Roswell, New Mexico's Michael Trevino Dissects Kyle's Role in Max's Return

Andy Swift
·4 min read

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Monday’s episode of Roswell, New Mexico marked a significant step forward in the gang’s ongoing quest to bring Max back to life, thanks in no small part to the efforts of Dr. Kyle Valenti.

With Liz assisting him in the operating room, Kyle executed his first alien heart transplant, a process that Rosa completed by giving the relocated organ a powerful jolt from her hand. (Side note: Did the sight of Jeanine Mason in scrubs give anyone else flashbacks to her days on Grey’s Anatomy?)

Liz is now waiting for Max to wake up from his coma, unaware that her dream of reuniting with him will actually prove to be a total nightmare. A three-week flash-forward at the end of the episode revealed that the Max she brought back isn’t the same one she lost — and Isobel intends to take him back out.

Below, TVLine speaks with the doctor himself, Michael Trevino, about this week’s game-changing surgery:

TVLINE | I thought that turning into a werewolf would be the craziest thing I’d see you do on camera. Then came this alien heart transplant.
[Laughs] Right? This season, Kyle is spending a lot more time in the operating room doing actual surgeries. So I’ve been trying to learn a lot more from the medical technicians on set about how to act out these surgeries as best I can. There’s a crash course I took right before we started filming to make things look as believable as possible. In Season 1, we just kind of threw a lab coat on him. Now we’re putting him into surgery.

TVLINE | I’m not judging. I think playing a doctor actually seems really hard.
To be completely honest, when I was entering pilot season after doing The Vampire Diaries, I passed on a few medical shows. That type of work isn’t easy. Even the terminology is like learning another language. So I didn’t think it was something I wanted to get into — but the universe has a funny way of laughing at you, because I’ve found myself as a doctor on Roswell. But I will say this: I do know how to do stitches. That is a real thing I can do. Hopefully I never need to, but I’m able to.

TVLINE | Are you ever surprised by the lengths Kyle is willing to go to help his ex-girlfriend?
I think there are two things at play here. First and foremost, Kyle is a doctor. His job is saving lives, helping people, keeping them alive. That’s the bottom line, no matter who we’re talking about. But at what cost? And at what risk? That’s what’s beginning to take a toll on Kyle. He’ll eventually have to really ask himself how far he’s willing to go for Liz. He said, “I’m always going to be your rock, but I’m always going to be standing still.” He can only go so far, and we’ll see what happens if he ever decides to take a step back.

TVLINE | On a lighter note, do you foresee a future between Kyle and Steph?
They definitely have a fun dynamic. They’re really flirtatious, and they love to take jabs at one another. She’s also full of energy. Justina and I have an inside joke where we call everything “spice,” and I’d say that Steph has a lot of spice. Their relationship, as it progresses, will have its ups and downs. It hits Kyle pretty heavily, and you’ll see why.

TVLINE | How about Kyle and Alex’s friendship? I was glad to see that they can at least share a flask.
This season, they aren’t investigating together as much, but they do check in on one another in random ways, like when they see each other out at the bar. There’s a new understanding between them.

TVLINE | We all got a new understanding of Max at the end of the episode. Is Kyle going to regret bringing him back?
We finally have Max back after he’s been gone for so long, but we see that Max isn’t all there. He’s different. He’s not his usual Max self. Although he’s back, it may not be the same Max that we’ve known. So we’ll see.

Your thoughts on Monday’s Roswell? Drop ’em in a comment below.

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