Liz and Max search for the one puzzle piece in Liz’s old research which might help vanquish Jones. Isobel, Maria and Greg do some snooping of their own to try to track down other possible aliens. Michael grows increasingly concerned about Alex.

Having seen Jones off in a massive stalemate, now the gang must find a way to break the bond between him and Max, so that they can save the latter while defeating the former. Only issue is, Jones may already be searching for the exact same thing, and with his intelligence and power, a head start is only going to give him more of an edge.

Starting out with a fairly tepid bit of exposition as Liz, Michael and Isobel lay out what the challenge is and what exactly they each need to do to try to overcome it, the episode then kicks into a higher gear, and while never action-packed, it is by no means dull.

Liz and Max’s road trip might well be the… gentlest part of the episode. These two are still very much feeling their way around one another and greatly unsure Trust needs to slowly be mended on both sides, and Max’s obvious caution at how much Liz’s ex colleague (and ex-squeeze) Heath might know is too easy to mistake (or perhaps not) for jealousy. Still, there are home truths delivered on both sides, and signs of a thawing in various things too. Perhaps there’s hope for our second favourite couple yet.

Back in Roswell our (well OK, my) favourite couple are planning a first date, but first Alex just has to do some more work on the Lockhart machine. It’s a dangerous device that sends people who spend too much time on it peculiar – what could possibly go wrong when workaholic Alex is labouring at it? Quite a lot, as it turns out. There’s some really quite clever bits here as both Alex and the viewer start to be uncertain as to what is and isn’t real, and the perils in which Alex finds himself force some drastic measures by Michael.

As for Isobel, Maria and Greg, their quest takes them to an old summer camp chasing stories of a mysterious kid who turned up out of nowhere one day and may well be another alien. Maria may be concentrating more on Greg than on the task at hand though, which frustrates Isobel and leads to a ‘sister fight’. It’s great to see these two characters becoming closer having started so far apart, and when Maria has some advice for Isobel, it’s nice to see that she’s open to taking it.

As the episode winds up, it turns out that the various quests our heroes are on may not be as distinct from one another as they appeared. Revelations fly thick and fast and who is up to what and how villainous they may or may not be is something which seems to shift with every new scene. The plot is indeed thickening.

Verdict: Quiet in places but a powerhouse of an episode overall. 9/10

Greg D. Smith