What a way to end an hour!
Roswell loves itself a cliffhanger, and Roswell, New Mexico Season 4 Episode 4 was no different in that respect, as we continued to learn more about Tezca and what she’s ultimately after.
Okay, technically, we still aren’t 100% sure what she’s doing, but at least we know a little bit more about her reign of terror!
If you had alien shapeshifters on your bingo card, then you must be having a fabulous night.
This series has seen its share of bad guys, but Tezca is a whole new animal. The group knows nothing about her, which puts them at a significant disadvantage, and until this point, they didn’t even know what she looked like.
Things with Tezca and the new triad are unfolding slowly, but this felt like the first installment with serious forward momentum. This was much less set-up and more exploration and explanation.
The pod squad and human crew’s main objective right now should be figuring out what these new aliens want, and they are doing that in different ways, even if it feels a little clunky.
Michael’s undercover work has him right in the thick of things, even if right now, he doesn’t truly realize what that means.
Clyde’s natural apprehension concerning all things Michael aligns with who we know him to be thus far. He’s extremely jaded and suspicious, along with being singularly focused. So, of course, he isn’t going to be welcoming Michael into the fold like they’re BFFs.
Michael has sufficiently charmed Bonnie to the point where she’s ready to answer pretty much every question Michael hurdles her way. And there are some intriguing dynamics between the three Oasians which make the scenes between them some of the best parts of the hour.
Where Michael is gaping, curious, and full of wonder as he’s transported into a mindscape where he gets to see his home for the first time, Bonnie is more pensive in the background, and Clyde is the loosest we’ve ever seen him.
It’s such a meaningful moment for Michael to see his planet for the first time, and I was equally excited for him to have this moment and disappointed that he couldn’t share it with two of the people who mean most to him.
We definitely seem to be building toward a point where there may be an option on the table for Michael to return home, and while we know he would NEVER leave Alex, you have to assume it will be something he grapples with as the season goes on.
More than Max and Isobel, Michael has spent so much of his life dreaming about his planet. And this is the first time there’s a real chance he could get the answers he wanted and even see his world in the flesh. There’s no way that’s not an intriguing possibility for an inquisitive guy like Michael.
Michael: I’m here now. I will protect you.
Bonnie: I don’t know that you can. But I love that you’d be willing to try.
Finding out more about Bonnie and Clyde’s dynamic here lens itself to explaining why Bonnie decides to kiss Michael after he very valiantly promises to protect her. They’ve known each other for all of two days (not even), and he’s shown her a level of respect and care that doesn’t feel like a regular occurrence in her life.
But while you can see where Bonnie may have misread the situation in a way, the kiss wasn’t wholly unnecessary outside of it giving the audience a friendly reminder that Michael Guerin is fiercely in love with Alex Manes and would never want to jeopardize that relationship. OR do anything to risk it.
Perhaps, there’s something more significant at play here with that kiss, but I wasn’t seeing the reason behind it here.
Speaking of Alex, no news on that front, and while I was momentarily elated to see Michael reach out to Alex via a voicemail, my hopes dwindled mere minutes later when Clyde smashed Michael’s cell.
Couple that with the raised stakes and just the overall busyness of life in Roswell, and you have to wonder when they’re FINALLY going to get a clue about Alex’s disappearance. We find ourselves no closer during this hour.
We’re a ways off from any monumental decisions made by Michael or anyone because the triad doesn’t have their hands on the last piece of the alien puzzle.
By far, the most exciting aspect of this season is just trying to figure out what the hell Tezca is trying to do. We haven’t heard about The Alighting since Roswell, New Mexico Season 4 Episode 1, but at least now we know the bank robberies were about finding the pieces to bring them home.
And perhaps resurrecting the savior factors into that as well?
The idea of Jones coming back gives me chills. Look, the man is a menace on every single level, but he brought something special to Roswell, New Mexico Season 3 as the almighty villain that really had our heroes’ backs against the wall for most of the season.
Tezca now has Max within her grasp, Jones’ body, and Alex trapped somewhere, ready to use as a bargaining chip should it come to that point. Michael being Jones’ son has to be connected to all this, but how?
There are so many directions this storyline can go, automatically making it the most compelling one. All we really need now is everyone coming back together to figure it all out because, at this moment, everyone feels so scattered.
They literally send Kyle to Mexico by himself to investigate a lead, which does end up giving us that cool reveal of Tezca in the pod, but still! At this time, no one should be off exploring anything by themselves.
Amongst the chaos, Isobel finally decided it was time to come clean to Anatsa, but it was too little, too late for Anatsa. And she had every right to feel that way when it was clear that Isobel was holding back. The mixed signals were getting a little out of control, and she looked tired standing on that road.
