Max reveals the full truth of what happened to Rosa on that fateful night, which requires a bit of context as to the events leading up to it.

One of the nicest things about reviewing genre shows is being able to say that you were wrong. It’s surprisingly satisfying as a fan when a show is able to genuinely surprise you with a clever plot twist or a different perspective on a character you thought you knew. Done right, it draws you in. Done wrong, it can get tiresome. I’ve given Roswell a lot of stick in the last few weeks, so it’s only fitting that I start out here by admitting that it’s really impressed me here.

Taking the form of a flashback episode for the most part, Max relays the entire story of the time leading up to Rosa’s death as he seeks to give full context to last week’s shocking revelation that it was in fact Isobel who had killed her and the other two girls who died with her. Isobel has indeed always seemed the more ruthless of the three siblings, but also the most restrained and level-headed, so how could this possibly have happened?

The journey to answering that takes in all our main characters, from a short flashback to a relevant inciting incident in the early childhood of Max, Michael and Isobel and then onto 2008 and the run up to senior prom as everyone gets ready for the next chapter in their lives, full of hope and promise for what the future might hold.

That means we get to see the very early stage of Michael and Alex’s relationship, including exactly how much of an awful person Kyle used to be, and Max making moony eyes at Liz from a distance, but what’s interesting is what we see of Isobel.

Turns out, the explanation for why she murdered three people is a little more complicated than a simple rage fit – those blackouts that she’s been prone to lately are something that’s happened before, and something that is a lot more sinister than a simple bit of forgetting what she did. Isobel’s personality suddenly becomes the most fascinating of all, and a lot of things we’ve seen her do and say so far suddenly take on a different meaning altogether.

What’s more important though, is how this shapes our view of Max and Michael. Each of them suddenly becomes very different to the viewer. It makes sense why Max went from ambitions of a writing career to being a local cop, just like it makes sense why Michael – who is a brilliant genius with natural aptitude for engineering – became a local bum and dropout, and why they avoid one another so much.

And it also puts an entirely different complexion on the relationship they share with Isobel. For the past five episodes, she has been the mother figure, looking out for her wayward brothers and their small lives, while she lives what appears to be the most well-adjusted, normal life of the three. Turns out, the reality is very different.

Having pulled all this and revealed what the truth is behind Rosa’s death, suddenly it feels like the premise of the show is opened up to all sorts of possibilities. Who exactly are Max, Michael and Isobel? Where do they come from? What exactly is their nature? And can they ever truly live a normal life again after all this has come out. I don’t know, but I’m fully on board to find out.

Verdict: Though I can’t forgive some of the shonky writing that got us to this point, this episode proves a genuine revelation. I am looking forward to seeing how this one pans out. Please god, don’t let me down. 8/10

Greg D. Smith