Say It Ain't So is the eighth episode of season 2 of Roswell, New Mexico and the twenty-first episode of the series overall. It aired on May 4, 2020.
Synopsis[]
Official synopsis for Say It Ain't So from The CW:
- JAMIE CLAYTON GUEST STARS - Despite promising Liz (Jeanine Mason) that he'll take things easy with his new heart, Max (Nathan Dean) sets out to find Cameron after learning that she's gone missing. Michael (Michael Vlamis) grows concerned about Maria (Heather Hemmens) after a surprising discovery about her family history leaves her vulnerable. Elsewhere, ready to move on, Alex (Tyler Blackburn) goes on a date with Forrest (guest star Christian Antidormi), and Rosa (Amber Midthunder) makes a decision about her future. Rachel Raimist directed the episode written by Eva McKenna & Christopher Hollier (#208). Original airdate 5/4/2020.
Plot summary[]
Act I[]
In Rosa's bedroom, Liz and Isobel are giving Rosa a makeover so that she can go out in public without being recognized, which means that she needs to wear a style that Rosa would never be caught dead wearing. Rosa recites the cover story that has been concocted: that she is "cousin Rosalinda from Arizona", whose mom married a minor league baseball player. But as Rosa is reciting how after this “step dad” of hers got relocated to a new team in Florida, Liz stops her. She decides that having Rosa say her parents are dead is much simpler instead. On the bed lay a bunch more clothing options that Rosa can pick on, and she tells Isobel and Liz how it makes her feel like she’s putting on a costume for the rest of her life. Isobel suggests to Rosa to not think of them as clothes, but rather as possibilities. Thus she should dress for the life she wants. Liz adds that Rosa can also think of this as a clean slate for her. She finally settles on an outfit, which Isobel says is "surprisingly conservative". Once the outfit is settled, Isobel takes out the curling iron to also change Rosa’s hairstyle.
In her new style, Rosa goes to her old hangout at the art cave in the turquoise mines. She tries to be friendly with a bunch of obnoxious teens who are spray-painting art on the cave walls. They insult her, saying Rosa "doesn’t talk like an illegal, but sure looks like one." The racist teens leave the cave, Rosa sticks around and once she’s sitting down, she takes out the bottle of pills she stole from her mom and takes a few of them out. She puts them in her mouth, but second guesses herself, and spits them out instead. She throws the bottle of pills on the ground and sighs.
At the Wild Pony bar, Max is behind the bar serving a sangria to Lindsay, who asks him if the alcoholic drink comes with a frisk. Maria interrupts her, telling the other woman to find herself a friend and come up with goals. Once Lindsay leaves, Max tells Maria that it looks like Sangria Saturday was a hit. Maria apologizes to Max for essentially throwing him to the wolves on his first day at his new job. Max for his part tells her that he appreciates the work, since debt collectors don’t care if he was half dead in a glowing pod for a few months. Before he says anything else, Maria assures him that she understands he’s only working at the bar temporarily.
Back at the art cave, Rosa is stomping on the pill bottle when another young woman arrives. The woman, Iris, playfully says that the shoes Rosa is wearing are not the right ones for "whatever dance move" she’s inventing. Rosa jokes, saying it’s not a dance move but rather a summoning ritual, which she uses to steal souls. Iris mentions that she is from Santa Fe, but came around to the cave, because she used to hang here when she was a kid. She remembers the aforementioned cave being the go-to hangout for all the artsy weirdos. Before taking off, she hands Rosa an invitation to an art show titled: CALL ME iCARUS. Rosa puts the invitation near fire, and it reveals the address to where said art show is taking place.
After finishing his first day as a bartender, Max meets up with Liz at the gang’s secret lab. He asks why she hasn’t packed everything up, and instead has caught her trying to work on a way to speed up healing his heart. He compliments her intellect and passion and reminds her to start working on her grant applications. He tries to move for a kiss, but gets interrupted when he gets a text. He explains that he had Cameron’s car moved to the junkyard instead of the police impound so that he can take a look. Liz decides to accompany him, and when Max protests, she reminds him that he turned in his badge rather than sit behind a desk and not be able to investigate Jenna’s disappearance, jokingly calling him "bar wench" before walking out of the secret lab to go to the junkyard.
