“Champagne Supernova” opens with the night of the Grant Green UFO Emporium Grand Re-opening Gala. Liz’s voiceover questions whether we can trust our own mind, our own family as people dancing fades to Liz running down the empty street in her gala gown, and a final shot of Max staring down the barrel of a gun held by Isobel.
The next scene, however, is 12 hours earlier. At the Crashdown Café Isobel recounting her recovered memory and how it feels like someone else was using her body to Noah, Max, Liz, and Michael. She thinks the fourth alien is much stronger than her, and the group theorizes that Ranchero night at the Wild Pony bar might be how they find their victims. Liz questions how the fourth alien knows about her serum, and Michael points out that they could be anyone. Everyone agrees to go about their day and they break away. Max stays behind to ask Liz to be his date to the gala, but she teasingly tells him she’s going with another man, her father, but hopes to dance with Max (his bad dancing skills notwithstanding).
At the office, Max and Cam work together to build a profile of the killer. They are informed that Wyatt Long is being brought in and they plan to question him.
Isobel is home looking in the mirror when she has another flashback of the moment she killed Rosa. Noah sneaks up on her, and she jumps lashing out that she is stressed over how someone used powers she did not even know she had to kill a girl who may have been her friend. She begins to wonder if practicing with her powers might help her get stronger, but Noah shoots down the idea. Isobel doesn’t want to feel like a victim, and Noah reminds her she has him now and asks her to promise not to use her powers anymore and she agrees.
Michael is about to leave the cafe when Maria walks past him, she asks why he bought so much food and Michael says he plans to pull an all-nighter and avoid the gala. Maria points out Alex is also not attending. Michael promises Maria that he and Alex are over, and she didn’t do anything wrong by sleeping with him and he leaves.
Max and Cam question Wyatt in his cell. He tells them that he saw Carla (one of the murder victims) at the Wild Pony in a heated argument with Maria.
In his bunker, Michael is looking at his research and grabs his jacket. Yellow powder explodes everywhere; he inhales it and passes out.
Away from the cell Max and Cam consult one another. Max argues that the killer can’t be Maria, and he thinks the real killer is framing her. Wyatt asks to finalize his ‘deal’ with them, but Max and Cam tell him they would not offer him any kind of deal.
Liz looks at the now empty area of her room that belonged to Rosa as she applies bright red lipstick. Her father interrupts her thoughts, and Liz tells him that the hospitals funding for her research was pulled because of the attack. Instead it is being relocated to Palo Alto. Liz tells him she won’t leave him, but her father encourages her to follow her American dream. Liz asks about their trying to get him citizenship again and he tells her to get ready for the gala, they can discuss it later.
Dressed in his gala suit and holding flowers, Max leaves the office only to be bashed over the head with a bottle moments later. He is knocked out immediately.
Liz and her father arrive at the gala full of people, and he goes for drinks. Maria finds Liz and asks her about the red lipstick (Rosa always said red is armor) and why she might be pushing Max away. Liz argues she isn’t, and tells Maria about the study in Palo Alto. Maria tells her she should stay and give her and Max a chance.
Max wakes up to loud banging and finds Michael hammering against the door of his bunker. Michael fills him in on the powder, that his powers aren’t working because of it, and they are trapped.
Isobel introduces Grant Green’s brother to the audience and he gives a short speech. After, Isobel wonders to Noah why Max is not at the gala and he offers to call Max while Isobel tends to the party.
Liz sneaks away to an exhibit area where she finds Cam who was checking her phone for a call from her sister. Liz thanks her for whatever personal sacrifices she made to help Max, and offers her help. Cam tells her about Jesse Manes wanting inside information from the Sheriff’s Department and his using her sister to blackmail Cam. Isobel finds them and Cam realizes they don’t know about Maria being a suspect and fills them in.
Max picks up where Michael left off trying to open the door of the bunker as they argue over their situation. The argument continues until Max fills Michael in about Maria as a suspect.
Cam outlines the evidence suggesting Maria is the fourth alien and Isobel fills in some of her information to support the new theory. However, Liz is unwilling to suspect Maria, and they return to the party.
Michael is also reluctant to believe it is Maria, and Max finally asks if he likes her, saying he thought Michael was gay. Michael is over being held to “some outdated binary of sexuality” and clarifies for Max that he is bisexual, which Max argues he would have known if they every really talked. The argument turns to their relationship as brothers and the guilt Max feels over his parents choosing him over Michael. Max tells Michael that they are family and every bad thing that happens to him also happens to Max, and that Michael is never alone.
Liz finds Maria in the bathroom and asks if they can sneak away, but Maria says she is enjoying the party. Liz goes to the bathroom and Maria asks to borrow her lip gloss, but takes the syringe containing the serum and leaves. Liz realizes it is gone when she comes out.
