'Roswell, New Mexico' Season 2 Episode 5: An alien pacemaker and the exhausting power of a loving sibling
Spoilers for 'Roswell, New Mexico' Season 2 Episode 5 'I'll Stand By You'
It's safe to say that 'Roswell, New Mexico' can never have an episode that is void of emotional power. In this episode, 'I'll Stand By You,' we are taken a little bit deeper into Michael Guerin's (Michael Vlamis) abandonment issues, Max Evans (Nathan Parsons) pushing for his own death, and Maria DeLuca (Heather Hemmens) and Alex Manes (Tyler Blackburn) making amends. The episode had its dark nature portrayed in the mind of a dead person, and the hearts of siblings, as we dive into the one thing we've been waiting for all season, the return of Max.
In a flashback, we see young Michael pull out a knife at little Max and Isobel, demanding to be left alone. In the present, not much seems to have changed as Michael continues to push away the ones he loves. The entire episode takes up to flashback moments between Isobel, Max and Michael, bringing to light why Michael is the way he is — from his innate ability to never show up to not using his genius "to save the world."
Meanwhile, with months left for attempted surgery on Max with Noah Bracken's (Karan Oberoi) heart, a huge complication presents itself. With Rosa's handprint on her chest malfunctioning appliances around them, her sister, Liz, notices that the handprint is fading, and so might Max. While Liz, Michael and Isobel think that the stasis pod Max is in glitched out, Rosa finally comes clean about her nightmares. They figure out that the handprint is fading and the pod glitched because Max himself "pulled his own plug."
The news is out, Max doesn't want to come back, breaking Liz's heart. She confides in her sister, Rosa, that she has never had a dream about Max but Rosa reminds her how nightmares about loved ones aren't always bliss.
Isobel, determined to make sure that Rosa's dreams actually have her brother in them and not Rosa's drug-infested consequences, knocks out Rosa to allow a three-way conference call between Rosa, Isobel, and Max. With Rosa and Isobel now in a broken nightmare in Max's head, it seems as though Max is hellishly determined to not come back to life. He begs his sister to make sure it doesn't happen because when he brought Rosa back to life, he absorbed all that dark energy and he needs to expel it. He's afraid that in that process, he will hurt his loved ones. Knowing his sister and his love Liz, won't back down, he begs Rosa to make sure the surgery doesn't happen.
Isobel reveals to Liz what Max told her only for the incorrigible decision to be made: The surgery will happen tonight, they're bringing Max back. All that needs to be done is that Max has to expel his energy on someone that can take it, and who better than Isobel? Cue in Michael, who with an ingenious epiphany builds an alien pacemaker that can keep Max alive longer in the mortal world. What could go wrong right? Of course, Isobel locks Rosa in a closet, and Liz and Kyle Valenti (Michael Trevino) began the surgery.
We can't tell you if the surgery, the resurrection or the sibling angst brought us to tears but we can tell you one thing. 'Roswell, New Mexico' has managed to emphasize the importance of family, siblings, and the pressure of waiting to be abandoned to a degree that can relate to so many watching, you know, the non-aliens. Rosa's drug addiction being questioned, Isobel revealing to Michael about her abortion, and Michael finally understanding the family he has in Max and Isobel are all centric to a fictional narrative.
This episode was long-awaited, and Max is back, so what now? We can only assume that coming back to life after you've given your life for someone has some mortal consequences right? We don't know about you, but we're adamant about finding out next week.
'Roswell, New Mexico' Season 2 airs on Monday nights on The CW at 9/8c.