At Sanders' Auto, Michael has the car ready for Liz and Max, sarcastically saying he would never interfere in a police investigation. Max has an explanation ready that paperwork mishaps happen all the time. Sanders drives by and yells to Michael that he isn’t paid to socialize, to which Michael retorts that he barely pays him at all. Sanders ignores that comment, and instead tells Michael to wrap up the sewing circle and get back to work. Max questions if Sanders should be driving since he can barely see, and even introduced himself to Max the other day even though Max has been coming to the junkyard since he was 14. Once Sanders is gone, Michael tells them that they have one hour to "Nancy Drew Cameron’s car" before he lets Deputy Bob know it’s ready. With that, he takes off to see Maria at the Wild Pony since Sanders is going to be gone all day.
At the Wild Pony bar, Michael meets up with Maria who tells him about her necklace, which her mother Mimi said protects her family from evil. She tells Michael that she put the necklace on her mother a few weeks ago after she was found. But when Maria went to go see her that morning, her mother insisted that she should take it back, telling Maria that it was too late for her and that Maria needed it more. Upon taking a closer look, Michael recognizes the flower inside the necklace as being the one with pollen that has a paralytic effect on alien abilities. Maria then tests her intuitive abilities by having Michael pick cards and she correctly guesses them. She believes the necklace is her kryptonite; when she’s not wearing it, her intuition is through the roof. She mentions how last year, when Noah Bracken invaded her mind, she was vulnerable because she was without her necklace. Michael reminds her how Kyle ran tests and she’s not an alien. Michael also disagrees with calling the necklace Maria’s kryptonite. Rather, he thinks it’s more like preventative medicine that will stop her from getting ill like her mother. He finishes by telling Maria to keep the necklace on.
At the junkyard, Liz and Max go through Jenna’s car and Max mentions how there’s no sign of a struggle or damage to the car. Liz finds Jenna’s phone, but it's dead, so she goes in search of a charger. Their examination is interrupted when an FBI agent arrives and accuses Max of tampering with a federal investigation. She demands they turn over the car and any evidence they found. Max pretends to play along, but suddenly disarming her, telling her how the car she’s driving is a rental and her firearm is not government issued, so she isn't FBI. He pulls up her sleeve, revealing her tattoo, which Jenna has the other half of. He recognizes her as Charlie, the sister Jenna has been looking for.
Act II[]
Still at Sanders' Auto, Liz says that the last time she talked with Jenna, she told her that she had been looking for Charlie for months. Charlie explains that she didn’t want to be found. But once she heard Jenna was missing, she had to look for her. Charlie believes Jenna’s missing because dangerous people want information on a controversial project Charlie was working on, and whoever took Jenna did so to get Charlie to talk. Jenna's phone charges enough to check, and her last text was to Alex Manes asking where to find his father. Jesse Manes is on the list of people after Charlie. Max suggests they talk to him.
Meanwhile, Alex and Forrest meet up for their date at the Alien Gulch Paintball Park. They joke, with Alex referencing Knotting Hill. Forrest asks if paintball would bring up any bad memories from his time in the military and Alex says he’s fine, as his PTSD triggers are "a little more complicated". Forrest reveals that he also served but confesses that he "wouldn't go bragging about it to a guy with a Purple Heart." He further reveals that he may have Googled Alex. They make a wager that the loser buys the winner a drink at the Wild Pony later.
At the Wild Pony, Maria is testing her intuitive abilities with dice when Isobel takes a seat opposite her. Maria realizes Isobel’s there because Michael wants her to convince Maria to wear the necklace. Maria says the abilities are a part of her and she wants to learn about who she is. Maria asks Isobel to help her train to use her abilities, but Isobel reminds her Kyle said if she kept it up it would eat at her brain. Maria promises to stop before it goes too far since she knows the signs. She tries to further entice Isobel to help her by asking her if there’s nothing she wants to know about her future. Isobel is pensive for a moment, then asks instead about her past.
At the Crashdown Café, Jesse Manes arrives and, unexpectedly, Max greets him. Jesse thought he was meeting with Charlie, but Max was sent instead, and he offers to buy him a burger. Jesse admits he doesn’t come to this place anymore because of the clientele. Max picks up on the racist dog whistle and responds, “Well if only someone would make America great again.” Max gets to the point and wants to know what happened to Jenna. Jesse claims all he knows is that Jenna wanted to know who was after Charlie and he told her it's black ops group paramilitary group based out of Los Alamos called Deep Sky. Jesse says he warned Jenna that these weren’t people she should be messing with. But it looks like she didn't listen, and now may have paid the price.
