There’s a difference between group scenes that only exist to relay information and group scenes where the dynamics between the characters are at stake. Roswell, New Mexico is notorious for the first, especially in tonight’s episode “2 Become 1.” A lot of information is given to us in multiple contexts, said by many different characters, and it’s both uninteresting to watch and difficult to take in. However, the episode has one of my favorite cliffhangers, if only because the potential is all about the second option—most of our cast are seated at a dinner table inside Jones’ mind, unable to leave. It’s got the makings of a great bottle episode, but we’ll save that for next week.
As we head into the final three episodes of Season 3, the action is more serialized, which means character absences are even more noticeable. Kyle and Alex were thick in the action last week, yet are nowhere to be seen in “2 Become 1.” Perhaps Kyle went back to his day job, but it’s odd that at the news of Jones kidnapping Liz and Heath, two characters opt out of helping. Just a nod to the lack of strategy behind contract obligations.
Anyway, Jones takes the wine-and-dine approach to get Liz to help him untether himself from Max. Heath is also there, and under Jones’ not-so-watchful eye, he’s able to get a call out to Dallas. This hostage situation is mostly just another iteration of the hostage situation in Season 2, with Helena, Charlie, and Michael. A wonderfully slow rendition of “Nothing Else Matters” opens the episode, giving off a perfectly ominous atmosphere but the tension in the scenario lags in the middle of the episode.
Jones speaks of wanting to save two worlds, but that implies that The Oasis is still in trouble. Hasn’t it been 70 years? Not enough information about The Oasis’ current status is known, so Jones’ pitch to Liz is lacking in justification. And is he planning on taking over Earth? However, his conversation with Liz does point to the foil between her and Jones.
In Season 2, we learn that Liz desperately wants to do something good for the world with her alien research. Her success with curing Steph led her down a path of righteous experimentation that ultimately meant betraying Max. In Season 3, she’s come to realize she doesn’t want that notoriety and listening to Jones’ pitch further cements her commitment to keeping her family safe. It’s a decent arc for Liz, and Jeanine Mason is great going up against Jones in conversation.
Last week’s cliffhanger hinted that Dallas might have to kill Max if they couldn’t sever Max from Jones. Since I’m tired of Max being the damsel all the time, I’m glad they resolve this (for the most part) early in this episode. Dallas prays to God about his confusion about how aliens and God can exist at the same time, an interesting point of contention to put forth that I hope Roswell, New Mexico continues.
Dallas and Max team up to basically have a conversation in a cave (again, too much talking in this episode, honestly), but it’s here that Dallas confesses to Max he’s supposed to kill him. Dallas reveals that he prayed to God for guidance not on how to kill Max, but how to reconcile his father even asking him to in the first place. No surprise, Max is okay with Dallas killing him!
After the revelation that Michael is the son of Jones, there hasn’t been a great confrontation between them. We’re due one. “2 Become 1” starts setting us up for a showdown between the two, but first, Michael must confront the similarities between them first. As the group makes their plan of attack on the house Jones is keeping Heath, Liz, and Sheriff Taylor at, Michael is tasked with creating a pair of handcuffs to keep Jones from using his power (think the demon cuffs from Supernatural).
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This leads to another scene with Sanders, who asks Michael why he can only do party tricks with his powers. Michael confesses that he doesn’t want to be like his dad, and reveals that during the summer after Rosa died, he had a go at someone at a bar and ended up jumping into his mind and mind walking him into the street, where he was hit by a car. This isn’t like Isobel’s gentle nudging inside someone’s mind—this is full-on Noah’s ability to possess someone. It’s also a bit of a retcon, but since Roswell, New Mexico has been stingy with showing us Michael’s powers anyway, it works and it’s believable.
It’s also awfully convenient, as Jones takes control of Sheriff Taylor’s body, and in the stand-off at the end of the episode, Michael hops inside Taylor’s mind to convince her to take back control. Michael’s worries are understandable, but it looks like he’s able to work around possible possession by taking the Isobel approach.
The other main plot of the episode brings Rosa back into the fold. She tags along with Isobel to the Long farm, where she thinks Louise’s sword is buried. Here, they run into Wyatt Long, the first time we’ve seen him since he told Rosa he was leaving Roswell in order to find himself again. He’s been working at a nonprofit to help unhoused people but tells Rosa that it’s hard being around his father when his family are the same racist bigots they’ve always been.
The Wyatt storyline is a contentious one, but it seems to resolve itself here. While it started off dramatic, its conclusion is the best we could have hoped for. Wyatt helps Rosa make a decision about art school, even offering to mail her application for her when he heads back out of town. Even though we didn’t get to see Wyatt furthering his redemption on screen, it’s clear in this scene there’s still work to be done. I’m glad he mentions that he feels like he doesn’t belong with his family anymore—he’s not tolerating that bullshit any longer, and leaves town again to stay away from that cesspool of bigotry.
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In our interview with Amber Midthunder this week, Midthunder said she enjoyed the storyline with Wyatt this season because it’s an insane situation—these things don’t happen in real life. But if this truly is where we leave Wyatt’s story, it at least showcases a person who can see what he was like before and understand that person was terrible, and make moves to live a better life by cutting out those that contributed to his way of thinking. Still slightly undermined by the fact he was only able to make this decision by losing his memories, so there will always be a question on whether old Wyatt would have gone this course.
The stand-off at the end of “2 Become 1” between Jones, Michael, Isobel, Dallas, Heath, Max, and Liz is the high point of the episode. Jones switching the battleground to his mind is a great setup for next week. I hope this leads directly to a bigger confrontation and emotional catharsis between Michael and Jones as father and son. Michael is the only one not seated at the table inside Jones’ mind, so hopefully, that means he’s set to go head-to-head with him in the 2-part finale.
Afterthoughts:
A lot of the science stuff goes over my head, but one thing I did catch: Theo wanted to repopulate The Oasis with clones of animals and plants that were already dying. Interesting!
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Another retcon: the purple wildflowers are dead aliens! Weird.
When an episode is largely people standing around talking to each other, it makes the episode less cinematic. This episode is very static and doesn’t flow very well.
The Jones and Isobel sword fight is really cool.
With the revelation that Dallas, Michael, and Isobel are a triad, there’s a question on how Max fits into the family dynamic now. Seeing those three team up though was really fun—I miss them. Isobel’s conviction when Michael is worried about telling Max and Isobel that he has the same creepy power that Noah and Jones have is so heartwarming.
Are we ever going to go back to the mystery coffin plot thread?
Wouldn’t mind more Heath and Dallas interaction in the present day.
“You’re also an up-and-coming Latina scientist from Roswell?”
“Made Wyatt Long forget racism.”
“I was busy with the same alien overlord.”
“There’s always another path.”
“Your dad’s all alien Voldemort.” “I guess you sort of resemble Mad-Eye Moody.”
“I have faith someone from the sky just might.”
“Here’s to you, Walter White.”
The two-part finale of Roswell, New Mexico Season 3 airs next Monday at 7 p.m. CST on The CW.
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