Roswell, New Mexico Review: Songs About Texas (Season 1 Episode 9)

The ships land on Earth on the much anticipated Roswell, New Mexico Season 1 Episode 9, “Songs About Texas!” Shiri Appleby exceeds all our high expectations and delivers a sensual and heart racing hour of television. 

Whereas Roswell, New Mexico, Season 1 Episode 6, “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” is a truth-seeking adventure that leaves us emotionally exhausted, in need of a therapy session, “Songs About Texas,” leaves us emotionally exhausted and in need of a cold shower. 

Thanks to Kyle, everyone on the episode is communicating more, rather than being at war. It makes for a story even more revealing than “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

Do You Believe

The episode asks us a core question on the series: Do you believe?

Believing in aliens is a big part of the original Roswell, so it is fitting that the star of that show, Shiri Appleby is back in town directing, “Songs About Texas.”

But, Roswell, New Mexico is a very different show, and the way it approaches the, “Do you believe?” question perfectly illustrates the differences. 

The exploration of belief that Liz goes through on the episode is bordering on profound.

When Rosa died, her ability to have faith, to believe, in God and the goodness of humanity died too. 

She took to facts and evidence instead, wearing them as armor so she was still protected against the world that became so much less safe when it didn’t include goodness and God. 

Liz becomes a scientist, not a dancer.

Although this has provided her great strength, it also has given her thicker shields against the unknowns in her life. Her scientific quests to heal provide her a way to do good in the world without facing her own need to heal. She was in a place of numbness, evidenced by her relationship with her fiance where she couldn’t have real feelings for him.

Her lab coat was another way for her to block out her despair at learning that people are not inherently good.

Max has always been different.

Max was good in high school, and good when she came back to town. He literally saved her life after she died. He brought her back to life! 

Hope flickered once more. 

And then Max extinguished it with his lie. 

It makes worlds of sense that after learning that Max lied to her and covered-up her sister’s murder for ten years, Liz needed time to process (Same, Liz. I’m a delayed processor too).

What we see on Roswell, New Mexico Season 1 Episode 8, “Barely Breathing,” is Liz figuring out what she is feeling, what she felt, and what that all means. 

When she says, “we weren’t meant to be together,” to Max, she isn’t rejecting him; she is releasing him from the past. 

Rather than, “Do you believe in aliens?”, Roswell, New Mexico asks, “Do you believe that failing to save someone is different than killing them?”; “Do you believe that trying to save someone is enough?”

It is the question at the heart of the series. 

Importantly, Kyle is the one to articulate this idea.

KYLE: When I call time of death on a patient, it’s not because I killed them, it’s because I couldn’t save them.

He is the wisest person on the series so far. His spot-on insight and hilarious lines on the episode highlight how he is an essential character on the show and should be treated as much of a lead as the core five. 

Liz decides on the episode that, yes, she does believe. She believes in the goodness of people, especially Max.

By the time of their kiss, Liz believes that though she is completely afraid, she is a good person even if she fails to save Isobel.

The idea extends to all the characters and to us viewers too.

Failing to save someone, from their addiction, from suicide, from an abusive relationship, can feel like murder. This message hits home for me.

There is a weight to the trying, but not enough. The “what ifs” and the “should haves” can plague those of us who have survived. 

For me, “Songs About Texas,” tenderly encourages a more expansive view of goodness and a more broad view of faith.

We can believe that what we have done and what we are is good enough, even when we couldn’t save the people we love. 

The Ship Has Landed

I KNOW what you really want to talk about, that Echo kiss!

I want to talk about it too, all day and tomorrow too. 

The direction of the scene is stunning. I adore the light flare and subtle inching towards each other for their intimate conversation.

I even love how Noah pops up behind those bushes! A quick reminder that this is indeed a mystery show too.

The speech Max gives Liz is just gorgeous.

But, I’m less pulled in by his ability to list her faults. I do find that charming, but what I find sexy as hell is how he thanks her for believing in him and then asks her to let him believe in her. 

