The new hit show on The CW, Roswell New Mexico is back and with the second episode comes more drama and more character development!
The episode begins with Liz’s internal monologue as she contemplates her sister Rosa’s death by leaving a rose on her grave in commemoration of the ten-year anniversary of her death. Max arrives there saying she can’t be there after dark, though it kind of seems as if he’s lowkey stalking her. He offers to escort her home and she accepts. Liz tells him that she got another grant and says that her Roswell visit is probably only temporary. Max says goodbye but before heading inside, and Liz reminds Max that she still wants to kiss him and tells him to meet her at sunrise at the old turquoise mines the next day.
We then go to Sergeant Manes and Kyle who are both in the military bunker. Manes is discussing the government’s top secret alien task force, Project Shepherd and tries to get information from Kyle in regards to the handprint. Kyle refuses and tries to maintain doctor-patient confidentiality. Meanwhile, at the police station, Max’s partner Jenna brings him the traffic cam footage from the evening that Liz was shot. She says that the shooter is in custody but when they inspect the footage, they find a new suspect: Wyatt Long. Wyatt’s sister died as a result of Rosa’s car accident so he has a motive for his actions.
At the diner, Liz is awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of intruders in the diner. She creeps in holding a field hockey stick as a weapon and finds Isobel and Michael. They intimidate and threaten her over Max, and bring up Liz’s fiance who hasn’t been mentioned until this point and is said by Liz to be her ex. Michael bears down on threats of what will happen if she exposes their secret but Max bursts in and punches his brother. Isobel and Michael storm out with Isobel asking what is wrong with Max.
In the morning, Liz comes to work and her dad informs her that on the anniversary of Rosa’s accident, the townsfolk vandalise the diner and he decided to remain closed for the day this time. Liz then attempts to convince her dad to move to California with her but he sees Roswell as their home and a reminder of the happier memories with their family.
Michael returns to his ranch and finds Alex waiting for him. Alex informs him that the government has officially taken over his ranch and he has to leave within 24 hours. Alex tells Michael that there can’t be a repeat of what happened between them at the reunion. Liz visits Kyle at the hospital asking to see Rosa’s toxicology report as she’s trying to come to terms with what happened. Kyle tells her, “If you’re going to forgive her, don’t focus on the science. Focus on the memories.”
Later, Max meets Liz at the church. She tells him that she wants him to share any memories that he has of Rosa and he says he barely knew her but when Liz pleads, he gives in. Max shows her some moments of Rosa and Liz from Max’s point of view but it is interrupted as Max is paged by his partner. And meanwhile, Isobel finds Michael at a bar and tries to recruit him to help her figure out what is wrong with Max but he doesn’t want to. We then get some insight into Michael’s past and he explains that he’s attached to the ranch because he constantly returned there as a child as it was the last place he saw their family, and he thought maybe someone would show up to bring him home eventually.
Elsewhere Max and Jenna seek out Wyatt and Max gets angry but he regains his composure. Jenna sees Wyatt with a gun and they play target practice and Jenna wins. Once Wyatt and his gang clear out, they collect the leftover bullet shells and confirm that they are the same bullets that were found at the diner.
Back at the bar, Alex shows up and there is a reunion between him and Liz which is so cute. We also learn that Maria is hosting a 90’s night at the bar in memory of Rosa. Shortly after, Liz doodles at the bar and then shows it to Maria. The words ‘a fraudulent zodiac’ are written on the paper. She asks Maria about it and Maria says that Rosa wrote those song lyrics on her hand the night that she died. Liz is upset and storms into the hospital in search of Kyle. He shares with her the autopsy that was on file for Rosa and they come to the conclusion that it is a fake as it marks Rosa’s appendix as present when she died which is incorrect. He then pulls out a confidential folder and Liz opens it up as it is Rosa’s real autopsy report. Kyle thinks her death wasn’t an accident and she was murdered by an alien.
We return to Isobel and Michael, as she continues to urge her brother to talk to Max. We learn more about the siblings’ past, which further explains Michael’s peculiar demeanour. He refuses to call Isobel and Max his family, as he was separated from Max and Isobel when they were adopted first. They then overhear Wyatt talking to his friends at the bar, boasting about the evening that he shot up the diner and they leave to enact further revenge on the Ortechos. Isobel says they have to follow them for fear of what Max will do but Michael won’t come. Isobel asks him, “Is there really nobody in this world that you wouldn’t risk everything to save?” and the camera pans to Alex.
Max is parked across from the diner in his patrol car and as soon as he hears fighting, he arrives at the back of the diner to rescue Liz’s dad. He chases down Wyatt and loses control. Wyatt eggs him on and Max is beginning to channel his powers to hurt Wyatt. Michael and Isobel show up and stop the fight to confront Max. He knows something is wrong with him and says he’s felt it ever since he healed Liz. At the hospital, Liz is still looking at the photos of the real autopsy report and she comes across a photograph of Rosa’s hand with the song lyrics on it. Liz storms into the diner and finds her father injured inside. He tells her what happened and praises Max for saving him and for being a respectable man in the time Liz was gone.
The next morning, Liz and Max meet at the old turquoise mines and Max tells her that he lied to her and says he’s not okay as something has been wrong since he healed her and he can only fight it when he is with her. She says that he was right and that the handprint faded. She now doesn’t have the same feelings for him as she thought she would. Max’s face stings with rejection and Liz asks him when he saw Rosa and he responds and Liz is clearly on to him.
Later, Michael is shown packing up his trailer and comes across a photo of himself and Alex and then looks at an injury on his hand. Alex shows up at the ranch and the tension between him and Michael is insane. They exchange intense dialogue and suddenly Alex heads into the trailer with Michael following quickly behind.
On the other side of town, Max shows up at Jenna’s house and their relationship is shown as clearly more than just a professional one, and we jump back and forth between them and Alex and Michael. Michael and Alex’s relationship shows old love and adoration while Max and Jenna shows distraction and the need for temporary relief as we see Max’s pain.
In the final scene, Kyle finds Liz at her sister’s grave. She decides to stay in Roswell to find out who killed Rosa and her last line in the episode is, “Even if it was Max Evans,” effectively betraying Max and his siblings as well as showing her distrust of them.
Final Thoughts:
Roswell is getting to be a new obsession of mine. I love the chemistry between Max and Liz and the chemistry between Michael and Alex. I can’t wait to see what’s next!
