My Mind Is Blown #5

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Final Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

Holy crap! This episode was nothing like I expected. Knowing that this is the last episode before the major three-part episode "Tolerance is Extinction," I expected things to be somber. Pretty much, I thought this episode would be a memorial of sorts to those lost during the Genosha Genocide, with a little reveal to help it transition to the next episode.

What actually happened was so much better. And yeah, this episode trumps "Lifedeath-Part 2" for me.

A quick recap:

1. Things have been dicey between Jean and Cyclops, partly because of the latter's psychic affair with Madelyne Pryor.

2. Genosha was attacked by a new type of Sentinel, killing thousands of mutants, including Magneto and Gambit.

3. Sinister seems to be the one behind the attack with the help of Gyrich and Trask.

Episode Seven: Bright Eyes

Those who attended Gambit's funeral might have been few, mainly consisting of most of the X-Men and members of the Thieves' Guild, of which Gambit had previously been a member. To see how they mourn showed the impact that Gambit had on their lives. Of course, there are some not in attendance, most notable being Rogue. Like Kurt states, we have a right to be afraid of her absence.

I think we often forget how powerful Rogue truly is. Not only is she equipped with super strength and the ability to fly, but she also can gain the abilities and memories of anyone she touches. Yeah, yeah, we know that, but Rogue has always pulled her punches. It makes sense, the X-Men, as a whole, don't want to kill people and strive to protect humanity. They are not going to use their powers at the maximum level for the fear they hurt innocents.

But now, Rogue is pissed off and grieving. She's lost two men she loved dearly and who loved her in return, one of which stayed despite the fact he could touch her. Her rampage against those stationed at a government site overseen by a familiar MCU character, Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, is only one demonstration of her gifts. I mean, she broke into a building designed to hold the Hulk without breaking a sweat. (Could this be the Cube, or something similar? The environment looks right and it was designed to hold the Hulk, plus other gamma-radiated people.)

Rogue isn't the only one who is getting pissed off. Cyclops had an explosive moment during the interview in "Remember It," and it clearly wasn't the end of it. The UN is pulling their support in helping search for survivors on Genosha, with the President claiming they haven't found any new survivors in a week. A slip of the tongue reveals it may be more about politics and optics, but whatever the real reasons, the X-Men are on their own.

It seems like issues between Jean and Cyclops have been put on hold, so they can focus on providing hope for mutant kind. They do address some of their issues on multiple occasions, and I will say Jean appears sympathetic to Cyclops' feelings. Poor guy has been through it this season; he found of the mother of his son was a clone (Madelyne), had to give up his son to save him, and has lost Madelyne without truly resolving things. It's nice to see Jean be a support system to him despite her understandable anger with the whole psychic affair thing.

Reporter Trish Tilby comes to Genosha and for a moment, it seemed like Beast was going to have a bit of romance. Honestly, I can't believe I didn't even mention the little flirtation between them in episode 5 ("Blue blushes too."). But after Tilby's comments about humanity and their fear of mutant kind, Beast appears frustrated, and things appear to be over before they can even start.

I would like to think, or maybe hope, that Tilby is truly a supporter of mutants, but isn't completely aware or understanding of all their feelings. Sometimes, when a person doesn't get your situation, they will say things that come across harsh or hurtful without realizing the implications. Besides that, this genocide is going to affect Beast and Tilby differently; they are looking at it from very different perspectives. I don't know if the creators are planning on making them an official romance; from what I've read about her appearances in the comics, they had a tumultuous relationship. It would be interesting to see how they would deal with a mixed-gene (is that what you would call it?) couple.

Actually, since we are talking about different perspectives in a relationship, let's talk about Jubilee and Roberto. Their discussion in Genosha demonstrates the maturity and type of relationship they have. Like any couple, they have things they don't agree on, one of the biggest being how open you should be about being a mutant. Another point is Roberto hiding his mutant status from not only the world, but more importantly his parents. Though she can understand not advertising it for the world to see, Jubilee insists on him at least telling his parents.

"I just know I wouldn't want my parents finding out who I was on the 5:00 news. Don't want them burying a stranger." - Jubilee, X-Men '97, "Bright Eyes"

Many, including moi, were annoyed with the appearance of Captain America. When Rogue crosses paths with him, I expected a partnership for a big chunk of the episode. But instead of being a supporter, as he is usually depicted in comics and live-action films, Captain America hesitates to cross the line to help Rogue and the rest of mutant kind justice.

I feel like this quote voices the common feelings of the interaction:

So why is X-Men ’97 pitting Cap against the mutant team, especially after witnessing the Genosha genocide? He’s worried about “sending a message” by going off-book with Rogue, but there’s no better time to send a message in support of mutants. Cap has gone against orders for much less, so seeing him hesitate to cross the line here just feels like a blight against his true nature.

The X-Men have always represented the plight of the marginalized. That means non-mutants can be used as a tool for opposition, even if they would otherwise side with the team. Cap’s X-Men ’97 cameo does reinforce the idea that the X-Men are truly alone in this world, but it compromises his integrity to do it. It’s frustrating to watch, especially since there are plenty of other Avengers who actually would stand against the X-Men.

