Things get a wild west twist in this week’s Roswell, New Mexico. Everyone fights to save Liz as she is trapped in her own mindscape fighting for her life against the alien mist she inhaled. Check out what happened this week!
Roswell’s Reality
In the real world, Max, Isobel, Michael, and Rosa rush to care for Liz who is dying after inhaling the alien mist. Her pulse is slowing and with Kyle still in Mexico, Michael is the most well-versed of the group on the science (about which Michael is less than thrilled). Over the phone, Kyle suggests an injection to help stabilize Liz’s heartbeat but that’s only temporary.
Rosa leaves but returns with the closest they have to an alien doctor… Heath? He jumps into action and discovers Liz’s immune system is attacking itself and he needs to work out how to camouflage alien proteins in her system. Turns out he and Rosa are a bit of a thing! Rosa comes clean to Michael when he finds them hugging in the lab. She reached out to Heath while in New York and they’ve grown close as he helps her understand her abilities. Michael is determined to go get Alex back now that Heath is here but Rosa convinces him to wait and help them solve this problem first. He doesn’t need to be rash, and he figures out they can use Max’s blood to work out the serum for Liz.
He doesn’t get the chance to test it first though because Liz begins seizing while Max’s heart rate increases. Heath has no choice but to inject her while Michael holds Liz down with his powers. In doing so, it seems to work, and both she and Max wake.
The Wild West Comes to Roswell
Trying to reach Liz, Isobel and Max enter her mindscape to find a Wild West setup going on. At The Wild Pony, they are confronted with two outlaws and one kidnaps Max while the other shoots Isobel and kills her. She’s ejected from the mindscape but Max is still trapped. In her mind, Liz is Sheriff of Roswell with Rosa and Arturo as deputies. Hilariously, Liz realizes she’s inside a mindscape and begins to hunt for Max when she is told of his kidnapping and Isobel’s “murder”. The level of realization is a fantastic touch as she fights off the urge to overanalyze the aspects of her mindscape. Together with Rosa, they arrive at The Wild Pony aka a saloon for all the gunslingers including one Michael Guerin in a bolo tie. Maria is singing on stage and Heath is slinging drinks behind the bar (wherein Liz takes a shot and realizes she’s overdosing in the real world). Clyde is the bad guy out-of-towner taking all the local’s money in poker. She bets him for information on Max but when Michael wins on her behalf Clyde takes off. Rosa yells that she’ll get Kyle.
Outside, Clyde rides off on his horse as Rosa rounds the corner with… Kyle. Liz’s trusty steed. Liz rides Kyle hard, chasing after Clyde and they catch him only to find another version of herself and outlaw!Liz, who has taken Max hostage.
Liz retreats and her mind conjures her old mentor, Allie Meyers (played by none other than Shiri Appleby!) for advice. Ultimately, Allie tells her to face down her dark side. Meanwhile, outlaw!Liz retrieves Max and he quickly realizes Liz isn’t Liz. This Liz lets slip that she was thinking of taking the serum and succeeding far beyond what she has thus far in the real world. Max is holding her back. She sees Shivani dosing her as serendipity. Our Liz calls for a meeting and at the Pony she regrets letting outlaw!Liz get this strong in her own mind; she’s not willing to let her keep growing and pulls the trigger. Outlaw!Liz is able to stop the bullet in the air and knocks Rosa’s gun away, kidnapping her too as she leaves.
Things click for our Liz after talking to Michael (who is now sporting a very strong accent). She needs to remember to rely on her family to help her when she’s in trouble. Together she, Arturo, Maria, Michael, Heath, and Sanders face down Clyde. Clyde shoots Sanders but Michael guns him down Doc Holliday style only to discover Heath was stabbed in the back when he turns. Clyde suddenly appears, alive and well, and shoots Michael. Very quickly, everyone but Liz is dead (thanking our lucky stars we know this is a mindscape). Clyde tells her there will always be another to take his place, the challenges are never-ending. Outlaw!Liz appears and slits Maria’s throat as Liz watches Arturo also drop.
Allie shows up once again to force Liz to think through the panic. She finds Max tied on the roof of the Crashdown, the same spot she once told Max she was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Outlaw!Liz is forcing her to admit why she couldn’t say yes to Max’s proposal. Liz is afraid of failure, she’s afraid of being happy with Max only to have it ripped away. Outlaw!Liz tells her to give in to the drug and they argue over whether it’s worth the risk to be smarter and possibly able to save anyone who gets hurt in the future. A shot fires and everything goes black.
Modern Day Roswell
Max and Liz both wake up in the lab. Later that night, Liz tells Heath that she remembers nothing of the mindscape. After clearing that up, Rosa tells Liz that she and Heath have become friends in New York. They are studying how her powers work so she can control them and Rosa demonstrates by bending the sound waves of the radio into silence.
Meanwhile, Maria and Michael share a beer by the fire and discuss what’s next. For Michael, it’s finding a way to get Alex, Dallas, and Bonnie out of the alien quicksand. For Maria, it’s learning to hone her new abilities.
As everyone leaves, Liz and Max relax on the couch. Max pours them wine as Liz recalls to herself the real ending in her mind. Liz shot the shotgun into the air and told outlaw!Liz she doesn’t want to gamble anymore. Her badge moves to outlaw!Liz’s waist who tells her she made a good choice.
What powers will this outlaw!Liz have and what will become of her? We’ll have to watch next week to find out. Roswell, New Mexico airs Mondays on The CW. Be sure to check out all our coverage including recaps, synopses, episode images, and exclusive interviews here.
