The time has come that we’ve all been waiting for Roswell, New Mexico fans! The long awaited second season of The CW’s Roswell, New Mexico has arrived with an episode tragically and poetically named “Stay (I Missed You)”. The episode was directed by Lance Anderson, and written by the one and only Carina Adly MacKenzie.
To get you back up to speed, in Season 1, we found out Isobel’s husband, Noah, was the fourth alien they had been looking for. Not only was he the fourth alien, but he had the ability to get into people’s minds and control them. Noah’s life was ended by Isobel’s brother, Max (Nathan Parsons), but not before he tells Max of “The Alighting”, which explained why Max and his siblings were so sought after. The season 1 finale ended with Max sacrificing his life when he killed Noah and brought back Rosa Ortecho (Amber Midthunder), who was the older sister of the show’s protagonist, Liz Ortecho (Jeanine Mason).
In the beginning of this heartbreaking episode, we see Liz and Max laying in bed on what looks to be a typical relaxing morning. Liz asks Max if Noah is really gone, and Max assures Liz that Noah is gone and no longer a threat. The couple talk some more until Liz mentions that Max smells like rain, and with that we’re brought to present time in the mines with Liz sobbing uncontrollably on top of Max’s dead body. Rosa comes running in, obviously and understandably confused, believing it’s still 10 years in the past when she was 19.
Next we see The Crashdown Cafe, the diner owned and ran by Liz’s father. We see Liz’s father has been working on his citizenship to become a United States citizen. Maria (Heather Hemmens) walks in and the two friends say goodbye with Liz promising to keep in touch. We also find out from Maria that Michael (Michael Vlamis) has been avoiding her.
Noah’s funeral starts, with Michael Guerin arriving fashionably late, cowboy hat and all. Isobel (Lily Cowles) gets up to speak and delivers a beautiful and crushing eulogy which almost seems like it’s just as much for her late brother. Max is only considered missing at this point and the only ones that know the truth right now are Michael, Isobel, Rosa, and Liz.
After the funeral everyone is gathered to pay their respects. We see Kyle and Alex talking about Alex’s father, who Kyle had put into a coma. He tells Alex that he isn’t a killer and Alex reminds him his father is one, reminding Kyle of the fact that Jesse Manes is the reason Kyle’s father died. Next we catch up to Michael as he asks Isobel how long are they going to keep things up. Isobel says she needs time but then is quickly questioned by Sheriff Valenti about Max’s whereabouts, and Isobel tells the sheriff he had requested vacation time a while back.
Liz shows up and her and Isobel have an argument, or did they? It appears the duo are looking around as if to see if people are watching, and Liz walks out almost as quickly as she walked in. Michael meets her outside and the two talk about Isobel and Max, ending with Liz telling Michael he needs to tell Isobel what they know. Which asks the question of what is possibly going on — is Max really gone for good or is there some chance of bringing him back?
Next, we see Rosa sneaking into The Crashdown Cafe, and we see she has Max’s handprint glowing on her chest. The same handprint Liz had on her chest when Max brought her back in the first season. The jukebox starts playing distorted music, but then as Rosa gets closer it shoots sparks and stops. It almost seems as if she has the same electrical powers Max had when he was alive. Rosa turns around when she hears Isobel’s voice calling her name only to find Noah standing there This turns out to be a dream when she gets woken up by Liz, who said she had been trying to wake her up for a long time. Rosa jokes that it must be from the 10 years she spent deceased.
Liz is still concerned for Rosa’s wellbeing after struggling to wake her from one of her dreams. Liz takes Rosa to meet up with Kyle (Michael Trevino) at the hospital and lets him into the secret that his half-sister Rosa is alive. Kyle runs some tests and lets her know when she was brought back to life all the damage she did to her body with drugs have all but been erased — Leaving her body as if she had never been a drug addict.
Michael returns home to find Alex had been there, and left his guitar and a sticky note for him. Michael meets up with Alex and the duo argue after Alex tries to bring up the tender subject of Michael’s mother who they’d found in the Caulfield prison. The prison that exploded after Alex, Michael, and Kyle broke in and discovered more aliens that had been used as test subjects, including the alien that killed Kyle‘s father and subject N39, Michael’s mother. Alex asks the question if Michael would leave with him if he left Roswell, and Michael responds saying he has always said yes to Alex, only for Alex to push him away and pull him back in, so this time he is saying no.
