‘Roswell, New Mexico’ Season 4 Episode 12 Recap: “Two Sparrows in a Hurricane”

By
Rebecca Murray
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Roswell New Mexico Season 4 Episode 12 Recap
Jeanine Mason as Liz Ortecho in ‘Roswell, New Mexico’ season 4 episode 12 (Photo: John Golden Britt © 2022 The CW Network, LLC)

The CW’s Roswell, New Mexico season four episode 12 is both the season and the series’ penultimate episode. Episode 11 ended with Clyde offering Shivani help bringing back her daughter, and episode 12 reveals she took him up on the offer.

Liz (Jeanine Mason), who’s still struggling with her addiction to the mist, concocts a new version of the mist that will return Max’s powers in just an hour. Max (Nathan Dean) explains he and Isobel discovered Shivani packed up her lab (including the pods) but left behind remnants of a formula on a board. Liz doesn’t recognize it and Max thinks it came from Clyde. Liz believes this mysterious formula might be used to remove Clyde’s brand. They realize Clyde’s got his powers back since the lab was full of mist.

Max knows Clyde won’t hop through the portal without the blue flame. Still, Max is nervous about taking the mist because he might hurt Liz since he hasn’t learned to harness his new, improved powers.

We’re only a few minutes into the episode when our favorite “will they or won’t they” couple decide to shut up and kiss. Unfortunately, Max picks the instant before their lips meet to announce he’s ready to be “less Hulk and more Captain America.”

In the upside-down world, Dallas (Quentin Plair) is in the middle of officiating Michael (Michael Vlamis) and Alex’s wedding when Michael calls it off. He refuses to get married right now and wants to do it the right way – at home with their friends. They remind him they can’t get home since the fruit was destroyed, and Alex (Tyler Blackburn) begs Michael not to let him die without getting married.

“My vow is to not let you die, period,” says a very determined Michael.

Michael thinks there might be something they can do with what remains of the Oasis tree. He takes off, leaving Alex alone at the makeshift altar.

Back to the Scooby gang in the real Roswell, Rosa (Amber Midthunder) arrives in the lab and is shocked to see Liz made more mist. Liz promises she did so without a hitch and that Kyle’s on the case, helping her out and making sure she doesn’t relapse.

To be safe, Rosa locks up the extra mist.

Max is justifiably leery of allowing Tezca to teach him how to use the blue flame, but Isobel (Lily Cowles) is able to convince him Tezca’s a great teacher. Plus, she’s on their side now.

Tezca tells Max the blue flame has two purposes: destruction and creation. His fear will lead to the flame destroying things while channeling his strength leads to creation. She suggests he think about Liz and then try to harness the flame. Max doesn’t realize he’s in a mindscape and sees Clyde holding a sword to Liz’s neck. He loses control of the flame and is pissed Tezca tricked him.

Tezca and Isobel won’t back down. This is the only way Max will be able to learn to harness his power.

Max continues practicing, with Tezca advising him to acknowledge his fear and then let it go.

Maria (Heather Hemmens) asks for help from Kyle, Liz, Rosa, and Sonya at Deep Sky after discovering Shivani and Clyde are hot on her tail. Clyde needs the console that Maria has, just waiting for the moment when Michael – or anyone from the upside-down – communicates that he needs it. So far, Maria hasn’t reached them and Sonya suggests Deep Sky has methods to induce deep meditation that might help.

Liz is trying to figure out Shivani’s new formula and admits to herself she’s feeling like all the science has fallen out of her head. Rosa and Kyle are worried, but Liz insists she can work through this. She points to a line in the formula and wonders why Bonnie’s DNA is part of Shivani’s formula. Liz and Kyle work through the problem and figure out Clyde is after Bonnie right now in order to get home.

Meanwhile, Michael, Bonnie, and Dallas dig around the tree after Michael suggests there might be fuel in the roots. Alex watches from the car, conserving his strength, and asks, “When did you become a plant daddy?” Michael claims his knowledge comes from growing prize-winning sunflowers.

The thunderstorm continues and it’s freaking Bonnie out.

Michael retrieves what he needs to make fuel just as Clyde pops in out of nowhere and sends the guys flying.

