When Cable talked about the future that Bastion would create - a utopia built on the backs of mutant oppression and slave castes - I thought of the sci-fi novella from the 1970s “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”… The price for any sort of “perfect” world will always put the onus of suffering on someone, we must decide for ourselves to not accept that.
Another interpretation of that work is that it is an actual critique of what humans normally deem as realistic. Leguinn is constantly asking you if you believe omelas is real, and then she says she says "Oh, so you don't believe, so let me tell you that this utopia is based on suffering". It's saying that for us, humans, an utopia is so impossible that there most be some kind of "catch" or "dark secret" to be believable. It's easier to believe in some kind of supernatural deal that as condition makes a human suffer, than to think these humans from omelas reached this utopia on their own.
Your desire for nuance at “Magneto Was Right” is very correct. When Grant Morrison used it in their run, the intent was to criticize it. It was like the Che T-shirt, someone who has a mixed and violent legacy, but fashionable. Grant didn’t really believe the “reform” of Magneto in Claremont’s run, viewed him as a mad old loon of a terrorist. And almost as soon as Grant’s run ended with Magneto doing a genocide of his own, Marvel retconed what Grant did, returned Magneto to the anti-hero status quo. But living in America in 2024, the fascism rising through the last ten years through with no sign of stopping… Magneto was fucking right.
The thing that was really just an extra layer, was that Sunspot’s Mom WAS HOSTING A “HUMANS FOR GENOSHA” GALA when the whole thing with her went down and NONE of the humans there stood up for the mutants right in front of them.
I loved that you brought up how the tools of oppression were being depicted in this episode, and even highlighting some of Bastion's dialogue. The kind of dialogue we're certain that many powerful figures of today have uttered many times behind closed doors. That scene with Bastion was chilling.
I'm so happy that Nightcrawler is getting such a strong showing in this series. (...and I'm overjoyed to see the original Dave Cockrum-designed Storm costume. Hope we get to keep it for a while..)
What kind of hit me to the core was the statement about how some events cannot be changed. That some tragedies have to happen. And I know it's a narrative tool, but the statement that the world REFUSES to change without some massive tragedy to drag the world in a direction just ... It cuts deep.
The vibe I got from how a bunch of random everyday people were prime sentinels was akin to how any random person in The Matrix could be taken over by an Agent: When you're a member of a marginalized group merely fighting for your existence, but treated as an existential threat to the system, every member of the majority is in fact a potential life-ending threat to you and you do not know it until it's too late because every member of the majority - even those who convincingly present themselves as your allies - still benefits immensely from the way the system operates and can more easily be convinced to fight to protect the status quo than to live up to any morality they claim to have.
The way I look at it is while the allegory isn't always perfect I feel the message is always relevant. One of the things I have liked about the show is how much conversation it has sparked about what is trying to do and how it comments on life right now. I think this is the best the X-Men have been adapted, in terms of the metaphor, period and that's why it's striking such a chord.
When a story is unfolding (especially one this complex) I personally find it best to rewatch (or re-read) before judging individual chapters or sections because the bigger picture is still unfolding. Even having watched every episode twice with two left to go, I've realized how needed episodes 4, 6 and 7 were and how much better they sit with context. To me the show didn't peak early, it just hasn't revealed it's hand. Episode 5 is the centerpiece, but it evolves upon rewatch as each new chapter comes out.
We’re so used to the climax coming at the end of the story that it can be jarring to see a mainstream story told with waves of rising and falling action in that way. The Last Jedi is a rare modern action film that comes to mind with a five act structure instead of three, the climax of the film is the Throne Room sequence and the rest is denouement and conclusion (although there’s still plenty of action in those sections, they’re not as pronounced or pivotal).
I actually really liked how twisted Bastion's backstory was, and how it used two of the most heartfelt moments from Man of Steel (the classroom sensory overload and a son wanting and getting validation from their parents) and turned it into a villain's origin that is so much more layered than the standard homicidal A.I. story. Taking someone who has gone through so much pain from their otherness and infusing it into their own hatred for those others he was created to destroy. I loved Jean being a nagging mum and Scott being a showoff dad to Cable. Here family is both blood and a choice.