She also notices Maria’s drink left by the sink, and takes that with her to inform Isobel and Cam that Maria stole the syringe (a fake one she used as bait). Liz thinks that Maria is possessed by the killer and that she was drugged so the killer could access her mind. Cam offers her date rape drug detecting nail polish as a test and they discover Maria’s drink was tampered with. Isobel and Liz plan to find Maria before it’s too late.
Michael scoops up some powder to put in a test tube when he winces as his injured hand craps. Max asks for the truth about his hand, and Michael finally tells him about Jesse Manes finding him with Alex and subsequently smashing his hand. He also tells Max he refuses to let him heal the hand because he couldn’t explain a healed hand to Alex, but also because he wanted the reminder of what happens if he believed humanity could be good and accepting. He hoped and “hopes a dangerous thing.”
Liz and Isobel find Maria passed out on a mock alien operating table. Liz opens her bag, but the syringe is already gone. Isobel wishes Max was there to help, and when Liz says she can’t believe he stood her up Isobel tells her Max would never do that to her, but she might to him. Liz argues that Isobel made her leave, but Isobel informs her that she cannot make someone do something they don’t already want to do. Liz already wanted to leave Max, and Isobel just influenced her to make that choice. Isobel can’t get ahold of Max or Michael, and Liz remembers the bunker and takes the chance that they might be there.
At Michael’s trailer and still in her gala gown, Liz gets to business on moving the trailer. She finds chains, wraps them around the trailer hitch, hooks it to the front of Michael’s truck and punches the gas. The trailer slides to reveal the bunker entrance. Slightly breathless and sporting some grease smudges she rescues the boys and they climb out of the bunker. The three of them head back to the gala.
Maria is still passed out with Isobel standing guard. Max wants to move her, but Michael offers to stand guard (and to explode anyone who comes near Maria) while the three of them return to the party so the killer won’t know they are on to them. They agree with the plan and leave.
Liz and Max dance while they discuss whether the killer is at the party and Max tells her the killer was clearly trying to keep them apart, but it didn’t work as he dips her and she smiles.
Maria begins to stir and Michael offers her water again, but she falls back asleep quickly.
Liz tells Max that she was almost relieved that Max ditched her because she doesn’t want to be the one to mess up their relationship. Something in her wants to leave him before she is left, and Max says he understands that. She asks him to follow her if she runs again, says that she wants him, and they kiss (leaving Max with some very smudged red lips).
Max leaves to check on Maria while Liz dances with her father. Maria is awake and sitting up but clearly still not feeling well. Liz asks her father about citizenship again, and he agrees because a friend has offered to help protect him. Liz follows his gaze over to Noah.
Max asks Maria about her argument with Carla (the victim). Maria saw her about to leave with someone she shouldn’t have, someone who was married, and they argued over it.
Liz’s father tells her that Noah’s firm is always at Ranchero night and offer legal help to anyone wanting to take the path to citizenship. The wheels in Liz’s mind begin to turn as she watches Noah talk with Isobel. Max returns to the party and they share a heavy look. They meet up at a table and discuss the possibility of Noah being the fourth alien. Max doesn’t think it can be him (“He’s like a human golden retriever”), but Liz says she was at the warehouse when she and Grant Green were attacked because of Noah. Max realizes Noah told him to avoid prosecuting Wyatt after he attacked Liz. As the pieces add up Max leaves to consult Isobel.
Liz suddenly remembers that she got Noah’s blood on her shirt when he was shot. She leaves, sprinting home in high heels (can you say impressive?) to get a look at his blood under the microscope.
Dancing with Isobel, Max asks if she has ever used her powers on Noah. She quickly realizes what Max is asking, and says that she promised Noah she wouldn’t use her powers. However, when she remembers he asked her to make that promise she agrees to get in his mind and prove that Noah is good.
Confronting Noah with her powers, she asks him if he still loves her? Oddly, he dodges the question saying he will always protect her. A battle of wills ensues as she demands a direct answer from him, and he again avoids it. In that moment, she sees the truth of the situation and confronts him about Rosa.
Noah takes control of Isobel, and sends her sauntering back to Max to say that Noah is not the killer and they are leaving.
Liz gets Noah’s blood under the microscope, sees Noah is the fourth alien, and calls Max to warn him. He runs outside to find Isobel waiting for him, and she punches him. As she continues to hit him he refuses to hurt Isobel. Noah, through Isobel, kicks him to the ground and takes his gun. Just as she is about to shoot, Cam fires a warning shot and Isobel runs away.
Noah walks Isobel to the car and she sits in the front seat like an empty puppet waiting for his command. As he starts the car Liz injects him with the serum from the back seat, jumps out, and runs. However, Noah possesses her forcing her to freeze. He touches her, using his powers to start killing her but the serum kicks in and she decks him. Max tackles him to the ground and punches a few times for good measure before hugging Liz. A confused Isobel gets out of the car and sees Noah unconscious on the ground.
We’re left with so many questions – but we finally find out who the fourth alien is! There’s only a few more episodes of Season 1 left, and we can’t wait.
Roswell, New Mexico airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on The CW.
