Roswell, New Mexico - Episode 3.02 “Give Me One Reason”
Written by Eva McKenna & Deirdre Mangan
Directed by Lance Anderson
New episode airs Monday from the CW

by Emily Maesar, Staff Writer

One of my biggest issues with Roswell, New Mexico is how much plot often gets stuffed into each of its 42 minute episodes. It’s always been a weakness of the series, that there’s simply too much story and character business, and that it’s not always done in an economical way. 

This is due in part (and by admission) to Carina Adly Mackenzie writing more in each episode than you can fit in a broadcast series. And obviously there’s an entire room of people who write the show, but the showrunner tends to be the example everyone follows. For obvious reasons.

The other part, I think, is because of the types of overarching stories Roswell, New Mexico is trying to tell, with a limited episode run. So far every season has clocked in at only 13 episodes, compared to other shows on The CW. All of which is to say that this week’s episode of Roswell, New Mexico was completely stacked with plot elements, leaving very little time to breathe in the characters we know and love. It’s a doozy of stuff that will matter more later, so let’s get into it!

We open on Jones, Michael, and Isobel, exactly where we left them. Jones is awake and our aliens are aiming to get answers from him. Michael and Isobel don’t see eye-to-eye on the situation, however. Isobel wants to hear Jones’s side of things, mostly to see where he might be manipulating them, whereas Michael is driven to simply act without any real thought, despite their many, many questions. 

Isobel wins out... because of course she does. So, we hear Jones’s history of their homeworld, and of himself. There was once peace, until there was a great fire, and from the flames came one of their own, unharmed. And he was seemingly unkillable. Unsurprisingly, he became a worshiped dictator, and a rebel faction started. Jones also reveals that Michael and Isobel’s mothers were both rebels against the dictator and that they were the ones who engineered Max.

There’s a lot of emotions happening in the main plotline of the episode that changes how Michael and Isobel look at themselves, which I think is super interesting. From Jones correctly identifying that Max and Michael underestimate Isobel, to Michael making the stunning realization that he’s the dictator’s son. There’s a lot going on, and they’re each dealing with it isolated from each other. I’m curious where everything will funnel to, especially with Maria’s vision.

And, while I’m hesitant to call Maria’s plot an actual storyline for her, it happens to be the other big element at play in this week’s episode. Maria and her vision of the future funeral. Reeling from being attacked at the bar, Maria tells Max and Kyle about her vision. And how she’s getting more and more pieces of it.

The guys are both worried for her, of course, but it’s clear that Max wants answers as he hesitates with keeping Maria from trying to induce visions herself. Kyle takes a much harder approach, trying to convince her to go to the hospital, so he can check her out properly. She agrees, with the caveat that they first meet her at Crash Down. However, that “something” she needed to do at the diner, is just Maria trying to force a vision via an adrenaline rush by jumping off the roof. Which… is wild. 

She doesn’t splat on the ground because Michael arrives at the diner after leaving Jones and Isobel. And, eventually, for a reason I don’t really understand, Kyle agrees to give Maria a shot of adrenaline, so she’ll stop flinging herself into physical danger. I guess we’ll see what her vision holds for us next week, though. 

And then, of course, there’s Rosa and Wyatt. Wyatt’s got significant memory loss after he attacked Rosa at the Crash Down last episode. It seems like he’s forgotten… well? Most of his life. He doesn’t remember who Rosa is (which means he’s forgotten about his sister’s death and the fallout of that), but he also doesn’t seem to know anything about his family, his own racist past, or the history of the town at large. It seems, to a supernatural/paranormal eagle-eyed viewer, like myself, that they’re aiming to give Wyatt a redemption arc of some kind. And I think a possible romance with Rosa will act as the catalyst. Which is… certainly going to be a choice. 

Additionally, Alex gets a mysterious note from Deep Sky, which leads him to their secret facility. He goes through what he later realizes is a psych evaluation, which he figures out because he uses his military knowledge. I think it’s a nice touch, but I truly have no idea where this storyline is going. Besides, I’m hoping that Alex and Michael actually get to interact sometime soon. Wouldn’t that be nice!

Honestly, though, my main complaint with this episode, and the season so far, is that Roswell, New Mexico is sold on Liz Ortecho being the lead of the leads - but she’s been left out to dry, without any real plot of substance. At least so far. Like, she’s working to try and help Maria, but it’s also clear that she hasn’t really been talking to anybody in Roswell. Least of all, Maria. So, here’s hoping that Liz coming home allows her to take the lead in her own show again.