First Things First…
I know a lot of the larger arcs of this show from watching it as a kid, but I don’t remember what happens in specific episodes, so I’m still flying kinda blind here and anxiously waiting to see how it plays out.
Jubilee made sense as the center of the first episode, and that may carry over here because she’s the one the team will probably have to rescue. But I’ll be glad when we get to focus on more of my favorite characters—some of whom aren’t in the show yet.
4 Things I Like
4. Jubilee Comes to School
The episode ends with Jubilee’s heartfelt goodbye with her foster parents, followed by her arrival at Xavier’s School for the Gifted. I don’t remember if they let her be part of the team immediately or require her to train first, but it’s good that she’s there now. Even though she’s not one of my favorites, her role as a kid just discovering her powers kind of makes her the POV character for young viewers, which is why she made sense to be at the center of this first storyline. And she’s already developing relationships with some of the team members. I’ll be happy if she’s a bit more in the background now, but I’m also glad she’s there.
3. Shadow Agenda
Gyrich is in the first episode briefly, but now he comes out of the shadows just a bit and gets a name.
We see he’s a true enemy to mutants, as he’s spearheading the Sentinel program. After the president questions his motives, and whether the mutants who infiltrated the Mutant Control Agency have reason to fear his agenda, he immediately begins planning to move operations overseas. Presumably he’ll have more freedom there to carry out his plans against mutants without scrutiny.
Kind of like Stranger Things has monstrous villains from the Upside Down along with human villains from the lab and/or government, I like that the X-Men have superpowered enemies along with human enemies within the government or other shadowy organizations.
2. Killing Morph
I got my answer as to why I didn’t remember Morph, and why he isn’t included in the show’s introduction despite being part of the team. He gets taken out here by the Sentinels.
I’m not putting his death here because I found him annoying (even though I did), but because it’s a clever way to raise the stakes of the show. I don’t remember a lot of cartoons in the 80’s and 90’s killing off characters. So killing off a member of the team right away shows these robots are real threats.
I’d probably feel differently about this if it happened in a new show, and I was more aware of a character that wasn’t from the source material being created for the show specifically to be killed off. But in this show, from that time period, it works.
1. The Fallout
This is a good Wolverine/Cyclops episode. We see more of their charged dynamic—along with Wolverine pouting—because on top of them already hating each other, Wolverine blames Cyclops for leaving Morph behind to die, and Beast to get captured.
Such is the nature of leadership—having to make the hard call under the most dire of circumstances.
Cyclops knows he made the right decision. The team was being overwhelmed. If he hadn’t ordered a retreat, they might’ve suffered even more casualties.
And yet, he questions himself. Wolverine’s anger toward him stings, because he feels responsible.
I enjoyed watching the way they both suffer in the aftermath of their disastrous fight with the Sentinels—and how Cyclops begins bridging the rift between them by offering Wolverine a chance at revenge.
1 Thing I’m Mixed On
1. Batting .500 Vs the Sentinels
We saw in the first episode how much damage one Sentinel could do. And early in this episode, we see that defeating multiple Sentinels is nearly impossible.
With Morph’s death and Cyclops’ call to retreat, the Sentinels are established as a huge threat.
That’s why I’m not crazy about the X-Men already getting their lick back at the end of this episode.
I can’t say it doesn’t make sense. Now they know what they’re up against, so they go in with a better plan. But for now, I’d rather their rescue of Jubilee have been more of a stealth mission.
What I don’t want to see is the Sentinels become much easier to defeat, and for them to only be a threat because Gyrich and his partner just keep making more. So I’m a little torn on the X-Men winning this battle decisively.
1 Thing I Don’t Like
1. That Awkward Moment with Dad and Cyclops
I don’t understand the writing here. Scott pays a visit to Jubilee’s foster parents in his normal clothes, Dad excuses himself and calls Gyrich to tell him Scott is there looking for Jubilee, then he immediately tells Scott what he did? Yet Scott isn’t upset that he just drew Sentinels to the house?
This plays out so awkwardly, and I wasn’t sure if Dad realizes he’s being deceived by Gyrich, and that’s why he warns Scott. But if that’s the case, how does he figure it out so suddenly?
Tim Matassa
