As the town prepares for CrashCon, Liz and Max attempt to piece together who may be behind a potentially deadly plan targeting the festival. Maria and Isobel take drastic measures to learn more about the night Mimi disappeared. Michael is forced to do someone else's bidding.
In 2019, the television industry aired 532 scripted shows across numerous outlets. The way people consume content now is different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, it's less necessary to provide ample coverage of each episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site provides shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of The CW's Roswell, New Mexico.
"Crash Into Me" was written by Danny Tolli & Carolina Rivera and directed by Joanna Kerns
Liz and Max want to be on the same page. They care about each other and want to be together. However, they are keeping secrets because they both feel like they are on the verge of some amazing breakthroughs. Max needs to keep taking this specific drug in order to uncover the secrets of his past and the alien home world. Liz needs to keep pursuing her research because it could revolutionize the world. It's absolutely a political statement when Liz talks about how her quest for recognition and respect is different than Jesse Manes'. He will destroy and contort reality in order to get what he wants. He has fought his whole life against aliens and no one understands just how valiant that ordeal has been. Meanwhile, Liz needs to be a role model to show the world that people who look like her and come from her background can be just as brilliant as anyone else. As such, it is worthy putting in those investments to ensure that all communities have the opportunities to succeed. It's a very topical message. In fact, the show works so much because its hero solves problems with her brain. Her scientific mind is her greatest weapon. It's up to her to disarm the alien tech that Jesse is hoping to explode and blame on the aliens so he can emerge as a hero when he slays all of them in Roswell. Sure, it also offers the melodramatic twist of Diego following her to the lab and sneaking in while she goes off to save the world. That's lame because it suggests that he will somehow make his way in even though Max and Kyle were denied assess just an episode ago. Will the show contrive some excuse for why Liz accidentally left all her secret research open and available to anyone who happened along this facility? That's clearly all that Diego wants as well. He sees Liz as a different person. Someone who knows something is about to happen at CrashCon. She will protect her father no matter what as a result. And yet, she may lose absolutely everything by the time this day is done. That's the stakes of this episode. It sets out to explain why everything has happened this season. Mimi was taken by Helena mostly for answers about Rosa being brought back to life and Jesse killing Kyle's father. It's a stretch because the whole twist was built around the personal connection to Liz and Rosa. And now, the show has to reverse engineer the reasoning for why everything happened. It can get confusing as well. It's almost too much. Jesse, Flint and Helena are only somewhat working together. Helena actually wants to kill Jesse and his entire bloodline. That's her quest for revenge because he was responsible for killing her lover. That's all the motivation necessary to explain what's going on. It just carries more personal resonance when it delves into the potential exposure of aliens. This town sees that as nothing more than a gimmick. Their cling to fame in a world that is quick to pass everyone by. And yet, it is very real. Isobel invades minds for answers. Michael complies with Helena's demands to keep Alex safe. Max pushes himself to save the world and innocent lives. But it's also building to the moment where Max's heart finally seems to fail him. Liz is there to see him potentially slip out of her fingers once more. That is a trick the show has already played. As such, it has to do something different with it. It has to have a different outcome. Right now, it continues to present as Liz being able to have either Rosa or Max. She can't enjoy both of them at the same time. Of course, it also comes at a moment where Liz and Max are incapable of actually letting the other in and making decisions as a team. The finale will be devastating because of the lives on the line. Maria is exposed to the weapon that targets alien DNA. Every Manes man could end up dead. That cycle of trauma and violence may end in brutal fashion. There are lots of possibilities. The show just needs to maintain a sense of focus and purpose to reveal why all of this intense energy was necessary to deliver this final point. Some characters seem too important to kill. But some narratives need finite conclusions in order to deliver some lasting impacts on the world at large.
