Roswell, New Mexico Season 1 Episode 2 Review: So Much for the Afterglow
Paul Dailly
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Liz, you in danger, girl!
Roswell, New Mexico Season 1 Episode 2 peeled back the layers on a big conspiracy, gave us some more intel on the bond between Max, Isobel, and Michael and offered more relationship drama.
It was the perfect follow-up to Roswell Season 1 Episode 1. The overarching plot was rightfully centered around Michael's handprint being on Liz's body.
While Liz was adamant about locking lips with Max the next morning on a beautiful desert backdrop, she also had to get some more information about her sister's death.
If you watch Roswell, New Mexico online, you already know Isobel was instrumental in Liz leaving town ten years ago, and Max knew more than he was letting on about the night.
For Liz, Rosa dying was another one of her sister's silly moves fueled by drugs, and given that the entire town was rooting to get her father deported, she wanted to know whether it was possible there was more to her sister's death than meets the eye.
The revelation about the autopsy should have surprised me more than it did, but if this show has taught me one thing despite its short existence, it's to expect the unexpected.
Despite Kyle's association with Jesse, I'm inclined to believe the evidence he presented. It might benefit him more to make the aliens seem like the villains in this narrative, but it would also mean a higher likelihood of Liz opening up about who the alien is.
The major gripe I have with Jesse and Kyle is that they should know the alien is Max. All they need to do is look at who Liz has been hanging out with since she returned to town.
It's obvious Kyle cares a lot about Liz, but I hope we aren't in for a love triangle because Max should and will win at every turn.
There's not a chance in hell Max is going to be revealed as Rosa's killer ... unless there is some doctoring of the evidence. I still stand by my theory that there is a fourth alien out there.
My heart broke for Max when Liz claimed the echo wore off. Liz was lying to herself because she was not ready to connect with someone who she thought played a part in her sister's death.
In any case, Liz is right not to get too close to Max. She knows for a fact he's lying to her. What good was going to come from allowing Liz more memories of her sister?
Related: Roswell, New Mexico Season 1 Episode 1 Review: Pilot
Max knew the risks, but he pressed on with it. His love so blinds him to this woman that he's prepared to put the wellbeing of his siblings on the line.
He needs to wise up and fast, or he runs the risk of being poked and prodded in a government facility until the end of time.
I had to agree with Isobel and Michael showing up in the dead of night to warn Liz. Are the pair just expected to allow a woman who left her fiancé in another state blow up their lives all because she has a connection with their brother?
Max needs to start listening to those he's heard all of his life. Liz now wants to run some tests on him, and that should make for some awkward moments.
Will Max come clean about why he was lying? I'm not sure. Liz will need to get some more evidence that implicates him.
While many have been quick to tell the show to keep politics out of it, this is a fresh spin on the original series with the undocumented immigrants.
We gotta stop meeting like this.
Isobel
My heart was in my mouth when we learned that an immigrant was being forced to take the fall for shooting up the diner despite there being evidence to show that Wyatt was the one responsible.
Wyatt's plan to attack Arturo because he would get sent to the hospital and back to Mexico was sick. It highlighted the fact that the racism in the town is not about to stop.
Conspiracy theories aside, it's great that Liz wants to remain in town. Arturo must be fearing for his life on a daily basis, but at least he knows he has Max on his side.
I'm not sure how Arturo will react when he learns that Max could have played a part in his daughter's death, but we'll likely get the answers to that very soon.
Is there really nobody in this world you wouldn't risk everything to save? That's sad.
Isobel
Riley Voelkel's debut as Jenna was a positive one. Jenna loves to put people in their place, so I was cheering when she beat Wyatt at his own game.
Related: Roswell Reboot Adds Riley Voelkel
She had a connection with Max for sure, but their relationship doesn't strike me as one to graduate from the friends with benefits stage. That's good!
It remains to be seen whether she knows more about Max's extraterrestrial past because she works in such close proximity to him, or if she's blinded by the fact that he's a great cop.
Then there was Michael. Poor Michael. It never hit me on just how alone he felt in the world, but he got kept apart from his siblings growing up.
He was going through the system alone, and his only happy place was the location of the UFO crash. That confirmed why he remained at that spot in his Air Stream.
He was waiting for that day his parents showed up to save him from the world he hated. Wouldn't it be perfect if he got some closure because he's going to be affected by this for the rest of his life?
Isobel: What is wrong with you?
Max: I'm fine.
Isobel: No, you're not.
For now, he has Alex. They blatantly love each other but can't find a way to make a relationship flourish. I want them to succeed, but maybe I'm only counting down the days until Jesse learns that his son has been getting hot and heavy with an alien.
"So Much for the Afterglow" was an hour filled with twists, and it was worth every single minute of my time.
What are your thoughts on the series so far?
Hit the comments below.
Roswell, New Mexico Continues Tuesdays on The CW at 9/8c.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
