I was always under the assumption that Maxine wanted a Second Rising in order to bring her brother back. But maybe I missed some stuff, in which case I think maybe her desire to find the first risen was to see what was so special about this person, why were they brought back instead of her brother. Maybe she wanted to get rid of the first risen as an act of revenge, because they got a second chance when her brother didn't. But that's just me tho XD
Again, I personally think that she didn’t want to align herself with him.
I don’t see Maxine as another Vicar or Bill, for one main reason.
That is because I don’t think she was acting of her own accord. I think that her father, whoever he is, had insisted that she fix what she started. When she is making her bloodied-up speech at the end, she cuts herself off while talking about her brother’s death, saying it was an accident but that they said it was her [fault]. If, indeed, her father blamed her, but was someone like Oddie or Bill who believed in a second rising, her father might have been pressuring her to come to Roarton and do something about it, especially if she was in a position of power. One theme we have seen several times now is the power a person’s parents can have over them, the sway they might hold just by withholding or granting their approval (Bill with Rick, Simon with his dad, Shirley with Philip… even Kieren and his parents have a level of this, although Kieren is much more resistant to it than anyone else in the series). I think Maxine may be another example of this.
Unlike Oddie or Bill, I think Maxine was a hugely guilt-and-shame-driven character. If we guess that she was probably within 5 years of her brother, she would have basically grown up hearing from her parents that it was her fault that Danny was dead. That’s a HUGE burden to bear at any age, much less as a young adult while you are developing your view of yourself. Prior to the Rising, she would have had no way to alleviate that guilt. There was no way to bring Danny back; something happened and he died because of it, and she was probably there, might even have witnessed it. She feels responsible for “killing” him, and when an opportunity arises to potentially fix it, all she sees is an opportunity to get out from under the crushing weight of all those years of guilt and shame. She can fix it. She can bring him back, and everything will be how it was supposed to be, and her parents will love her again.
As to the difference between the first risen and second risen groups, if she believed that the first risen were evil it was only, I think, because her brother was not among them and surely if the good were going to be brought back, he would have come with them.
If she was looking for the First before she got to Roarton, my assumption would be that it was because she needed to know what was special about them. The First started all this bullshit, maybe the First could start it again. Maybe they could bring her brother back, like they brought back all those others. There was knowledge somewhere of how to make this thing happen again and include her brother this time, and she was bent on finding out that secret.
In the end, I can’t really hate Maxine. I just feel bad for her.