“I don’t think we’re good for each other, and I want to be good for somebody.”
In the following scene, we see Isobel honing her growing abilities and becoming stronger as she makes a glass bowl explode. Michael pulls up as Isobel is attempting to make multiple dishes explode simultaneously. Isobel starts having flashes of Noah as she succeeds. Isobel asks Michael what if she kept working at it. Michael asks if she’s going to try and bring Max back somehow.
Flash to the Ortecho sisters driving out of Roswell towards Palo Alto, where Liz has received a grant that lets her continue her research and allows Rosa to have her freedom instead of hiding. Meanwhile at the same time, we see Michael and Isobel in the mine with Max in the pod. Michael shows Isobel an ultrasound of Max’s heart before he died and showed his heart as it is now — destroyed.
The sisters arrive at the hotel ready to crash for the night, and Liz goes to take a shower. While she’s in the bathroom, we see a heartbroken Liz let all of her hurt out with Rosa listening from just outside the bathroom. Later that night, we watch as Rosa has another dream that she is running down the street being chased by Noah. Liz wakes up and Rosa tells her about the dream, showing her a picture of Noah and confirming her fears. Max’s memories and consciousness are tethered to Rosa via the handprint that is still on her chest.
At the hospital, Alex and Kyle push a stretcher towards the morgue to get Noah’s body. Once they get there, they realize the body had been switched to someone else. Alex is then told someone that looked a lot like him took Noah’s body. Alex reales who it must’ve been and calls his brother Flint. Flint then tells Alex he’s taking Noah’s body to Area 51, where Flint has security clearance and Alex doesn’t. Alex tells Liz what Flint was planning to do and while they’re on the road Rosa and Liz spot military plates and realize it’s none other than Alex’s brother with Noah’s body. Rosa grabs the steering wheel, causing Alex’s brother to flip his car and allows them to steal back the body.
Meanwhile back in Roswell, we see Maria and Michael at the Wild Pony that Maria bartends. She spots Michael with another woman and getting into an altercation with another man, and then leads the couple outside. Michael and Maria then get into an argument about how Michael is hurting her by showing off with another woman in front of her and using the excuse that he’s not relationship material. This causes Maria to take his keys and tell him he can pick them up the next day and walk home.
In one of the shows many plot twists, we see Isobel back at the mine as she finds out she is expecting a child. Which explains the feeling she gets where she still feels Noah, almost as if he is crawling under her skin. We also see Mama DeLuca wandering and a flash of bright light as she disappears. Maria, after getting a call from the home her mother has been staying at under medical care, walks over her mother’s bracelet. This makes all of us wonder, where did she go?
We end the episode with Rosa having another dream, this time at the spot where her and Isobel drew in a gazebo 10 years prior. Noah comes out of nowhere and starts choking Rosa, but is mysteriously killed buy lightning like electricity and a vision of the late Max Evans delivers a stern warning to Rosa.
“Liz can’t bring me back to life, do you understand? No matter what it takes, you have to stop her.”
If this episode is just the beginning of what we’re expected to see this season, I’d say we’re in for a crazy ride of plot twists and emotions. The entire cast elevated their performances, and the writers really outdid themselves. We see Isobel fighting the truth that her brother might not be able to be brought back. We see Michael drinking and spiraling and seemingly pushing Alex and Maria away. Where did Maria’s mom go, and will Maria find her? Liz is determined to bring Max back, but what will that cost her? Will Rosa tell her Max’s warning? One thing is for sure, this season is going to be one we are not going to want to miss! Also as something fun to add to our weekly recaps, starting with Monday’s episode we’ll be keeping a tally of the amount of appearances Michael Guerin’s cowboy hat makes.
Season 2 Cowboy Hat Tally: 4.
Make sure to tune in next week for next week’s recap and cowboy hat tally!
Roswell, New Mexico will air Mondays at 9/8 pm central following Supernatural.