Roswell reminds us that they have no problem diving into social problems too

A lot went down in the third episode of Roswell New Mexico season 3. And in “Black Hole Sun,” the thing that really stood out was the social justice narrative.

Sure, we definitely got to see Michael spiral and he even has a confrontation with Alex that reminds us that we love these two as a couple (if they can learn how to communicate that is). And then there was the Liz versus Max confrontation/apology that didn’t go well. Seriously, these two couples bring the drama just by looking at each other at this point.

But by the end of the episode, none of this drama was what stood out. What really stuck in my mind was the reminder that Roswell New Mexico has no problem taking on social justice issues within their storylines. And in “Black Hole Sun” the issue they took on was racism.

Roswell touches on the ingrained hate and racism that seems prevalent in society today

During a scene in which the town is holding a movie and vendor night, we see three white men (and Wyatt Long, but he turns out to be a voice of reason in the madness) confronting a black man over his bees. It seems that this is a honey vendor and one of the men accuses his bees (which are nowhere to be seen since this is a public event where bees wouldn’t be) of stinging him. It’s ridiculous and designed to start a fight.

The racial tensions are high and even with Gregory Manes trying to diffuse things, it takes Wyatt stepping in and confronting the men he has long been friends with to make them back off. Of course, that is not the end of things because after the confrontation, Max takes a police report on what happened and this leads to another dangerous situation.

Knowing that the police know what they did, the group of men (one with a mask on his face and another with a baseball bat in hand) come up behind the honey vendor as he gets rid of trash at the dumpster, which is of course isolated. Luckily, Michael shows up in his anger and directs the men towards him instead, and Max is there to ultimately break things up.

What is interesting about what Roswell did in this episode was that it all made sense in the storyline and depending on how watch the show, you may not have even realized what you were seeing. It was a seamless addition to the story that is both sad and terrifying. This is happening every day in real life to real people. And that is why seeing a series like Roswell bring it to light in this way is both appreciated and well planned.

But what did you think of these scenes? Do you think they added to the storyline and discussions we should be having? Let us know.