- "Did X-Men '97 Just Ruin a Classic Avenger?", Lyvie Scott with Inverse.com

Remember when I said the supposed mastermind behind the genocide was Sinister? If I've learned anything with this season of X-Men '97, things aren't always as they appear. Rogue and Cap's interaction does give us a bit of information. OZT seems to be the connection between Gyrich, Trask, Sinister, and someone else. (I'll let you know soon, I promise.) Though it is not stated during the episode, OZT is Operation: Zero Tolerance, a reference to a 1997 X-Men comic book story arc.

Rogue quickly finds Gyrich in a resort like safe house, studying butterflies. Remember how I say she flexes her powers this episode? In order to find out what Gyrich knows, she absorbs his life force and gaining his memories (and probably his crappy attitude for a little bit). With these, we get a quick glimpse of our true big bad: Bastion, a Sentinel humanoid. (Honestly, that is the simplest way to explain who is he is, but here's some extra information.) This marks the first time we actually see him, and it appears they may be altering his origin story some. (The information previously linked in the paragraph goes into more detail.)

Bastion has already upped the ante in the villain department with the destruction and death in Genosha. Thankfully, though it seems to be a small victory in the midst of everything else, there is a survivor: Emma Frost. Thanks to what is called a secondary mutation, something that is only a possibility for some mutants. In Emma's case, her popular diamond form was triggered due to the high stress of the event.

The celebration, or heartbreak in Cyclops' case, is interrupted by Bolivar Trask who reveals Mister Sinister's part in the genocide and invites the X-Men to the UN Peace Legion in Madripoor. To Falcon and the Winter Solider fans, Madripoor is a familiar location.

Not everyone is going to Madripoor. Jubilee and Roberto go his place, showing just how well off his family is. After a moment of hesitation, Roberto bluntly reveals to his mother that he is a mutant. His mom surprisingly takes the news well; in fact, she and his father already know. Oh, great! Not! Although Roberto's mom seems accepting of her son's mutant, she reveals the need to keep this matter private, along with him being "discreet" about his associations. That doesn't seem to bode well for the romance between the young mutants, but I guess we'll have to see.

I'm going to take a moment and reveal something to you. Those who watched X-Men: The Animated Series, or read the comics already know this, but Nightcrawler and Rogue are siblings. Mystique, Nightcrawler's biological mom, adopted Rogue when she was younger, mainly to use Rogue's abilities for herself. In the past, I've felt their sibling-ship was not always addressed, so I really loved that the creators gave us a brother-sister moment this episode.

The creators also gave us a theme song of sorts for Bastion, Sheb Wooley's "The Purple People Eater," which gave me chills, along with watching him kill Gyrich like it was nothing.

The X-Men go and meet up with the now deceased Gyrich's partner, Trask. What they find and learn is terrifying. Mister Sinister, along with his silent and presently unknown partner (it's Bastion, but the X-Men don't know that yet) has been working on futuristic Sentinels. And according to a suicidal Trask, they are worst then the Sentinel that attacked Genosha.

What happens next is a game changer and will undoubtedly have consequences for the foreseeable future. Rogue saves Trask, and gives a path to redemption - Trask can help them get the real bad guys. When he doesn't offer anymore information, Rogue does the unthinkable and drops him to fall to his death.

Again, things are not as they seem. Trask mutates into some sort of human Sentinel and defeats Rogue with a punch, leaving the rest of the X-Men to fall like dominos as they try to take him down.

In minutes, Cyclops is the last one fighting until some sort of EMP grenade, shuts down Sentinel Trask and the surrounding electricity, thanks to Cable. His reunion with Cyclops, his father (remember, Cable is the future Nathan Summers) is a bit more tense, thanks to Jean's unwelcome intrusion and the revelation that someone worst than Sinister is behind everything. Of course, we know this is Bastion.

Bastion doesn't reveal his whole plan to the audience, but we know it has something to do with those new Sentinels, and that it involves revealing the X-Men's secret that Charles Xavier is still alive. This isn't the only secret Bastion is planning on telling.

Magneto is alive, which would be great news if it wasn't for his present predicament. Bastion has him trapped, and he has big plans for him. The popular theory is that he plans on doing to Magneto what he did to Trask, and turn him into some sort of Sentinel.

I'm sure all will be revealed soon, though I can't promise it will be by the next episode.

My Three Favorite Moments:

Kurt's eulogy: This was a sad moment, but Kurt's words perfectly summed up Gambit, chock-full of gambling phrases and terms.

Lenore Zann's performance as Rogue: Her performance made Rogue's grief and anger believable and heart-wrenching.

Roberto's mom already knew: Moms always know.

***

I hope you enjoy reading! Episodes 1-7 of X-Men '97 are available on Disney +. New episodes are available every Wednesday after 3am EST.

Next up will be the start of the three part "Tolerance is Extinction." Each part is supposed to be released during the next three weeks. I'm sill not sure if I publishing stories as the episodes are released or if I'm going to wait until they are all out, so don't be surprised if part #6 doesn't come out next week.