There was plenty of love lost on the latest episode of Roswell, New Mexico, where Liz’s mother Helena returned to town to cause all kinds of trouble. And it certainly wasn’t the healthiest of mindsets for anyone involved.
Not to mention, Maria learned more about the illness that runs in her family — and its alien ties — Rosa struggled to battle the darkness raging inside of her and Michael and Isobel are done ignoring the past.
There’s never a dull episode of Roswell, New Mexico, especially ones that pack an emotional punch like “Como La Flor.”
Let’s break down episode 2×07 of Roswell, New Mexico:
They needed a mom, she didn’t need them back
The one thing I’ve never taken for granted for life are my parents. While I’m the child of divorce, I’m lucky to have an amazing mom and dad that love me more than anything in the world. That’s what parents are supposed to do, right? Well, as we saw in this latest episode, that’s not always the case.
I’m a big fan of teases being rewarded down the line. The latest reward — or nightmare, in this case — coming in the form of Liz’s mother Helena, who showed up unexpectedly and immediately affected everything and everyone around her.
I felt like I knew Helena before she uttered a single word. An absentee mother who, even when she was there, selfishly looked out for herself rather than her daughters.
And all you needed to see was the look on Liz’s face when Helena walked inside the Crashdown. Years of pent up anger, hatred and sadness rushed to the surface — along with the feelings from her childhood of never being good enough.
Liz would’ve kicked Helena’s ass out that door if not for one thing — she was there to sign over her half of the diner to Liz. This was all part of Arturo’s path to citizenship, where he was in line for a green card. So, basically, Liz was guilted into a dinner in order to get her mother to sign the damn papers.
And you knew from the start that it was going to be trouble.
Rosa was furious when she found out that their mother had returned. She remembers a time when their mother would get Liz’s hopes up before shattering her. And Rosa wanted nothing more than to protect her sister from that vile woman. The only thing is, it’s been 10 years. Liz has learned better. She’s learned how horrible their mother is — and there’s nothing she could do to convince her otherwise.
But, just in case, Liz planted the bait to test her mother’s true intentions. During the most awkward dinner — where Max was somewhere torn between pleasing his girlfriend’s mother and wondering what her problem was — we finally got to the real conversation.
Helena promised that she was trying to make amends. While she was in rehab, she realized everything she had lost — and everything she had missed, including Liz’s successes. She wanted to make up for lost time.
And just like Rosa had predicted, Liz fell for it. Hell, who wouldn’t? Who wouldn’t want to believe that their mother — whose love they craved for their entire life — could change? For them?
As Liz went upstairs to retrieve prom pictures, she came back downstairs to find a jar of space jam on the counter. The space jam that she’d used as security. She’d placed three of them in front of the safe — and set the knob to 3. It was at 80 when she checked. So much for redemption.
We all want to believe that people are capable of change — especially those we love. And people are certainly capable of that — but only if they want to change. Helena Ortecho was not someone that wanted that. Not really. Instead of trying to mend her relationship with her daughter — and she was close — she attempted to steal from them. Oh, and Helena is still a pillpopper, unlike what she claimed.
Liz needed a mother, but Helena was nowhere to be found. Instead, she pushed Liz to be extraordinary to the point where Liz was doing it just to earn some semblance of love and affection from her. Liz felt she had to be perfect — that she was never good enough for her mother. And that’s not how a mother is supposed to make her child feel.
Who’d have thought that all it would take to get Helena to sign over her half of the Crashdown to Liz was Arturo’s mother’s wedding ring — that she tried to steal. Because once she got that, she signed everything over with ease. And she was gone.
Almost like she was never there in the first place.
Darkness vs. Light — which side wins?
The battle between light and darkness is a theme as old as time. But thats because it resonates true within all of us. At some point, we’ve been faced with a moral dilemma — the choice between right and wrong, light or dark, hero or villain.
The thing is, it’s not a battle thats won easily — or in a timely manner. On television, it’s not an arc that should be expected to be remedied right away. Look no further than Rosa Ortecho, who has been battling the darkness inside of her more than 10 years ago. Granted, she wasn’t technically conscious during those last 10 years. But since she’s found herself back in the world, she finds herself struggling with the same demons that haunted her then.
For some people, it’s easier to battle the darkness. Or, they don’t even face the same kind of darkness as others do. Rosa has struggled with mental illness and addiction for a good portion of her life, and just because she’s been granted a second chance at life means that’s all going to disappear.
