Isabel Evans

Isabel Evans is a fictional character created by Melinda Metz for the young adults book series Roswell High and adapted by Jason Katims for the 1999-2002 American science fiction television series Roswell. She was portrayed by actress Katherine Heigl in the television series.

Fictional character summary

Isabel Evans is an alien-human hybrid like her brother Max Evans and best friend Michael Guerin. She and Max were found as six-year-old children wandering in the desert by Philip and Diane Evans, who adopted them. She had a relationship with Alex Whitman in season one and again in season two, but the relationship never really got off the ground in season one before her "destiny" was revealed. Just as she and Alex started over in season two, Alex was killed. She was devastated by Alex's death, having a couple of dreams about him (one in which she admitted she loved him), but moved on to marry Jesse Ramirez in season three. She and her mother shared a close relationship, although it was strained when Isabel decided to marry Jesse. Over the years, Isabel's relationships with Max and Michael were also put under pressure. She became notably good friends with Kyle Valenti and saw Sheriff Jim Valenti as a father figure.

Characteristics

Isabel is a very visible, popular girl at school. She hides her kind side beneath a front of haughtiness and cold unfeeling—she is the perfect, unknowable, unobtainable beauty. On the outside, she is the most outgoing of the three hybrids and blends in with the human society with ease. While Michael is a rebellious loner and Max is shy and quiet, she is an active participant in social activities and very confident. However, deep down she craves stability and security, longing to fit in and be a "normal" girl like Liz or Maria.

Powers and abilities

Isabel has the same molecular manipulation abilities as the rest of the hybrids, most notably heat generation (to the point of being able to cook food) and telekinesis, which she seems to be better at than the other hybrids. She also has the unique ability to dream walk (oneirokinesis, an ability all the hybrids shared in the books). By looking at a photo and concentrating, she sends a pulse through it and can enter a person's dreams, though she claims it only works when people are asleep. She is also seen projectively playing a CD through some unknown means by holding it to her head.

Fictional biography

Season One

When Isabel learns that her brother Max healed Liz Parker during an altercation between two men in the Crashdown Cafe, then told her about his, Isabel's and Michael's alien origins, she is very angry and never completely forgives him for it.^[2]

At first, Isabel is hostile towards the humans who know her secret, but this is because she is afraid of the power they suddenly hold over her.^[3] Maria DeLuca, the best friend of Liz, makes the new alien-are-among-us-knowledge rather nervous. Isabel is concerned and she has large fear that Maria could betray them. Therefore, she walks into Maria's dreams to find out. Maria earns Isabel's trust when she refuses to tell Sheriff Valenti Isabel's true identity.^[4] She, Liz and Maria form bonds of friendship over the following year. It starts when Isabel helps Maria at the Crashdown Café when Maria is in a sticky situation.^[5]

In the episode "Heat Wave",^[6] after going into Alex's dreams one night and seeing the two of them dancing together, Isabel starts to wonder if Alex can be trusted with their secret. She almost tells him at a party, but despite his infatuation with her Alex mistakes her tentative conversation about trust as a sexual advance, which hurts her. When Alex and Liz are arrested by Sheriff Valenti after attending an illegal party, Alex is asking Liz what is going on. He feels left out. Isabel tells Max that she thinks they should have told Alex the truth. Max is surprised at her change in attitude towards Alex. Alex only believes when Isabel shows him some of her abilities.^[7] Over the following episodes, Isabel grows closer to Alex, but rebuffs his romantic advances because she is afraid of opening up to someone.

Isabel and Michael share a very close friendship, almost bordering on the brother/sister bond she has with Max. While she is often stuck between Max and Michael's extremely different viewpoints on the world, she respects Max's desire for control and caution while understanding Michael's need to find out where they come from. She is fiercely protective of Michael when he falls seriously ill and shows her care for him in his vision by kissing his cheek and hugging him.^[7] She also helps him one night when he believes he can send a signal to the fourth alien, and is genuinely afraid for him when it's revealed that Hank, Michael's foster father, has been beating him.^[8]

An essential point in their relationship comes when the two begin to have strange, erotic dreams about one another. At one point they think she might even be pregnant with his child through some alien dream connection.^[9] Isabel is confused and frightened by this: she's always seen Michael as her brother/best friend. They seem to reject this concept, but it throws both off balance. They are still struggling with this as the first season comes to a close.

