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This page is for the 2019 TV series pilot episode. For the 1999 TV series pilot, see Pilot.

Pilot is the premiere episode of the re-imagined series Roswell, New Mexico on The CW which aired on January 15, 2019.

Synopsis[]

Official synopsis:

RETURN TO ROSWELL — When Liz Ortecho reluctantly returns to her tourist-trap hometown of Roswell, New Mexico, she reconnects with Max Evans, her teenage crush, who is now a Roswell police officer. But Liz soon discovers a shocking truth: Max is an alien who has kept his unearthly abilities hidden his entire life, along with those of his otherworldly sister, Isobel, and their friend Michael. Elsewhere, Master Sergeant Jesse Manes spearheads a long-standing government conspiracy — unbeknownst to his son, Alex Manes, who has recently returned from service overseas with emotional and physical injuries. The politics of fear and hatred that run rampant in Roswell threaten to expose Max and his family and could endanger his deepening romance with Liz…as well as their lives.

Plot[]

Act 1: Liz Ortecho returns to her hometown of Roswell, and Sheriff Deputy Max Evans stops her at a checkpoint, which is the first time they've seen each other in ten years. Liz goes on to the Crashdown Cafe to see her father Arturo Ortecho, and she works until closing. Max visits after closing, and as they're talking, gunshots come through the window and one hits Liz. Max heals her and breaks a ketchup bottle to cover it up. Coughing, he runs out in pursuit of the gunman as Liz recovers.

Act 2: As Max pursues the unseen shooter, he becomes sick and collapses. He mentally calls to his sister Isobel Evans-Bracken, and she leaves her husband Noah Bracken to run out to help Max. At the diner, Liz tells Sheriff Valeni that she's fine, but after finding a bruise on her chest, she goes to the hospital to see Kyle Valenti for some tests. The next day, Max visits Michael Guerin who's in the drunk tank when Isobel returns to question him. Max, Michael, and Isobel argue about Max risking them all to save Liz.

Act 3: Michael drives home to Foster Homestead Ranch, and Alex Manes is there with the air force as they're acquiring the land. Liz visits the roadside memorial for her deceased older sister Rosa Ortecho. She brings Max a milkshake and asks about the shooting, but Michael interrupts them by blowing out the windows of a nearby car. Max runs to help, and Liz takes the straw Max used from the milkshake. Max gets home that night and tells Isobel that he's thinking of telling Liz the truth. At the Wild Pony, Liz visits Maria DeLuca and tells her about the shooting. Liz runs into Kyle outside, and they start hooking up in a car, but stop when Kyle notices a mark on her chest. Liz checks in a truck mirror to see an iridescent handprint where she was shot.

Act 4: The next day, Liz checks Max's cells under a microscope. She runs into Max outside the Crashdown Cafe and shows him the handprint and asks for answers. Max takes Liz out to the desert to show her three pods hidden in a turquoise mine, and he tells her that this is where he, Isobel, and Michael came from. Liz promises to keep his secret. At the hospital, Master Sergeant Jesse Manes visits Kyle, who called him in to tell him about the handprint he saw. Manes takes Kyle to an air force base and shows him Project Shepherd.

Act 5: At the high school reunion, Michael and Isobel talk about Liz, and Isobel might need to force Liz to leave town. At the turquoise mine, Max shows Liz some of his memories and she realizes he's in love with her. She leans in to kiss him, but he pulls away, since their psychic connection echoes Max's feelings to her, so they don't know if her feelings for him are her own.

Act 6: At Project Shepherd, Manes tells Kyle about the existence of aliens, that they cause the handprints, and they're killers. At the reunion, Alex asks Michael about if he's up to anything illegal in his Airstream; later, when Alex is checking his prosthetic leg away from the crowd, Michael finds him and they kiss. Liz and Max arrive, and Liz nearly leaves as people mutter about her, but Maria gets the band to play Liz's favorite song so Liz goes to dance. Max tells Isobel that he told Liz about them and she wasn't scared, but they reaffirm that she can't know everything. Max joins Liz on the dance floor.

Cast and characters[]

Starring:

Guest-starring:

Co-starring:

  • Matthew Van Wettering as Hank
  • Luce Rains as Rancher
  • Gregory Nye as Commander Andy Manes
  • Phil Duran as Officer Gary Valenti
  • Chelsea Edmundson as Lindsay
  • Teresa Longo as Female Driver
  • Gianna Gallegos as Young Liz
  • Mike Salazar as Young Max
  • Jade Wise as Medium Liz
  • Sean Dennis as Medium Max
  • Alayna as Medium Isobel
  • Melissa Kramer as Flirting Woman

Additional characters:

  • Carl (mentioned), an employee at the Crashdown Cafe, his wife recently had a baby
  • Unseen shooter

Powers[]

Powers shown in this episode:

  • Healing: Max is able to heal others.
  • Electromagnetic manipulation: Max has an electromagnetic outburst that blows out nearby lights and electronics.
  • Empathic bond: Max can create a temporary "psychic bond" with others, which echoes his feelings.
  • Memory sharing: Max is able to share his memories with others through his psychic bond.
  • Telepathic communication: Max and Isobel can communicate telepathically with each other.
  • Telekinesis: Michael is able to move objects with his mind.