Meanwhile, Charlie and Liz wait outside the Crashdown in a car. Charlie admits the device she built was dangerous although that wasn’t her intention. Liz suggests that Charlie's start over under a new identity, but Charlie can't go back to being ordinary.
In the Crashdown, Max confronts Jesse about the people who died at Caulfield. Jesse claims he knows he's a failure, and all the strength and the fight has gone out of him since his stroke. Before leaving, he offers to shake Max's hand, which Max accepts, and Jesse says he hopes Max finds Jenna.
Act III[]
In the Crashdown, Liz and Charlie have joined Max and he fills them in on what he learned from Jesse. Charlie says she’ll ask her military contacts about the group Deep Sky. Max starts to reach out to his contacts, and reassures Liz that he'll take it easy to let his heart heal.
At the paintball park, the paintball war is underway when Forrest shoots Alex in his good leg and Alex falls down. It seems to be painful and he immediately rubs his good leg. Forrest rushes over and it’s then he learns that Alex lost a leg while he served. Alex explains he doesn’t usually tell people right away about it and Forrest replies, “For future reference you totally should. Heroes are sexy.” Forrest follows that by leaning in for a kiss. Alex backs away, and is then interrupted when his phone rings. He tells Forrest that he better take it, and has received a text from Roswell Community Medical.
Liz returns to the secret lab and Michael’s frantically going through drawers. He needs to find the yellow pollen that Liz used on Noah, but Liz hasn't seen it in months. She thinks it might have been thrown out because it was too oxidized to be of any use, and she hasn't been able to get any fresh flowers, suspecting it might be extinct. She asks why he's freaking out. Michael explains that Maria has one flower in her necklace, but he needs one more for her mom since it’s the only thing that will prevent the illness that runs in the DeLuca family. Michael has a folder of information on Caulfield experiments, but he’s reluctant to hand it over to Liz, but he needs her to do her research to see if she can help Maria and Maria's mother. Liz acknowledges that if she could keep doing alien experiments, she might be able to stop humans from getting sick. But if she did that it would expose Michael, Max, and Isobel as aliens. So, she absolutely can’t do that and she swears she won’t ever do it. Liz receives a text from her dad saying Rosa is late for her shift. As she walks away, Michael still looks doubtful.
Meanwhile, Rosa arrives at the art gallery Iris invited her to. She tries to leave, but runs into Iris. Rosa explains that she hates her outfit and doesn’t fit in at the party. Iris agrees that the outfit Rosa is wearing isn’t very “her”; she gives her a super-quick makeover, and Rosa seems much happier.
In Michael's Airstream, Isobel shows Maria a copy of the newspaper article from 1948 with a picture of Michael's mother. Maria initially can't seem to get her visions to work, but after Isobel talks about "letting go" to get it to work, Maria seems to see something. Isobel takes Maria's hand steps inside Maria’s mind to see the vision with her.
In the vision, they see Louise years ago at the farm. She seems happy as she hangs laundry out to dry. Walt gives her a little windmill that he made, and she asks if he’s seen Miss Nora.
They come back from the vision. Isobel leaves, and Maria’s nose starts bleeding.
Act IV[]
At the art gallery, Iris tells Rosa how she used to be from Roswell, but she got out and went to art school after she graduated from high school. She mentions how she works for an artist now and helps her run the woman’s gallery. Iris continues talking and mentions how she used to think she wanted to be a painter, but realized she loved curating art more than making it. Iris believes Rosa is an artist and places a blank canvas on an easel, daring her to show off her talent.
Out on the road that night, Charlie’s driving out of town when Max drives in front of her and cuts her off. They pull over and Max demands to know where she’s going. He’s right when he assumes that she's turning herself over to Deep Sky to save Jenna. She reveals that Deep Sky made contact and instructed her to go to Sutter’s Grain Depot by 11pm or else they’d torture Jenna to death. When she warns Max it’s not his fight and to go home as she turns to walk back to her car, he shoots out her tire to stop her. He doesn’t think they’re holding Jenna at the grain depot and wants to know what she heard in the background during the phone call. She recalls a train going by and a demonic laugh. Max knows exactly where they’re holding Jenna, and they both get in his car.
