Roswell, New Mexico Review: Recovering the Satellites (Season 1 Episode 13)

I can’t hide, and I won’t go. I won’t leave, and I can’t breathe while Roswell, New Mexico Season 1 Episode 13, “Recovering the Satellites,” is resting here with me. 

Truly, I may never rest easy again. Roswell, New Mexico‘s Season 1 finale stirs it all up and I might just be pacing until Season 2’s premiere. 

Did you hear that? SEASON 2 PREMIERE.

The CW made the right decision and renewed the show the morning after its finale. 

I must say, knowing that the story will certainly continue slightly changes my view on the episode, all for the better. 

Speaking of renewals, bringing Rosa back from the dead is the science fiction twist I needed!

Rosa is a fabulous and core character. We are going to get to see her together with Liz in the present, and I could not be more excited. 

Sisterhood is going to get its time to shine on Roswell, New Mexico.

Before I get too excited and chatty about what is to come in Season 2, I want to catch my breath and focus on what just happened. 

This review is a tea and biscuits review. Yes, I spill some hot tea, but also serve some sweet biscuits too. And I do believe that the biscuits make the tea rather drinkable. 

LGBTQ Biscuits  

My heart is absolutely shattered watching Alex sit at the sacred fire pit in front of the trailer, waiting for his angry cowboy to come home.

Shattered.

I can just conjure the image in my mind and I feel the tightness in my throat, the panic at my neck. 

I am furious at Michael, not for needing space, but for leaving him all alone. For abandoning him when Alex has no one, no family, no one to take care of him, protect him, mentor him, love him. 

He is Romeo, waiting for his Juliette, not knowing that he is loved. He may never know.

That’s not the only pain that Alex’s arc on “Recovering the Satellites,” delivers.

Father Manes returns, but Alex doesn’t even get the opportunity to face him. 

I interpret this as confirmation that Jesse Manes will always underestimate his son. He doesn’t think Alex is a real threat because he doesn’t believe his gay son could ever be strong enough to take him down. 

Jesse Manes dismisses Alex. It is like he is invisible. And that cuts the deepest.

His own father never really sees Alex. 

And now the person who said he never looks away has deserted him. 

I am devastated. 

But, the proverbial blood is on the hands of the characters, not the creators. 

For me, Alex waiting all alone and causing me to feel every synonym of sad is a testament to the show’s ability to represent LGBTQ characters well.

Stay with me. I know that this is not how everyone is feeling. I know how much we have been burned. What happens to Alex represents some of the greatest fears of LGBTQ people.

And if that is too much, and the pain will always throb, and it’s just too raw, I understand that. 

I believe, though, that feeling pain and sadness is infinitely better than feeling nothing at all. 

Alex and Michael, despite not being the leads of the show, are the emotional and romantic pulse on the show. 

The story favors them, not in giving them a happy ending, but in giving them the biggest conflict, the most difficult journey, and the most layered characterization. 

When Michael talks to Isobel and admits he loves Alex (loves, NOT loved), but that his feelings for Alex are so entangled in his pain that he doesn’t know what to do, I feel for him. 

That is authentic. 

Michael admits to Max that who he needs is his mom. He breaks down as he says this.

So, when he goes into the bar to find Maria, I believe that is what he is seeking. He wants a warm, comforting, unquestioning love. 

And you know what? This poor kid, he deserves that. 

Could he have sent a text? Sure. But, Michael has faced more trauma in his week than most face in their entire lifetimes. So I’m quite inclined to give him a pass. 

And, even as he’s there with Maria, soaking in all the affection and relief he can, he’s thinking of Alex. There is no way he’s playing that guitar and not picturing their first time. 

Like Isobel’s complex feelings towards Noah, the only person she ever loved, Michael doesn’t love Alex in a clean and uncomplicated way. 

Thank. God. 

Tokenization happens when the story is too simple. Window dressing characters don’t have the complex conflict we see Malex have. 

One of the many reasons Bury Your Gays is so problematic is the character never gets a three-dimensional story. Killing LGBTQ characters relegates them permanently to simplicity.

They will never be more than a dead body. 

