I need more of Trask and Gyrich hiding out in the jungle and getting on each other’s nerves
It was great to bring back the season one Sentinels and also see Trask again although other than the callback they didn’t feed into the story much. I think this probably completes the Morph arc and he finally got to show off what his powers could do. I hate the new sentinel voices however. Just horrible.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2023-05-31T00:49:14Z
[7.5/10] It’s nice to get to revisit things with Morph. I forget which episode, but a recent one had da blind and you’ll miss it cameo from him at Muir island, and it was nice to see him recovering after the difficulties of season 2. So I’m especially glad to get a full episode about his recovery.
If nothing else, it’s nice to see him and Wolverine. I don’t know why, but there’s something endearing about seeing grumpy Logan have somebody who punctures through his jerky armor. Watching the two embrace, go on an adventure together (even a harrowing one) and even joke around a bit together is a nice payoff to the friendship that drove both drama and catharsis in the first couple of seasons.
Speaking of which, it’s not just Morph who gets a return engagement. This feels a lot like a sequel to the early stories of the show, with none other than Mastemold as the villain of the piece, and Gyrich and Trask making cameos as more captives of the super sentinels. The latter are mostly just there for a “Hey, remember these guys!” interlude, but it’s still nice to see a bit of their comeuppance.
Mastermold, on the other hand, has a bigger role to pay. In terms of plot, he’s the cause of the theft of a fancy new material from various superlabs. He means to use it to construct a fancy new body for himself. But more to the point, the presence of sentinels forces Morph to relive his trauma from one of the very first episodes of the show.
I like that his struggle with that is what this episode is really about. Yeah, there’s the usual danger and excitement that comes from giant robots kidnapping/attacking superpowered mutants. But at the heart of this story is Morph striving to recover from a traumatic experience, hitting understandable bumps in the road that trigger him, but choosing to soldier on despite that because the safety and wellbeing of his friends is at start. That’s a very stirring story.
And while it’s more practical than bold, I also like the fact that Morph isn’t magically cured of what is mainly a psychological ailment like this by sheer force of will. Instead, he helps save the day, but acknowledges that he needs more time to heal before he’s ready to get back in the field. That’s surprisingly mature from the show, and in an episode with the rest of the X-Men finding humane yet practical ways to reintegrate morph, I like the fact that not everything is fixed even though the day is won.
Overall, this is a neat sequel to a number of elements off the show we haven't seen for a while, bolstered by a very human and sympathetic story for Morph.