The CW's Roswell, New Mexico - Episode 2.07 "Como La Flor"
Liz is forced to revisit a painful part of her past when her mother Helena shows up at the diner unexpectedly. Michael urges Maria to seek help after she experiences a strange vision. Kyle's attempt to get Steph to open up doesn't go as planned. Helena's arrival in Roswell sends Rosa spiraling.
In 2019, the television industry aired 532 scripted shows across numerous outlets. The way people consume content now is different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, it's less necessary to provide ample coverage of each episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site provides shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of The CW's Roswell, New Mexico.
"Como La Flor" was written by Danny Tolli & Carolina Rivera and directed by Barbara Brown
Liz instinctively understands that nothing good can come from her mother Helena suddenly appearing in Roswell. She knows not to get her hopes up believing that she is a different person after abandoning the family ten years ago. Nothing that happens in this hour ultimately changes her mind either. She still looks for a reason to be hopeful though. She sees evidence again and again that her mother is the same person she always was. Helena is trying to steal from the diner. She expects to be treated with respect as the mother in this family without putting in the work to actually experience that love. And yet, Liz believes that her mother got sober following Rosa's death. That is a detail that seems real to her. Her personality may not have changed much. She still seeks praise for doing the bare minimum. She argues that Liz didn't actually need a mother in her life because she has accomplished so much. But she is also quick to use that same sentiment against her. Helena views her daughter as stuck in a lackluster life because of her obligations to her father and her town. She isn't using her skills to change the world. She hates Max simply because he is a cop. She doesn't want to believe he is any better than Diego. She has these opinions about Liz's life. And yet, she is no longer allowed to have those opinions because she gave up on her daughter a long time ago. Liz has had the time to process all of this. She doesn't fall into the same traps as easily as she did when she was a teenager. Rosa is different. She has only had to deal with a few months of knowing that her mother abandoned the family. That has been a lot for her to process on top of everything else that comes from her resurrection. So much pressure is placed on her. People extend kindness and compassion to her. They want her to succeed. They want this second chance at life to be better than the self-destructive patterns that ended it the first time around. However, Rosa fears that there is no breaking the pattern. She sees herself as just as reckless and dangerous as her mother. She is repeating that same behavior. Liz and Arturo look to the future with hope. They see a potential for even more greatness. Rosa may only see despair because she has the clarity that Helena was never sober. She had pills in her vehicle. That temptation becomes very real to Rosa once more. She is once again using behind her sister's back. That has become a pattern this season. Rosa uses these coping mechanisms that she developed when she was isolated as a teenager. She still feels like that same girl. But now, people want to help and she doesn't quite know how to balance it all. She fears Max because of how he haunted her life for months after coming back to life. She trusts her sister but still doesn't feel comfortable confiding in her fully. It's complex and may only ensure that tragedy happens once more in this family. That is the pressure and burden that comes from stories of generational pain. Rosa believes she is broken because of the mental illness she inherited from her mother. Maria fears that she too will go insane just like her mother and grandmother. And yet, that is only one facet of the story. It turns out that Maria's grandmother was experimented on by the American government in the hopes of using alien DNA to create super soldiers. Maria sees the inherent racism that comes from such abuse and torture. Her grandmother suffered because people had these grand power ambitions. Her family is still dealing with those consequences. Only now may it present as something miraculous. Maria saves Kyle's life. She is there to push him out of the way when he is about to be hit by a car. He survives with only a minor injury. That pushes his dynamic with Steph into a more romantic context. When people confront this pain, it can actually open their worlds up. Seemingly everyone in Roswell has had their life touched by aliens in some way. The aliens themselves want to know more about their history and what they can expect from their lives moving forward. They feel that pull despite the willingness to embrace what is happy and rewarding in their lives at the moment. That is the burden they face. Something more is going on and they don't have the luxury to operate in the dark any longer. And so, Max is off to search for Cameron while Michael and Isobel will explore more of the past for answers on their lineage.
