Dear The CW,
I know we’ve had our ups and downs over the years. Where I’ve raved about your shows with beautiful words and then been pretty harsh when they weren’t up to par. It’s nothing personal. It’s just business. You understand.
But as I sit here writing this introduction/letter — tears still fresh on my face, eyeliner smeared across my eyes — I’m asking for you to do something for me.
Renew Roswell, New Mexico.
You don’t even have to do it for me. Do it for the millions of other fans that faithfully watch every Tuesday ready to have their hearts torn out of their chest and then pieced back together.
Do it for this wonderful cast and crew, who have been so incredible in their performances and their dedication to this show and the fans that love it.
Do it for the amazing Carina McKenzie, who has done such a wonderful job bringing Roswell to a new generation in a way that’s as dedicated to telling stories as it is to educating audiences about very real issues.
Renew Roswell, New Mexico. Renew Roswell, New Mexico. Renew Roswell, New Mexico. Renew Roswell, New Mexico. Renew Roswell, New Mexico. Renew Roswell, New Mexico.
Maybe if I say it enough then the universe — YOU — will grant my wish.
This is a show that’s important right now. The symbolism of aliens in our country is not lost on a very intelligent audience. These profoundly complex characters — aliens or not — are so incredibly relatable, which is something that young teens or even adults need. The representation — during a time where it’s difficult to get said representation in the national media — is incredibly important to so many people.
Please don’t do what other networks have done and cancel a good, no great thing in its prime. Not when it’s just getting started. Especially after the way the finale ended.
There’s so much story left to tell and so many more lessons to be learned. Please do the right thing and renew Roswell, New Mexico. You won’t regret it.
All the best (unless you don’t renew Roswell, New Mexico),Alyssa
Now, let’s break down this heart-stopping season finale that’s worthy of a season 2 and beyond.
No happy endings.
I should be used to foreshadowing by now, especially on this show. But even as Liz warned me in the opening sequence of this finale that there are no happy endings, I didn’t realize it until the unthinkable had happened.
I should’ve known after Noah had been taken care of — with 20 minutes left that something bad was going to happen.
Let’s start at the end, shall we? Because that’s the part that we have to talk about. That’s one of about a million reasons why Roswell, New Mexico needs a season 2 — among seasons 3, 4, 5, 6, you get it.
I think we’ve established the fact that Max loves Liz. Like loves. Like words don’t do his feelings justice. Like he would die for her. Or, in this case, he’d sacrifice himself to bring her back her sister.
So, yeah, Rosa Ortecho — or Rosa Valenti, whatever you want to call her — is back from the dead. To the very shocked realization of Liz and us all.
But more important, Max is dead as a result.
You see, Liz was right. There are no true happy endings. Where you get everything you want. You have to make the best of what you have and learn to deal with the pain that comes with what you don’t have. We all want a perfect life — to have everything and everyone we want — but that’s not how life works.
So while Liz gets her sister back, she loses the love of her life.
Liz can’t have it both ways. It’s the painful truth that she was coming to an understanding with as she stood at Rosa’s grave. As she talked to a rock about how she had fallen in love with Max, and how he loved her, and how lucky she was to have found that. That’s what she wanted for Rosa, but Liz was finally starting to come to the realization that she had to deal with this new kind of grief. The kind of grief that made Rosa’s loss even more real than it had been for the past decade.
Only now, Liz is trading grief. Now, instead of grieving for Rosa, Liz must grieve for Max. Grieve for a grand love that could’ve been. Grieve for a man that loved her so much that he gave his life so that she could have her sister back. Now that is going to be something that makes her lie awake at night crying for his love and crying for a life they’ll never have.
So, Max isn’t actually dead.
C’mon, we’ve all been here before. Central character dies, fans weep, then said character returns dramatically and we all start weeping all over again. It’s a classic trope that we’re used to, and yet, it still has the power to rip our hearts to shreds.
Even Carina has to know that we know that Max isn’t dead for real. Well, permanently.
Whatever storyline focuses on his return — be it exchanging Rosa for Max, as things were before — there will come a time when Max returns to us. And there will come a time when he returns to us because there will be a second season of Roswell, New Mexico. (I don’t care how much I need to put this thought into the universe, but I’ll keep doing it until The CW renews it. I’m prepared for a sit-in.)
Family are the people that love you.
Following Michael’s traumatic experience the previous episode where he finally found his birth mother only to lose her at the hands of Alex’s father, there’s a ton of emotion surging through Michael. Pent up emotion mixed with this new revelation that has his feelings overflowing.
Michael is determined to find out more about their past. To find out more about his mom. To find out more about their people. It’s why he was so intent on saving Noah, so Noah could give him the answers he craved. Because he lost his family.
“YOU ARE MY FAMILY.”
Max’s words to Michael managed to cut in a way that didn’t feel disrespectful to Michael’s experience of losing his mother, rather in a way that was to remind Michael that he still has family here that aren’t leaving him.
