5x02 The Phalanx Covenant (2)

[7.5/10] The second half of this duology isn’t as good as the first. While it was cool to gather Beast, Forge, and Mister Sinister as three different centers of power within the world of the X-Men in part 1, it begins to feel like tourism in part 2.

There’s a certain logic to going to Muir Island and visiting with Moira McTaggart and Banshee in order to research how the Phalanx assimilation affects mutants. But even then, the pair are around for two minutes before they get consumed by the Phalanx and that’s that. For some reason, Amelia is also there, and tags along for the ride in a way that only adds extraneous characters to the proceedings. And then we have to go enlist Magneto as well. Again, there’s a certain logic to it since the Phalanx works on electromagnetism. But at some point, this starts to feel like a clown car, where the writers are more interested in adding characters to Beast’s band than they are advancing the story.

That said, I really like Hodge as the quisling human supporting the Phalanx through all this. There’s something clever about transplanting him as the stooge for Genosha to the stooge for an alien species trying to take over humanity.

I also like their philosophy as the polar opposite of humanity and mutants in particular. There’s something philosophically abhorrent but consistent about the idea that Hodge admires the Phalanx because they reproduce “digitally”, creating exact copies of themselves. The notion that this is a more “efficient” method of reproduction than humanity’s, one that would end the “mistakes” of mutation. He’s essentially talking about a mutant genocide, and the concept of stretching that out to encompass all organic life is terrifying.

It works on a thematic level. Best is fighting for curiosity, for diversity, for the other qualities that come from our genetic dice rolls each time two people come together. But he’s also fighting for the continued existence of his people, against an entity whose plot would ensure that no mutants are ever born again.

Of course, this is a superhero show, so it all basically boils down to, “We have to deploy the mega-antidote to the big enemy base that just so happens to be in our main city.” But Magneto’s fetching of a sample to test their viral counter-agent on has some juice to it. And it’s cool to see this coalition of the willing pull off a major assault on the enemy base with force fields, misdirections, and some sacrifice from Warlock himself.

Also of course, it’s a little convenient that Forge’s viral antidote is able to revert everything to normal with no lasting effects. But it’s neat to see a world-weary Magneto act to save his son, Quicksilver, and then be happily reunited with him. It’s heartwarming to see Warlock be willing to sacrifice himself for the good of humanity, only to survive and be able to recover his “life mate” after all. And having Jean and Cyclops reunited...again, to the point that Scott will let Sinister go, is a nice beat. There's even some more philosophizing about whether this represents an inflection point toward greater mutant solidarity,a s Xavier sees it, or just an evanescent aligning of self-interest in the face of annihilation, as Magneto sees it.

Only the whole, this one isn’t quite as exciting or polished as the last one, but it still has plenty to recommend it.