Isabel is very close to her mother, and hates lying to her about who she really is. She believes that her mother's love for her and Max is unconditional, and is desperate to tell her the truth. However, both Max and Michael are firmly unwilling to let an adult in on the secret. Even when Diane Evans pleads with Max to tell her the truth, he will not, and this breaks Isabel's heart when she finds out.^[10]

Isabel, as well as being his sister, is also Max's friend and confidant. She often reminds Max of all sides of an argument when it comes to his relationship with Liz. In some ways, she encourages him; in other ways, she holds him back. Though she relies heavily on him as leader and brother, he can also lean on her when he needs to. His capture and torture terrify Isabel.^[11]

As the season progresses, Isabel begins to put aside her ice-queen personality in favor of the inner Isabel. She also becomes a much stronger personality—she uses her strength to help rescue Max from the White Room,^[12] and as the season ends, it's clear that Isabel is growing up into a strong, fearsome woman, while still retaining her caring, sweet inner self.

Season Two

In the second season starts with the murder of the alien Nasedo. Before dying he proclaims that one of their worst enemies has arrived in Roswell: the Skins.^[13] Because they don't know where the danger comes from, they all try to behave normally.

Max and the others throw her a surprise birthday party, but Isabel has strange flashes. Isabel rescues Tess and kills Congresswoman Whitaker, who turns out to be one of the enemy Skins.^[14] Isabel does not reveal the information that Whitaker gave her about her past to Max, and this begins to drive a subtle wedge between the sister and brother. Isabel begins to secretly fear that her role will be as betrayer of her brother and her people. In the same moment Isabel is intrigued by geologist Grant Sorensen and they start dating.

The battle with the Skins heats up when they destroy the Skins' headquarters in Arizona.^[15] Before the destruction, Nicholas, one of the Skins, repeats the message from Whitaker. Nicholas wants to take her back to Kivar, the leader of the rebellion on their home planet. In her past life she was in love with him and she sacrificed Max's (Zan's) kingdom for him. She can escape in time but the knowledge he told her, will haunt her.

Max will find out Isabel's identity when the group meets the scrupulousness dupes.^[16]

Isabel's visions of people in trouble disturb her and she turns to Max and Sheriff Valenti for help. She sees a mysterious young girl, who was kidnapped and buried alive.^[17] A race against time begins, but they can save the girl in time. Grant Sorensen begins to act suspicious and comes to a bad end - a very painful experience for Isabel, who feels responsible for his death.^[18]

After the gang meet the dupes, Lonnie (Isabel's dupe/clone) finally tells Max the truth about Vilandra, so that Max can come with them to New York. Max is outraged and blames Isabel for not apologizing to him, and thinks that she is responsible for what happened on Antar and their deaths. Max and Isabel get into a heavy argument and, in anger, Max nearly threatens her; Michael comes to her aid. Once Max leaves, Michael and Isabel shake hands, revealing that the two were actually Rath and Lonnie in disguise. During the time Max is in New York, Isabel and the others learn through Ava that Rath and Lonnie are planning to kill Max as they did to Zan. Later, Isabel uses her power and, with Liz's help, they are able to save Max from a falling building. After Max returns from New York, Max tells Isabel that she is his sister no matter what happens and they make up.

When Alex returns from his exchange student trip to Sweden, Alex acts more self-confident and mature, and Isabel sees him with new eyes. She finally understands that Alex is the man of her dreams.^[19] But Alex dies just as they start developing a relationship.^[20] His death shocks Isabel and the others. She keeps seeing him in dreams and in those dreams he helps her to find some peace in mind. He will be her guardian until season 3.^[21] Isabel's bond with Max becomes strained again, because Isabel wants to go college outside of Roswell; Max and Michael are furious about her choice. Max threatens Isabel, saying that if she leaves without his permission, he will tell their mother that she is crazy and that she cheated on her test. A tearful Isabel burns her test and tells Max that she will no longer follow him as king. She then teams up with Kyle and they together pull pranks on Max.