Family isn’t defined by blood, we know that. Michael knows that. But following those traumatic events, he needed a reminder. And Max was there to give it to him. Well, that and Noah nearly killing Michael’s family, Max and Isobel.
“You can’t choose who you fall for.”
Maria DeLuca is her own hero. But even heroes have their Kryptonite. Maria’s just happens to be her feelings that she can’t control. The feelings that she’s developed for Michael while knowing that Alex, her best friend, is in love with him.
Maria has tortured herself since she slept with Michael, since the moment that changed everything. That was the moment that she realized how she felt. But soon after, it was a revelation that her best friend felt the same way about him.
Whether it was shutting Michael out or avoiding him at all costs, Maria tried to turn her feelings off. She tried to hide in her guilt until those feelings would just go away. But the thing is, you can’t turn your feelings on and off like that. Not when it’s the real thing.
Liz helped Maria realize that she can’t be guilty for something she can’t control. And she can’t control her feelings. So, she decided to take the leap. And luckily for her, Michael felt the same way.
What’s right for Michael right now.
The beautiful thing about Michael being bisexual is that it allows us to explore a love triangle that I haven’t seen done hardly at all, if ever. Well, considering he’s an alien, it certainly hasn’t been done before.
Michael loves Alex, with all of his heart. He always will. But right now, that love hurts. Right now, it’s not the right time for Michael to be with Alex.
Because here’s the thing, we know Malex is endgame. And endgame hurts. It’s pain and suffering and misery and every other synonym you can think of. Until it isn’t. Until that payoff that is so satisfying that it makes all of that pain and suffering worth it. But, we’re not there yet.
Maria represents the normal, which is something that Michael wants to explore. He cares about her, and she makes him happy. So he owes it to himself to give that relationship a shot. A part of Michael wants to be with Maria right now because he craves that normal, happy life. Where Maria doesn’t know he’s an alien or know all about his dirty past. He has a chance to start over.
And while Maria is certainly into it, as is Michael, it appears that she’s realizing something is up with him, now that his hand is healed.
Maria might be what’s right for Michael right now. But Alex is what’s right for Michael in the end.
The time he stayed.
Alex. Sweet, baby Alex. Oh, how I want to hold you in my arms and tell you everything’s going to be okay. Especially with what awaits you. Because the one time you came back — the one time you stayed, Michael didn’t.
For so long, Alex has been running from his feelings. He’s used that fear as an excuse for why he couldn’t be with Michael. Until that excuse became exactly that: an excuse. But the time is up for that. Now that Alex understands the depths of those feelings, there’s no going back.
Unfortunately for Alex, he knows everything about Michael. Which typically is a good thing, but right now isn’t so much a good thing. Especially after the events of last week, where Michael found his mother only to have to watch her die at the hands of Alex’s father. Now that is a wound that will not heal on its own or quickly.
As Michael said, he loves Alex. And we know Alex loves Michael. But right now, for Michael, that love hurts. And every time he gets lost in it, it’s like a crash-landing. And that’s not what he needs right now.
The thing with Michael and Alex has been that they’ve never been in the same place at the same time. If it was Michael that was ready to be with Alex, Alex wasn’t ready. Now, it’s Michael that isn’t ready, though Alex is ready.
Timing is everything. And while Malex’s timing isn’t right for right now, hopefully we have plenty of seasons for them to get to right for right now.
The Savior.
Amidst the emotional trauma that I endured throughout this episode was the revelation that Max is “the savior” and that there’s some group called the “Alighting” that will be coming after him. Whoever the hell that is, that’s not’s what important right now. What is important — besides Max’s eventual return to life — is how he’s evolved from pilot to season finale.
Noah knew that Max was the “savior.” That he was barely tapping into his full potential. And it wasn’t until Max was able to tap into his full potential that he was able to defeat Noah.
But more importantly, it wasn’t until Max was able to tap into his full potential that he was able to resurrect Rosa.
Whatever happens moving forward in season 2, Roswell, New Mexico can’t go on for too long without its “savior.” Because I need to know more about what the hell that means and who is after him.
Screw the code.
There’s only so much one person can take until they crack. And while Kyle appeared to be a pillar of strength throughout this first season, he finally hit his breaking point in the season finale.
After learning that Alex’s father was responsible for killing Kyle father, something inside of him snapped. He even went to buy a gun as protection — or something else. (Oh, and nice touch showing how easy it is to buy a gun — especially when the person you’re selling to appears unstable.)
When Kyle went to go find out more about the truth, Maines shot him point blank. I literally jumped off my bed a couple of inches. Only, thankfully, Kyle had planned for this and was perfectly fine. Well, at least physically fine.
What ensued afterwards was something shocking and terrifying as Kyle found a way to stab Maines in just the right spot to send him into a coma and eventually kill him. Oh, and the play-by-play commentary made it even more chilling.
What does this mean for season 2?
I have no freaking idea. All I hope for with season 2 is that we get a season 2. Oh, and that Max returns to life. But that’s a given.
Roswell, New Mexico hopefully will return in 2019/20 with season 2.