Everyone is settling into their new lives after the defeat of Jones but for many, the challenges of domestic bliss are every bit as tricky as defeating an insane alien warlord. But trouble is never away from this sleepy little New Mexico town…

It’s been a minute since the previous season of Roswell New Mexico, and coming into this season knowing it’s the last gives a certain weight of expectation. Will the wind up be a satisfying one? Will the characters all get to complete their arcs? Will it feel like a natural conclusion or a rushed ending? Added to all that, we’re coming off the back of a season which felt like it threw everything including the kitchen sink at the audience, with the aforementioned alien warlord, the revelations about the Valenti family heritage, Deep Sky and so much more. How do you follow up from your characters actually saving the world?

Well, you start by showing us where they all ended up next. And in fairness, that’s enough in itself to mostly fill out this opening hour. Liz is teaching, Max is the interim sheriff of the town and they are moved in together. Michael and Alex are also set to cohabit, Isobel and Anatsa are getting along fine and Kyle may have finally cured Maria. Everyone is happy and all is well, right? Not exactly.

It’s telling that even after four seasons the writers and actors can still find new ways to explore the awkwardness that almost defines Max and Liz’s relationship. They’re in love, they’re finally being honest with one another about that, they finally seem to have accepted that they are destined to be together. And yet…There’s a niggling doubt worming away in the back of each of their minds, a sense that maybe not everything is perfectly in place, contrary to appearances.

Similarly, Alex and Michael may be moving in together, but this is Michael, who gets in his own way so often it’s like he’s two people. He’s freaked out about the sense of finality, about whether or not he can truly settle in a place that isn’t just his, because of the many years he’s spent feeling out of place everywhere he’s been. Can his love for Alex overcome this? Time will tell, but for now, at least he has some wise counsel to fall back on.

As to Maria, being cured means that her brain will stop degenerating and she won’t follow the same path her mother did. But might taking away the bad part of her ‘gift’ also take away the other parts as well? And Kyle is in danger of becoming Liz Ortecho MK2, constantly in the lab at Deep Sky and barely able to allow himself the luxury of a life. Meanwhile Isobel is in love, but worrying about when, how and indeed if to share the very deepest truths about herself with Anatsa.

It’s enough drama that you almost forget there’s some other stuff to consider too, like Jones’ contingency plan and the Triad setting out on the path to enact it. Tough, capable and more fully aware and in control of their powers than Max, Isobel and Michael have ever been, as they make their first moves it’s clear that the gang will have their work cut out for them.

It’s an opener that doesn’t necessarily break any moulds, but it feels good to get re-acquainted with the characters and it definitely seems possible from this opener that the show won’t fall foul of the escalating threat conundrum that has plagued lesser shows of late.

Verdict: A solid opener which sets the stage for a promising final season. 8/10

Greg D. Smith