In the aftermath of CrashCon, change is in the air for the various residents of Roswell. But as some things end, others begin.

After the rather stuffed and action-packed penultimate episode, this instalment of Roswell can’t help but feel a little slower by comparison. But like the best TV, this is a good thing, as the show takes a moment to breathe, examine the impact of events on the various players, and then plants a whole load of new seeds for the next season.

Unsurprisingly, the conflict between the various Manes men we saw get going as the credits rolled last week doesn’t end brilliantly for anyone concerned, and then there’s the small matter of the explosive alien console, the entire stage being set up to blow like a firework at the slightest spark, Max being dead again after attacking Flint and Maria bleeding from every part of her face from the effects of the ‘real’ bomb. That’s a lot, and the show mostly speeds through it because the writers clearly recognise the buildup was far more interesting than the climax.

Fast forwarding an indeterminate period of time, the bulk of the episode deals with the aftermath. For Michael and Maria, that means an awkward examination of their respective priorities, as Maria makes a realisation about herself and her relationship with Michael. For his part, Michael has concerns about her, but ultimately the conclusion they both reach feels like the right one. Roswell has a habit of investing long-term in the relationships of its characters, and that means sometimes there are speed bumps, just thankfully not Ross and Rachel type ones. I suspect that This will develop further into next season, especially now that Maria is more aware of who and what she is.

Similarly, Michael and Alex have reached a point that isn’t necessarily an ending of their story but certainly the beginning of a new chapter in it. Of all the characters, it feel like Alex has suffered the worst this season, emotionally and physically, and it’s nice to see him get some sort of positive closure on a lot of things. Again, I imagine the story of him and Michael has a lot more to play out in the next season. These two have felt like soul mates since season one, and I see no reason for that to change overall.

And Liz and Max have issues of their own to discuss, exacerbated by the fact that Diego turns out to be, if not quite as shifty as I had suspected, shifty enough. Max makes a judgement call that can’t help but drive a wedge between he and Liz, and that’s on top of the fact of his attack on Flint. These two have never had it easy, with a history of one pining after the other at various points and then the small matter of Max’s death and resurrection. Maybe they’re just not meant to be, but I doubt it.

But most interesting of all is the final reveal, which sets up a completely different track for next season. It makes sense of a lot of Max’s visions this series in ways that are genuinely surprising, and laves us with a whole lot of questions that are going to need answering. The show has very cleverly slanted us all towards one easy conclusion about Max’s past throughout season 2, and this rather turns all that on its head.

As a finale, it pulls the classic strings of setting up questions we’ll not get answers to unless we tune in next season to get them. I for one will definitely be doing so. This has been a surprising, smart show with a lot of heart (and not a little cheese) and I can hardly wait to see where the writers can take it from here.

Verdict: Doesn’t even try to tie things up neatly as the writers lay down so many teases to entice viewers back next time around, but there is so much of what makes this show work in every scene here. 9/10

Paul Simpson