Max sets out to find Jenna when he learns she’s gone missing, and has some unexpected help along the way. Alex and Forrest become closer. Rosa tries to invent her new persona to integrate with the world once again. Isobel takes a big risk with Maria.

It felt like among all the other stuff that was happening in the last episode, the writers forgot that Jenna Cameron had last been seen being spirited mysteriously away. Never fear though, because here we get right back into it, and have some interesting stuff to discover along the way, not least of which is the fact that Master Sergeant Manes may be in danger of becoming a semi-decent human being. On top of that, we get a lot of new revelations about exactly who Jenna’s sister is, and what exactly it was that she did, as well as hints of who might be after her.

Max of course can’t resist playing the heroic cowboy as he dons his hat and heads off to rescue his former partner/friend with benefits, and it’s actually a mark of how mature the show is that it dispenses entirely with any hint of Liz being jealous about this – she’s perfectly secure as her previous conversation with Jenna showed, and she understands that nothing more is happening here than her man looking out for his friend. How refreshing, and how so many sitcoms could learn from this writers room’s example.

Back in Roswell, Alex and Forrest go for a little paintballing that turns out to be both more and less than a simple friend hangout. Forrest is obviously interested in Alex, and Alex (occasional threesomes with Maria and Michael aside) is a free agent. But he’s also a man who, thanks to his father and his choice of career, has spent a long time in public denial as to who he is, and that may be a barrier too much for this nascent romance to blossom – only time will tell.

Meanwhile, Maria’s further exploration of her own powers in light of revelations about her family history leads her to some conclusions, and those conclusions are a little worrying for Michael. It’s refreshing to have the show finally come down on a side with the whole question of Maria’s talents, and it adds an interesting dimension to the show, even more so when Isobel decides to try something that brings a dramatic new revelation to the lives of the alien siblings.

And there’s Rosa, desperately trying to be a new person and fit in but fighting against demons that won’t go away just because she’s git a healthy new body and a side order of alien powers. This episode is especially painful for the character, as she hits a bottom we always suspected but in a cruelly misdirected way. I hope that there’s redemption waiting in Rosa’s future, but it’s clear it is a way off yet.

Verdict: Pretty dark stuff even by the standards of the show – everyone here is facing serious issues. 9/10

Greg D. Smith