At this point, Officer Brown becomes a plot catch-up device, reminding Max that he was arrested for armed robbery in Utah a few weeks ago (and imagining Max all imprisoned and stuff, I'm sure), in case he managed to block that hour out. Max says, "Those charges were dropped," and Officer Brown gets all huffy about what powerful lawyer daddies can do. As he leaves, Brown tells Max, "I'll be watching you." I bet he will. Brown puts on his cowboy hat, nods, and wanders off from whence he came, the flirtation over. "Great. This is all I need," says Max, at which point Michael and his hair flash back to Joey delivering his message and shooting out the back window of a pick-up truck. Michael tells Max he knows the dead guy.

Now Max is outside, wearing a different t-shirt, leaning against a tree, hair playfully mussed. He's talking to Liz. They're recapping recent events, helping out us newbies, with talk of shape-shifters, mysterious deaths that look like freak lightning strikes, Max's son (enough already!), and some other stuff that I can't really understand because they both sound like their mouths are stuffed with cotton, and I've misplaced my alien decoder ring. Of Joey, Liz says, "So he's the same guy. That wanted us to stop looking for your ship." Period. No question mark. Like she's the one who's been explaining everything to Max. It's funny; three days ago, I'd never heard of Shiri Appleby, except in passing barbs, and then, suddenly, in just one line, I understand everything. In addition to dreadful delivery, she looks disarmingly like Rachel from Real World San Francisco, without the disturbing super-buggy eyes. I think I hate her.

Max thinks a shape-shifter alien killed Joey -- apparently, there were two of them, but one died. So there's one left. Finally, something that makes sense. Two minus one equals one. I follow. Liz says, "How do you know. That he's not gonna try and kill you too." And then she looks like she made a no-no in her pants. Max knows it's risky, but he feels like he needs to contact his son. Whoops, lost again. Liz, quick on the uptake, says, "You have to contact your son. And the shape-shifter is the only one who might know how," summing things up poorly, and clarifying nothing. She finds her mark, steps forward, and drones, "Where do we start." Los Angeles. Duh.