Pride Month 2020: Roswell, New Mexico's favorite rebel Michael Guerin's narrative pushed character arcs forward
Spoilers for 'Roswell, New Mexico'
Pride month is celebrated by millions around the world bringing about voices advocating for equality and the right to love for everyone. While colorful marches and solidarity bring awareness to the movement being pushed forward by bright minds, the entertainment industry has not shied away from a positive influence on the discussion. With the 'inclusion of all' motto in mind, films and TV series are bringing LGBTQIA+ characters that help change mindsets with their excellence, to life, allowing for many around the world to experience rightful representation.
One of the characters that has helped shaped the narrative of the show he stars in is 'Roswell, New Mexico's' favorite rebel Michael Guerin (Michael Vlamis). The CW series is one of fiction, where a small town named Roswell has a hidden alien pod squad with humans hunting them. Guerin's narrative of being bisexual has not been the center of attention rather an inclusion to a beautifully complicated storyline. Guerin has helped push forward character arcs of Maria De Luca (Heather Hemmens) and Alex Manes (Tyler Blackburn), and the show does it without stereotyping Guerin's personality and characteristics. As one of the main characters and an alien himself, Guerin has won the hearts of many, and we're telling you why he's one of the influential LGBTQIA+ characters on TV in 2020.
The show has been on the fan-favorite list for a while now, as viewers are taken into the dynamics of alien and human relationships. Guerin is one of three alien siblings that ended up on Earth and differs greatly from his brother Max Evans (Nathan Parsons) and his sister Isobel Evans (Lily Cowles). If you're all caught up with the series, you may have been reminded by the recent episode of how intelligent Guerin is while also drooling over his powerful need to get things done with his telekinetic powers. Now, in the crutches of Deep Sky, a paramilitary group, he has to follow orders from Helena Ortecho (Bertila Damas) as Alex is still kept hostage, getting us nostalgic about a time where Alex and Guerin were a couple. Up until the most recent episode, fans have always shipped #Malex and we got a recent jolt of that when Maria, Guerin's current leading lady, and Alex, Guerin's ex-boyfriend take part in a threesome. While we hope there was more to that the painfully awkward conversation the next morning, we're reminded of how Guerin has been a powerful character advocating bisexual representation and we're sure that's not that last we've seen of the trio.
Guerin's lack of emotional connection and his solid anger bursts take away the stereotypic stigma of having a bi-sexual character be flamboyant. In fact, we don't remember the time when Guerin cared about how he presents to others, instead, we're shown his character becomes an important part of the alien narrative. An inquisitive and intelligent mind always has Guerin in search for answers to his past, along with solving dead alien problems in the present. Having helped bring Max back to life, Guerin has not stopped looking for ways to make his past make sense. Even though Isobel and Max share a strong bond, Guerin seems to be the black sheep with a mastermind that many of his friends depend on. While he loves Max and Isobel (to infinite deaths), Guerin isn't interested in things other than facts, rarely opening up to his siblings or significant others.
Vlamis plays a character that has a strong need to take care of his own, and Guerin's relationship with Alex has become a fan favorite for a reason. His eagerness to keep everyone safe has gotten Guerin more than just a broken hand, courtesy of Alex's father but as we saw more recently, the connection he has with Alex is impossibly tight. OG's would call this a full circle, but when we saw Guerin tell Alex's father Jesse Manes (Trevor St John) that he doesn't deserve to call Alex his son, we saw an emotional character arc that many were waiting for. Guerin's subtle empathy always outshines his anger, and while he's driven in his search for Alex, we're shown his dynamic personality open up to raw emotion for a split second.
We also see the sensitive side of Guerin with no "extra" sprinkled anywhere over it when he is with Maria. His protection towards her is tender, and while his anger gets the better of him, Maria brings out a much more reliable Guerin. In a recent episode, we saw how Guerin wanted to make sure Maria got better (she suddenly had visions), and even though he was frustrated, his anger was way more subtle to how he is reacting now, with Alex being held hostage. There are layers to Guerin, and fans enjoy uncovering his personality with every outburst and neck snap.
The introduction of Guerin as bisexual was not grand, it was more of a realization stating simply, that this character is not 'special' because he is bisexual, but that he's simply special. We were encouraged to focus on Guerin as a whole rather than focus on how he identifies, and throughout the series, Vlamis has made it easy to appreciate Guerin as a solid chess piece in this alien hunt. The CW is a prime time show, and having bisexual representation with a character loved for his narrative, is a huge step towards acceptance and kindness. Having Guerin grace small TV screens with fans spread out everywhere has shown the influence he's had on crowd relativity and how much awareness he's brought to the LGBTQIA+ community. While the entertainment industry is still learning to properly represent without stereotyping, it's refreshing to see how 'Roswell, New Mexico' has stayed true to the story of a character. A forward-thinking perspective of how an alien can just steal your heart is everyone's cup of Monday coffee!
'Roswell, New Mexico' Season 2 airs on Monday nights at 9/8c on The CW.
