What If God Was One of Us

Season	Episode	Overall
2	4	17

Info

Series

Roswell, New Mexico

Air date

April 6, 2020

Written by

Steve Stringer & Christopher Hollier

Directed by

Shiri Appleby

Episodes
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What If God Was One of Us is the fourth episode of season 2 of Roswell, New Mexico and the seventeenth episode of the series overall. It aired on April 6, 2020.

Synopsis[]

Official synopsis:

AN ACT OF GOD — On the verge of a breakthrough in her quest to save Max (Nathan Dean), Liz (Jeanine Mason) turns to Kyle (Michael Trevino) for one last favor that could potentially land him in hot water. Meanwhile, Michael (Michael Vlamis) and Alex’s (Tyler Blackburn) investigation into Nora (guest star Kayla Ewell) leads them to a farm, where they meet a historian named Forrest (guest star Christian Antidormi). Elsewhere, Cameron (guest star Riley Voelkel) confronts Jesse Manes (Trevor St. John) about her sister’s whereabouts, and Isobel (Lily Cowles) uses her powers for good. Amber Midthunder also stars. Shiri Appleby directed the episode written by Steve Stringer & Christopher Hollier (#204). Original airdate 4/6/2020.

Plot summary[]

Act 1[]

In 1947, Michael’s mother Nora is hiding out in a barn on the Long farm after escaping from the military. Tripp, hot on the tail of the two female aliens who fled the scene of the crashed spaceship, shows up at Roy Bronson's door. Tripp is suspicious of him because he’s got blood on his shirt, but a child, Walt, runs up and explains the blood’s from a coyote he killed, even though the African American man had told him he wasn't going to kill the animal.

After Tripp leaves, Bronson says he can only hide the women out for one night. He has an inkling there’s something weird about them but that doesn’t stop him from helping them as much as possible. He’s not sure they understand him, yet he explains he’s going to be fired because the crops won’t grow and he needs them to leave before getting him in more trouble.

The following morning, the child Walt returns and he's excited about something in the field. Overnight, Nora had made the crops flourish. Bronson believes it’s a miracle, but Walt thinks it was the women’s way of saying thanks and he says that the two women should stay.

In the present, Kyle and Liz are having breakfast together. Kyle still can't believe that Michael is using pinball parts and car battery to continue to keep Max's pod charging. He and Liz whip up some eggs for breakfast as they plan out the open-heart surgery that Kyle will have to perform to save Max. They toast to the "groundbreaking achievement that no one else will ever know about", but upon closer inspection, Kyle realizes Liz made him some cafe de olla, which from past experience means Liz needs a favor from him.

Later, Grant Green shows up at The Crashdown Cafe to poach some of Arturo's customers by inviting them to his new malt shop at the UFO Emporium, where they can learn all about aliens and grab a malt. Isobel is sitting in one of the booths taking the scene in, and uses telekinesis to lock the restaurant's door, just so that Grant inevitably runs into it, and embarrasses himself in the process of being ushered out.

Once Liz sits down to join Isobel, she asks the other woman why she she's been hanging around the Crashdown so much. Isobel reveals that she has actually been following Arturo, and figures that she can use her mental manipulation power for good. When Liz is unsure if she wants that, Isobel says that maybe with her influence, she can get Arturo to understand and accept Rosa's resurrection without causing him any harm to his health. Liz is still skeptical but Isobel really wants to help, and goes onto say, she wants to do do this for her, given how much Liz is trying to do to bring Max back.

Kyle visits his mother Sheriff Michelle Valenti at work, wishing her a happy birthday. She still investigating Noah Bracken's death.

At the Long farm, Michael and Alex meet up. Michael jokes that he doesn't seem have many friends, and it's become more apparent since Maria is mad at him. Alex says that he talked to Maria and she'll keep Michael's secret, but she needs some time to herself and to take care of her mom. Alex, for his part wonders if Mimi DeLuca could actually be telling the truth after this whole time, and was in fact abducted. Michael replies, that it's certainly possible given everything they all have witnessed.

Their conversation then shifts to Michael discussing the photo from the old newspaper they found weeks earlier. As it turns out, the man who rescued his mom and potentially Max and Isobel's mom was named Roy Bronson. He apparently worked at a farm that experienced a record breaking crop season, when the rest of the farmers in the area didn't have a good season in the summer of 1947. A year later in October 1948, shortly after the article ran the news story, the farm was destroyed in a fire said to have been caused by a bolt of lighting. The rest of the town called it an act of God. As Michael and Alex are walking into the Long farm, Wyatt Long arrives and points a crossbow at them, telling them they're trespassing.

Act 2[]

Michael uses his powers to release Wyatt's horses, and he leaves to chase after them, and Alex and Michael run off.

Kyle attends an open heart surgery to prepare for surgery on Max, and he chats with Steph.

Jenna Cameron visits Jesse Manes and asks about her sister.

At the Crashdown, Isobel helps Arturo with social media. She uses her mind influence powers to learn that he wants forgiveness, and she sees a memory of him confronting Rosa who's high.