We’ve seen it as early as the second episode of this season where Rosa wanted to be better than she was before. We also saw her admit that she has a problem and needs help, which is no doubt the most important step.
But just because you want that help doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. And that’s been the case for Rosa, who is struggling with controlling the darkness, especially with these alien abilities she’s developed.
For her, it’s not as easy as visualizing the darkness and controlling it, like Max suggests. And the frustrations she’s experiencing in knowing she can’t control it only serve to make the situation worse.
Rosa isn’t free from her breaking points. When she experiences a relapse. We saw that when Rosa resorted to drinking again to silence Max when he was in her head. And we saw it again following the reappearance of her mother — and the reminder that she might just be broken beyond repair. She stole her mom’s oxy, and she took one when it got too difficult.
I believe Rosa is capable of redemption, and I believe we’ll see that journey reveal itself for her. But until then, it’s going to be a rollercoaster. And she’ll have to prove that light is stronger than darkness.
Maria’s illness, Michael’s quest for uncovering the past
The evolution of Maria’s storyline might be one of the biggest pleasant — well, not pleasant — surprises. Since the start, Maria was presented as a psychic, but we never thought better of it. It’s become an expected storyline in television — the person with psychic abilities that isn’t really psychic.
But in Maria’s case, it’s something much more sinister. And it goes back to her grandmother.
When Maria got a vision of Kyle being abducted by an alien, she thought she was going insane. Michael took her to the hospital, where they were trying to get answers. Turns out she’s not an alien — not sure where that one came from Kyle. But aside from that, the news isn’t good.
Maria has always known that she was going to develop the mental illness that took her grandmother and currently has her mother. And it turns out there’s a Project Shepard connection. Maria’s grandmother was part of an experimental trial where they were trying to create super humans using the aliens locked up at Caufield. Only, in Maria’s grandmother’s case, it wasn’t voluntary.
Now, Maria is doomed to suffer the same fate of her grandma — and her mother now.
While Maria can see the bright side — she helped save Kyle’s life before he was hit by a drunk driver — it’s still incredible terrifying to think what awaits her. And she’s not alone in that. Michael’s terrified, too.
As if Michael needed another reminder of the people that ruined his life — that tortured his mother, that ultimately killed her and that now are responsible for the illness that’s going to eat his — girlfriend?’s — brain cells.
There was a time last season — and even this season — where Michael was obsessed with figuring out his past. Where did he come from, who is he and could he find a way home?
While Michael was okay with the thought of just enjoying life in the moment, forgetting the past, that all changed when he found out that Maria has an illness that’s slowly killing her — and it’s because of Caufield. There’s no way he can give it up now. He needs to find a cure for Maria’s illness — before it’s too late, for answers and for Maria.
Other Thoughts
- “I knew you were trouble when you walked in…” – the song that should’ve been playing as Helena Ortecho walked through the doors of the Crashdown.
- Hey, we’ve all been in a situation where we’ve imagined torching someone’s car. I’m just saying.
- Seriously, I’m going to need to know more about this alien abduction thing.
- Max glossed over the memory that he got back — and it’s one of those subtle seeds that’s going to come back to shock us, isn’t it?
- I’m all for learning about Max, Isobel and Michael’s pasts. They’ve waited long enough!
- I know Max and Liz just started dating, but the scene where Max asked for Liz’s grandmother’s ring back felt like crazy foreshadowing.
- Basically, I’m gonna need him to propose with it.
- Look, I’m all for Kyle getting some action, but I’m not feeling it with this Stef girl. They lack the natural chemistry that you want in a couple.
- Like, for example, say Isobel and Kyle.
- I’m totally holding onto hope that we get Isobel and Kyle down the line.
- I’ll wait forever.
- Michael’s concern for Maria hit me in a new area of feels. Michael feels so much for those he cares about. And I feel it through the screen.
- Seriously, the way his eyes follow her.
- My heart fluttered.
- Michael Vlamis has that affect on me.
- “That’s my girl. I mean woman.” MICHAEL, EXCUSE YOU.
- Lord help me — I ship Michael with both Maria and Alex.
- Max likes being bossed around my Liz, huh? Hehe.
- Where’s Alex? I missed him!
- Liz and Rosa don’t need that woman as their mom — they have each other, and that’s what matters now.
- Somehow, I have to survive another week in quarantine before getting another fix. But, the good kind. The TV kind.
- I have a problem.
Roswell, New Mexico airs Mondays at 9/8c on The CW.