One thing I wonder about what Magneto did is will they address the full scope of it next episode. Because it goes far far beyond the potential for chaos that they showed. In one fell swoop he probably killed an order of magnitude more humans than mutants that died in Genosha. Planes in the sky, hospital life support and surgeries in progress, ships trains and automobiles in crucial moments of navigation. Not to mention when the power grids go down like that, there will be massive damage as sections overload before shutting down. Power plants can't just be switched on again in moments, it will take weeks to safely re-establish the grid and half the planet is in winter (though if the show is any indication it is the less populated southern hemisphere). All that with the sure knowledge that Magneto could just go do it again if humanity starts to get back on its feet. I mean I get it, they can't necessarily go full tilt into how utterly futile a real war against the mutants would be if Magneto can do that, or if Storm decides to disrupt the harvest in a dozen or so key locations around the globe, or any of the Omega level mutants really decide to cut loose. I just always thought it was funny that the show goes out of its way to show humanity deathly afraid of 'a mutant kid who loses control of their powers' when the real threat has always been any strong mutant who has skill and training with their powers.
At this point I have faith in the show to do just that. Thus far it's been more than willing to tackle things head on, so I'll be surprised if they hand wave anything away.
What I am really enjoying is not knowing how events will be resolved. Even with some knowledge of the comic book stories being adapted, the writers are very happy to go in their own direction. Also with this not being part of a mass multi franchise interconnected universe like the MCU, everything can potentially be on the table in terms of character fates and fhe stafus of the world.
I held it together until you gave us the main channel ending. Now I'm sobbing and I genuinely want to thank you for that, because this episode overwhelmed me to the point of numbness and I really, REALLY needed a good cry.
I think one of the ways its pretty easy to cut through the "well some mutants ARE actually dangerous" argument is the fact that 1) most humans in the Marvel Universe dont act the same to other superheroes like Thor who could also very easily level a city, etc., and 2) the Marvel Universe is a world where a lot of humans, if they look for it, can access technology, magic, etc., fairly easily, so while sure a baseline human may not be as powerful as like magneto or whatever, there's a lot of ways around that initial power imbalance. Also the fact that like 90% of mutants have like shit powers/actively detrimental mutations, and i think in universe a lot of those arguments fall apart
I think that’s true about comics, but not really true about adaptations of X-Men. Most have been only mutants, and while some have had cameos of a broader world of superheroics, the shows and movies never really gone beyond that.
It was clever how they blended the differnt oppressed groups together. The apathy from mass tradgedy with Palestine, the very direct paraellels made with the Jews and Nazis through Sinister's ambitions, the economic anxieties exployird with minitity ethnic groups/migrants, the hatred being tridgered when a LGBT person flirts. As you say, they would be very flawed allegories on their own, but the nultiple parallels helps stop someone like me overthinking it which I can be prone to do!
I really appreciate this video. Much as I love gleefully talking about Nightcrawler's saber wielding and such in this episode (I love the fuzzy blue elf), it is nice to see someone focusing on the messages and meaning and such in this episode. The starting talk about the discomfort with "Magneto was right", then about use of mutants as an allegory for minorities (hitting upon a point that has always left me a little uncomfortable, that there is some mild justification for fear of mutants, which makes them a problematic allegory), the discussion about Bastion as a villain (when I think about the apathy line, I think not of a specific atrocity but the continued atrocities and how you essentially get "headline burnout" on certain topics, from COVID to Ukraine to abuse of Indigenous women to the horrible treatment of trans people, on and on), stuff about OZT, just a great video really touching on a well-made episode. I do agree that they may have gone too far with how many Prime Sentinels appeared, especially with how powerful they were set up to be, but it led to some action I loved. Overall, I'd say episode 5 was better, but this was excellent.
The Jay and Miles X-Plain The X-Men podcast have a great variation on the #MagnetoIsRight slogan that they've used for t-shirts: #MagnetoMadeSomeValidPoints
When you read and explained the context of "Make them feel relevant again", my mind went to the saying of "Be the hero in your own story". They think they're the heroes, when they're actually the villains.
I like the idea of these people, who see mutants as less than human, themselves becoming something less than human in order to fight them. There's a sort of twisted irony to it. One thing I wish the show brought up more is that...mutants ARE human. One of the few moments that really stood out to me binging the old show for 97, was at the end of season 1 with Master Mold. Master Mold betrays Trask and his allies because...in his own words, 'Mutants ARE Human.' MM's programming was to 'protect humans from mutants' which then translates to 'protect humans from themselves' which turns to MM trying to control humans as well as mutants. Now, 'robot turns against its creators' is nothing new or profound but the angle of having the bigotry of the antagonists bite them in the ass because their creation, a soulless robot, recognizes the truth that mutants ARE humans, was great. Just a shame that this plot point got dropped, and in subsequent appearances MM was just back to 'subjugate or destroy mutants.'
