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larenoz ([personal profile] larenoz) wrote2020-03-01 11:55 pm
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Kyle Valenti Is Pivotal

Within the Roswell New Mexico fandom, Kyle Valenti has been has been shipped with a number of other characters on the show. He has also been shipped in two very different triads. Triads in fandom tend to be fairly obvious groupings, it’s unusual that a character naturally fits into more than one.

Kyle Valenti has had a fascinating character arc on Roswell New Mexico. We know he started off as a stereotypical teenage homophobic alpha jock who transformed himself into a compassionate caregiver as an adult. His more stable home life growing up, his life experiences outside of Roswell and the confidence that these experiences have given him allow him to be comfortable with who he is as a person.

Throughout the show, present day Kyle is shown as a caring, compassionate, principled man who is well aware of the shortcomings of his teenage years who actively works as being a good person. He is a doctor, a surgeon who daily holds the lives of people in his hands, making life and death decisions - being in control. But this is balanced by also being a caregiver - someone who puts the needs of others first, without judgement - where he has no control.

This dichotomous reality gives us the possibility of two very different emotional needs from Kyle. One where he needs to give up being the responsible one, the decision maker, and one where he gets to be in control, putting his needs and wants (within acceptable limitations) first.

Michael, Kyle and Alex (Mylex)

This is perhaps the more unexpected triad of the two under discussion as this is the grouping with the most baggage. Kyle and Alex (and to a lesser extent Kyle and Michael) have a long and turbulent history. Kyle and Alex were childhood friends, whose relationship soured when Alex’s sexuality became an issue in their teenage years. Kyle actively bullied Alex for his sexuality - something that Michael resents Kyle for both due to its impact on Alex but also to a lesser extent, on himself as a bisexual man.

As such any story involving these three characters often involves a slow build up of the relationship. It has to overcome a lot of negative baggage for all characters involved, including Kyle.

Alex would be the key person in any triad involving himself, Michael and Kyle. He is the one with the strong one-on-one relationship with the other two men - his one of long time friendship with Kyle and his one of love and physical intimacy with Michael. He is the person to whom both Michael and Kyle will defer when it comes to how the relationship will develop. Not to say the Alex is controlling, but for me, I see Alex as needing to have a certain level of control within the relationship to feel safe. Also he’s been the one taking orders for most of his life, initially from his father, and later from the military (including it dictating who he can and can’t love). And the other two men are willing to cede that control (within agreed upon boundaries).

In Kyle’s case, this ceding of control is actually a positive element of the relationship. In his day to day life, Kyle has to be the decision maker, the responsible one - to be able to give up that need to make decisions to someone he trusts is very freeing for him. It also allows him to demonstrate his trust in others in a very concrete way, allowing him to fulfill his natural caregiver tendencies without the decision making responsibility that usually accompanies it.

This demonstration of trust is particularly important when it comes to his interactions and relationship with Michael - who has trust issues in general (as a result of his abusive childhood), and towards Kyle specifically as a result of his teenage treatment of Alex. In Michael and Alex, Kyle is dealing with two people who have been abused throughout their lives, who have been betrayed by people who were supposed to love and care for them, and because of who they loved. As such, Kyle’s caring nature kicks in and is expressed by letting the other two men take the lead.

Max, Liz and Kyle

The grouping of Liz, Max and Kyle is perhaps the more obvious when looking at possible polyamorous relationships within Roswell New Mexico. Liz is the focus for this relationship - having been high school sweethearts with Kyle, and in a newly rekindled relationship with Max.

This relationship provides Kyle with the opportunity to let his inner alpha male out (he’s a surgeon, he’s going to have certain alpha tendencies). While Liz and Max have both had traumatic events happen in their lives, they have otherwise been brought up in loving and supportive home environments. This has given both of them a confidence and resilience that could express itself in more robust relationship dynamics. Liz feels safe with Kyle. He has demonstrated his willingness to follow Liz’s lead when it comes to their relationship and in return, this gives Liz the confidence to hand over control to Kyle, confident that that trust won’t be abused.

With Max, I can see Kyle perhaps taking the lead in their relationship because he has more confidence in what they are doing, possibly based on having previous experience with men, possibly just because he is more confident in general.

For Kyle, this means being able to be more demanding of his lovers, more forthright in asking for what he wants. He doesn’t need to play such a caregiver role that requires him to put the needs of other first, he is able to be more bossy, to what he wants first.

Overall, I think Kyle is a very under-rated character and one who has become one of my favourites on the show. That he has been depicted with such depth of character that he can believably be seen as a member of two very different triads is a testament to both the writers and the actors on the show. I hope this great characterisation continues in Season 2 and I hope that Kyle finally gets to be with someone with whom he develop a strong relationship with. Because lets face it, we are never going to see either of these triads happen on the show. But that’s why we have and love fan fiction!!

Meta about Kyle Valenti

List of Fics

Michael, Alex and Kyle (Mylex)

Liz, Max and Kyle (Kaliz)

  • Grounded - xForEverythingElse (PrimaryScavQueen) - Liz wants Kyle in the bed she shares with Max. Max will do anything for Liz. PWP.
  • Family Ties - laniew1 - WIP - 
  • True to Your Heart - islndgurl777 - Liz brings up Kyle. Max has a discussion about sexuality with Michael. 
  • Lovefool - islndgurl777 - Scenes of how their relationship might develop. 

 (Comments encouraged and welcome)