All this changes, shortly after Isabel learns from Max that Tess is pregnant and the baby is dying. Isabel and Max forgive each other, and Michael tells them that he discovered how to go back to Antar. Before the departure to their home planet, Isabel, Max and Michael are stopped and rescued by Liz, Maria and Kyle.^[22] The two girls and Kyle find out that Alex was actually killed by Tess. It's revealed that Tess had a hidden agenda. She wanted to betray Isabel, Max and Michael to Kivar, due to a deal made by their former protector Nasedo with Kivar 40 years ago. At the end, the three stay on earth while Tess leaves with the spaceship.

Season Three

At the start of season three Isabel meets and falls in love with an associate at her father's law firm. His name is Jesse Ramirez and they begin a secret relationship, due in part to the age difference between them (Isabel is 18 and Jesse is 26), as well as her secret identity as an alien.^[23]

Even though her parents and friends are at first against it Isabel marries Jesse a couple of months later, though she doesn't reveal her alien secret to Jesse.^[24] Her parents are furious over her decision to marry so young and do not attend the wedding, However Max later convinces them to go and Isabel's mom gives her the dress that she also wore on her wedding day. Before her wedding Isabel starts to have visions sent by her former lover Kivar, and the rebellion leader and usurper of the throne on their home planet.

During the honeymoon Kivar appears and he tries to seduce Isabel to come back to their home planet Antar.^[25] However, Michael and Max find out by Kyle and they try to stop him, but Vilandra (Isabel's old personality on Antar) takes over Isabel, She shows Kivar where Max and Michael are hiding. That's when Michael remembers that Vilandra never truly betrayed her brother, that she thought Kivar meant well. Kivar knocks out Max and Michael, then Isabel and Kivar walk to where he starts a portal. Jesse shows up and Isabel knocks him out with a branch. Then as they're about to step in the portal Isabel's eyes turn normal and she pushes him into the portal, threatening his life if he ever comes back to Earth and that she would kill him herself.

Jesse feels something isn't right but he can't prove anything. When Erik, an old friend of him, comes to visit, he gets more paranoid.^[26] Erik, who is a reporter, starts to investigate. He doesn't need much time to find out Isabel is an alien. Jesse doesn't believe the story though and sends his friend away for betraying his trust. This worries Isabel even more about her secret.

In an incident at the Meta Chem factory Michael's colleague and good friend Monk is killed.^[27] Max, Michael and Isabel have to go on the rescue when Valenti gets in trouble investigating the murder. Everything goes wrong. Max gets in trouble, dies and survives after a resurrection. Between Max's death and resurrection, Isabel gets shot leaving the factory, while Isabel and Michael tried to kill them with their powers. In order to prevent that Jesse calls an ambulance Michael finally tells him about their origin. Isabel survives with help of Jesse, Michael, Kyle and Valenti. However it's Michael that was lucky enough to save her, He is able to heal Isabel's wound because Michael is now king and has all the powers of the king, because Max died.

Jesse does not get on with the fact that Isabel didn't tell him about her true identity. He also can't deal the fact his wife is an alien. He goes to a therapist and even goes to live someplace else for some time. When Max and Isabel, learn that her parents are stalking them, Isabel tells them a variant of the real truth why Tess left and she tells them that it was because she was pregnant with Max's son and Max was so angry that Tess left, his anger destroyed the jeep. Although the parents believe it, Her dad later thinks otherwise and she becomes a suspect.

With everything going on, Isabel gets very upset and Angry. She uses her powers in her room and unknown to her that there is actually a secret camera, hidden by her parents.

When Isabel is forced to tell the truth about Max and herself to her parents, Jesse eventually supports her.^[28]

At the end of the series, she and the others are forced to flee from the government, just as Jesse is offered a job in Boston.^[29] He tries to go with her, and tells her that she is more important than anything, but she refuses to let him do it, knowing that she is the reason his life was messed up. But they both hope to be able to meet again in the future.

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Roswell

• Internet Movie Database character profile