Michael Trevino stars as Kyle Valenti on The CW’s Roswell, New Mexico. For episode 4×09, “Wild Wild West,” the actor also serves as director. The series, which originally premiered in 2019, is now in its fourth and final season. New episodes of the sci-fi drama air Mondays at 8pm ET/PT.
BAD DREAMS – After being exposed to her own “alien-power mist,” Liz (Jeanine Mason) finds herself trapped in a fever dream and a battle to save not just her own life but Max’s (Nathan Dean) life as well. Meanwhile, Michael (Michael Vlamis) stumbles on a secret Rosa (Amber Midthunder) is keeping involving a surprising former adversary. Michael Trevino directed the episode.
I had a wonderful time speaking with Trevino about directing such a memorable episode, this season’s big moments between Isobel and Kyle, the impact that Roswell, New Mexico has in terms of representation, the series finale, and much more. Keep reading for our full conversation!
Huge congrats on directing this episode. It came out fantastic. What was your favorite part of directing this particular episode because it’s a very fun one with the whole Wild West elements?
Michael Trevino: Great question. Yes, I was so very lucky because these writers wrote such a huge episode. So as much as that was exciting, it scared the hell out of me. I had to do that much more work in prep. As far as my part, wow– it would probably be the most difficult part, which is not one specific one, but there are a lot of stunts and in the stunts, there’s a lot of gun gags with the fights, a lasso, and people dropping dead, frankly. So in shooting those stunts, I think, because those are so complicated, when we finally get it right, it’s a great feeling.
I really love Liz and Kyle’s friendship and the bond that they have. So I wanted to talk about the speech that Liz made to Kyle in this episode, even if he was a horse at the time. What do you think makes their relationship so special and strong?
Well, because he has still always had her back, she’s had his, and over the course of four seasons, even if they’ve had distance apart, they’d never skip a beat. They’re just both really down for each other, I think. So in those moments, we see Liz struggle throughout this episode and although Kyle is there, but also not there, I think just like she said, Kyle is a rock in her life.
I hope you don’t mind but I have to go back a few episodes because I spoke with Lily Cowles about this and I have to get your reaction as well. We got some really amazing Kyle and Isobel content. I mean, they kissed, they slept together…
Yes, finally! I’ve been waiting four years for it. But yes, please ask your question.
What was your reaction to all of that? What is your hope for what happens with them going forward? Obviously, you know what actually happens, but can you give any teasers? We did have Isobel kind of talk a little bit about it with Maria, which I was thrilled about.
Yes, well, my reaction is finally, I’ve been waiting four years for this to happen. But good things, they come to those who wait, and I do love that in our story, we’ve always hinted and pieced it for our audience, we didn’t just jump right into it. So I feel that it was gained, it was warranted, it was deserved, this relationship that they have. Of course, once we get to a moment of like, “oh, this is perfect,” it ends up maybe being not so perfect and I like that too because that is life. Nothing is what it seems and so, I like where we’re at with Kyle and Isobel. As far as the future for them both, I feel that in our Roswell world, there are outside circumstances that are going to bring them together just as much as it’s going to pull them apart, and that makes for great television. So that’s stuff we want to see.
I love that you and Lily had the same “finally” reaction. I just needed to point that out.
Oh, is that what she said? Thank God, because I didn’t know.
She did, and she also said how wonderful you are to work with. You got a lot of praise. She was just as excited as you were that we’re finally getting them together.
Yeah, we have a special bond. She’s so great.
So I am Latina and this show is one that I have found such immense comfort in, it’s such a big one for representation. I can’t remember the last time I saw a Latina lead or just Latinx characters that are actually complex and well written. I’m devastated that the show is coming to an end, but I know I’ll be rewatching it. What kind of legacy do you hope that it has for those who have felt seen through these characters?
Oh, I know it has, I already know the impact of just the faces that you see on the screen, their families. For me, I’ve been in this business for a long time and this is the first role where I’ve been able to speak Spanish as a main character on network television. So that’s been — for me, that’s something I’m very, very proud of. With that as well, we talk about the Michael and Alex relationship, which has been such a huge, huge part of our story, so much so that I think it’s like our “A” storyline. People have gravitated towards that. It’s been well received and such a strong response on the internet to that, and we’re a part of it. We are very deliberate in that but free at the same time with exploring their relationships. I don’t think the scenes that they had together would have been written five years ago. I don’t think they would have been written and now it’s nice to see that this is a new normal.
In your wildest dreams, in your mind, what would Kyle’s dream ending be beyond the show? What would you like for him outside of the finale?
Oh, wow. I’ve never been asked that. That’s such a good question. Maybe it’s Isobel, maybe it isn’t, but I think Kyle starts a family. So he settles down, starts a family, and family is what keeps him at work and at home, and that’s it. He’s not out, putting out all these fires or saving people’s lives, except for at work. I think that he has started a family, has kids, and has his mother around, so bringing her back into town. I’d love to see that.
I know you can’t give too much away here, but did you feel satisfied with this season’s finale as the show’s ending? Do you think fans will feel satisfied with it? Are you excited for them to see it and how everything finishes?
It’s interesting because at the time we were shooting, the feeling around set was we were gonna get one more season. That’s the honest truth. We all were on board that we’re gonna get one more out of this — one more, not two. We’ll get one more, we’ll end it at five seasons. The way it was written and the way it ends, now that we know it’s not getting a season five, I think it’s 50/50. I think half the fans are gonna be happy with like, “Well, they didn’t know this was the last season but this still puts an ending to this chapter, to this season four.” Then I think there’s gonna be the other half, you know, the other 50% of fans who aren’t happy with this ending, and I will say that because as much as this is an end to this chapter, in our last scenes, what happens to our lead characters, you can very much become the beginning of two or three more seasons, but we’ll never see that. So I’ll leave it at that because I think it’ll be split, but we could have easily gone two or three more seasons with how this season ends because there’s a lot more worlds to be explored.
Yeah, trust me, we all wanted it. I have to say most of my favorite characters are ones that have a great evolution or just a beautiful growth arc, and I feel like Kyle is a perfect example of that. I mean, from where we see him in the flashbacks to now being everyone’s person, what was that like for you to bring to life and really portray that growth rather than just be stuck in one box?
It was such a gift because I’m somebody who has been on other TV series where it’s a certain storyline and I’m working with the same actors the whole season, which is fine, but this was such a gift for me being part of this show because I was a part of every storyline and I was an important part of every storyline. It was nice that on our show, we do have leads but this was really an ensemble. I mean, everybody had the same amount of screen time, the characters’ storylines weaved into one another, and so it just felt like an ensemble cast and story. So I’m really happy about that but also for me to play a character who is grounded. I couldn’t get too far away from all the sci-fi and supernatural elements and beings in my career, but I will say having still being just a human being, it was a very nice feeling.