MAX: You believe in the good in me when I can’t see it. So, is it so crazy that I believe in you too? Without evidence. I just, know.

There’s something about knowing someone, really knowing them, and believing in them with your whole heart that is wonderfully romantic. It’s epic literature level romantic. 

Then I love that Liz uses BOTH HER HANDS to pull him towards her. She is not meek about it. It makes Max seem so big, which, not gonna lie, gets my heart rate going. 

I greatly admire how Liz takes her time and refuses to be rushed in making a decision and then when it’s made, she makes her next move boldly. 

Max’s openness and Liz’s decisiveness makes the dance of their first kiss magical to watch. 

Carina MacKenzie knows how to treat us well. She lets the kiss last from the end of one Act right on into the next Act. I’m not sure I’ve ever squealed after a commercial break before. Thanks, Roswell, New Mexico.

I’m not too proud to gush about how much I am into Max’s sweet giddy smile when Liz asks him if the kiss was worth the wait.

This is the kind of feels that the original Roswell delivered so well; the crush your heart anticipation and joy and sweetness of being with the one you want to be with.

It is like hearing angels singing in a choir being able to experience this with Echo. 

My only qualm is with the fact that this couple, who have more fire between them than the burning bush, settle for kisses. 

I want to see Max lift Liz up, Liz to wrap her legs around him, and for Max to take Liz to the bed of his truck. 

There, I said it. I want some flatbed-truck sex. 

Well, now I am distracted by my own imaginings, which is truly another strength of the show. It launches a world of blushworthy headcanon scenes.

Cosmic 

Speaking of blushworthy thoughts, Malex love each other.

I repeat, MICHAEL LOVES ALEX AND ALEX LOVES MICHAEL.

Sure, Alex uses the past tense, but it is clear from the resounding, “Yes,” he gives in response to Michael’s question that the love is completely up to date. 

ALEX: I want to know who you are, Guerin. 

MICHAEL: Who I am, or what I am?

ALEX: Yes. 

The dialogue does a nice job of highlighting how their relationship has been mostly physical, and how that’s deficient, without shaming that part of their connection.

The way the pair reacted to their cosmic connection was to take off their shirts, which makes sense.

Now that Father Manes is out of the picture, Alex can feel safe to finally communicate how he feels. The gag order is lifted!  

Alex is really finding his voice and I think we will see Michael learn how to lower his defenses and not always be antagonistic or sarcastic. 

The trailer set that this couple has as its constant backdrop is perfection. There is something about it that perfectly illustrates the alienation Michael has experienced since the day he landed.

But, a trailer is flexible too. It provides shelter that can move as you move. It is safety, poverty, refuge, and change. Great choice. 

Malex is still my favorite ship on the show and I can’t wait to see how more communication and, fingers crossed, being out publicly with their relationship is going to develop their bond. 

And in case anyone is wondering, I believe that wanting to know and be known by someone in friendship is the best recipe for a HOT and thriving marriage.

Quip Heroes

Even with all the jaw-dropping and jaw-droppingly gorgeous scenes on the episode, Kyle and Cam steal it for me. 

From Cam pulling over Alex, to Kyle hilariously telling Liz how it is, to the scheming bunker scenes, these two lovebirds (I ship them instantly-this episode gives me all the feels, what did you expect?) capture my attention and my interest more than any others. 

Cam and Kyle have a great, healthy body, ship name, Cale. I’m on board this ship.

Kyle makes me laugh out loud. LOUD, loud. He, once again, has the funniest and most poignant lines on the episode. 

KYLE: Your casual blurring of the lines between science experiment and satanic ritual concerns me Liz.

The funniest Kyle part of the episode, though, isn’t a line, it’s his face.

When Cam comes at him in response to his suggestion that she’s just a girl, Kyle gives this look. I am giggling just thinking about it now. 

He raises his eyebrows and looks impressed, entertained, and shocked. It is just such a funny face. 

Michael Trevino deserves most, if not all, of the credit for making Kyle incredibly lovable and funny, not bitter. 

Cam is also so great on the episode. Her snark and mischievousness is tempered by Kyle’s.

