Roswell recap: 3 things to consider after the premiere

The CW’s newest reboot, Roswell, New Mexico, is an entertaining, socially relevant, and romantic take on aliens with just a dash of the old-school WB charm.

As an ardent CW, teen drama, and supernatural drama fan, I’ve been looking forward to the Roswell reboot since its initial conception. Sadly, the original Roswell is one series I haven’t gotten the chance to watch yet, but I’m kind of glad now since I can watch this new version with nothing to compare it to. (That said, I’m totally going to binge the original someday too, promise).

I didn’t have much in the way of expectations for this series and enjoyed myself immensely while watching it. Julie Plec may have her naysayers but she knows how to direct a supernatural show and her frequent collaborator, Carina Adly MacKenzie, has clearly followed in her footsteps.

Some aspects of Roswell feel anachronistic, like the Orctecho diner and even the costuming and set designs, even though it is meant to be in modern times it feels like it could have been airing alongside Smallville and old seasons of One Tree Hill and Supernatural.

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Maybe it’s just all those warm sepia tones that are reminding me of early Smallville in particular. Watching it made me feel all sorts of nostalgic. Roswell has that “comfort” show vibe and I feel like I’m going to be adding this to my list of shows I rewatch when I need a pick-me-up.

The pilot is a strong debut for the series, but as all pilots tend to, it left me several questions about what’s in store for the rest of the season:

Is Kyle going to be an antagonist?

At first it appears Kyle (Michael Trevino) is your average, sweet, slightly-cocky-but-in-an-endearing-way sort of guy. The kind of character Trevino has perfected. He is Liz’s (Jeanine Mason) ex-boyfriend and it’s clear they still have a strong friendship cemented by years of history.

But Kyle’s recently deceased father had a history of his own in the town of Roswell. His family, the Valentis, have a mysterious past that his father was discovering before he died. The only clue he gave Kyle was to go see Sergeant Manes (Trevor St. John) if he saw the handprint, and he did, on Liz’s chest when they were getting hot and heavy in his car the night before.

As we know, the handprint was a side effect of Max bringing Liz back to life after a shooting at the diner and Kyle’s curiosity is piqued.

We’re introduced to a shady world of alien hunting. Manes has a bunker of tools, history, and information about the extraterrestrials they believe landed in the 1947 crash. According to Manes, these creatures are violent, unstoppable, and they don’t understand human compassion. He speaks like a bigot and the allusions are not subtle. He notes that if the handprint is showing up again, that means the war is not over.

But things are never that black and white. Will Kyle be brainwashed by Manes way of thinking? What is the truth about what happened to the Valenti family? Could Kyle be swayed to turn against Liz? Or try to kill Max if he thinks he’s protecting her?