5x10 The Fifth Horseman

[6.9/10] I know that one of the knocks on season 5 of X-Men is the animation. And look, the imagery in this episode is definitely different, which can be jarring. I watched the crossover episodes of Spider-Man: The Animated Series, and even just seeing the different approach to animating the mutants there threw me off, so I get it.

Honestly, though, I kind of loved their animation here? It’s certainly different, and I get why people wouldn’t like that. But I’d dare say the animation itself is better. I probably still prefer the character designs from the bulk of the show. In this episode, it’s easier for folks to seem off-model or variable. But the actual animation was often kind of stiff in the first four seasons, whereas here, things are much more fluid and expressive.

There’s an impressionistic quality in scenes like Beast’s more primal transformation, or Apocalypse injecting his essence into Cortez, that gives these moments a character that’s harder to find in the show’s usual art style. I get why people don’t love. This is more in line with the Disney T.V. division approach to animation. But I liked the freedom and fluidity it brought to the table.

That said, the episode’s writing is a mixed bag. Candidly, I’d forgotten the business where Apocalypse saved Cortez after the events of Asteroid M. So with the reminder, it’s nice to see the show tying off that loose thread in its final season. While I do wish that Apocalypse had been done away with for good after the momentousness of the season 4 finale, I do appreciate that Fabian’s role is to be a failsafe, there to try to find a vessel for Apocalypse to return through, while he’s otherwise floating in an endless void.

That said, the material for Jubilee and Beast was pretty meh. For jubilee, I had zero recollection of Caliban, the mutant who knows her and turns on the rest of Apocalypse’s hounds to save her. Reading the wiki, it seems like he was a background character in a genosha episode, but they play it like he has a deep backstory with Jubilee, which makes the drama between them fall flat since we haven't seen them develop that connection. Also, Jubilee as the sacrifice to Apocalypse seems like an obvious cliche.

Beast fares a little better, but not much. There’s power in the idea of turning him into a more feral form. In essence, he becomes what the world too often saw him as -- a mindless scary creature. I’m not made of stone, though. Him seeing a picture of his found family and a reminder of his friendship with Jubilee, and it bringing him back from the brink, is a nice place to take him.

I also appreciate the consistent rule that Apocalypse always screws over whoever's dumb enough to serve him. The poetic irony of Fabin being jerk to everyone else and saying they’re not worthy of their powers, only to see his powers and body coopted by the one person he was sucking up to is a grim but appropriate fate for Fabian.

Overall, the story here is a major mixed bag, but some cool elements involving the Apocalypse plot,and animation that, love it or hate it, offers a noteworthy change of pace for the series, are both enough to get my attention and admiration.