She’s met her match and I think it unnerves her to find someone who isn’t intimidated or threatened by her. Kyle and Alex respect her as a default, and when she learns that she doesn’t need to have her defenses up, she is visibly shocked. 

It’s a smart move for the show to bring these three together while the others are in Texas. It allows the plot lines and characters to intersect in a way that feels natural but also deepens the mystery. 

Learning that Kyle’s father was murdered gives him reason to work more with Cam and to have a very established place at the heart of the alien puzzle. 

I would watch a spin-off of the bunker trio. I would also trust them with my life.

I am stoked for Project Shepard 2.0!

Maria In The Desert

Maria and Michael hooking up bothers me less than I thought it would because Alex nearly immediately finds out about it.

The knowledge about the tryst actually serves a purpose in showcasing Alex’s determination to get to know Michael, not just engage in a passionate physical relationship.

 

He doesn’t let jealousy or the bar banter about ending things with a bang hinder him from saying what he wants to say and moving forward with a real relationship based in friendship. 

He wouldn’t be able to show that overcoming without the necklace hiccup. 

However, I still have a big problem with the hookup because of how everyone is treating Maria.

Maria is arguably the most marginalized character on the show. She is a woman of color, with the darkest skin tone on the show, who has to run a bar in order to afford to care for her disabled mother. 

And now she is the only one on the show who is still in the dark. 

She is in the dark about the aliens, which prevents her from having a better understanding of what might be happening with her mom. 

The hook-up is problematic because she is also in the dark about Alex and Michael. 

Alex is one of her best friends. Her other best friend died. Michael knows this and knows that Maria is having a really hard time in her life. Michael is privy to how Maria’s mom wanders off. He is privy to her pain. 

Michael also knows that he and Alex have been secretly hooking up. 

Maria makes the decision to have sex with Michael without knowing that he is the guy that Alex would have stayed in town for. 

The way I see it, Maria can’t truly give her consent to the relationship while she is so underinformed. 

It is also completely possible that she is falling for Michael, which he has at least a hint of because he says “right,” in a sarcastic way when Maria says it will never happen again. 

So, Michael knows that Maria has feelings for him and he is encouraging them.

This makes his choice to not tell her about Alex very angering. Alex is her best friend. There is no way she would let herself continue to have feelings or to have slept with Michael if she knew. 

Michael steals her ability to make that choice by not telling her. She can’t be her own savior if she doesn’t know she needs saving! 

If Michael told her about Alex, and she still decided to have a drunken fling with him, that’s a whole different story. I don’t think she would, but even if she had, it would have been without any blindfolds. 

Alex is clear that they are over. So, Michael isn’t doing anything wrong by having sex with Maria. 

Michael is doing something very wrong by having sex with Maria under a misapprehension about how that choice might impact her life. 

I also think it is important to note that if Alex is the only man that Michael is ever attracted to, he is still bisexual. There is not a quota or a need for a fifty-fifty attraction when it comes to bisexuality. 

I’m eager to see Maria and Michael’s conflict, and I really hope it becomes a conflict because Michael and others have been pretty crappy to Maria. I want to watch Maria get some AND get some justice.

She also needs to take her place on the Project Shepard 2.0 Squad! 

Maria belongs. I want to see her included. 

Diner Dish

• Maria keeps her boots on. That’s hot for some reason. 
• Liz and Michael being a symbiotic science team is where it’s at. More, please!
• Michael has many funny zings on the episode. His line about thoughts and prayers not saving a liver is timely and solid snark.
• I have never related to Maria more than when she drowns her sorrows at a bar, obviously. 
• The episode makes an attempt to make a comment on cultural appropriation and I appreciate the effort. It needs a bit more work, but that can happen in Season 2! Hear that, The CW? Season 2!
• I am dying at Cam’s “Wizard murderer” imagining. I love her more every episode. 
• We get to see what’s under the tarp on the next episode! It’s a weapon of some kind and I am intrigued. 

What did you think of this episode of Roswell, New Mexico? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Roswell, New Mexico airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on The CW.

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