Liz, Kyle, Isobel, and Max drive out to the portal, and since Maria still hasn’t made contact with Michael, Isobel volunteers to step through to warn the upside-downers. Kyle doesn’t want Isobel to go alone, and Max says he’s going with his sister. Liz is against Max going since he’s just now learning about his new powers, but Max says Tezca told him he has to face his fears to master the flame.

Liz has tears in her eyes and her voice shakes when she asks, “What if you don’t come back?”

Max assures her he will. He’s not running anymore, and Liz apologizes for all the bad things she said when she was high. Every good thing she’s done has been because he’s been by her side.

Max and Liz Kiss, and Kyle grabs Isobel for a goodbye kiss, too. Max and Liz finish first and they’re both shocked to see Isobel and Kyle making out. “Since when have you two been a thing?” asks a smiling Liz.

Isobel replies, “You know, Liz, it’s been a long time coming.”

Isobel and Max hold hands and step into the quicksand/portal.

Michael and Alex make it to safety inside the Atomic Malt Shop, the upside-down’s version of the Crashdown Café (and the café’s former name), but Alex’s condition is deteriorating. Dallas is hunting for Clyde and Bonnie while Michael needs to get to work on making fuel.

Max and Isobel pop into the café and volunteer to provide Dallas with some backup. Michael asks if Max plans on arresting Clyde, and Max proudly shows off his powers.

Meanwhile, Liz and Kyle also have to get to work on making fuel but first, she needs to hear all the gossip about him and Isobel. Kyle promises to spill the tea if she tells him how long she’s been forgetting things. Liz confesses she noticed at the same time he noticed. Kyle makes her promise she’ll let him check to see if the mist did any permanent damage after they make the fuel.

Sonya and Maria work on getting Maria into the right state to contact Michael, Alex, or Dallas. Tezca joins them and awkwardly apologizes for stuffing Sonya in a pod. She explains Kyle thought maybe she could look in on Max with them.

Clyde takes blood from Bonnie and explains her ability rejected the alien glass in the brand. He injects himself with the new formula and announces they can head back home after he reconfigures the map in the real Roswell.

Bonnie reminds him he pushed her into “hell,” but he blames Michael for corrupting her mind. Clyde claims he wants it back to the way it used to be, but Bonnie refuses to be forced into anything – including returning with him to Oasis.

Clyde warns her that his people will worship him or else…

Bonnie breaks loose from her restraints and Isobel and Max join the fight. Max is able to overpower Clyde and puts him in restraints.

Dallas returns to the upside-down café and Michael explains Isobel and Max have joined the hunt for Bonnie. Michael’s whipped up a small batch of fuel and hopes Liz is also successful in making some in her lab. He hands Dallas instructions for Liz and tells Alex he needs to get the instructions to Maria.

Dallas points out Alex is asleep and might be too weak to communicate with Maria. Michael runs to Alex’s side and realizes he’s burning up. Alex says the storm’s getting worse and they should leave him behind. Michael refuses to leave his side and confesses he’s scared he’s going to lose Alex. He absolutely will not throw in the towel.

Liz researches “drugs and memory loss’ and confirms drug use can lead to permanent brain damage. She’s upset about losing her mind and resorts to breaking into the cabinet to get the spare bottle of mist.

Sonya suggests Maria change her focus from Alex to whoever she’s closest to. It works, and she appears in front of Dallas! Dallas explains Alex is in bad shape and they need the portal opened as soon as Liz makes the fuel. He hands Maria the formula to give to Liz but her hand passes through the note. She tries to memorize it as the storm kicks into high gear.

Dallas believes the storm will destabilize the upside-down.

Maria comes out of the vision and explains what she learned. She quickly writes down the formula for Liz and Kyle volunteers to get it to her. Maria and Sonya will get the console to the portal, even if Shivani’s still on their tail.

Before the meeting breaks up Kyle receives a 911 text from Liz. She’s in bad shape and finally confesses she can’t remember stuff. “I’m always expected to come through and I can’t,” says an absolutely distraught Liz, adding, “My brain is broken and I don’t recognize myself.”

