Roswell, New Mexico's Lily Cowles says Isobel's desperate measures to end her pregnancy 'need to be represented'
Spoilers for 'Roswell, New Mexico' Season 2
The 'Roswell' reboot, 'Roswell, New Mexico' premiered on The CW last year and featured many differences from the 1999 series. For one, all the characters are adults. Another way the reboot has marked itself unique is the way it has tackled complex issues, especially those with political undertones ranging from the government cutting funding for scientific research to the current administration's treatment of immigration.
In Season 1 of the reboot, we met Isobel Evans, played by Lily Cowles, living as normal a life as she could while being an alien. She did what was expected of her and married Noah Bracken (Karan Oberoi). Unfortunately, Noah turned out to be an alien as well, one with a penchant for killing. He did so using Isobel's body.
While Noah died towards the end of the first season, Isobel will still be dealing with the trauma of learning what kind of person Noah was and what he did to her. On top of that, Season 2 premiere episode revealed that Isobel is pregnant with Noah's baby.
Cowles spoke to MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) about Isobel's struggle with the devastating news and the lengths she would go to deal with it. Cowles says Isobel is going pretty far, considering that she took poison at the end of Episode 2 of Season 2 -- the same poison that nearly killed her in Season 1.
Cowles says, "I think she's a woman who is in really desperate circumstances. And I think Isabel is a character that functions as an allegory for so many women who are facing unwanted pregnancies or health issues, reproductive health issues, who don't have access to the medical support that they need. This is something that happens in the United States and it happens across the globe, that there are women who are denied access to reproductive [healthcare]."
She continues, "I think her story is one of a woman who is put in a position where she is so desperate that she will take terrifying, very dangerous measures and she'll do it on her own terms because she feels that she absolutely has no other option. I think in some ways we want her to represent those women who have had to face these kinds of dire circumstances on their own. I think it was a really important story to tell, although it's frightening to take it on."
Cowles agrees it is a sensitive topic, something a lot of people would not want to take on because "it's just not pleasant to look at." She says, "It's not a fun or a happy storyline and yet, it needs to be represented."
Cowles hopes Isobel's story will begin conversations surrounding the matter. She says, "I hope that they'll see this episode and find humanity and see the situation that we're putting women in by denying them access to reproductive health care. And hopefully, it will broaden people's perspectives or give other people comfort in knowing that they are not alone here."
The actress is also grateful to viewers and fans for acknowledging Isobel's pain. She says, "I'm moved by the way that the viewers have gotten behind Isabelle and sympathized with her and empathized with her, and [have] been as dismayed as I was when I found out what she was going to have to go through."
Cowles says, "It's a terrifying moment. It's a situation that you hope nobody has to face, yet the truth is that so many people do. I'm glad to be able to give that story a voice here."
'Roswell, New Mexico' airs on Monday at 9/8c on The CW.
