Bonnie turns to Max for protection after Tezca gives her an order she can’t fulfil. Michael is struck down by a mystery illness. Liz turns to Shivani for help. Max worries about the future.

So Michael isn’t well. That’s not usually the sort of thing that might qualify as dramatic in a genre show but bear in mind that the aliens in Roswell don’t get sick, their immune systems superior to any disease Earth can throw at them. Add in the mysterious loss of his powers, and we have a problem, as one of the most powerful members of the group is side-lined.

Liz turns to Shivani in her search for answers as to the nature of whatever it is that is afflicting Michael, and those answers point inevitably in one direction – one that enrages Michael into a confrontation despite his weakened state. What he finds isn’t what he expected.

Meanwhile, having been given an order she can’t bring herself to carry out by Tezca, Bonnie turns to Max for help from her impossible situation. It’s interesting that it’s Max rather than Michael she goes to see, and it’s more interesting that she literally surrenders herself. Locked in a jail cell she may be, but she is there by choice and able to escape at any moment. Can she really be trusted? Does she really want to save Roswell and the world from whatever fate Tezca might have planned for them?

In Mexico, Kyle and Isobel have to confront the reality of what occurred between them. This is perhaps one of the more infuriating parts of the episode for long-term fans. Kyle is clearly head over heels in love with Isobel and she for her part is clearly more than fond of him. But in typical rom-com style, neither is quite ready to admit this, leading to a mutually reinforcing game of ‘Oh no it was just a drunken thing between mates’ back and forth between them until you literally want to reach into the screen and bang their heads together.

Dallas enlists Michael’s technical expertise to try to get a chat with the AI of his Dad held in a crystal (all a bit Superman) but is disappointed with the end results. That said, there’s more than one way to approach a problem, and Isobel’s hurried return to Roswell (which is only partially about avoiding Kyle) may provide a deeper and more real solution to the mysteries the ex-preacher is trying to solve.

Another confrontation with Tezca shakes Max to his core, as he realises once again the nature of Tezca’s interest in him and what that means. That leads him to make a decision which he may well regret, especially when Liz finds out because she is not a woman to be crossed (and her Dad lends her a machete with very few questions asked!) As the episode closes, we get a glimpse that yet one more person may not quite be what they seem.

Verdict: Really starting to move up a gear as we head towards the midway point of this final season. 8/10

Greg D. Smith