At the hospital, Kyle continues to put himself in danger of getting fired by helping Liz break into the dean of surgery's office to steal his keys so they can steal the genome machine she needs for her research. When the dean and his daughter Steph unexpectedly come in, they hide in the closet and Liz kisses him to cover up why they're in there, and Steph sees them.

Act 3[]

In 1948, Nora and Louise are now all healed up and can speak English fluently. Bronson puts on music and he dances with Louise. Walt tells Nora that she seems to look a bit sad, and she confesses that she's missing her son, who has her whole heart and is both smart and brave. She promises to have them meet soon, when it's safe, as she thinks the two would get along quite well.

In the present at the Long farm, Alex and Michael go into a barn rebuilt from the old one. They run into Forrest, who tells them that aliens weren't at the barn in 1947, but Nazi spies were.

At the hospital, Kyle is upset that Liz kissed him in cover. Liz got the keys and leaves to steal her machine.

At Max's house, Rosa shorts out the blender with her powers. Isobel arrives and Rosa throws the blender at her.

Meanwhile, Jenna and Manes continue their conversation about her sister. He tells her that Charlie wanted to go to prison because she was safer there. Charlie was working on a genetic sequencing project that could be used to create a bioweapon that could target a specific genetic code, and potentially cause genocide. Manes admits he previously had an interest in using the weapon, but says his fight is over now.

Act 4[]

At Max's place, Rosa and Isobel clean up with mess from the thrown blender, and they discuss Arturo. Isobel later goes to the Crashdown and uses her powers to share a memory with Arturo, continuing her plan to get him ready for the reveal of Rosa's resurrection.

Jenna asks about the private security outfit that's looking for her sister, and Manes gives her the information.

At the hospital, Liz got what she needed and is happy, but she senses something wrong with Kyle. He confesses he’s always doing something for Liz, including risking his job and medical license. He always puts her first while she always puts Max first. He has feelings for her but she loves him like family. But, no matter what, he’ll help her save Max. After that, he'll need space.

At the Long farm, Forrest brings out beers and tells them about what happened in 1948. He thinks the airforce covered up a massacre that happened when they discovered a Nazi weapon being kept in the barn.

Act 5[]

At the Sheriff's department, Kyle brings birthday dinner to his mom. She won’t let Noah’s death go and has now settled on the theory Max must have poisoned Noah with acetone before he took him to the desert. Plus, Isobel was somehow in on it. Kyle tells her it would take gallons of acetone to poison someone, and he wants her to accept that Noah was struck by lightning and that’s all there is to it. He gives her a birthday present, and they hug.

At Sanders' Auto, Alex joins Michael at a fire pit and Michael is happy for once. He tells Alex that Nora wasn’t working on a bomb; she was working on a ship to get them home. It would have been big enough for three people to use to escape.

In 1948, the two women are discovered by Tripp and the air force, and Bronson is shot by Tripp. He drags Nora away from the barn, and Tripp sets the barn ablaze, despite being told there was someone else (Walt) is still inside. Tripp tells her that their blood is now on her hands.

Alex then comes clean by turning over the piece of Michael’s console he’s been secretly in possession of for months. He confesses he didn’t want to give it back to Michael before because he was afraid Michel would use it to leave. Alex of course, didn’t want him to go. But Alex says that he won't be another Manes that stands in the way of Michael getting home.

Act 6[]

At the hospital, Kyle runs into Steph and tries to explain about kissing Liz in the closet, but she's not interested.

The café’s closed when Isobel’s plan is put into action. Arturo hears someone comes in and finds Rosa standing by the door. Isobel uses her powers to tell Arturo that he may not believe he deserves this miracle, but he needs to believe Rosa does deserve it. Liz arrives, and she confesses she’s known about Rosa’s resurrection but didn’t think Arturo would understand. The Ortecho family shares a group hug as Isobel watches from the sidelines. Liz gets teary eyed when she glances at Isobel, and Isobel leaves the family to their reunion.

Meanwhile, Jenna is leaving town after learning more about her sister's whereabouts from Jesse Manes. She leaves a message for Liz. She stops abruptly when she spots a dead deer in the center of the road. She gets out to take a closer look and almost immediately a bright light appears overhead.

Isobel visits Max’s pod and has a lengthy one-sided discussion about God. She promises if he grants this one little miracle of coming back that she’ll never ask for anything again.

After Isobel leaves, the battery hooked up to Max’s pod malfunctions and the power goes out and the pod goes dark. Inside the pod, Max opens his eyes.

