X-Men ’97 episode 7 review: "Season one has finally hit a lull"

GamesRadar+ Verdict GamesRadar+ Verdict Why you can trust GamesRadar+Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about our reviews policy. Why you can trust GamesRadar+Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about our reviews policy. Warning: Spoilers for X-Men ‘97 episode 7 ahead! Well, you can’t win ‘em all. After non-stop death, destruction, and the plot twist to end all plot twists, X-Men ‘97 season 1 has finally hit a lull. Episode 7, titled ‘Bright Eyes’, begins with a funeral. Nightcrawler, in traditional priest garb, eulogizes Gambit in a beautiful way before we watch his coffin being lowered into the ground. Noticeably absent from the funeral is Rogue, who we assume can’t possibly bear to even be there – and who could blame her? “Grief is a lonely war,” Beast reminds us. “Rogue’s gotta figure it out own on her own.” Cut to Rogue figuring things out. She’s breaking into a US Army base in hopes of finding Henry Gyrich or Boliver Trask, the men behind the creation of those mutant-killing Sentinel robots. In a surprise twist, an angry Captain America appears and tells her to stand down. He tells Rogue that they’re both on the same mission, but doesn’t want to team up with the X-Men in public because it “sends a message”. So, not only has the President of the United States shied away from publicly supporting mutants due to “optics,” but so has good ol’ Steve Rogers himself. In my favorite scene of the entire episode, Rogue, unhappy with Cap’s rather cowardly response, takes his shield and throws it into the mountains before flying away. No one’s messing with Anna Marie LeBeau today. (Image credit: Disney Plus) The X-Men, determined to keep hope alive, travel back to Genosha to look for survivors. Good news: Emma Frost is alive, and has reached her virtually impenetrable “diamond form” (which is a direct and very cool callback to the Fall of Genosha in the comics). Bad news: Madelyne Pryor and Magneto are still dead (or so we think). Things do pick up again when the gang finally finds Boliver Trask, who Morph hilariously refers to as the Poor Man’s Oppenheimer. Trask gives the X-Men some sob story about how Mister Sinister never took him seriously, and decides to jump off the balcony in what seems like an attempt to end his life. Rogue grabs him and asks him to tell them more about the Sentinels, but he simply replies, “I have nothing”. In one of the coolest and coldest moves ever, Rogue replies, “Neither do I,” and lets him fall. Damn! Oh but then he, uh, doesn’t die and instead mutates into some kind of Human Sentinel known as Prime Trask and becomes virtually unstoppable. (Image credit: Disney Plus) The show is constantly double-bluffing, and I’m fine with that. However, the “dead but not really” thing, while fun at first what with Xavier’s reveal, is already a bit old. Trask’s death-but-not-death was pretty cool in theory, but I also couldn’t help but groan when it happened. We’re in the middle of what’s about to be an all-out war, humans and mutants alike, against Mister Sinister…and we keep resurrecting people. Episode 6 showed Xavier rushing to return to Earth, but he hasn’t popped up yet. When he does, it’s likely that the mutants will be accused of lying and covering up his death, becoming the final nail in the coffin that fully the humans against them. This would make for a pretty interesting storyline, of course, but maybe we should let dead characters die…unless it’s Gambit. I’d be fine with some wildly invented magical reason for bringing back Gambit. The first seven episodes of X-Men ‘97 are available on now onDisneyPlus, with the remaining episodes set to drop weekly. For more, check out all the X-Men ‘97 Easter eggs you might have missed, our list of all of 2024’snew X-Men comics, and our guide onhow to watch the X-Men movies in order. 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review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years” 4 Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years” 5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths” 5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths” 5 Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths” 1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show” 1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show” 1 Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show” 2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but 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