'Roswell, New Mexico': All you need to remember from Season 1 as Season 2 is set to drop soon
Spoiler alert for The CW's 'Roswell, New Mexico' Season 1
When 'Roswell', the cult 90s show was rebooted, it was met with as many naysayers as supporters for the new show. For one, many did not like that the show was too "politically correct," but what they did not realize was that the new show was a closer adaptation of 'Roswell High' by Melinda Metz, which served as the inspiration for 'Roswell'.
So instead of Liz Parker, we had Liz Ortecho. In the new show, Liz is a biomedical researcher, the daughter of undocumented immigrants who comes back to Roswell after a decade when she loses funding for her research. Ten years ago, her sister, Rosa and two other girls were killed in a car crash, but as the season progresses, we learn that not everything was the same.
When Liz comes back, she soon learns that her old high school crush, Max Evans, who is also a dedicated deputy sheriff, is an alien, as is his sister, Isobel Evans, and their friend, Michael Guerin. Later, Liz also learns that an alien was responsible for her sister's death.
Liz obtains a DNA sample from Max to do an analysis, which she shares with Kyle Valenti, her high school boyfriend, who is now a doctor. Kyle's new knowledge makes senior master sergeant, Jesse Manes, take interest in him. Jesse then tells Kyle about Project Shepherd.
All this was in the first episode alone, but let's look at what went down during the season for all the characters.
What happened to Rosa?
When Liz realized an alien was behind Rosa's death, she begins her investigation into what happened. First, she learns that Max was with Rosa the night she died, but Max tells Liz that Rosa was warning him off.
However, Liz suspects Max to be behind it — straining whatever friendship they had remaining. She also comes to learn that Rosa's father was actually Jim Valenti, Kyle's father, after he had an affair with her mother. The older Valenti was also trying to help Rosa off her addiction.
Later, Liz realized that Max was secretive because Isobel killed Rosa. In flashbacks, we see Rosa and Isobel spending a lot of time together. However, we later learn that Isobel blacked out during these moments and she did not remember spending time with Rosa. However, she does believe she killed Rosa as well.
Eventually, we come to learn that Isobel's husband, Noah Bracken, was an alien as well and he would occupy Isobel's mind and was the one talking to Rosa. He killed Rosa when she refused to go with him. He was responsible for at least 17 murders; for 15 of them, he used his powers to absorb the victim's energy to sustain his body, which has deteriorated after he was trapped in a defective pod for decades.
Noah stayed close to the Evans as they were royalty, and believed that those who won the war on their home planet would return for Max and Isobel. After Max kills Noah, they find Rosa's body preserved in his pod.
Max uses his powers to resurrect Rosa, but this he does so at the expense of his own strength. And Rosa comes back to life while Max dies.
Project Shepherd
Jesse Manes runs Project Shepherd, a fictional government operation created by the US Air Force after the 1947 UFO crash in Roswell. The project created the fake autopsy report for Rosa and others who were killed by Noah.
Though it was shut down by the government in 2010, Jesse Manes kept it running with his own money. When his son, Alex, who shares a difficult, if not a non-existent relationship with him, learns of its existence, he hacks into the Project Shepherd database. While Manes Sr blackmails deputy sheriff Jenna Cameron to help him, she in turn foes to Alex.
It is through Project Shepherd that the heroes are able to learn more about the alien murders and Rosa's death. Alex and Michael also discover a fort where other aliens were imprisoned and tested on. However, the place is blown apart. Michael meets his mother just before it does.
The relationships
As expected, Max and Liz finally get together towards the end of the season before his tragic passing. Whether Max is truly dead or not, we will only find out in the next season.
Meanwhile, while Alex and Michael were together at the beginning of the season, Michael later got together with Liz's best friend, Maria DeLuca. However, in the last episode, Maria may have stumbled across something that will lead her to learn about the existence of aliens.
What to expect in Season 2?
Now that Rosa has been resurrected, she will be trying to adjust to life 10 years after she last lived in it and Liz will have to be by her side. Meanwhile, Isobel and Michael will be mourning Max's death.
Max might come back, but don't expect it to be very soon. After all, there will have to be consequences for raising someone from the dead.
'Roswell, New Mexico' Season 2 will debut on The CW on March 16. The show will air on Monday nights on The CW at 9/8c.