Side effects of power use:

  • Handprint: After Max uses his healing powers, a handprint appears on the person he healed.
  • Max collapses and throws up from overexertion.

Music[]

Song Performer Act Scene[1][2]
Coolin' Out (feat. Lucius) Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats 1 Grant records his podcast about alien conspiracy theories at the Crashdown, and Liz arrives.
I'll Be Edwin McCain 1 Liz looks on the wall at the picture of Rosa; she tells her father about the ICE checkpoint and suggests he move to a sanctuary city.
Mrs. Potters Lullaby Counting Crows 1 Liz puts plays this song on the jukebox and dances; Max arrives, and Liz makes him a milkshake and they talk.
Je Ne Sais Quoi (feat. Daisy Dash) The Hot Damns 2 Isobel leaves Noah tied up in the bedroom to go help Max.
Evil Shovels & Rope 2 Michael's introduction, locked up in the drunk tank. He levitates keys, which Max grabs.
Don't Worry About Me Frances 2 Liz visits Rosa's memorial and finds it vandalized; she remembers Rosa teasing her about Max.
You Worry Me Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats 3 At the Wild Pony bar, Maria reads Hank's palm when Liz arrives; Liz thanks Maria for what she left at Rosa's grave then they toast shots to Rosa.
BFG Blues Punks & Snakes 3 Liz and Maria continue drinking as they talk about Max.
As the Crow Flies Tony Joe White 3 Liz and Kyle make out in the Wild Pony parking lot.
Ancient Names, Pt. I Lord Huron 5 At the reunion, Michael tells Isobel to be ready to get into Liz's head and make her leave town, just like she did ten years earlier.
Carry You Novo Amor 5 Max connects with Liz and shows her the first time they met.
Sedona Houndmouth 6 Michael and Alex talk at the reunion.
Mrs. Potter’s Lullaby Houndmouth 6 Maria tells the band to start playing this to keep Liz at the reunion; she and Liz begin to dance.
When the Truth Hunts You Down Sam Tinnesz 6 Max watches Liz dance and remembers seeing her and Kyle dance at the Crashdown; Michael and Alex kiss; Jesse tells Kyle that the aliens are dangerous; Max tells Isobel that Liz can never find out what really happened to Rosa.

Trivia[]

  • This is the only episode not named after a song or song lyrics. Showrunner Carina Adly MacKenzie said that if she named it, it would have been named "Crash Into Me" after a song by Dave Matthews Band, released in 1996.[3][4] The season 2 penultimate episode was later given the title Crash Into Me.
  • Liz tells Kyle that she doesn't dance in Roswell anymore. Jeanine Mason, who plays Liz, won season 5 of So You Think You Can Dance.
  • According to showrunner MacKenzie: "standards & practices wouldn't let me reference edging in the pilot so we decided to call it "hoverboarding" instead. Turns out hoverboarding is WAY DIRTIER THAN EDGING."[5]

Quotes[]

Max: "So where ya been?"
Liz: "Denver, working on an experimental regenerative medicine study. We were onto something special, but of course we lost funding because someone needs money for a wall."
Max: "Sober up a little bit. I'll get you released the right way."
Michael: "But I was looking forward to the self-righteous lecture. "Why you gotta cause a scene, Michael? Why don't you drive the speed limit, Michael? Why don't you spend your nights like I do, crying and masturbating to Russian moralistic literature, Michael?""
Isobel (to Max): "Twenty years of keeping this secret and now you up and resurrect someone?!"
Maria: "I still can't believe you and Max almost got murdered together. It's so... romantic."
Liz: "Max, I thought..."
Max: "No, the handprint is a psychic bond between us. That's how I can show you my memories. Right now, what you're feeling is... an echo of what I feel for you. It'll wear off, just like the handprint will. So... I can't."
Liz: "When will the handprint fade?"
Max: "Couple of days, maybe a week."
Liz: "Fine. I'll kiss you then."
Michael: "Nostalgia's a bitch, huh?"
Alex: "I thought for sure when I got back from Iraq you would be long gone."
Michael: "Is that what you want?"
Alex: "We're not kids anymore. What I want doesn't matter."

Gallery[]

Promotional stills[]

Other images[]

Navigation[]

External links[]

  • IMDb Pilot on the Internet Movie Database

References[]

  1. TuneFind.com: S1 · E1 · Pilot.
  2. What-Song.com: Episode 1 -Pilot
  3. Tweet from Carina Adly MacKenzie. In response to the question, "Which episode title would your #RoswellNM pilot have? (If not The Pilot)," MacKenzie responded, "Crash Into Me." September 25, 2018.
  4. Tweet from Carina Adly MacKenzie. In response to the question, "Hey @cadlymack, if you had to pick a 90s song as an episode title for the pilot, which one would it be? #RoswellNM #playlisting," MacKenzie responded, "I mean... Crash Into Me. February 22, 2018.
  5. Tweet from MacKenzie on January 14, 2019.
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