Roswell 1.18 Tess, Lies and Videotape

That forward momentum established last week continues here, as the alien mythology that took a backseat during Crazy, goes hand in hand with the governmental conspiracy story already established. It may have been met with extreme fan hostility, but as a show centred on the love story of two young people, any roadblocks introduced, like an alternative love interest become par for the course, and I kind of welcomed Tess’s addition to the cast.

There’s already been a number of obstacles for Liz and Max, not the least of which is Max’s otherworldly heritage, but a straight-up kiss with another female was exactly what the show needed to mix things up. It gave Liz the chance to step back and assess where she is in all of this, and how strongly she really feels for Max. It may be more than just hormones in his case, maybe Tess has some other hold over him, but the fact remains that he kissed her and like she said, there may never be an explanation for that.

That propulsive energy that manifested last week permeated this episode as well, as the show continues to trundle its way towards the finale. There’s a constant sense of menace prevailing that was never really established so blatantly before, and among other things it’s really helped the show to solidify the core group. For better or worse, they’re all they’ve got, and they can only trust each other.

And then, of course, there’s that amazing cliff-hanger. It’s one of the show’s best, really, and it’s one that made Roswell all the more wacky. Even though we could have already guessed that Tess was more than human, it’s disturbing to know that she might be the murdering, shape-shifter that’s been following them all this time.

9/10