Wolverine’s stories are always the best. They dive into his character and provide plenty of backstory from past episodes and his old story. Chris Dodd voice is perfect and I can’t hear anyone but him as the character. This story was pretty much karate kid but the action was good.
Synopsis: Wolverine is facing psychological issues, and Professor X doesn't seem to be able to help. To work things out, Wolverine goes to a village in Japan, where he once lived years ago. Not long after arriving, he discovers that the villagers are under threat by the Silver Samurai, who rules all of the nearby villages with an iron fist. Wolverine is trying to give up his violent ways, but, the people in the village can't face their tyrannical ruler on their own. Will Wolverine be able to lead them to victory?
The Good: This is a bit different than usual, as it doesn't feature nearly as many mutants; regular characters such as Jean, Cyclops, or Beast appear only briefly, if at all. Much of the battling is done sans superpowers. Still, I enjoyed it.
The Bad: When a show starts to lose its original focus, it's usually a sign of the end; hopefully, it won't deviate too much in the remaining episodes.
Content Concerns:
Sex: Two brief kisses; a woman is called a "babe".
Nudity: Wolverine is seen shirtless about four or five times.
Language: Name-calling.
Violence: Action violence throughout, though the villagers do their best to defeat their nemeses without killing.
Drugs: None.
Frightening/Intense Scenes: Scary villains; emotionally intense flashbacks; Wolverine gets very upset at times.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2023-07-01T02:22:59Z
[7.1/10] I’m torn on this one. Part of it feels like something the show trying to Eat Pray Love Wolverine in Japan. It’s not far off from the Inuit episode with him that fell into some unfortunate tropes. Logan having to go away and learn Eastern wisdom to heal so he can return home is a problematic story to tell.
That said, this is also X-Men trying to do Yojimbo. Wolverine is the ronin who comes to a simple village that is being harassed by thugs as part of a protection scheme and is drawn into protecting those he comes to care about. I honestly love the setup (Star Wars, which is heavily influenced by Yojimbo and its ilk, has done it well on multiple occasions.) But X-Men’s rendition of it is full of cliches, some unfortunate (the fortune cookie wisdom of his master), and some worthy of mere groans (him having a romance with a local woman who we see him interact with for maybe thirty seconds).
Still, as with other recent episodes, I like the psychological bent this one takes. Wolverine is tortured, even though he’s made peace with a lot of the traumas he’s dealt with over the course of the show. And yet, he recognizes that he’s no longer able to control his anger, control the animal parts of himself, and it scares him. Seeing Professor X try to work through these challenges with him, and seeing Wolverine realize he’s a danger to those he cares about and that he needs to go and seek help is really encouraging, even if the execution isn’t perfect.
Likewise, I like the idea that he needs to see himself with new eyes, accept himself and forgive himself. The bromides that “The Lotus and the Steel” drapes him in aren’t great, but the ideas of self-forgiveness and understanding are potent nonetheless.
The fights are pretty silly. But there’s at least some variety to the locals using sub-Home Alone tactics to fight the gang that’s terrorizing them. And as much as Silver Samurai is turned into a generic baddie here, I do like that Logan has to use his head and anticipate his opponent’s teleportation attack and respond to it, rather than the usual, “Just slash it harder!” approach the show takes.
Overall, this is a mixed bag of an episode given the cliches and Eastern exoticism baked into the very premise, but the exploration of Wolverine’s psyche makes it worth watching nonetheless.