Representation requires being understood, not just seen. And to be understood, you need to live. 

Alex and Michael are very much alive.

Yes, I am screaming at my TV, but that means the blood is pounding through my veins, and tears are pouring out of my eyes, because of how much I know and connect with them. 

The way this ship and these two characters impact me through this episode is unforgettable. 

I mean that concretely and sincerely. My body will always remember the graceful movement of the camera from Alex’s wrist to his face and then panning out to the emptiness.

Muscle memory isn’t just for sports. I’d say it applies to TV watching too!

 Alex as an individual is important to the Roswell, New Mexico story. Malex, although absolutely essential to who Alex is on the show, is not the only reason he matters.

And that is darn refreshing. He matters, his pain matters, his heartache matters beyond whether or not he gets the guy.

It is important to me that Malex get the intricate development that they do on the show.

But, it may be even more valuable and praiseworthy that Alex matters to this story even if he is no longer a part of that ship.

So, despite the real, horrible, nearly unbearable pain we see Alex go through, it is worth it because it elevates him and his story to an eternally significant place where he will never ever be dismissed like he has been in the past by his father and TV culture. 

In my view, what the show has done with Alex, Michael, and Malex is worth a biscuit, not the tea. 

What the show has done with Maria, on the other hand? I think I hear that kettle whistling! 

Maria

The final episode of Season 1 continues the representation issues I talk about on  Roswell, New Mexico Season 1 Episode 12, “Creep.” 

I don’t think Maria is more marginalized on the finale.

Instead, her treatment stays the same.

At the close of the episode, the truth is still that not one person in Maria’s life thinks of her enough to fill her in on the murder, aliens, resurrections, secret government conspiracies, and other stuff happening that directly relates to her. 

I remain flabbergasted by this. 

But, it’s not new. 

There are a couple of new bones to pick I have from the finale in regards to Maria, though. 

First, I do not like that when Liz cuddles up to Maria at the bar, she talks about Maria’s feelings about Michael as if she loves him. 

It is taken as a given, but we have not seen that. We have seen so little of Maria that this out of character and seemingly random declaration of love is confusing. 

Then, Liz basically expresses an “all is fair in love and war,” type sentiment. She says that Maria can’t be held responsible for her love for Michael, because you can’t control who you love. 

Hard pass on this idea. 

The idea that love makes us do crazy things we can’t be held responsible for is actually rooted in some very sexist “heat of passion,” ideology. It that tell us men can’t be culpable for what they do when they are wildly jealous and find their lover cheating. Women are not provided the same excuse for their actions. 

It also calls to mind claims that men can’t control their passions and love and so when they ignore “no,” or all the signals that someone is not interested, it’s not their fault. 

We may not be able to control who we love. But, we can certainly control our actions and reactions to that love. 

Not only can we, but healthy and modern sexuality also requires us to control our responses to our feelings of love. 

Maria is a supposedly strong, ethical, and intuitive friend. 

The conversation between her and Liz where they both disregard Alex is out of character and frustrating. 

In my view, Maria’s amulet should have been the center and focus of that conversation. 

At first, it seems like that necklace is going to be Maria’s superpower and the access point to the center of the conflict. 

But, no. It just tickles Liz’s mind (It does explain why Isobel’s powers don’t work on Maria though. Cool!).

This leads to the other bone I have to pick: Michael and Maria’s kiss. 

It makes perfect sense to me that Maria would be feeling a deep loss from not being able to be Michael’s friend.

It does NOT make sense to me why Maria couldn’t set a boundary and make sure that the relationship didn’t turn romantic. 

It’s not really that Maria is doing something wrong. It is that she is doing something that goes against what we know to be true of Maria, even based on the paltry amount of information we get about her. 

Her loyalty is a key part of her identity. 

Maria throws that away so she can kiss Micahel, a man she has had years to pursue. 

Another hard pass for me. 

The scene could have played out much differently if, instead of leaning in for the kiss, Maria had let Michael know, yes, the bar is always open to him, but as a friend. 

That would have allowed Michael to get his needs met. It would have allowed Maria to keep her friendship with Michael and her integrity. 

Friendship is incredibly powerful. It can heal us; it can save us. 