But don’t you owe it to your partner to fight a little harder when you love them? Isobel didn’t make it easy, but she was trying to meet Anatsa halfway and willing to explain herself and fight for her. Anatsa’s unwillingness to do the same at that moment was sad, but only so sad when you knew it would always end up here.
The show isn’t subtle about wanting to explore Kyle and Isobel, so Anatsa’s departure now just puts us on the clock to wait for the eventual Kybel pairing.
I’m trying not to get too wrapped up in remembering that the end is near and just enjoying the here and now. So, who knows where Kybel will ultimately end up when we say goodbye to Roswell for good, but here’s hoping we’re treated to a sweet love story as the two of them leap from friendship to something more profound.
The set-up is there. We just need it to take off now.
Elsewhere, the title of the episode is a homage to Mimi DeLuca, who passes away within seconds of the start of the episode. Her death is kind of a shock, if only because it’s so abrupt in how it unfolds.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Mimi (or heard about her), and then she is on the ground, just dying. It’s a lot to process, and with such a crowded hour, we don’t necessarily get to all the emotional beats of that death and what it means to Maria because there simply isn’t enough time.
Her scenes with Dallas are always beautiful, and he has this innate ability to read her like a book and help her see herself more than anyone else in her life. All those years as a preacher are paying off in spades here with his people skills.
Maria’s missing powers were always going to be a continued story because that seems to be Maria’s series-long arc that we can’t escape at this point. And Mimi’s death will undoubtedly only amplify her disconnect from her family, seeing as how she can longer tap into her visions to feel close to them.
I liked the simple remembrance of a memory that Maria was able to see of a much simpler time in both her and Mimi’s life. The series has always been a little all over the place with Mimi and fitting her into the narrative.
And her death was just a continuation of that, but I liked that we got to see a genuinely nice moment between the two in the middle of a sad hour.
And because we never got to spend a ton of time with Mimi outside of her interactions with Maria, it felt a little odd how much time they spent on Liz’s reaction to the death. Though that’s because we were never privy to seeing Liz’s relationship with Mimi over the series.
Like the conversation between Shivani and Liz felt out of place, even if I can see what the show is trying to go for by building their relationship brick by brick every week. Shivani is becoming a critical piece of Liz’s life in a relatively short time, and let’s hope Liz isn’t putting her trust in the wrong person.
Ultimately, the science, as always, will have to help them figure out how to stop whatever plan Tezca is hoping to put into motion. But while in the past, everything they’ve done has stayed within their little friend group and those in the know, Shivani is an outsider with her own agenda.
And I say this as someone who likes Shivani. But it’s Roswell. It’s nearly impossible to freely trust people on this series because it so often comes back to bite.
Max blew up a whole lab not long ago when he felt like the wrong people were sniffing around, but apparently, those days are long gone now. Not only will no labs be damaged, but we’ll let tech billionaires pay for them!
My, oh my, how times have changed.
Loose Ends
- The way certain characters are missing is making some stories feel very incomplete. Three of the most important people in Maria’s life are MIA while she’s dealing with such a profound tragedy. We know where Alex is, but no Rosa or Gregory (and no mention of them calling or anything) felt so odd.
- RIP Mimi. A 5-star Roswell mama.
- Hopefully, after Rosa finishes all her New York City sightseeing, she’s treating herself well in the food department. There are some world-class dining options in that area of America.
- Dallas getting a storyline outside of being a dependable friend is music to my ears. I’m also totally here for him learning more about his father.
- Eduardo is such a good dude. He let himself stay kidnapped so that Michael could follow through with his undercover plan and stay protected. But it’s interesting that they just stashed Eduardo in a barn, but Alex is still god knows where.
- If you were wondering where Alex’s truck could be, it’s possible that Tezca just buried it in the sand!
- The whole eye color-changing thing is a neat little trick. Tezca has some serious powers, and we’ve heard repeatedly that the pod squad hasn’t tapped into their full potential, but each season just makes you wonder how true that really is.
- Echo and their spontaneous make-outs are now becoming a staple of the season, huh?
- Give us more Michael and the fire power, please!
- The alien board that Nora made kind of looks like a uterus, and I can’t unsee it now.
- We’re in for another season that will span like two weeks! Strap in, folks!
Alright, people, somehow we are already a quarter of the way through the season, which is absolutely wild. And while we still don’t know exactly what this season is building to, things just got a lot more fascinating.
Let me know how you feel about the shapeshifter reveal, the Isobel and Anatsa breakup, and where you think Alex Manes is!
Hit the comments with your thoughts, and as always, make sure you watch Roswell, New Mexico online to keep up with all the news!
Whitney Evans is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.