Geeksbury
Marvel TV X-Men

TV REVIEW: X-Men (2.10) – Beauty and the Beast

First Things First…

Now a Beast-centric episode? I’m on board!

We’re down to four episodes left in the season, though, so I hope the end game starts coming into focus soon.


3 Things I Like


3. Daddy’s Boy

Like most bigots, Creed has a very close connection to those he hates.

No, he’s not secretly a mutant himself, but as his last name has had me wondering all along, his Sabretooth is his dear old dad.

Wolverine puts the pieces together, which only he’d be able to do, thanks to knowing Sabretooth for so long. And he makes a spectacle out of outing Creed in front of his Friends of Humanity cronies. I’m so curious now if they’ll turn their backs on him.

2. Going in Hard at the Friends of Humanity

“It was intolerant, ignorant, mutant-hating fools like you who took your daughter! If anything happens to her, I’ll…”

Beast

I was surprised to hear a charged word like “bigot” used multiple times this episode. Carly even calls Creed a bigot right to his face. But I’m a big believer in calling things what they are, so good on the writers for not shying away from this word.

1. Beast’s Heartache

“Why did this have to happen to me? Why can’t I be normal? It’s not fair!”

Beast

This love story comes from out of nowhere. We’ve never met Carly, a blind patient Beast is treating, who he’s fallen in love with and who also has feelings for him. But it’s still a beautiful, if compact, story.

Since Carly’s surgery is to cure her blindness, Beast fears she’ll reject him once she’s able to see him. Thankfully, that’s not how things play out, and she likes him much more than her handsome blonde doctor.

But Beast also has to deal with her father’s bigotry. After the Friends of Humanity attack the hospital, Carly’s dad reams out the hospital director…

“My daughter means everything to me! I agreed to this experiment, but I will not allow some filthy mutant to touch my daughter!”

Beast also expresses far more anguish than we’ve ever seen from him before. Not even Rogue has cried out in this way, agonizing over his condition when Jean tries consoling him…

“Gifts? I can’t be close to any human. I can’t take a chance of endangering them! My parents! My brothers and sisters! And now… now the woman I love.”

It’s truly heartbreaking stuff.


1 Thing I’m Mixed On


1. Stuck in Neutral in the Savage Land

“Never again will we be our creator’s slaves. Our new leader has given us great power.”

Amphibius

I continue to enjoy the utter strangeness of the Savage Land. But it also feels like ages since we’ve made any progress there.

Here, we meet another Mutate, a jacked frog-man called Amphibius. Just like Barbarus a few episodes ago, I can’t help but think this dude must’ve made for an incredible action figure.

But despite looking cool, he doesn’t reveal anything more than Barbarus had. He’s still just another Mutate trying to capture Magneto and Professor X while proclaiming loyalty to a new master.

Please, let’s go somewhere with this in the final three episodes.


0 Things I Don’t Like

The Review

81%

This isn’t an origin story about Beast, but he’s certainly the star. And it’s compelling, heartbreaking, but ultimately uplifting. Throw in some strong storytelling about the Friends of Humanity—particularly not shying away from calling them bigots, as they really are—and it’s a very good episode.

81%
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