I hope that on Season 2, Roswell, New Mexico takes a closer look at friendship and lets it be as pivotal to the characters’ survival as spaceships. 

Jesus Icarus

The biblical imagery on “Recovering the Satellites,” is powerful, especially the final shot of Max’s arms out as if dead on a crucifix. 

The Ophiucus reference is intertwined with this biblical referencing as Noah, in true serpent fashion, tries to lure Max in with promises of power. This is like the devil tempting Jesus in the desert with promises of power. 

The thing is, it kind of works.

It’s not that Noah convinces Max to kill in order to get more power. That part fails. 

But, Noah does manage to convince Max to believe the general conceit that Max can and should control the universe. Noah convinces Max that he, and he alone, controls the fate of the people he loves. 

Having this trick pulled on him, Max moves forward, believing that he must protect, cure, save. 

Max cures Michael’s hand, and he doesn’t get consent. 

I will discuss what this means in terms of disability a bit later, but this also has to do with how Max sees himself as god-like. 

In this way, Max is much less like Jesus, who humbly submitted himself to take on the pain of the world, and much more like Icarus whose hubris led him to fly too close to the sun. 

The camera work, music, and overall tone of the scenes don’t lead me to believe Max is meant to be the hero, even a tragic one. 

Rather, in very human fashion, Max mistakes the ability to control for the RIGHT to control. And, as a result, he does the very last thing he wants: he abandons Liz. 

Rosa had been chilling in that pod for a decade (possibly gaining powers?). There is no reason that she couldn’t wait a few more days.

Instead of going to Liz and letting her use her incredible brain to solve the problem, letting her decide if it is even the right thing to do to bring Rosa back, Max takes the control away from Liz. 

I actually love that Max makes the same mistake he made ten years ago. He makes a decision about what is best for Liz without actually giving her the respect of including her in the process. 

He takes unilateral action and decides for her, just like he did when he covered up Rosa’s murder. 

Max chooses this direction for his life and as a result, he dies. 

That steals from Liz the love of her life, the person who actually understands her. It is her great fear, and Max made that come to life, by way of his death. 

This shows that of the main core characters, Max has had the least amount of growth.

That is why I don’t consider his arc to fall into the white savior stereotype. He isn’t the showcase of growth and heroism. 

Juxtapose Max’s resistance to change with Kyle, Liz, and Alex. Wow. 

Kyle has grown immensely from high school. 

And on the finale, we see him tested more than he has ever been tested. He could easily buy a gun and take matters into his own hands. And, honestly, I wouldn’t blame him. 

But, he honors his code. He also takes the time to reach out to Liz and help her ease into the new knowledge of Rosa’s real father. 

I’m proud of Kyle. He is showing up in ways I didn’t expect and is a beacon of what humanity can be.

Humanity is not qualified by an absence of darkness. No, humanity is about wading in the darkness without drowning until you can find the light. 

Keep looking out for your lighthouse, Kyle. You’ll find it. 

Liz and Alex both exhibit immense character growth on the series. 

Alex showcases this on the finale by expressing how he has been fighting his father’s battles, but he is ready for something real, a life that is about him. 

Max in the finale and in the pilot are bookends. He is the same, it is the people around him who have changed. 

That’s a lovely representation of privilege, not white savior complex, in my view. 

I’m into it. Whether Max is revived or not, whether he is a king or not, he is no one’s god. 

DisabiliTea   

Max takes matters into his own hands when he grabs Michael and heals his hand. 

This is problematic.

Micahel never provides his consent to this action, that puts Michael in real risk as being found out as an alien.

MICHAEL JUST SAW HIS MOM OBLITERATED AFTER SEVENTY YEARS OF TORTURE by the government, so that risk is too legit to quit. 

This adds insult to injury considering that Max refuses to help Michael when he asks him to join him in getting information from Noah. 

Max moves forward unilaterally as if he is the only one who knows what is best. That god-complex robs Michael of his agency and his dignity. 

I really need Season 2 to include a brother brawl where these issues are hashed out in full. 

The other reason that Max’s action is not okay is that he assumes that Michael’s disability is the thing about him that needs to be fixed. 