At the hospital, Alex visits his father who's been admitted for mixing whiskey with his medications. Alex says that's not like him. Jesse asks his son what the hell he is even doing here, and Alex says that Jesse is his father and he "can’t seem to shake" him. Jesse admits to failing and letting down Uncle Tripp because he never figured out what Tripp needed from him. He continues by revealing how he went down to the bunker earlier that day to try and break the code but couldn’t. Jesse gets angry and uses his cane to hit the wall in his room when Alex badmouths Tripp. Jesse reiterates how Tripp was the best man he knew. He stands up, and almost falls but Alex catches his arm. Jesse walks out of the room.
Charlie and Max arrive at the spot where Max is sure Jenna’s being held. With their weapons out, they search the area unaware someone’s got them in their crosshairs. Flood lights turn on and a sniper shoots Charlie in the leg. They take cover but Charlie can’t stand and the lights make them easy targets, so they're pinned.
Act V[]
Max asks for her hat and pulls his hood up over his head. He emerges from their hiding spot and makes it behind another trailer while being shot at. After pausing for a moment, he opens the trailer and a metal box that’s inside it. Jenna’s curled up in the box, unconscious. Max fires a few shots and hits the sniper as he runs to the lightbox. He places his hand on it and the flashlights blow up. It appears as though the action alone took a lot out of him but he’s still able to grab Jenna and bring her back to Charlie. He doesn’t know how injured the sniper is, but he’s no longer shooting at them. Max leans against the trailer, clearly struggling with the exertion.
At the hospital later, Jenna finally comes to with Max at her bedside. She asks how long she was gone, Max tells her Taylor Swift is president. Jenna jokes back saying how that’s a good thing since they’ll have a less emotional person in the Oval Office. More seriously, Jenna doesn’t know for sure what happened. The last thing she remembers was a weird sound and a bright light, and a pain in the back of her neck. Max takes a look and it looks like a burn. She becomes emotional when she can’t remember anything, and she thinks she needs a tox screen and a rape kit. He holds her hand to comfort her. He lets her know he’s there for her as well as Liz and Charlie.
At the Wild Pony, Michael shows up and asks Maria about her dodging his eight calls. Although he’s worried about Maria, he tells her he knows she can handle herself. He just doesn’t want anything bad to happen to her and Maria promises she won’t leave him alone. The two of them kiss.
At the art exhibition, Rosa finishes her work and Iris feels completely vindicated that Rosa is an artist. Rosa is shocked when Iris calls her Rosa instead of Rosalinda. They start dancing but things get weird really fast. The gallery becomes smoky and Rosa begins choking.
It turns out Rosa is still back in the cave, laying unconscious on the floor. Liz runs in calling her name as a fire burns just feet away from her. Next to her body is an open pill container, fully intact. Liz urgently attempts to rouse her sister, but Rosa doesn’t react.
Act VI[]
At the hospital, Max walks into Charlie’s hospital room, but Charlie is gone; leaving behind only some blood-stained bandages and a note for Jenna.
In another hospital room, Rosa’s been admitted and Liz promises her they’ll figure this out. Rosa doesn’t know how to fix things and confesses she wants to go to rehab. She wants to do better but doesn’t know if she can. She cries since today she started a fire while she was unconscious. Liz places Maria’s necklace around her sister’s neck, explaining the necklace has the power to suppress alien abilities so that she won't burn down rehab. Liz assures her sister she will get better and that Maria said Rosa could borrow it.
At the Wild Pony, Alex and Forrest meet for drinks after their day of paintball. Alex explains that he didn’t kiss Forrest because he still hears his father’s voice telling him being seen in public with a man is an embarrassment. Alex also thinks Roswell is so conservative that it’s difficult. He asks Forrest if he wants to go somewhere private. Forrest understands but says that while he likes Alex, he doesn’t "want to climb into somebody else’s closet." Alex admits to wanting so bad to be out of the closet but he’s not there yet. Forrest tells him to give him a call when he’s ready. As he leaves, he mentions how making out with a hot guy in public is hotter when it pisses off all the bigots and homophobes.
At the hospital, Jenna reads the note and learns Charlie is going to disappear again and that her sister doesn’t want Jenna to search for her like last time. Max suggests that Deep Sky could’ve grabbed her and that note isn’t from Charlie, but Jenna is sure Charlie wrote it because it’s exactly what she would say in this kind of situation.
Max and Liz meet up in the hospital hallway and Liz says Rosa’s heading to a rehab a few hours away. He apologizes for going after Jenna and Charlie without telling her, and she accepts even though she’s really worried about his heart. When he asks if she wants to go home with him, she says she needs a chance to cry alone before opening the diner for her dad in the morning.
