First Things First…
This episode originally aired as Episode 3.18.
I have it from reliable sources that this is an awesome episode. And Nightcrawler is a significant X-Men character we haven’t met yet, so it’s exciting to bring him in.
3 Things I Like
3. Nightcrawler’s Origin
“The villagers drove my mother away, for bearing such a freak. I never even knew her name.”
Nightcrawler
Nightcrawler has a fascinating, if muddled, origin. He talks about being unusual in that his identity as a mutant was apparent from birth. It seems that, even among a historically marginalized population, he’s been hated and discriminated against to an egregious degree, going back to childhood.
It was so bad that we see his mother driven from her village, at which point she put little baby Nightcrawler in a basket and sent him up the river.
He also talks about being taken in by a small traveling circus. He became their star attraction, but when the show was over, he was still an outcast.
Maybe the most fascinating part of his backstory is that Mystique is the mother who abandoned him, though it didn’t look like she wanted to. She doesn’t have a speaking role here, but I hope we’ll get to explore their connection in a future episode.
This could also deepen Nightcrawler’s relationship with Rogue, who he meets in this episode, since one thing they have in common is Mystique as a shitty mom.
2. Tinged with Horror
In 3 ½ seasons, this is the first episode that’s tinged with horror.
I was on board from the opening moments of the episode. It’s a dark and stormy night, a big-ass owl hoots away, and eerie organ music plays as we meet a mob of angry villagers outside a monastery. The opening line is one of them yelling…
“I saw the fiend! It had fangs! And claws!”
They’re talking about killing Nightcrawler—who, in fairness, really does look like a demon. Based on appearance alone, he lends himself to horror more than most X-Men characters.
The atmosphere lightens as the action shifts to Rogue and Gambit’s dud of a vacation, chaperoned by Wolverine.
But as they make their way to the monastery, it becomes darker and a bit creepier again. There’s an attempted murder, and a big fight between Nightcrawler and Brother Reinhold in front of an inferno.
Even if I didn’t like this story so much, this change in atmosphere is fresh and exciting.
1. Arguments on Faith
“Life will always be hard. I understand this better than most. Yet despite it all, people of every faith believe there is a God who loves them. Can so many be wrong? Open your heart, Herr Logan. Would it hurt so much to see the world through different eyes?”
Nightcrawler
I think this is the first episode in the series to get into issues of faith. It makes sense, considering Nightcrawler lives with the monks. But I didn’t expect Wolverine to be such an important part of this conversation.
When they first talk about matters of faith, and Nightcrawler says his faith in God comforts him despite the persecution he’s suffered, Wolverine says…
“What are you talking about? We’re mutants. God gave up on us a long time ago.”
When Nightcrawler counters with something about God being there for him, and for all His creatures, Wolverine gets even more heated. He storms out, but not before saying…
“Don’t give me that easy answer garbage! I’ve tried! Don’t you think I want that?”
This conversation is equal parts compelling and surprising. I wouldn’t have guessed Wolverine was ever a man of faith, or had ever tried to be. But it makes sense for someone who’s been through so much to have sought comfort in prayer.
Sadly, it’s also understandable that those same experiences that drove him to pray also caused him to lose faith and give up hope. After all, like he says to Nightcrawler as he flashes his claws…
“Don’t tell me about God. What kind of God would let men do this to me?”
Lucky for Wolverine, Nightcrawler doesn’t give up on him.
2 Things I’m Mixed On
2. Gambit Learns Nothing
“Face it, chere, those monks kid themselves. We on our own in this world. Life is random. Deal you a full house or a busted flush.”
Gambit
This is Nightcrawler’s episode, with Wolverine serving as a great counterpoint.
Rogue and Gambit are also on this trip and in the monastery. But while Rogue’s curiosity spurs her to ask questions, learn more about the monks, and consider her stance on faith, Gambit just gets in the way and learns nothing.
He just sits there shaking his head as Nightcrawler and Wolverine have a deep conversation about faith. And at the end of the episode, after they’ve left the monastery and resume their vacation in Paris, Gambit blows off any wisdom he could have gotten from Nightcrawler and the monks.
It’s probably important to the story to have at least one of their guests completely dismiss the monks. But Gambit’s stubborn refusal to open his mind at all—especially after the monks nursed him back to health following his skiing accident—is a bad look for the Cajun.
1. Wolverine Prays
The episode ends with Rogue finding Wolverine in a church, praying out of the Bible Nightcrawler gifted him.
It’s a logical place to end the episode. There’s nothing to indicate Wolverine is suddenly a man of faith like Nightcrawler, but he does smile after reading those passages. It seems like he’s been influenced in a positive way.
I just feel a little uncomfortable with the idea that the show might be trying to evangelize. It seems like they’re giving a definitive answer about who was right and who was wrong in the faith discussion, when a less black-or-white answer might be more appropriate.
1 Thing I Don’t Like
1. Abrupt Conversion
“Brother Reinhard understands his tragic mistake and has repented. The townspeople no longer look at me with fear in their hearts.”
Nightcrawler
Brother Reinhard is a creep from the start. He snoops around the monastery, getting in other people’s business… he doesn’t want to take in Gambit, Wolverine, and Rogue, even though Gambit is hurt pretty badly…
Oh yeah, and he tries to MURDER Gambit!
And that’s to say nothing of his bigotry against Nightcrawler, which is the main point here. He rallies the villagers against him, saying…
“People of Neuherzl! I can no longer allow such sacrilege! The beast you seek is there! In the monastery… the Evil One has defiled that holy place! It must be destroyed!”
He puts his own brothers in harm’s way by riling up the mob. Even when Nightcrawler says he’ll surrender, Reinhard refuses to stop fighting him and says he has to purify the monastery.
Then, in the midst of their fight, Nightcrawler saves his life.
Admittedly, that’s a big deal.
But the transformation in Brother Reinhard is immediate. He realizes the error of his ways, repents, and accepts Nightcrawler as his brother.
The villagers make an equally abrupt change of heart.
It just doesn’t resonate with me. And it’s obviously not that I want Nightcrawler to continue to be persecuted. But judging Brother Reinhard based on his actions throughout the episode, it feels more realistic that he’d rather fall to his death than accept Nightcrawler’s help. That would mean the villagers never turn in Nightcrawler’s favor, forcing him to leave the monastery and go off on his own, in search of a new home.
Somehow, that feels like a more compelling end to this chapter than the happy, conclusive ending we get.
Tim Matassa
You said yourself – Wolverine didn’t become man of faith like Nightcrawler. So no problem here – he just tries to look from a different POV.