After last week’s flashback episode to 2008, “I Saw the Sign” begins with the original Roswell crash and subsequent autopsy of a body on July 17, 1947. Lieutenant Colonel Harlan Manes speaks aloud to the recording video camera as surgical staff begin their examination. We do not see the face of the female body as the medical staff removes an oval shaped internal organ that is glowing. Her palm has the same three-pronged symbol previously shown in relation to Max, Michael, and Isobel.
In present day, Liz removes pictures and mementos of Rosa and throws them into a box as her voiceover discusses the five stages of grief. “The second stage is anger. I haven’t hit stage three yet.” At the lab, Liz allows her rage to drive her research, but it is unknown what she is working on.
Cameron wakes up in Max’s bed, and attempts to sneak out as his alarm sounds. She dresses while they discuss Max’s pending psychiatric evaluation at work, the results of which will determine if he can return to the field. While getting dressed, there is a clear shot of Max’s three-pronged symbol tattoo, the same one found on the 1947 body. Cameron points out that his behavior, getting shot and refusing to discuss it, is more than a little odd and leaves.
Maria is cleaning up at Wild Pony Bar, showing the newly hired bouncer the ropes. She explains it is for locals only and that there is a “certain type of crazy” they are trying to keep out, namely alien enthusiasts. He agrees, just as Maria’s mother walks in discussing aliens. She appears only half coherent and unaware of her surroundings.
Liz is giving a follow up statement to Cameron at the sheriff’s office, explaining again that Wyatt Long locked her in a crate, asked who she told, and then set it on fire when she did not answer. Cameron asks when she called Max, but she explains that she did not call him.
In another room at the department, Max discusses the incident during his evaluation and explains that he was just passing through when he found Liz and Wyatt. It is clear the examiner does not believe him, and tempers flair as the questioning continues. Max demands he sign the papers; shockingly this does not work and the examiner leaves.
Liz sees Max as she leaves, and Cameron points out the way she storms passed him without a word, to which Max replies, “Liz Ortecho is my hurricane.”
Outside, Liz sees Isobel who tries to apologize and explain that she was unaware she murdered Rosa and her friends. When Isobel asks why Liz has not called the police, Liz reminds her that calling attention to herself will bring attention to her father and his status as an illegal immigrant, for which he would be deported. Isobel continues to beg Liz to talk, but Liz shuts her down, saying that if the blackouts are starting again, she is dangerous.
Alex visits Liz in her lab at the hospital, and he wastes no time pointing out that she has been a bad friend to Maria. He reminds her to also check in with her friends and not stay constantly caught up in her work.
Alex and Liz join Maria and her mother, Mimi, at Wild Pony. Mimi calls Liz “Rosa,” and Maria corrects her. Mimi remembers, but Maria and Liz share a concerned look.
Michael finds Isobel moping in his airstream after her argument with Liz. They argue over whether Isobel is dangerous now that her blackouts have returned. Isobel confesses that she is terrified of herself and what she might do.
While making their drinks at the bar, Maria tells Liz that there is no diagnosis for her mother. Liz suggests a care home, but Maria says she is not ready to give up hope, so instead they plan a day of “Roswell’s greatest hits” with Mimi.
Max confronts Wyatt at the hospital, but Wyatt continually denies remembering anything, claiming he passed out drunk then woke up in the hospital. Cameron, who is watching, takes Max aside and reminds him he is off duty and should go home before he gets fired. He leaves, and Cameron asks Wyatt to write his statement. Instead, he begins drawing the same three-pronged symbol seen earlier in the episode.
At the Crash Down Café, Maria, Liz, Mimi, and Alex enjoy milkshakes. Liz and Maria step outside when Mimi again calls Liz “Rosa,” and Maria is overwhelmed. Alone at the table Mimi tells Alex that he has a worried face, a secret, and his aura looks like his father’s. Mimi explains that she grew up with him, and his aura changed from one day to the next and she knew he had learned too much. She tries to warn Alex about “the other world,” and not to let it hurt him like it did Jim Valenti. Before Alex can get any more information, she snaps back to the present.