At Sanders' Auto, Isobel visits Michael to apologize for her role in encouraging Maria to explore her abilities. He’s okay with that because he and Maria talked it out. Isobel becomes super excited as she describes the vision they shared of a woman she thinks was her mother. When she says a boy gave her mom a windmill, Michael becomes agitated. He hurries over to a shelf and grabs a small windmill, and Isobel confirms it’s the one she saw in the vision. Sanders returns and Michael confronts him with the windmill. “It was you! You’re Walt. You’re the little boy in the photo,” says Michael. “You knew my mother.” Sanders nods his head yes.
Back at the lab, Liz starts to pack up her equipment but stops. She instead plugs her equipment back in, puts on her lab coat, and begins going through Michael’s file on the Caulfield research.
In a motel parking lot, Max drives in as Charlie is packing her things into her car to leave town. He wants her to stay with Jenna, but she thinks she can only protect her sister is by joining Deep Sky. As they’re talking, various car alarms start going off, a blinding white light envelops them, and they both cringe in pain.
Cast and characters[]
Starring:
Guest-starring:
- Jamie Clayton as Charlie Cameron
- Riley Voelkel as Jenna Cameron
- Christian Antidormi as Forrest
- Cassandra Jean Amell as Louise
- Nicholas Ballas as Walt Sanders
- Madison McLaughlin as Iris
Co-starring:
- Chelsea Edmundson as Lindsay
- Major Dodge Jr. as young Walt Sanders
- Rebekah Patton as Holly
Additional:
- Arturo Ortecho, texts Liz
- Kayla Ewell as Nora Truman (reused footage for flashback)
Mentioned:
- Millie, her parents are out of town, and the teens in the art cave leave to go to her place
- Noah Bracken
- Patty DeLuca
- Tripp Manes
Powers[]
- Clairvoyance / Psychic abilities - Maria exercises her new powers: she can correctly guess cards that Michael draws, and she has a vision into the past.
- Electromagnetic manipulation - Max blows out the flood lights to stop the sniper from targeting him and Charlie so they can rescue Jenna. Rosa blows out lamps while unconscious from a drug overdose.
- Telekinesis - Michael pops the cap off a beer bottle when Isobel comes to talk.
Music[]
- On May 5, 2020, Chris Mollere, the show's music supervisor tweeted out the list of songs used in this episode:[1][2]
| Song | Performer | Scene |
|---|---|---|
| "Celebrity Skin" | Hole | Liz and Isobel give Rosa a makeover/disguise. Rosa steps into the art cave. |
| "Die Alone" | Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real | Lindsay flirts with Max a the Wild Pony, and Maria interrupts. |
| "Worry No More" | Shelly Fairchild | Isobel talks to Maria at the Wild Pony about using her powers. |
| "Some Things Last Forever" | Marc Danzeisen | Max and Jesse talk at the Crashdown. |
| "Sign Of The Times" | Joey Sykes | Alex and Forrest play paintball. |
| "Like That Look" | I AM ORFA | Rosa walks into the art exhibition, and Iris helps her fix her outfit. |
| "Set Us Free" | Danny Ayer | Rosa and Iris walk through the art gallery. |
| "Trouble" | Hamish Anderson | Michael apologizes to Maria at the Wild Pony. |
| "How Bizarre" | OMC | Rosa and Iris dance. |
| "Movin' On" | Muscadine Bloodline | Alex and Forrest meet at the Wild Pony. |
| "Hide" | Little May | Max and Liz meet at the hospital. Isobel brings drinks to talk with Michael. Liz starts packing up the lab. Max catches Charlies in a motel parking lot. |
Trivia[]
- On October 30, 2019, Carina revealed that the eighth episode is titled: Say It Ain’t So.[3]
- Production code is: T48.10208.
- The episode is named after the song Say It Ain't So by the American rock band Weezer, which was released in 1995.
Quotes[]
Gallery[]
Promotional Images[]
BTS Images[]
Videos[]
[]
External links[]
Say It Ain't So on the Internet Movie Database
References[]
- ↑ Tweet from Chris MollereRoswell, New Mexico - 208 - Songs In Episode Part I. May 5, 2020.
- ↑ Tweet from Chris MollereRoswell, New Mexico - 208 - Songs In Episode Part II. May 5, 2020.
- ↑ Carina Adly MacKenzie Oct. 30, 2019 post (@cadlymack) - Instagram