[7.4/10] I liked this one a lto better than the first Phoenix Saga episode. Xavier’s negative thoughts ghost is a kind of weird conceit, but one that works in the outsized world of the X-Men. Even at his worst, I don’t imagine Xavier as a sort of preening megalomaniac. But the crew seeing a version of their leader who’s malevolent, cruel, and powerful throws everyone for a loop, and results in some challenges that are as much psychological as they are the usual maelstrom of energy beams and explosions.
In particular, I like the idea that everyone is throwing around recriminations in the wake of Jean’s rough experience. Everyone feels bad about it, so Xavier blames Cyclops’ leadership, Cyclops blames Xavier for not giving them all the details, and Wolverine just feels lousy about it regardless. Exploring what happens to team morale and inter team dynamics when everything goes wrong is way more interesting to me than a watered down rendition of Star Wars.
I also like the idea that this Xavier Ghost is a manifestation of Professor X’s darkest thoughts about what he cares about most -- the X-Men. Hearing him call Wolverine an unsavable animal, or drag down Gambit and Jubilee for their faults, has a real power to it. You can see him tearing away at the parts of his comrades he knows will hurt the most. I don’t love his “You puny mortals” standard supervillain boasts, but I like the more psychologically pointed aspects of his dialogue. It adds meaning to the Shi’ar having worn down the safeguards of his psyche.
That helps explain why, even after Jean uses her Phoenix powers to save him, Professor X chooses to go to Muir Island to recover. This is the second season in a row where Xavcier has been separated from the rest of the X_Men, so it's not as novel. But him being gone and putting Cyclops in total control is an interesting development. So is him going to see Moira McTaggart only to find that she has a new beau.
Once again, I like the idea of exploring the inner character of Xavier. As Moira herself notes, we’ve gotten to see him as a leader of the X-Men so far, but not really as a person. Getting the sense that he’s lonely at the top and short an actual confidantes is a different side of Charles we’ve never really seen before.
The connection to the Shi’ar isn’t bad on that front. The much-ballyhooed Lilandra arrives and delivers a lot of the usual exposition. There’s some powerful macguffin held by some powerful intergalactic warlord. Gotta retrieve or their galaxies will explode. Blah blah blah.
But her arrival comes with the intriguing idea that she and Xavier are meant for one another in some way. The dialogue is pretty cheesy, but there’s something to the idea that, at his lowest moment, Xavier gets a lifeline in the form of someone who feels destined to be with him. It’s the idea of a soulmate conveyed in the X-Men’s grandiose terms, and I’m intrigued to see where they go with it.
Overall, a big improvement over the first episode of this arc for delving more deeply into the characters at the heart of the show than the plot mechanics of superpowers and space aliens.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2023-05-04T01:38:45Z
[7.4/10] I liked this one a lto better than the first Phoenix Saga episode. Xavier’s negative thoughts ghost is a kind of weird conceit, but one that works in the outsized world of the X-Men. Even at his worst, I don’t imagine Xavier as a sort of preening megalomaniac. But the crew seeing a version of their leader who’s malevolent, cruel, and powerful throws everyone for a loop, and results in some challenges that are as much psychological as they are the usual maelstrom of energy beams and explosions.
In particular, I like the idea that everyone is throwing around recriminations in the wake of Jean’s rough experience. Everyone feels bad about it, so Xavier blames Cyclops’ leadership, Cyclops blames Xavier for not giving them all the details, and Wolverine just feels lousy about it regardless. Exploring what happens to team morale and inter team dynamics when everything goes wrong is way more interesting to me than a watered down rendition of Star Wars.
I also like the idea that this Xavier Ghost is a manifestation of Professor X’s darkest thoughts about what he cares about most -- the X-Men. Hearing him call Wolverine an unsavable animal, or drag down Gambit and Jubilee for their faults, has a real power to it. You can see him tearing away at the parts of his comrades he knows will hurt the most. I don’t love his “You puny mortals” standard supervillain boasts, but I like the more psychologically pointed aspects of his dialogue. It adds meaning to the Shi’ar having worn down the safeguards of his psyche.
That helps explain why, even after Jean uses her Phoenix powers to save him, Professor X chooses to go to Muir Island to recover. This is the second season in a row where Xavcier has been separated from the rest of the X_Men, so it's not as novel. But him being gone and putting Cyclops in total control is an interesting development. So is him going to see Moira McTaggart only to find that she has a new beau.
Once again, I like the idea of exploring the inner character of Xavier. As Moira herself notes, we’ve gotten to see him as a leader of the X-Men so far, but not really as a person. Getting the sense that he’s lonely at the top and short an actual confidantes is a different side of Charles we’ve never really seen before.
The connection to the Shi’ar isn’t bad on that front. The much-ballyhooed Lilandra arrives and delivers a lot of the usual exposition. There’s some powerful macguffin held by some powerful intergalactic warlord. Gotta retrieve or their galaxies will explode. Blah blah blah.
But her arrival comes with the intriguing idea that she and Xavier are meant for one another in some way. The dialogue is pretty cheesy, but there’s something to the idea that, at his lowest moment, Xavier gets a lifeline in the form of someone who feels destined to be with him. It’s the idea of a soulmate conveyed in the X-Men’s grandiose terms, and I’m intrigued to see where they go with it.
Overall, a big improvement over the first episode of this arc for delving more deeply into the characters at the heart of the show than the plot mechanics of superpowers and space aliens.