First Things First…
Season finale time!
I’m surprised Magneto wasn’t a bigger part of this first season. He’s only in a couple of early episodes, and now he should be a major part of this one, assuming it was really him who kidnapped Senator Kelly.
No more Bishop is a bummer. But I find the politics of this series, and their real-world parallels, fascinating. So I’m glad we’ve gotten back to Congress, anti-mutant laws and protests, the Sentinels being commissioned by the government, and everything else that comes with this storyline.
4 Things I Like
4. Leave No Mutant Behind
“This whole mine is gonna go up! Get Kelly above ground! I’m going after Wolverine and Gambit. I’m not leaving anyone behind, not this time.”
Cyclops
Nice callback to the series premiere, when Cyclops made the hard decision to leave Beast and Morph behind because it was the only way to save the rest of the team. That decision caused a huge rift between Cyclops and Wolverine, and it’s haunted Cyclops ever since.
But he won’t let it happen again.
This time, after a massive explosion drives Master Mold to finally get up off his ass, they have to hustle out of the mine. But Cyclops goes after Wolverine and Gambit. It seems like they might all be on the same page for the first time ever. (Although now with Cyclops and Jean’s impending nuptials, things may still go to shit…)
3. The Master Mold Paradox
Master Mold is an interesting paradox. (This probably holds true for Ultron, Skynet, and other “evil” A.I. in pop culture, too.)
Professor X calls Master Mold the “embodiment of evil” and “everything that’s wrong with humanity” because of his ridiculous plan to replace the brains of world leaders with computers.
But this plan, by Master Mold’s own admission, is to save humanity from itself. Because as he points out to Trask and Senator Kelly, their original purpose for him—to protect humans from mutants—isn’t logical. Mutants ARE human.
2. United
“You’re all fools. Heroic fools. The brave are always the first to die.”
Magneto
It’s awesome seeing Magneto fight alongside the X-Men. Even before he joins them, his admiration for their bravery is apparent, though he doesn’t agree with their course of action. But he’s the type of noble villain who repays his debts, and he owes them for saving his life after he was left bloodied and unconscious by Sentinels.
The mutual respect—even love—he and Professor X have for one another always shines through, including here, when he arrives in the nick of time, saves the Professor’s plane from crashing, and says…
“Did you think I would let you die alone, Xavier?”
1. Gambit’s Reversal of Fortune
After clearing his name of the assassination attempt of Senator Kelly, and now joining this fight, Gambit has never been more important to the team.
He fights side by side with Wolverine, and Wolverine even tries to save his life.
Prior to the fight, Gambit lets Professor X probe his mind (ASIDE—cool Ghost Rider easter egg!), which is how they’re able to track down Henry Gyrich and ultimately save Kelly’s life.
And when the fight is over, Rogue reveals her true feelings for him and gives him the closest thing to a kiss she’s able to.
Considering Gambit spent most of the season as an outsider among his teammates, I loved seeing him finally fully integrated into the X-Men.
3 Things I’m Mixed On
3. Something Sinister Is Coming
I don’t remember a lot about Mr. Sinister, either from this series or the comics. But he had the coolest action figure, and my friends and I were really into him. So I was excited that the last shot of the season includes an unseen voice calling something “sinister.”
The reason I’m mixed on it is that it happens while someone is watching Scott and Jean in a field, right after he proposed to her.
WTF?
Are there surveillance cameras out in the middle of the country—essentially in the middle of nowhere? It seems weird, the way they’re being watched. But who knows—maybe it will make more sense when Season 2 starts…
2. Free the Beast
I’m thrilled Beast is out of jail and exonerated of any crimes. Hopefully we get much more of him next season.
But since his imprisonment was a season-long storyline, I thought there would be more to his release than one quick scene after the ruling is passed down. I mean, I wasn’t expecting to spend multiple episodes in a courtroom for his trial. (Did he even have a trial?). But I wanted more of a payoff than this.
1. Growing Up
“I’m not a kid anymore! I’m one of you, one of the X-Men. And it means more to me than anything in the world.”
Jubilee
I don’t understand the way Jubilee is treated here.
Wolverine is probably the one she’s closest with, and maybe he’s just trying to be protective when he tells her at first she can’t join their rescue attempt. But it’s weird because he’s fought alongside her before. She was just part of the team effort at the Capital and helped stop the assassination. Yet she has to literally start crying about how much this means to her before they let her join this mission.
Once there, she proves her worth. She’s not as well-trained as the rest of the team, but she singlehandedly takes out a few Sentinels.
It feels like Wolverine’s reluctance is only included so she can have that scene defending herself—where, frankly, her complaining is understandable, but her whininess is kinda annoying. But it leads to some good stuff from her in the end and is an important part of the team gelling.
2 Things I Don’t Like
2. Cyclops’ Proposal
Scott asks Jean to marry him at the end of the episode, and it looks like that’s where we’re headed to kick off Season 2. I’m fine with it, but it’s SO saccharine and awkward.
Then again, maybe I shouldn’t expect much more from Cyclops.
1. Master Mold’s Brain Transplant Plan
“It is not defective. I am giving the orders now.”
Master Mold
Master Mold’s logic is impeccable. Mutants ARE humans, too.
And since Trask created him for the purpose of protecting humans from mutants, it makes sense that he’s realized he must save humans from themselves.
But his plan is basically “lobotomies on steroids” for all world leaders, starting with Senator Kelly. He wants to replace their brains with computers.
Now maybe the showrunners felt that if his plan was to kill all those world leaders it would be too much for a kids’ show, even if the plan was doomed to fail.
But this feels like a product of its time, and not in a good way. They’ve been tackling all these serious issues like equality, discrimination, and what makes us human. Such a silly plan doesn’t fit.
Tim Matassa
