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Tess Harding is a recurring character on WB sci-fi series Roswell. She is portrayed by Emilie de Ravin.

Character[]

Tess is an alien-human hybrid created with the DNA of Jolene Skarrstin and the murdered Queen Ava of the planet Antar. She came to Earth with the other hybrids: Max Evans, Isabel Evans and Michael Guerin, but left her pod after they left theirs. They are clones of dead royalty, known as the Royal Four, from the planet Antar. She was raised by another alien, Nasedo, who had apparently been sent to Earth to protect them. However, he had made a deal with Kivar (the enemy of the Royal Four) 40 years before: return home with Max's son (with Tess' help) and deliver Max, Michael and Isabel to Kivar, who would have killed them. Eventually, Tess is the one who completes part of the deal, as Nasedo dies at the beginning of season two.

When first introduced in the series, Tess appears to be obsessed with Max and fulfilling her destiny by being with him. However, at the end of season two, her true goal and purpose is revealed: to return to Antar pregnant with Max's child.

Ava of Antar[]

Main page: Queen Ava

In her previous life, Tess was known as Ava. She was the Queen of Antar, married to King Zan (Max's former self). Tess has been taught by Nasedo how to explore these memories from her alien predecessor's past and is therefore the sole hybrid from the Pod Chamber to remember, before she teaches Max how to do the same.

Season 1[]

Tess first appears as the new girl at fictional West Roswell High School. She almost immediately makes friends with Isabel, who notes that Tess puts sugar on her yogurt, something Isabel herself admits she is prone to do. Tess later goes to Isabel and Max's house, where she meets Max and Michael. Isabel quickly explains that Tess is her friend and new at school. This does not stop Max and Michael from being suspicious.

Tess is quick to point out Alex's crush on Isabel, and when asked if there is anyone she has her eye on, she admits that she is disappointed that Max is unavailable. Isabel tells her that she has no chance, that Max is a total goner. However, Max begins to have explicit hallucinations about Tess. Max talks to Michael about it, and Michael goes around to her house, discovering that there is not a single thing in it. He quickly hides when the Army shows up.

He later tells Max and Isabel about this. Isabel defends Tess, while Max is worried because he cannot control his fantasies about her and does not understand what is happening to him.

Isabel goes to Tess' house, where she meets her father, Ed, who appears to work for the Army. Tess explains the house being empty was due to the movers arriving late. Tess tries to avoid letting Isabel help with moving her stuff, saying that she is her guest and should not being doing any heavy lifting. Isabel gets suspicious, and she, Max and Michael start to wonder who Tess really is. They think that Tess is Nasedo, the man River Dog talked about, whom Michael was searching for in the other episodes.

Later, Michael finds a hidden camera in his apartment and with Liz's help they use it to spy on Tess and her father. Eventually, they discover that Tess is just like them, an alien-human hybrid, and that she was housed in the pod chamber with them. Even though Max, Michael and Isabel didn't remember who she was for 10 years, they suddenly remember her when this is explained to them.

Season 2[]

Tess comes into the second season as a friend to Liz, Max, Isabel, Michael, Maria, Kyle, and Sheriff Valenti. She moves into the Valenti household and begins to help Kyle and Jim become a family again. However, she kills Alex after mind warping him for months in order to make him translate the destiny book where a way to go home (Antar) was written in the alien language. Then Max and her sleep together because he is starting to feel for her. By doing this, he gets Tess pregnant. She mindwarps Max, making him believe that their son can't survive on earth, forcing them to leave for Antar. However, before it is too late, Liz, with Kyle's help (whom suddenly remembers Alex's murder when the effect of Tess' mindwarp vanishes) discovers the truth about Alex's death and they stop Tess, Max and Isabel before they can use the Granolith as a spaceship. Finally busted and with no other choice, she finally reveals that she was in league with Kivar, Max's enemy. Nasedo, later aided in his ploy by Tess, made a deal with Kivar 40 years prior to deliver Max's heir (by way of Tess) along with the rest of the Royal Four to Kivar. At the beginning Max wants to kill her but then he makes her go thinking about the safety of his unborn son (he didn't know that his sickness was a mindwarp, yet). She doesn't have time to explain why she was doing this so she stepped into the Granolith to return to Antar.

Season 3[]

Tess reappears in the second to last episode of the series. She comes back from Antar with Zan (her son) due to Kivar's betrayal of the deal Nasedo had made with him because Zan was pure human and he rejected him as the heir. When she came back, she killed agents so the FBI is hot on her trail. She puts the gang in danger again while they are trying to protect Zan. Although she is met with hostility, the gang agrees to work with her because of Zan. Later, she has a heart to heart with Liz and explains that even when Max was with her, he was still in love with Liz because every time they were together she got images of Liz and his memories about her from him. She also feels remorse for the actions she had committed and has decided to redeem herself. She is the bait for the FBI and then blows up the building, killing everyone including herself in the process.

Powers[]

Notable Powers:

Leptokinesis
The ability to manipulate molecular structures. As well as being an ability in itself it also sets the base for lots of other alien powers. Tess has used this to change the color of paint on a wall and fix a broken vase.
Mindwarping
The ability to alter memories, create illusions and cause limited mind control. This is Tess' primary and unique alien power. She is the only known alien to possess it.
Telekinesis
The ability to move objects and people with the mind. Tess has used this power a few times.

Relationships[]

The Valentis

Tess moves in with Sheriff Valenti and his son, Kyle, following Nasedo's death. Kyle and Tess are, at first, quite attracted to each other, but eventually become more like brother and sister, with Kyle even once referring to her as his sister when one of his friends speaks about her sexually.[1]

Isabel Evans

At the beginning, Tess has a sister-like relationship with Isabel.

Liz Parker

Tess' main rival in the series is Liz, who is also in love with Max and in return he loves her. However, when Tess needs assistance with her ultimate sacrifice, Liz is the only person she trusts.

Trivia[]

  • She killed Alex Whitman.
  • She is the only hybrid from the pod squad who is dead.
  • She is the only hybrid to see and live on Antar.
  • She is the only one with mindwarping abilities.
  • She puts the pod squad in danger when she sacrifice herself.
  • Tess is an original character for the Roswell television series; she was not in the original Roswell High books. In the books, the fourth alien is Nikolas Branson
  • Tess has not been appearing in the re-imagined Roswell, New Mexico television series. As an Easter Egg, a character named Tess is mentioned in episode 1.06 Smells Like Teen Spirit.

Photos[]

Tess Harding/Gallery

Appearances[]

Episodes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3

References[]

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