Roswell, New Mexico Season 1 | Episode 2 “So Much for the Afterglow” Review

The second episode of Roswell, New Mexico marks the 10-year anniversary of Rosa’s death. Liz has been given a grant for her research, but new information about her sister’s death convinces her to stay in Roswell. Meanwhile, Max isn’t feeling like himself, so Isobel enlists Michael for help in getting him to talk. However, Michael has his own mind running rapid. Secrets are revealed, a relationship stops before it even begins while a few others get started.

10 Years

It’s been exactly since Liz’s sister, Rosa, died in a reported car crash. She wasn’t the only one that died in that crash, and now her family gets blamed and harassed to “go back where they came from” – hence why the family restaurant was shot up in the premier and Liz nearly died. Now, on the anniversary, Liz is looking to forgive her sister after years of built up anger over her reckless mistakes. First, she asks Max to meet her at the church and begs him to share his memories of Rosa like he shared his memories of her through the handprint. She wants to be able to feel her sister again and maybe find forgiveness. Reluctantly, he agrees. Why does reluctantly? Because he’s obviously harboring a secret about Rosa and her death. Why does he agree to share the memories anyway? Duh, because he loves Liz, and he’s willing to risk everything. That much was clear when he used his powers to revive her in the premiere.

All the memories involve Rosa and Liz smiling, laughing and goofing around as Max is just a bystander. They bring Liz to tears as she wraps her arms around Max in gratitude. They have a moment, but it’s interrupted by Max’s partner calling in over the walkie – we’ll get back to that later. One memory doesn’t seem to hit Liz until later. It’s of Rosa pushing Max away with the words “A fraudulent zodiac” written on the top of her hand. At the bar later, Maria (Liz’s best friend) tells Liz that it’s lyrics to Third Eye Blind’s “God of Wine”, but that’s not the only thing Maria reveals. She informs Liz that Maria saw Rosa write the words on her hand the night she died.

This sends Liz into a tailspin. Max saw Rosa the night she died, and he lied about it. At a follow-up appointment with Kyle, she dismisses it when he asks about the “bruise” on her shoulder that he saw when they made out in the car during the premiere. She then asks for Rosa’s autopsy report from when she died. When he calls Liz back in, he shows her Rosa’s faked autopsy report and the real one, which shows a graphic image of an alien handprint across her face. Of course, this leads Liz to believe that Max had something to do with Rosa’s now apparent murder, but I don’t believe he did it. He’s hiding something about it, but I really don’t think he’s the one that killed her.

At the beginning of the episode, Max drops Liz off after finding her at Rosa’s memorial site. She tells him that she still wants to kiss him and asks him to meet her at the turquoise mines at Sunset the day after the anniversary. The handprint is fading fast, and she still feels the same way. But then she finds out all this new information about her sister’s death. She still meets him, but when he tells her about the “tornado” and it only goes away when he’s with her, she backs away and says that the handprint is now gone, and she doesn’t feel the same way as him. UGH! My heart breaks along with Max’s. Anyways, she then asks him again about the last day he saw Rosa, and she catches him in a lie, but doesn’t confront him about it. Instead, she leads him on by saying that she wants to get to know him. Then, she meets up with Kyle again and says that she’s staying in town to solve her sister’s murder and take them down… even if it is Max. :/

Poison Inside Me

Max has been acting stranger… more specifically, he’s been losing his temper a lot. During this episode, his focus is on figuring out who shot up the Crashdown Diner (Liz and her family’s place) in the premiere. The investigation leads him and his partner, Jenna, to Roswell local, Wyatt Long – also a racist prick. They question him and Jenna shows him up in a shooting contest around his buddies. Later, Max catches Long attacking Liz’s dad, Arturo. He loses control and nearly kills Long right there in the ally until Michael and Isobel intervene. Thankfully, they overheard Wyatt talking to his buddies about sending Liz’s family back to Mexico. Isobel knew Max would be there, and with the way he’d been acting, she also knew he wouldn’t be able to control himself, especially when it comes to protecting Liz and her family.

Isobel asks Max what’s been going on with him lately, and he finally confesses that ever since he resurrected Liz “there’s been this poison inside me.” This breaks my heart. I’m not sure if he’s feeling like that because of some alien resurrection thing, or if it has to do with his feelings for Liz and the secret he’s hiding, but either way, it makes me sad for him.

Later, after Liz’s rejection, he goes to Jenna’s to “blow off some steam.” Meh… ☹

Nothing’s Changed

Meanwhile, Michael’s got a lot going on as well. For one, he has to move from his airstream that sits on the property where his family landed. He’s been going back there ever since he was in the foster care system wishing his family would come back and take him home. Now living there, it seems that he’s still been trying to figure something out about it.

Also on his mind? Alex. He’s been sending Michael mixed signals ever since they made out at the reunion party. When he puts the notice on Michael’s airstream, he insists that it can never happen again, but is also doesn’t want Michael to leave town. Michael tries to play all nonchalant as if he doesn’t care, but it’s obvious that he does as he sifts through some old photos with Max and Isobel from high school and stares longingly at one with Alex. Early in the episode, when Isobel is trying to recruit him to talk to Max, she asks him if there’s anyone he’d risk everything for. He answers know, but when she leaves, he glances across the bar at Alex.

Maria talks to Alex at the bar, and it somehow convinces him to go talk to Michael. He shows up as Michael’s packing his things. They get into an emotional conversation where Alex confesses, “Every time you look at me, I’m 17 again, and I forget that the last ten years even happened. But then you look away, and I remember all over again, and it almost kills me.” In a vulnerable side we haven’t yet seen of Michael, he says that he never really looks away. They go inside the airstream and start making out. Awww! Got me in my feels!

Roswell, New Mexico airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on The CW!