[8.4/10] This was one of my favorite X-Men episodes in a while. The focus on individual characters and their backstories has really paid creative dividends for the show (Gambit’s episode aside), because it’s forced the writers to be more psychological about how these past events influenced the X-Men in the present, rather than just letting things devolve into the plot machinery of it all.
This is going to sound weird, but I appreciate that the first part of this one was largely just Rogue’s mental torment. We don't know exactly what’s bothering her, but we know she's seeing visions of a past she's locked away that are disturbing her, making her feel like she can't trust her own senses. Normally I slate X-Men for bits of melodrama, but here I think it helps sell how terrifying and unmooring these visions are. The answer to what’s bothering Rogue so much goes beyond the mechanical answer of Mystique trying to shake her into coming back to the villain’s side, and penetrate further into what makes Rogue tick.
As an aside, I’m intrigued by the morals of Professor X “locking away” parts of Rogue’s memories. I know we’ll get into Xavier locking away parts of his pupils’ psyche in more detail layer, and presumably ROgue consented to the treatment. But there’s still something a little questionable about Professor X using his powers to excise or bury part of Rogue’s past, and mystique isn’t out of line for raising that.
This is also one of the more impressionsitic episodes of the show, which almost always gets my attention. While Rogue’s mindscape is pretty standard, it does allow the animators to go wilder and more inventive in how they convey the tumult of her thoughts and feelings. The swirl of faces, both human and monstrous, in a storm of wind and color helps sell what Rogue’s going through. Likewise, the sense of her being haunted by a mysterious presence that she sees in the faces of her friends and allies makes it clear hw destabilizing this condition would be.
I also like mystique’s motivations here. Maybe she just wants a great weapon back. More likely, I think she earnestly became attached to Rogue in some way shape or form. So her going to these lengths to undermine the X-Men much as Morph did, but more importantly to remind Rogue of their time together to get close to her again is intriguing.
WHat a twist though! Candidly, I’m not sure the reveal that Rogue sucked the powers out of Carol Danvers would be so exciting if I wasn’t preexisting familiar with Captain Marvel. As is often the case, this show sort of assumes a familiarity with characters from other projects and doesn’t do much to introduce who Danvers is or where her powers come from. But having never considered wh Rogue has flight and super strength in addition to her regular power-sucking abilities, her having gone full bore in absorbing Danvers’ talents is a very cool explanation.
It also adds a layer of guilt or Rogue’s existence. She knows that her abilities came at the expense of someone else, someone who’s stuck in a coma thanks to her actions. She felt uncomfortable about what she did,a dn blames Mystique for forcing it onto her in a position of trust, but Danvers is still where she is thanks to Rogue. The complexity of that, of locking someone away within your own mind, while trying to comfort them just a little in the real world, is a stirring idea.
The little parts of this one are good too. X-Men has often used the status of mutants as a metaphor for LGBT folks’ struggles, and watching Rogue’s rustic father disown her when he finds out who she really is plays in the same harrowing tones. I like Jean, who’s mostly been on the sidelines to this point, stepping up to fill the space Xavier left in manning cerebro. My one complaint is that poor storm gets punked not once but twice here, and one time it’s by a popcorn bucket so, you know, maybe don’t do that.
Overall though, this is a great examination of what drives Rogue, her past with Mystique, the source of her powers, what she's running away from, and the guilt she's living with thanks to it emerging once more. One of my favorites of the show so far.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2023-04-25T22:56:27Z
[8.4/10] This was one of my favorite X-Men episodes in a while. The focus on individual characters and their backstories has really paid creative dividends for the show (Gambit’s episode aside), because it’s forced the writers to be more psychological about how these past events influenced the X-Men in the present, rather than just letting things devolve into the plot machinery of it all.
This is going to sound weird, but I appreciate that the first part of this one was largely just Rogue’s mental torment. We don't know exactly what’s bothering her, but we know she's seeing visions of a past she's locked away that are disturbing her, making her feel like she can't trust her own senses. Normally I slate X-Men for bits of melodrama, but here I think it helps sell how terrifying and unmooring these visions are. The answer to what’s bothering Rogue so much goes beyond the mechanical answer of Mystique trying to shake her into coming back to the villain’s side, and penetrate further into what makes Rogue tick.
As an aside, I’m intrigued by the morals of Professor X “locking away” parts of Rogue’s memories. I know we’ll get into Xavier locking away parts of his pupils’ psyche in more detail layer, and presumably ROgue consented to the treatment. But there’s still something a little questionable about Professor X using his powers to excise or bury part of Rogue’s past, and mystique isn’t out of line for raising that.
This is also one of the more impressionsitic episodes of the show, which almost always gets my attention. While Rogue’s mindscape is pretty standard, it does allow the animators to go wilder and more inventive in how they convey the tumult of her thoughts and feelings. The swirl of faces, both human and monstrous, in a storm of wind and color helps sell what Rogue’s going through. Likewise, the sense of her being haunted by a mysterious presence that she sees in the faces of her friends and allies makes it clear hw destabilizing this condition would be.
I also like mystique’s motivations here. Maybe she just wants a great weapon back. More likely, I think she earnestly became attached to Rogue in some way shape or form. So her going to these lengths to undermine the X-Men much as Morph did, but more importantly to remind Rogue of their time together to get close to her again is intriguing.
WHat a twist though! Candidly, I’m not sure the reveal that Rogue sucked the powers out of Carol Danvers would be so exciting if I wasn’t preexisting familiar with Captain Marvel. As is often the case, this show sort of assumes a familiarity with characters from other projects and doesn’t do much to introduce who Danvers is or where her powers come from. But having never considered wh Rogue has flight and super strength in addition to her regular power-sucking abilities, her having gone full bore in absorbing Danvers’ talents is a very cool explanation.
It also adds a layer of guilt or Rogue’s existence. She knows that her abilities came at the expense of someone else, someone who’s stuck in a coma thanks to her actions. She felt uncomfortable about what she did,a dn blames Mystique for forcing it onto her in a position of trust, but Danvers is still where she is thanks to Rogue. The complexity of that, of locking someone away within your own mind, while trying to comfort them just a little in the real world, is a stirring idea.
The little parts of this one are good too. X-Men has often used the status of mutants as a metaphor for LGBT folks’ struggles, and watching Rogue’s rustic father disown her when he finds out who she really is plays in the same harrowing tones. I like Jean, who’s mostly been on the sidelines to this point, stepping up to fill the space Xavier left in manning cerebro. My one complaint is that poor storm gets punked not once but twice here, and one time it’s by a popcorn bucket so, you know, maybe don’t do that.
Overall though, this is a great examination of what drives Rogue, her past with Mystique, the source of her powers, what she's running away from, and the guilt she's living with thanks to it emerging once more. One of my favorites of the show so far.