur moves into the realm fictional Arthur and as the Antarian King Zan moves into the realm of legend on his home planet and the "reborn" Zan, Max emerges in the guise of the more fictional Arthur.