[4.7/10] Pretty bad. I don’t want to slate this episode too much, because this episode’s heart is in the right place. Showing compassion towards others, recognizing when people have a hard time around the holidays given their histories, and sharing with those less fortunate are all good lodestones for any holiday special to follow.
But good lord is this one saccharine, mawkish, and cheap. The whole bit with Leech being on death’s door feels manipulative. Wolverine’s unwillingness to donate blood has a kernel of something interesting, but is underdeveloped. And having a doe-eyed little girl to drive home the Morlocks’ desire to save their friend is cliche as all hell. Plus, the fact that there’s a campy dispute between Jean and Gambit over cooking Xmas dinner interspersed makes it that much harder to take an obvious emotional button-pushing “tragedy” seriously.
Likewise, while it’s nice to see Jubilee turn down the opulent Xmas at the mansion in favor of sharing what she has with the Morlocks, it comes off as rote poverty porn when she wanders around the sewer and sees how much tougher the Morlocks have it. There’s an infantilizing quality to it, which I don’t love.
Much less significantly, while I like the show remembering that Storm is supposed to be the leader of the Morlocks after several seasons, it’s weird that she gives leadership back to Kalisto since, if I recall correctly, the whole point of taking it away was that Kalisto was leading the Morlocks to evil. But whatever. Ties up that loose end, I guess.
Overall, this is a weak yuletide offering that can’t deliver on the emotion or good ideas the show’s aiming for.
Shout by Jerry HowellBlockedParent2017-01-04T21:50:49Z
Synopsis: It's Jubilee's first Christmas with the X-Men, and she is excited to have a big Yule celebration! While out shopping with Storm and Wolverine, they discover an ambulance hijacked by the Morlocks, a group of mutant who live in the sewers. When they find out that a young Morlock is deathly ill, they try and use their mutant powers to save his life...but, will they?
The Good: I love a good Christmas episode, and this was a fun one. A bit different than usual for this series, but, still fun, even if Christmas is already over and done with.
The Bad: Fans may be disappointed with the lack of action.
Content Concerns:
Sex: None.
Nudity: Cleavage; woman in bare-midriff top and short shorts.
Language: Name-calling.
Violence: Occasional mild violence, which is unusual for this series.
Drugs: Talk of medication; a spoken reference to "ale".
Frightening/Intense Scenes: The whole episode revolves around a deathly ill child; Wolverine gets rather angry at times.