Beware of spoilers for the show in the article. Please do not continue reading if you haven't seen the 10th episode yet and you are not okay with being spoiled.
Introduction :
And just like that, the season finale of X-Men 97 ended on a high note. This show has felt like a love letter to the comics and the original show in the best possible way and this season finale was no different. This season finale was the longest episode of the show yet and a lot of stuff went down.
Eric and Charles :
We zoned in on Charles and Eric's friendship this episode and how different they have been from the beginning of their friendship. Charles always believed in a better world for mutants and humans together whilst Erik never believed humanity could accept those different from them due to his own life experiences during the holocaust. With Logan unconscious after Magneto removed the adamantium from his body , Morph stays by his side and shapeshifts into Jean to try and comfort him. Charles uses his powers on Magneto to turn back the power on earth but discovers that as a consequence of forcibly using his telepathy on Magneto , Erik’s mind has been fractured. Charles then spends the rest of the episode trying to save Erik. Charles forcibly using his powers on Erik opens up so many questions about morality. Controlling someone's mind against their will is wrong, a violation of free will . I guess it speaks to the fact that even heroes might need to break the rules in order to save people. Charles breaks the rules to save the earth but I wonder if that decision will still stay with him.
The Phoenix Returns :
This episode also serves as an excellent chapter for the Summers as Cyclops, Cable and Jean Grey all get excellent moments to shine throughout the episode. We got confirmation that the Phoenix is still with Jean Grey. Jean calls upon the Phoenix to save her life from Cable’s attack, get her revenge on Mr. Sinister and save Cable in the process (she finally called him her son). Her greatest feat was perhaps reversing Sinister’s decades long experiments on himself (which gave him longevity and more power). Sinister asking Morph to show him what he looks like as Morph shapeshifted into Sinister’s now frail physical form was another excellent form of vengeance for Morph especially considering how Sinister experimented on him too just like Jean. Whilst Sinister disappeared into the night, I'm sure he will be back eventually.
Bastion attacked the X-Men and the team managed to use Beast’s invention to block his connection with the other human-hybrid sentinels. Bastion, angered by this, attacked the Gold team and set his sights on Asteroid M to accelerate the final phase of his plan. Bastion intended to destroy Asteroid M causing it to fall and crash onto the earth.
Bastion’s fall :
During the long and action heavy climax of the episode , Bastion attacked Asteroid M and faced the Blue team. This resulted in a couple of cool action sequences starting with Rogue striking Bastion first and telling him to remember Gambit’s name and Sunspot joining her for an assist. Cyclops, Nightcrawler and Jubilee fought Bastion inside the Asteroid once he escaped from Rogue and Sunspot and we had another phenomenal fight. Cyclops and Nightcrawler held their own despite Bastion nearly killing them but Jubilee finally got a chance to shine by using her powers offensively to slice off Bastion’s wings and slash his face exposing his robotic skull. Bastion has become more robot than man, which is both a fascinating and terrifying development. I loved how Jubilee’s power use was set up in episode 4 of the show when she saw her future self, talk about character growth.
The Gold team made it to space in a sentinel to fight Bastion as Cyclops made the leadership decision to stop fighting Bastion. The US government also decided to launch missiles at Asteroid M to destroy it but this only made the problem worse as it caused the Asteroid to fall to the earth, accelerating what they intended to stop. Facing an uncertain future Jean and Scott said goodbye to Cable in the most emotional scene of the episode as Jean used her powers to show Nathan his father’s eyes. Charles managed to help Magneto regain consciousness just in time before the Asteroid crashed down to earth and Erik sends the Asteroid back to space as it exploded with the X-Men presumed dead.
Looking ahead to season 2 :
1. Six months later a heartbroken Forge has been alone at the mansion and has spent all that time looking for Storm and the rest of the X-Men with no success as Bishop returns after being MIA since taking Nathan to the future. Bishop tells Forge that a mysterious person displaced the X-Men across time and he has returned to save the X-men.
2. Scott and Jean have been sent to 3960 A.D , a post apocalyptic future where they encounter Mother Askani and a young Nathan. It seems we finally discovered where Cable took baby Nathan but does Cable not remember meeting his parents before ? , I guess we will find out in season 2. Mother Askani is Rachel Summers ( Cyclops and Jean’s daughter from an alternate reality in the comics), so there is potential for more Summers family drama going into season 2.
3. Rogue, Nightcrawler , Beast, Xavier and Magneto have been sent to 3000 B.C. in Ancient Egypt where they meet a young Apocalypse still going by En Sabah Nur.
4. We didn't see what happened to Storm, Jubilee, Sunspot, Wolverine and Morph but it's very likely they are all also trapped in either the past or the future timeline with the rest of the X-Men since they are missing in the present day just like the rest of the X-Men.
5. In the mid-credits scene we see Apocalypse in Genosha as he pulls out one of Gambit’s cards from the wreckage. This scene felt the most like a confirmation that Gambit will be resurrected as Apocalypse’s Horseman of Death in season 2 ( a storyline from the comics).
Verdict :
It will be interesting to see how all of these cliffhanger storylines converge in the upsecond season , if season 1 taught us anything as the audience it’s to sit back and enjoy the creative magic the production team cooks up for us.
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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