Roswell, New Mexico - Smells Like Teen Spirit - Review + POLL

This week on Roswell, New Mexico Max tells Liz what happened the night Rosa died. Through flashbacks, we get to see everyone as teenagers around the time of Rosa’s death. We see the blooming relationship between Liz and Max, how Michael and Alex got together (and broke up) and that Kyle really was a total jerk in high school (glad he grew out of that). But the most interesting part was what happened with Isobel. She and Rosa seemed very close and it seems that Isobel killed the other 2 girls for her and then later killed Rosa. Max and Michael helped cover it up by staging the car accident. 

Babies: While I was not at all convinced by this cast playing teenage versions of their characters (couldn’t they have just gone for younger actors?), I did really like getting a glimpse of how their stories started. It turned out that I was wrong about Max and Liz, there was definitely more going on than just a crush from afar. They never actually made it to their first kiss, but they had plans to spend the summer together before everything happened with Rosa. Michael and Alex, however, had a less happy start. You know, I thought my opinion of Manes was already pretty low but it just went to a whole new level this week. I know this show needs to have a bad guy we can all hate, but I would be fine with it if they killed this guy off next week. 

I knew it: I’ve gotten so used to shipping female characters together that it often surprises me when it turns out that it wasn’t just in my head. I knew there was a vibe between Isobel and Rosa. And even though we didn’t see much on screen, the hand holding definitely showed there was something growing between them. It could explain a lot about Isobel’s marriage and why she can’t bring herself, to be honest with her husband. 

Bad plan: I have to agree with what Liz said at the end of the episode. Was that really the only way they could’ve covered up what happened? By framing Rosa for the death of those girls? I was so convinced that it had been the military who covered it up, it wouldn’t have been surprising that they would set up a Latina girl. But the fact that it was Max, Michael and Isobel really threw me. I get that they weren’t thinking about what the consequences of that would be for Liz’ family, but they should have, Max especially. 

Missing pieces: While we got a lot of answers this week, we’re also still missing a lot. Most of what we saw was from Max’ point of view. We got a few bits and pieces from Michael but neither of them was really involved with all of what happened until the end. Isobel, however, had issues long before. She’s not just having blackouts, it’s almost as if she became an entirely different person for several periods of time. And now we have to wonder, is this an alien thing or is it mental illness? And why was she so connected to Rosa during those “phases” (for lack of a better word)? She also seemed to be exhibiting some powers we haven’t seen before. We’ve only really seen her get into people’s minds, but never physically attack someone. There’s a lot we’re still missing from Isobel’s side and I do hope we get to find out what’s going on soon. 

Best quotes: Max: “Context matters. Who we were then matters.” 
Isobel: “Here comes your favorite waitress. Are you going to tell her how her milkshakes bring you to the yard?” 
Liz: “For 10 years people terrorized my family. You made us a target. You made me a target.” 

That’s it for this week. Check in again two weeks from now for an all-new review and let me know in the comments what you thought of this week’s episode. 

Please be respectful in the comments, any unnecessary rudeness isn't welcome.