When everyone works together, good things can happen for our resident humans and aliens.
Roswell, New Mexico Season 3 Episode 8 was all about freeing Maria from Jones, which meant a trip back in time to Caulfield, and a host of sad and terrifying memories.
Maria had to step into her great-grandmother’s shoes to prevent Jones from extracting a critical piece of information. But with her health failing each passing second that she stayed attached to Jones, Maria was running out of time.
Enter Maria’s closest friends, who were on a mission to help free Maria!
And this was essentially the Free Maria hour, with a little Malex sprinkled in. And we’ll get to THAT beautiful reunion in just a bit.
But this was Maria’s hour, and really an hour about getting to the crux of what Jones has been trying to do since he was set free from the cave. For all his waxing poetic about the Oasis and this desire to heal Max out of the kindness of his heart, he literally was lying about so many things.
He’s been body-hopping around his planet whilst continuing to anoint himself as some holier-than-thou, immortal being and inflicting torture on his people. Tapping into Patricia’s memory was about getting the equation he would need to help himself keep making dollar store Max’s to inhabit.
The jaunt around Caulfield was eerie and jarring for Maria, as she was literally Patricia, talking to innocent patients and interacting with an incredibly creepy doctor. She had Isobel and Rosa for a time with her, and again it was nice to see these ladies continue to solidify their relationship and be there for one another.
Maria needed all the help she could get, as she was in pretty unchartered territory. She has such a small handle on her abilities to this point, and without Isobel’s literal step-by-step guide to the mindscape, I’m not sure she would have ultimately achieved her endgame result.
They were able to get the alien piece into the Lockhart machine, and Isobel was able to distract Jones long enough to allow Liz time to work her magic and separate Maria from Jones once and for all.
But what does this all mean now?
Jones seemed to get an awful good look at the alien piece when he was grappling with Maria but was it enough time to replicate whatever he’d needed to do to clone more Max’s?
No one seemed to think so, as, by the episode’s end, they were all celebrating Maria’s return to the living. And while there’s still work to be done (MAX IS STUCK IN JONES’S BODY, HELLO), there didn’t seem to be any worry that Jones had time to access the equation.
The fight with Jones is still so far from over, but for the time being, they seem to have bested him at his own game.
It was kickass to see Isobel step up in the mindscape and assert herself against Jones, especially considering Jones has made it his mission to try and cut down Isobel’s self-esteem pretty often.
Her role was to buy time, and that’s what she did, but she also proved to herself and Jones that she’s far from the weakling Jones makes her out to be. And the mindscape will always be her jam, as Rosa so eloquently pointed out.
Rosa: I don’t know, I just want Liz to see me as an equal.
Isobel: You know Rosa, I don’t think that’s your hurdle to get over.
Rosa: I think the same is true for you. Don’t let Jones carve your path. I mean, this mindscape stuff has always been your jam.
Rosa’s supersonic hearing once again saved the day, but it was really her need to prove something to Liz that pushed her storyline forward this week. And it’s not something I particularly loved, but it was something that was a long time coming.
For as bright as Liz is, she sometimes struggles to see things right in front of her face. She gets so wrapped up in her theories and trying to save the day that it can cause her to be a bit short-sighted.
But Liz is always coming from a place of wanting to help and do the right thing. There’s nothing malicious behind her not hearing Rosa when she first mentions cells having their own frequencies. It just didn’t match with the plan she’d already thought out ad nauseam in her brain.
And it’s hard to consider other options because she’s always so set in her ways, which you’d think at this point she’d be a bit beyond, but that’s neither here nor there.
I’ve never gotten the impression that Liz didn’t see Rosa as her equal, though from Rosa’s perspective, it tracks. Rosa’s feelings were valid, and it was wonderful to see her show her capacity to help. And for Liz to acknowledge her shortcomings and take ownership of them.
Rosa and Liz make a phenomenal team, as do all the ladies. Of course, we get many different pairings on Roswell, some more than others, but have we ever gotten the four core ladies working together toward a common goal like they did here?
Roswell is truly blessed with such a talented group of women, and this was their episode to shine, and they killed it.
Elsewhere, Michael and Alex decided to work together in tracking down the pod Jones stole with Max inside, and it turned into a rather memorable day for the former flames.
Look, Michael and Alex have a love story for the ages. And it’s been regrettable that they’ve barely scratched the surface of what this pairing could be throughout the first two and half seasons of this show.
