Before the CW had Roswell, New Mexico, the WB had Roswell. Both series put their own spin on the book series Roswell High. The science fiction series saw alien-human hybrids from the alleged 1947 Roswell UFO crash just trying to survive high school in the late 90s. While the show was full of alien conspiracies and mystery, it also had a healthy dose of romantic relationships.
The central couple of the series included Liz, a normal teenage girl who loved science, and Max, the biologically engineered king of an alien species. As more of their friends found out the truth, the relationships amongst their friend group grew. Romance was frequently as central to the plot as the mysteries surrounding the aliens themselves. However, not all of the relationships fit well into the Roswell universe.
Best: Michael And Maria
Affectionately referred to as “candy” because of their M&M initials, Michael and Maria were one of the longest-running relationships on Roswell. They also happened to be one of the most volatile.
The duo had very different approaches to dealing with their feelings. Maria wanted to talk about everything, while Michael wanted to pretend they didn’t exist. Over time, Michael helped Maria learn to be calmer. Likewise, Maria helped him to open up. Their bickering and jealousy faded over time until they were one of the most supportive couples in the series.
Worst: Max And Tess
Max and Tess could have been a great pairing if Tess was actually who she presented herself as. While the two did have genuine feelings for one another, Tess was motivated to pursue a relationship with Max as a result of a deal made with an enemy.
Not only did Tess worm her way between Max and Liz, but she tricked Max into allowing her to take their child to their alien homeworld. All of her lies backfired on Tess as she eventually had to return to Earth with their fully human son. By that point, any trust Max had was gone.
Best: Isabel And Alex
This is one of the few couples amongst the original characters that were never fully realized. Though the two hung out and were friends, Isabel frequently pushed Alex away, trying to find a more mature match for herself.
Of course, by the time Isabel realized she wanted to be more than friends with Alex, it was too late. Alex lost his life as a result of Tess using her mind-warping abilities on his brain too many times. Showing how connected the two were despite his loss, Isabel continued to take advice from an Alex only she could see until she married someone else.
Worst: Kyle And Liz
Kyle was Liz’s first real boyfriend. Though she anticipated they would be casual after a summer apart, he had other plans when the Roswell series first began. In the later seasons, they were excellent and supportive friends, but their season one dynamic was not so great.
Liz was secretive with him, constantly using him as an alibi to avoid her new alien friends getting caught. She spent a lot of the early episodes outright lying to him. Kyle was clingy and jealous, even spying on her. They were not the stuff high school sweethearts were made of.
Best: Liz And Sean
While Liz’s great love wasn’t Kyle, it also wasn’t Sean. That didn’t make their relationship any less fun to watch. Sean was Maria’s cousin who temporarily came to stay with his relatives in Roswell. He also happened to be a bit of a criminal, breaking into bowling alleys to show Liz how to have fun. His methods were questionable, but he certainly got Liz out of her funk. Sean reminded Liz how to be a teenager again instead of an aspiring molecular biologist obsessed with an alien secret.
Worst: Isabel And Grant
Isabel had a habit of crushing on older guys while everyone was still in high school. She always considered herself far too mature for the rest of her classmates. As a result, she found herself attracted to the geologist Grant Sorenson when he came to town.
Considering Isabel turned 18 when she began dating him, the audience had to wonder what someone, who already had a geology degree, was doing hanging out with a high school student. Of course, it turned out that he was infected by an alien parasite, so maybe that had something to do with him getting close to her. It’s an all-around strange relationship.
Best: Jim And Amy
Jim Valenti and Amy Deluca were the two parents on the series that the audience spent the most time with. It’s only natural that it also turned out the two had a history.
Jim and Amy went to high school together before he went into law enforcement and she became an eccentric seller of alien memorabilia. Initially, they were both out of the loop when it came to the alien conspiracy, and they reconnected, much to the surprise of their kids. The sheriff was usually very stoic and intimidating in the early episodes of the show. Amy made him much more fun, as he acted like a teenager around her all over again. Sadly, their relationship didn’t seem to last.
Worst: Michael And Courtney
Like Tess before her, Courtney joined the show specifically to drive a wedge between a central couple. Courtney debuted in season two, while Michael and Maria went through a rough patch. There was an attraction between the two of them, but the introduction of the alien race the Skins meant it never went anywhere.
While Courtney claimed that not all of the Skins were the same, she spent an awfully long time hiding in plain sight amongst the royal four before even admitting that she was a member of a different alien race. Her entire plot thread revolved around her feelings for Michael instead of the more pressing matter of the Skins versus the Royal Four. She could have been a fascinating addition to the show if she had been used for more than making Maria jealous.
Best: Max And Liz
Roswell was quite literally built around the connection between Max Evans and Liz Parker. Though Max observed her from afar as her classmate, the two didn’t become close until he saved her life in the pilot episode. He couldn’t let her die, even though they hadn’t really interacted much in their childhoods.
Though the series found many creative ways to pull the two of them apart including the introduction of Tess, a visit from a future version of Max, and Liz’s father not trusting him, they always found their way back together. The series began with Max saving her life and ended with the duo getting married. What a way to bookend a sci-fi teen show.
Worst: Isabel And Jesse
Isabel and Jesse were a complicated couple. In some ways, they’re very good for one another. In other ways, Jesse just fit Isabel’s pattern of looking for someone “better” than her small-town Roswell life.
Jesse was a lawyer who worked for Isabel’s father. That meant that, when she turned 19 in season three, he was at least in his mid to late twenties. The difference in their level of world experience was a little hard to stomach. The relationship between Jesse and Isabel in season three served to separate her from the larger storyline, detracting from the show instead of adding to it. It’s a shame because Jesse was a great character. Their relationship just felt shoehorned into the events of the season.