Disabilities are not just hindrances and things to miraculously fix. 

While the significance of Michael’s hand has ties in Malex and his feelings about humanity, the way Max assumes that making Michael’s hand look like a “normal,” hand is the best thing, is ableist. 

Sometimes, it is a matter of accepting and including difference, not fixing it.

Put another way, it is more difficult in our current world to be LGBTQ that it is to be cis and straight. Many parts of life are impacted by being LGBTQ.

However, that doesn’t mean that LGBTQ people want to be fixed! Of course not!

Likewise, Michael’s hand makes his life more difficult. It would be easier if he just had the “perfect” use of his hand. 

But that doesn’t mean his hand even needs to be fixed. 

It could be that his hand is how his hand is, and even if it presents difficulties in some contexts, in other contexts it is actually the most authentic version of Michael that exists. 

It seems that the two representations of physical disability we see on the show, Michael’s hand and Alex’s leg, are erased, and the invisible disabilities we see with Mimi DeLuca, and Rosa’s mom are perhaps not really mental health issues as much as they are alien side effects. 

This type of erasure is not permanent. The show can course correct. I am excited to see how Roswell, New Mexico grows in Season 2 to consider how to better approach disabilities and disabled characters’ storylines. 

Bookshelf Biscuits

The biggest surprise for me on the episode is the luscious and wonderfully satisfying love scene between Max and Liz. 

Liz pushed up against the bookshelf and brushing off her stab wound, while Max is on his knees sensually undressing her is very hardcore my love language. 

I appreciate how this moment of bliss pauses the grief and trauma. It’s just nice. 

Liz is a well-rounded and versatile character. The way actress Jeanine Mason plays her, it seems there is no emotion or mode that Liz can’t capture effortlessly. 

The Latinx scientist has also been through the wringer and back. We have seen her sneak attack Noah from the backseat, witness a terrible shooting, realize that Max is an alien, see her father threatened with deportation, and much, much more. 

She has also come to the rescue on more than a few occasions. 

It feels so good to see Liz get what she wants in the bedroom. 

I love how she demands what she wants and Max gives it to her. Yum. 

Max looks grainy and maybe even a bit haggard as he responds to Liz’s demands. Honestly, he’s never looked less polished, yet I have also never seen him look so downright sexy. 

Nathan Parsons has excellent control over his performance as Max.

That control perfectly matches who Max is and it allows the tension to build and for the close-up shots of his face to resonate deeply with viewers. Resonate deeply in our bodies.  

We are hashtag blessed by the Echo sex scene on the finale. 

It adds a different emotional layer to the episode, while also amplifying the horror and sadness of Max’s death at the close of the episode. 

While there are issues that I’d very much like to see the show address next season, I am not worried.

I have never witnessed (and been a part of? Right now, it feels like us fans are a part of the series) a more open-minded, transparent, and responsive team than Carina MacKenzie’s Roswell, New Mexico team. I trust her and them.

That trust matters. As we head into hiatus, I am filled with the agony of hope for all the possibilities for these characters and this place that I have fallen deeply in love with. 

Roswell, New Mexico is EXTRA-terrestrial, in the best ways. 

Diner Dish

• Max’s death will likely call his alien species to come for him, right? I love that the possibilities for his revival are endless. 
• The Dido song kills me when I’m already dead.
• Now that Rosa is back, there are at least three Latinx mains on the show (Liz, Kyle, and Rosa), and four if Maria is canon Afro-Latinx. 
• Jesse Manes telling Kyle to say hello to his father is chillingly cold and heartless. How did he get to this level of evil?
• I prefer Noah as a creepy, slithering villain. 
• I didn’t even think about the fact that Michael hasn’t been able to find his quite place with music since Jesse Manes mangled his hand. That realization that he can find peace once again is really powerful. 
• I want the fanfic of Kyle walking up to that firepit and Kylex making out happening. Thanks!
• Michael Trevino is lowkey incredible on the episode. He comes into a whole new part of his character on the episode and even though it’s easy to miss among the action, it is very promising for even higher stakes in Season 2.

 

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 Season 1 drops on Netflix on May 1, 2019.

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