Beware of spoilers for the show in the article. Please do not continue reading if you haven't seen episode 7 yet and you are not okay with being spoiled.
Introduction :
This week's episode served as a direct continuation of the events of episode 5 as it focused on the fallout of the massacre in Genosha. The title of the episode Bright Eyes seems to allude to Gambit’s bright red eyes. We opened the episode with Gambit’s funeral as Nightcrawler gave a eulogy at Gambit’s funeral. Kurt was Gambit's friend and an ordained priest. We got some cameos from people from Gambit’s past in the funeral scene namely Bella Donna ( she was Gambit’s childhood friend and his former love interest ) , Pierre , Robert ( Gambit’s brother ) e.t.c...
Rogue’s revenge :
Rogue didn't attend the funeral, instead using that time to hunt the people responsible for the love of her life’s death. This resulted in our first cameo of the episode and a spectacular fight scene that showed just how powerful Rogue is, easily breaking into a bunker created to contain the Hulk and confronting a very cocky General Ross. This led to Rogue finding Captain America who was on the same hunt for Gyrich but Cap said his hands were tied so he couldn't assist Rogue. Rogue definitely didn't need the assist from Cap since she easily caught his shield and in an act of true pettiness threw Cap’s shield into some snowy mountains to slow him down and keep him from stopping her. Cap answers to his role as a symbol and sometimes that can conflict with what he wants to do , something that will surely be a plot point in the Captain America 4 film with Falcon taking over that mantle in the MCU. Rogue found Gyrich living in luxury in Mexico and absorbed his memories (seeing a quick vision of Nimrod). Rogue left him alive and unconscious but he was later killed by a mysterious villain who disappeared into the night.
Genosha :
The X- Men arrived in Genosha to assist in the recovery efforts without any assistance from the UN who seem to be distancing themselves from the situation leaving the mutant survivors to their laurels. Cyclops and Jean had a comforting conversation where they made peace as Jean felt the signature of a telepathic mutant in the rubble. Scott believed it was Madelyne and he was heartbroken , when he discovered that the mutant survivor was Emma Frost. Emma survived the massacre just like the “E is for Extinction” comic book having gained a secondary mutation into her organic diamond form with her stating that “she has always done well under pressure:” ( a great line). Beast had a heart to heart conversation with Trish Tilby after she showed up to report on Genosha that ended on a sour note ( the two clearly have feelings for each other ). During the episode's Genoshan events , Bolivar Trask contacted the X-Men via the X-Jet and informed them that Sinister was behind everything and that they should come to Madripoor so that he can tell them the truth about what happened in Genosha.
Jubilee and Sunspot :
Sunspot and Jubilee decided to pay a visit to his mother so that he could tell her that he is a mutant since the reality of a looming war between mutants and humanity seems closer to fruition now than ever before. To their surprise Roberto’s mother already knew he was a mutant , having grown to suspect it after all the mysterious fires that occurred around her son. Whilst she does not have a problem with him being a mutant and she thanks Jubilee for assisting her son. Mrs da Costa wants Roberto to keep his identity as a mutant a secret from the world to avoid affecting their families business interests. This was definitely not the result Roberto expected, Roberto will most likely be forced to choose between his family and the X-Men (Jubilee) eventually.
Finding Trask :
Rogue regained consciousness at Gambit’s grave site as she woke up in Nightcrawler’s arms. Nightcrawler comforted his sister as he made her remember that she lost two people ( Gambit and Magneto ) and it’s okay for her to grieve. Rogue broke down in tears in her brother's arms as the rest of the X-Men team showed up for Rogue as the entire gang departed for Madripoor to find Trask together. I’m glad that the show confirmed that Rogue and Nightcrawler are aware that they are siblings through their mother Mystique.
When the team finds Bolivar Trask in Madripoor he is about to jump from a skyscraper but Rogue catches him before he jumps. Trask revealed that Sinister has a mysterious organization called OZT that has been developing extremely advanced sentinels. Rogue asks Trask for more information and tells him that assisting them is his only path towards redemption , when Trask says he doesn't know anything more Rogue drops Trask to his death to the shock and horror of some members of the team. Nightcrawler was shocked at his sister's action, Wolverine supported it , Morph questioned if this is who the X-Men are now , Scott was speechless and Jean’s reaction wasn’t shown.
Rogue dropping Trask from the building activated his dormant programming which turned him into a human-sentinel hybrid. Whilst Rogue was clearly angry before she seemed way more calmer , I wonder if absorbing Gyrich’s memories resulted in her taking on some of his hatred. Rogue can also absorb people's personalities when she takes their powers or memories.Rogue looked unhinged in the rain after she dropped Trask and gave her monologue.
In a terrifying scene the now mutated Trask completely pummeled the entire X-Men team one by one after knocking out Rogue first. Cable showed up just in the knick of time to save the team as Jean read his mind and finally deciphered Cable’s identity as Nathan Summers. Cable told Jean she should stay out of his head because she isn’t his mother before he revealed to the X-Men that Sinister is not the top gun after all and he is working for someone else.
Villain Revealed :
The villain was revealed to be Bastion towards the end of the episode. Bastion reveals to Sinister that the X-Men faked Professor X’s death after he intercepted a broadcast from the events in last week's episodes from the Shi’ar Empire , which showed Empress Lilandra announcing her wedding with Charles as her Emperor to the galaxy. The Bastion reveal didn’t end there and we got another big one in the final scene of the episode, Magneto is still alive and Bastion kidnapped him. Whatever Bastion is planning for Magneto clearly isn’t good.
Bastion is a marvel comics supervillain who debuted in Uncanny X-Men in 1996. He is a human-sentinel hybrid who hates mutants. Using Bastion makes more sense in the show than using Cassandra Nova, who was the villain responsible for the Genoshian massacre in the comics. Cassandra is tied to Professor X but Bastion is tied to anti-mutant hate groups which makes the show feel more cohesive since sentinels and the friends of humanity have been villains since episode 1 of this show.
My “other” thoughts :
1. This episode was an excellent showcase of Nightcrawler's personality and why he is a beloved character. Religious , kind, wise beyond his years and loving. Nightcrawler has always been a character that shows people that you can’t ever judge a book by its cover.
2. I’ve been wondering if X-Men would be better suited for television or a movie , there are simply way too many cool X-Men characters for them all to shine in an X-Men movie. Some characters probably won’t get to shine as much as others. I wonder how the MCU will get around this when the live action rebooted MCU X-Men eventually appear.
3. The writers are making good use of the show's TV MA-14 rating by allowing the show to go where the original 90’s show couldn't due to censorship at the time. This is clearly an animated show for adults ,who were kids/ teens when they watched the original in the 90’s.
4. Bastion’s organization OZT most likely stands for his organization in the comics “Operation Zero Tolerance” a anti-mutant organization.
5. The fight scenes on the show feel very anime influenced, they look really colorful and the characters movements are fluid. The show feels like a perfect marriage between 2D and 3D animation.
Verdict :
A thrilling episode filled with heart, grief , action , drama and astonishing reveals. X-Men 97 achieves the impossible by continuing to impress weekly.
Rating :
Story: 10/10
Visuals: 10/10
Sound: 10/10
Performances: 10/10
Overall: 10/10
Join me weekly for more reviews of the first season of X-Men 97.
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