Heather Hemmens plays Maria DeLuca on Roswell, New Mexico. For episode 4×11, “Follow You Down,” the actress also serves as director. The series premiered in 2019 and is now in its fourth and final season. New episodes of the sci-fi drama air Mondays at 8 PM ET/PT. This interview will contain spoilers.

HEATHER HEMMENS DIRECTS – As Liz (Jeanine Mason) begins to see the error of her ways, she is quickly faced with a new threat which forces her to make a difficult decision. Meanwhile, Max (Nathan Dean) finds himself in an intense standoff and Michael (Michael Vlamis) begins to lose hope of ever reuniting with Alex (Tyler Blackburn).

We discussed directing such a special episode, the series finale, Maria’s happy ending, the takeaway she wants everyone to get from Roswell, New Mexico, her upcoming projects, and more. Keep reading for all of the details!

I’m so excited to speak with you, and huge congrats on this episode. It was fantastic, one of my favorites of the season.
Heather Hemmens: Oh, thank you so much. Mine too!

So that’s kind of where I want to start because what an amazing episode for content. There were so many different amazing moments, which were you most excited to do? I mean, you have some great stuff with Liz but then also the highly anticipated Malex reunion.
It was an epic moment. I am very honored to be behind the camera and that I was entrusted with, you know, the culmination of this love story was just beyond our comprehension. When we looked at the script, we’re like, “Okay, so they propose,” and I saw very quickly that it was going to be about the simplicity of their connection that just makes this moment so heartfelt and poignant for everyone. It was exactly that, what Tyler and Michael brought to that moment just didn’t need to be touched. It was just beautiful. It was exactly the right tone, and you’re just so happy that these two characters are reunited and that whole moment just lives in their reconnection. It was great.

What a fun full circle moment for you too because Maria had been helping in that storyline. So that must have been awesome that you got to be there behind the scenes for that.
Yes, I mean, the truth is, is that I’ve always been rooting for them too. I’m a big Malex fan, so it was nice to be able to step out of that storyline and just root for them the way that I wanted to.

This was such a special episode being the 50th of the series. Do you have a favorite moment from directing and filming this episode as well as just celebrating that occasion?
It was a great moment on set. It really felt like an achievement worth celebrating. The script is special, we all were wearing our 50th glasses, hats, and balloons everywhere on set. We celebrated the entire episode. It wasn’t just one day we were like, “Oh, look at what we’ve done.” No, we were celebrating every day, just going, “Wow, I cannot believe how far we’ve come.” And really, a lot of shows don’t see a fraction of that. So for me, there’s not too much sadness in the fact that that’s all that we got. I just have so much triumph in the fact that we got it.

We are, unfortunately, approaching the very end of the show now, I’m heartbroken but so excited to see everything coming. What can you tease about the series finale?
Well, like any finale, there’s going to be a lot of questions answered, but we still have some big roadblocks. There’s still a lot of jaw-dropping moments that will happen, so it’s not like we ride off into the sunset and everything is nice and tidy in the package. It gets messy, it gets wild, and it’s a lot of fun, but there is some fulfillment of certain questions and storylines that we’ve been watching since the beginning. I think everyone can be satisfied with the way that we wrapped it up.

Is there any sort of message you want to give or say to the fans who have been following and watching Roswell, New Mexico since the beginning?
Well, I would just say thank you so much for caring, thank you for watching, and we have cared just as much so it’s really a journey that we’ve all been on together. I’m gonna miss Maria more than they will so I hope they can take some comfort that we’re all in this big goodbye together. It’s just a time to be grateful for the journey.

So I want to ask you, past the finale, what do you hope for Maria’s happy ending?
Maria’s happy ending, we start to see hints of it and I hope that’s something that she would double down on in the future is she focuses on herself. She really has, throughout the series, we’ve seen her be there for her friends above and beyond, and I think it would be really nice when she starts to take those journeys for herself. She’s suffered the loss of her mom and so many other losses in her life, like losing her best friend, Alex, you know, he’s been missing and losing her abilities, which now she’s found a new ability. So she’s had a lot of challenges and I would say that it’s time for Maria to have some fun and focus on herself.

Is there a takeaway you want fans to get from either the show or your character, and is there something that you’ve personally taken away?
I think the show will be remembered for the love, whether they’re alien or human. I think the connection that all these characters had, the most important factor was love and that’s what I’m gonna take from it. I think in front of and behind-the-scenes, my relationships with the cast, these on-screen people that I worked with, and then the behind-the-scenes friends that I made, it’ll stay with me forever. I think that’s what people will miss the most because that’s what came through. All these storylines were just so rich in love and I think above all else, I hope that’s what people remember.

Has there been a favorite aspect for you to portray of Maria’s journey or a storyline that you were really challenged by and really happy with the final result of?
I loved Maria’s storyline with her mom. I thought their dynamic was so sweet and tender, and filming the loss of her mother– it was difficult. It was really a difficult scene, you know, obviously the loss of her mother but also, just for me personally as an actor, it was the end of that relationship on-screen that I so enjoyed.

Lastly, are there any projects in the works or coming up that fans should be looking out for? I cannot wait to support them and see what you do next.
Oh, absolutely. Thank you. Well, I have signed up to do a few Hallmark movies and the newest one coming out will be a Christmas film. So yeah, everyone can see me around the holidays. Won’t be too long now.