Cast and characters[]

Starring:

Jeanine Mason as Liz Ortecho
Nathan Dean as Max Evans
Michael Vlamis as Michael Guerin
Lily Cowles as Isobel Evans-Bracken
Tyler Blackburn as Alex Manes
Heather Hemmens as Maria DeLuca (credit only)
Michael Trevino as Kyle Valenti
Trevor St. John as Jesse Manes
Amber Midthunder as Rosa Ortecho

Guest-starring:

Riley Voelkel as Jenna Cameron
Carlos Compean as Arturo Ortecho
Rosa Arredondo as Sheriff Michelle Valenti
Kayla Ewell as Nora Truman
Peter Diseth as Graham Green
Dylan McTee as Wyatt Long
Justina Adorno as Steph
Christian Antidormi as Forrest
Cassandra Jean Amell as Louise
Jason Behr as Tripp
Gaius Charles as Roy Bronson
Stephen Michael Quezada as the dean of surgery

Co-starring:

Major Dodge Jr. as Walt

Additional:

Diamond, Wyatt's horse
Silk, Wyatt's horse

Mentioned only:

Charlotte "Charlie" Cameron, Jenna's sister
Hank Gibbons, Graham Green puts up a poster about him
Frederico, Arturo wants to know if the pills Rosa got were from him
Helena Ortecho, Rosa stole the pills from her mother
Coach Wiggins, caught Liz and Kyle making out in the eraser room in junior year of high school

Powers[]

Telekinesis - Isobel locks a door and diverts a thrown blender. Michael opens a lock on a horse trailer.
Mind influence - Isobel gets into Arturo's head to see his memories and influence him to believe in miracles.
Plant growth - Louise and Nora make the corn grow on the Long farm.
Electromagnetic manipulation - Rosa shorts out the blender.
Alex comments that aliens have a "rain" smell, and he picks it up at the barn at the Long farm, suggesting that "something alien happened" there, enough that he could still smell it seventy years later.

Music[]

On April 6, 2020, Chris Mollere, the show's music supervisor tweeted out the list of songs used in this episode^[1]

Song	Performer	Scene^[2]
"Steal My Sunshine"	LEN	Graham enters The Crashdown Cafe making an announcement using a megaphone, whilst accompanied by a group of marching girls. Liz joins Isobel in her booth and starts a conversation.
"In the Meantime"	Spacehog	TBD
"Take It Easy"	Duke Ellington	In the past, Louise agrees to dance with Roy; Nora dances with young Walt.
"Como Te Deseo"	Maná	Rosa shorts out the blender; Isobel enters the house.
"Don't Look Back In Anger"	OASIS	Isobel pays Arturo for food and passes on a memory to him.
"Waiting on an Angel"	Ben Harper	Arturo finds out Rosa came back and happily reunites with her

Trivia[]

The episode is named after lyrics that were taken from the song "One of Us" performed by Joan Osborne and released in 1995.
On September 11, 2019, showrunner Carina Adly MacKenzie revealed that the title for the fourth episode is What If God Was One of Us.^[3]
- Production code is: T48.10204.
On June 4, 2019, Shiri Appleby revealed that she would be directing the fourth episode of the season.^[4]
Tripp’s name is revealed to be Eugene Manes III, and is Alex’s great uncle.
Despite not appearing in the episode, Heather Hemmens still was on set based on BTS images she appeared in alongside Shiri.
A new episode of Whose Line Is It Anyway? guest-starring Jeanine Mason aired an hour before this episode.^[5]
In an exchange between Steph and Kyle, Steph teases his situation, saying, "Did I just wake up in a YA novel?" to which Kyle replies, "Oh trust me, with our history you could fill a whole series."
- This is an easter egg reference to the original Roswell High book series, from which the show is adapted.

Quotes[]

Liz: "Wait, I thought only Michael could move things."

Isobel: "I'm diversifying my portfolio."

—

Alex: "I can't believe this sentence is about to leave my mouth, but do you think Mimi DeLuca could have been--"

Michael: "Please don't say abducted."

—

Michael: "Think he realizes he can't possibly shoot both of us with that thing?"

Alex: "I don't think logic is the best defense against a buzzed redneck."

—

Steph: "You're watching heart surgeries to try to impress a girl whose boyfriend is dying? Did I just wake up in a YA novel?"

Kyle: "Oh trust me, with our history you could fill a whole series."

—

Kyle (to Liz): "The truth is I like being your rock. And if I’m being honest, I like being whatever you want me to be, whenever you want me to be it. I always have. But as long as I’m your rock, I’m standing still. We can’t do that anymore."

—

Isobel (to Max): "The idea of God always freaked me out. Like apparently, he made people in his own image, which first of all, get over yourself. And also… Does that apply to us? Does every planet have its own God? Let’s say that we’re all clones of the big guy in the sky. Well, then doesn’t it stand to reason that we’re all capable of slinging light? Well, I guess by that same token, we’re all capable of tremendous wrath. We’re walking contradictions. A never-ending, mercurial rise and fall. Darkness and light. I guess the real miracle is choosing the light. Despite the ever-present darkness. Look at us, you’re in the middle of a downright biblical desert galaxies from where we started. I mean our every existence is a miracle. I’m capable of so much more than I thought I was, Max. I really think that maybe I could do… Great things. I need you to come back, okay? I need you to be the thing that I can believe in. That doesn't let me down. I just need this one little miracle and I promise… I won’t ever ask for anything… Ever again."

—