WARNING: Major spoilers ahead for the season three two-part finale of “Roswell, New Mexico”
“Roswell, New Mexico” has closed out its third season and Jones is gone — but is he really? In the final moments of the two-part finale, fans learn that he definitely did get a call out from the makeshift Lockhart machine. So, we called up series showrunner Chris Hollier to get the alien download on them, and next season.
Though Michael’s examination of the machine after Jones’s demise — thanks to Liz and Max’s romantic history, she was able to kill the right Max Body — seemed to indicate that Jones’ didn’t pull an E.T. and phone home, it appears the opposite may be true. Over in Mexico, a fully grown woman emerges from a stall, naked and mute, much like Isobel, Max and Michael did as kids, and bearing a tattoo that looks a lot like Max’s.
She’s quickly taken to another woman, Allie, who apprently gets drunk on Mezcal, raves about aliens pretty often, and was once Liz Ortecho’s teacher. Fans of the original “Roswell” TV series certainly recognized the woman at the table — that was Shiri Appleby, who played Liz Parker on the original series. And, according to Hollier, it took some work to make this surprise happen.
“She’d come and directed. But she’s also busy and talented so, [it was] hard to get her to come back for a slot that would work out, timing wise. So I start talking to her several episodes early… about ‘well, could you come back and do this? This little moment here? And could we commit to telling him a little bit of an arc next season?’ And so we talked, we talked over a couple weeks and made that happen.”
So yes, Appleby’s mysterious teacher character, and likely her new alien friend, will likely be around for more than just a cameo. But Hollier is staying mum on how exactly she and this new alien will factor into things in season four — for now.
“I’d like everyone to speculate about how she knows [Liz], and what exactly that connection is,” Hollier said coyly. But the mystery surrounding them will certainly be expounded upon.
“We get into how far and how wide and how many and what what the designs of those people are. Are they their own or are they part of what [Jones] still set in motion? Any big life event stays with you and just because he’s gone doesn’t mean that he is out of their minds,” the showrunner adds.
That said, Hollier concedes that fans maybe shouldn’t trust these two right off the bat, given the show’s track record on newcomers.
“I would say, yeah, it’s Roswell! You should always be concerned when when someone new shows up,” the showrunner said. “But also I would say, because it’s Roswell, you can never believe what you’re first shown in any respect, that there’s always more going on. Not just on a plot level, but on an emotional level for anyone [and] anyone we’re gonna bring in next season.”
To be fair, one newcomer certainly worked out for the Roswell crew: Dallas. And yes, he’ll be sticking around for a bit in season four. After all, he appears to officially have a triad going with Isobel and Michael. But where does that leave Max? Well, he’s going to have to figure that out.
“We spent a lot of time this season on Jones in his ear saying like, ‘You feel other because you’re built to be with me, and no one else,’” Hollier explained. “And now that we’ve vanquished that guy, I still think [Max] is left with ‘Well, how exactly do I fit into the puzzle?’”
Of course, it appears Max and Liz and finally fitting into the same puzzle, and that’s a win for both them and the fans.
“One of the things that we wanted to do is switch the mode out of longing. with both of our core couples at the top right? With Liz and Max, and Michael and Alex, we wanted to get into exploring ‘What is it like once you fall in love and you commit to person?’” Hollier said. “Life isn’t all rainbows and sunshine. There’s challenges but a good couple, a couple that goes the distance, navigates that together. But it’s easier said than done. But it’ll give us a whole new lens and which to have people root for these guys.”
For now, the characters will get to bask in their happiness — at least, most of them will. Poor Kyle was the only one left single at the end of the night. But Hollier isn’t totally slamming the door on Kyle’s potential with Isabel, saying that fans will really be rooting for her happiness, but “start to ask yourself where is she happy?”
Unfortunately, we won’t know for sure until season four premieres on The CW.