After last week’s cliffhanger, Roswell, New Mexico returned for a rewarding episode 6 with answers we definitely needed! This is one of those episodes with five different simultaneous plot lines that all culminate in two distinct final moments, so hang in there. It feels like diving down a rabbit hole this week!

Everyone Wants to Save Kyle and Help Maria

The driving force of this episode is definitely all parties doing their best to find Kyle or help Maria or both, so we’ll break this down by group.

Liz and Max

Liz and Max take a boots on the ground approach investigating the break in. Max tells everyone he was also attacked, that’s how the doors were shattered. He and Liz search for clues, but she can tell he’s not being completely honest. We find out Max/Jones’ DNA sword was dug up, stolen, and the nearby shovel (why would you leave it at the scene? come on criminals, do better) has blood on it. Liz tries to run DNA, but the hospital’s equipment is having a rough day, first moving very slowly and then oddly breaking after Max lays his magic hands on it to “speed up the process.”

Much later when she’s alone with Maria, Liz notices an alien handprint mark just at the very edge of Maria’s hairline. She confronts Max about it who says he put a pillow under her head and must have done it accidentally. Liz puts the puzzle pieces together just as Rosa and Isobel also discover the truth.

Rosa and Isobel

At the hospital, Isobel and Rosa team up and dive into Maria’s mind where the Wild Pony looks more like the haunted house version of its namesake. Maria is hidden away in her own mind, but has locked away a memory for Isobel and Rosa. Rosa gives her power subduing necklace to Maria to protect her mind, but this causes serious issues for Rosa. Every stressful event (which, let’s be honest, is everything right now) causes her to short out electronics. She also now has super hearing! It’s simply too much noise for her to process. It takes the whole episode but they finally discover the hidden memory.

And what’s the memory of you might ask. Well, it’s the moments after her attack when Max finds her. Or so we thought. Max asks her what happened. She explains that she was attacked from behind by people in alien masks, Kyle switched on a radio as he was gasping for breath (Maria says “dying” but we aren’t ready to go there yet), and it flew out the doors smashing them. Then they took Kyle and left. Max’s indifference confuses Maria and she realizes too late that he’s not Max at all. Jones knocks her out, making sure to put his hand on her head where her hair covers the mark.

Michael and Alex

We didn’t just group these two together because of their steamy past, they actually team up (woo, Malex crumbs!) to uncover the odd happenings. Just before Kyle disappeared he switched on a radio that blew eight radio towers in the vicinity. The signal causes local bats to attack a.k.a slam into the glass at Deep Sky and the radio towers. Independently, Alex and Ramos think this is related to the device turning on. However, we learn later that’s not the case (see below).

Michael calls Alex for help, but Alex won’t loop him in saying, “I didn’t say I wouldn’t help. I don’t want you anywhere near what I might do.” (We love a protective boyfriend.) Michael’s saving grace is actually Sanders, who points out that only vampire bats were affected. They communicate via infrared (daunting details, but it’s important. Hang with me). Bats were found at three towers, meaning Michael can trace the direction of the signal and possibly find Kyle. Or at least the trajectory of where the signal went.

The Mysterious Case of the Bats in the Night

Michael does indeed trace the radio signal all the way to the outside of Deep Sky. He leaves Alex a voicemail with the information. Sadly, it’s a smidge too late to really be helpful. Alex dropped by the hospital and had a lovely heart to heart with Liz (we need more of them together!). He takes the DNA samples and pulls some strings to get them run at Deep Sky. We learn that the sample isn’t Kyle, but does have a 29% DNA match to Kyle.

Alex noticed a rather large bandage on Ramos earlier in the day. He’s a smart cookie and goes poking around in Ramos’ office already sure of what we as viewers are just realizing. Ramos has the matching radio to Jim Valenti’s and it received the signal. That’s what the bats reacted to. Unfortunately, Ramos finds Alex in his office with the radio. Extra unfortunately, this means Ramos is involved in Kyle’s disappearance and the DNA sword theft. Alex asks where Kyle is and Ramos draws a gun on him.

Max is… Not Max!

I have to start this section with a shout out to actor Nathan Dean for his incredible portrayal throughout this episode. It’s subtle, but viewers know something is just off about Max. You can’t put your finger on it exactly, but it’s there and it’s brilliant when we get the big reveal that Jones pulled a switch with Max. Naturally, we don’t find out until the final moments of the episode, but we do get to see Jones in action and it’s a little terrifying. He hunts down the people who took his sword and takes it back, making sure to quickly gut them in the process. He clearly has no qualms about murder, so it’ll be interesting to see what next week will bring now that his secret is out.

Roswell, New Mexico airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. CT on The CW. Be sure to check out all our coverage as the show continues!