Kyle apologizes for not examining her sooner, and Liz apologizes to her sister, admitting she almost took the mist. Liz refuses to let the mist win and Kyle hands over Michael’s recipe for the fuel.

The storm’s raging as Max and Isobel return with Clyde in alien handcuffs. Dallas explains the café’s falling apart and Clyde says it’s happening because Theo built into the dimension a storm that would destroy it if it sensed Jones’ DNA. If they don’t get to the portal soon, they’ll all die.

They head out just as the storm begins tearing up the main street. Dallas leads them to a series of caves his dad created that will lead to the portal. They’re forced to stop for a minute because Alex needs to rest. (He’s basically on death’s door at this point.)

Roswell New Mexico Season 4 Episode 12 Recap
Michael Vlamis, Nathan Dean, Quentin Plair, Lily Cowles, and Zoe Cipres in ‘Roswell, New Mexico’ season 4 episode 12 (Photo: John Golden Britt © 2022 The CW Network, LLC)

They head out again and make it to the portal where Michael pours the fuel into the console piece on their side of the portal. Alex’s pulse is dropping (why can’t Max do something?!) as the world around them appears to be on the verge of being wiped out. They hope Maria’s ready to get the console in place.

Unfortunately, Maria and Sonya are stopped on the road by Shivani and her goons. Maria and Sonya are grabbed and Shivani uncovers the console. Whoops! It’s the classic bait and switch. Kyle, Liz, and Rosa have the real one and manage to put it in place. Liz pours the fuel on it and it activates, growing the piece from the upside-down.

The portal opens and Max and the group are about to walk through it when Clyde breaks out of his handcuffs and steps in front of them. He’s incredibly strong and credits Liz’s mist with increasing his strength. He then reveals Bonnie’s DNA has traces of everyone she’s ever kissed and now he has every power Bonnie’s ever taken, including Max’s blue flame.

Max refuses to summon the blue flame, saying it’s too dangerous. Michael asks, “And he’s not?”

Clyde’s capable of holding them all back, but he offers Bonnie one last chance to step through the portal with him. Bonnie refuses and Clyde steps through the portal to the real world, leaving the gang on the verge of being destroyed by the storm.

Tezca appears and tells Max he’s capable of stopping the destruction of this dimension if he does as she taught him. She stepped through the quicksand to help out, reminding them a good teacher never leaves her student mid-lesson. She tells Max the dimension is dying; it needs him to give it life. He needs to think about Liz for it to work.

Max channels the blue flame and slams it into the ground. The flame spreads out toward the approaching storm and he’s holding it back – for now.

Michael runs to Alex and apologizes for refusing to marry him. “All I’ve ever wanted in my entire life was to make you happy,” says Michael. He cries as he adds, “I wanted to build a home together.”

“I mean this will all the love in the world – stop whining,” says Alex. He believes Michael made the right decision not to marry him in this prison. Everything Michael did he did because he has a passion for keeping hope alive. Alex wishes he had the strength to fight by Michael’s side.

Michael reminds him the console runs on fuel, not hope. Alex demands he make it run, saying there’s got to be some spark left and six aliens to ignite it.

Michael is reenergized and tells Dallas to pull the fuel back out of the ground. Bonnie points out that where it landed is already destroyed by the storm, and Tezca and Isobel are sure Max can rebuild that area.

Max summons the blue flame with his other hand and pounds it into the ground, too. He concentrates on seeing Liz again and the storm recedes. Dallas puts his skills to the test and is able to pull the fuel out of the ground and send it back into the console.

The portal opens and everyone but Tezca steps through it. She can’t; she has the same mark as Clyde! Isobel can’t believe Tezca sacrificed herself, and Tezca says Isobel did everything she could to redeem her and it worked. She’s proud of Isobel and thanks her for letting her save the children of the people she harmed.

Isobel still refuses to go and Tezca says, “Max is going to need the fiercest warrior by his side and that is still you.”

Max can’t hold the storm back any longer and tells Isobel they have to go. They leap through the portal and the dimension is destroyed after they exit.

They discover Clyde has all of their friends on the ground, kneeling in a line. He asks Isobel and Michael who wants to bend to him first.




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