We’ve gotten glimpses, sure. But we’ve never gotten to see them just…be. But THIS felt like the first step to us FINALLY getting to experience Michael and Alex in all their glory.
Alex was leaning into his romantic bag this episode, and although it seemed to come a little out of nowhere, considering their last face-to-face interaction was fraught with so much tension, if you’ve been watching from the beginning, then you know this was a long time coming.
Michael loves Alex. Alex loves Michael. And that’s just the way it’s always going to be.
We all knew one of the major reasons Alex joined Deep Sky was because of the Michael of it all. And him saying that out loud to Michael’s face felt like a giant step forward for the both of them.
So much of their relationship has been plagued by what doesn’t get said, but it’s like they’d finally just had enough of that, and Alex, in particular, ran headfirst through the wall separating them to make his feelings very, very clear.
We don’t get much in the way of talk about Alex’s time in the Air Force or his time overseas, but here he chose to let Michael instead of shutting down. In explaining why he separates emotions from his decision-making, he further pulled down that wall and allowed Michael to see him and understand him in a new way.
Guerin, you are the one piece that I can not go through life without.
Alex
And what a beautiful sentiment. The pieces have always wanted to be together. And here we get Alex straight up telling Michael that he, MICHAEL GUERIN ALIEN GENIUS EXTRADONAIRE, is the piece of ALEX MANES that he would never be able to live in this world without. Excuse me?
Did you cry, or did you cry?
The duo’s theme was prevalent throughout this installment, and each team was relying on one another in different ways.
Michael desperately needed Alex’s calm, steadying hand and quick thinking, and it honestly felt like a miracle they were able to escape with the pod.
Now that Alex knows more about the Lockhart Machine, we should get some continued integration of Alex into the main Jones plot. And bringing Deep Sky into things as well will help this season to congeal more.
And that’s not a slight on the season, which has been a vast improvement in many ways, but this season hasn’t been without its struggles. Though, this solitary episode felt like a breath of fresh air in incorporating the major plots along with some great emotional moments.
And none was better than Michael and Alex canoodling by candlelight and sharing a kiss years in the making. If you want to talk about epic Malex moments, this one might be fairly high on the list because it’s just so perfectly them.
Michael making his move. Alex’s little blush. It’s just perfection.
If you think about it, this season has been devoid of romance, which has been a staple for Roswell since its inception. But with Michael and Alex finding their way back and Liz vowing to save Max, perhaps these final weeks of Roswell, New Mexico Season 3 will give us some of that romance that’s been missing.
Loose Ends
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Um, where’s Kyle? It’s possible I missed a throwaway line about his whereabouts because there’s no way he’s still in that shady barn with no nurse, right? Even if Uncle Eduardo isn’t evil, Kyle deserves better than that barn.
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Michael and Isobel in disguise in those Air Force fatigues was an unexpected treat.
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I knew it was a misdirect right away, but I still hated that Maria had to think that Patricia was injecting people with the experimental drugs even for a second. There’s not much on this show you can take at face value, but we should always trust that the DeLuca women are trying to do what’s right.
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The fight sequence between Isobel and Jones was every damn thing. And I loved how they were jumping back and forth between the mindscapes. The whole thing was very well done.
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Someone needs to make a list of all we know about the Lockhart Machine because it feels like we’re on the cusp of discovering its true purpose. Also, can we rename that machine because Dr. Lockhart sucks?
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We’ve gotten a slew of alien information all season, but Nora straight up saying that she, Louise, and Theo were a triad was a moment. We know there have to be three, and hopefully, we continue to learn more about precisely what that means for Oasisians.
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Jones continues to reign supreme as the ultimate villain, but damn, they really just got rid of Max.
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I said it before, and I’ll say it every time I feel like it; Michael Vlamis and Tyler Blackburn have chemistry for days and days, and it’s a pity we don’t get to see it ALL THE TIME.
Alright, guys, not the best of episodes overall, but there were undoubtedly some standout moments and some excellent character work.
What did you like best about ‘Free Your Mind’?
How will the crew bring Max back and stop Jones?
Are you glad Michael and Alex are finally on the same page?
Drop me a line in the comments down below and make sure to watch Roswell, New Mexico online right now so you can join the conversation!
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Whitney Evans is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.
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