Max returns home to find Michael waiting for him. Still angry over Isobel sending Liz away, they argue again. Max asks what he would have done if the situation were reversed and Isobel had sent Alex away. Michael concedes that he would hate Max.
Liz finds Maria on the Crash Down Café billboard and Liz asks her why she is not angry. Maria shares that everything she loves about herself came from her mom, and that watching her mother slowly slip away is painful.
Noah arrives at Max’s house seeking advice about his fight with Isobel. Max says that maybe Noah is right to end things with Isobel because good people like him deserve better than people who lie like Isobel.
Now at the drive-in movie location, Mimi gives palm readings to both Alex and Liz. She again calls her “Rosa,” asking what path she decided to take. Rather than remind Mimi she is not Rosa, Liz chooses to tell Mimi her imagined future for Rosa — the one she never got to live.
Max answers a call from Noah who tells him to stop pursuing the case against Wyatt Long. His lawyers plan to say Grant Green’s death was self-defense, and if Max testifies they will look into his past and his attempts to protect Liz’s father from ICE.
Mimi and Liz watch Alex and Maria play cornhole. Still believing she is Rosa, Mimi asks Liz about her problems with Isobel. As Mimi explains what Rosa had said, Liz realizes Rosa knew Isobel is an alien, and this is likely the reason Isobel killed Rosa.
Cameron goes to Max and explains that she doesn’t want to sleep with him anymore. She receives a text from Manes asking for an update, as Max agrees and invites her in for a drink. Her reply, “on it,” suggests that she has agreed to be his spy. As they share stories about tattoos, Cameron reveals that she has a sister who is now in prison. She asks Max about the three-pronged symbol, and he tells her it’s just something he used to draw as a child. She confronts Max about the symbol and shows him the drawing from Wyatt. Angry, Max storms away without answering.
Liz asks Mimi if Rosa ever mentioned aliens, but as Mimi talks about spaceships, Maria points out that Mimi is talking about the movie Independence Day. Liz’s alarm sounds, reminding her of her running experiment. When she tells Maria she will be back, Maria instead asks her to meet them at Sunset Mesa Assisted Living.
Angry after his confrontation with Cameron, Max returns to the hospital to see Wyatt. He chokes Wyatt while promising that he will bring him to justice no matter what it takes. Liz interrupts his threats, and they go to her lab where she calls him a hypocrite, reminding him he is pursuing Wyatt as a murderer but let Isobel go free.
As he leaves, Max spots his blood samples, and Liz tells him she is trying to make a serum to neutralize their powers. Not surprisingly, Max hears this as a threat to their lives. Though Liz tries to explain her reasoning, Max is angry and storms out.
Max goes to Michael’s and suggests that the three of them leave town. When Michael disagrees, Max tells him Liz is working on “some kind of alien poison,” because she does not feel safe with Isobel there. Isobel agrees with Liz’s assessment and stresses that she will be making the decisions about her life going forward.
Isobel decides to check herself into the psychiatric ward at the hospital where she will be isolated. Max tells her she will be marked as a danger to herself and others, and she will be confined to her room. As Max leaves, Noah arrives and says he is not going to give up on Isobel.
Drinking alone at the Wild Pony, Maria yells that they are closed when she hears the door open. Michael tells her he really needs a drink, and she agrees as long as they do not talk. As he takes a drink, Maria breaks down and Michael tries to comfort her as she cries.
Max tells Liz in the lab that Isobel is locked away, and there is no need to test her serum. Liz surprises him by saying she is going to destroy it. She explains that she joined the medical field to help save people, not to hurt them. Max confesses that he wants her to keep working on it in the hopes of finding a way to eventually make them normal because they are all dangerous.
Working late at the office, Cameron is slowly piecing together the three-pronged symbol, and the strange markings left by Max’s powers. She seems to make her choice and texts Manes. It simply reads, “Look into Max Evans.”
Roswell, New Mexico airs Tuesdays on the CW at 9/8c.