This episode did a lot , but was also visually spectacular. It was amazing to see Wolverine's perspective on tagging along with Kurt when he teleports.
As much as you're not the biggest fan of last episode's Charles Xavier detour I think it was needed. Both as a counterpoint to Storm's rebirth and a way to introduce/re-introduce the space aspects, and to give us a demonstration of who Xavier is without getting bogged down later in these three episodes going into the finale.
I think it probably could've been handled better (couldn't give exact notes) but I agree. Part of me wishes he wasn't brought back this season and he would return after the X-Men have to not only face but overcome one of their darkest hours without him, but seeing him return is kinda nice.
Here's a thought. In the comics Sinister wanted Cable to use him as a weapon against Apocalypse. Could Sinister's alience with Bastian be part of his secret war against Apocalypse? Will the X-men's victory over Bastian be paving the way for the Age of Apocalypse?
"Magneto was right" means him saying coexisting with normal human would never work. Xavier's dream is just that; a dream.These "allegories" have always represented ALL bigotry. Gay, rascism, transphobia. Your perspective and opinion is not invalid. I respect that for you. "Hated and feared for being born different" has applied to all minorities from the beginning. Mutants may literally be able to move mountains, but so can a group of marginalized people in the real world when we come together. Don't diminish us as peoples in the real world simply because we lack mutant powers. Bastion represents real life more than any other X-Men villain around. Someone born different who uses the same platform we use to earn our equality to spin it into a fear mongorring counter weight.
I heard what was being said, especially the dive bar one and my mind went to Matthew Shepard and I was just like "well they aren't pulling punches" the old series hit these points to a degree but its was and is a kids show, this I feel is more like a show for teenagers at youngest. man it hit hard... and I am glad.
THANK YOU! The zombie Sentinels very much reminded me of how people's attitudes became suddenly hostile as the 2016 election was ramping up, and I'm glad I wasn't imagining the connection.
Thank you so much, finally you said it, Palestine. I've been thinking about it all the time and being hyper emphatic it is hitting me hard at all levels.
Thank you for making these videos, Vera. Your analysis on the parallels between the story of the show and the reality of our world is genuinely poignant.
This went hard and I loved it. Disappointed again in Mrs. DaCosta, but I'm starting to reconcile that this is her cartoon version. Bastion's plan is evil and cruel on so many levels. Seeing even humans who considered themselves allies to the mutants, like Trish Tilby, taken over by the Sentinel programming was a gut-punch. So was the brief not-quite conversation between the Summers family about Maddie. I was hoping to see Storm reunite with the team this episode, but I wonder if she's still separate so she can help try and mitigate the fallout from Magneto's EMP. Also, I know it's coincidence, but one of the most recent episodes of Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men was covering the Magneto War from the late '90s, and Mags threatening to do what he did in episode 8 of X-Men '97, only to have Joseph take on all that energy until it killed him. Listening to that felt almost like a primer for this week's episode of the cartoon, and it was pretty cool. I cannot wait to see the last two episodes this season. The show has been building and building, and I have no idea where it's going.
About the inverse ninja law: it is my belief that the sentinels deliberately held back in order to avoid making martyrs of the X-men, and in fact pin the murder of hundreds of sleepers on them. The evening news will show the aftermath of the primes that Wolverine cut in half. I think the endgame might actually be Avengers vs. X-men. They've been expanding the universe very quickly and really widening the divide between humans and mutants.
I completely agree that Xavier should not have been teased let alone had a full episode of his own prior to the end of this episode. It undercuts so much of the dramatic tension and payoff to show him as totally alive and well in advance.
I understand what your talking about, i try watching season 5 could only watch the first two episodes before giving up, and sox months later got enough willpower to watch the last episode.
I think "Magneto was right" was a guilt-driven remark. Val just wanted Magneto put down but his intolerance of him led to the devastating events after. She bankrolled the sentinel/OZT programme, helped X-Cutioner get that mutant neutraliser gun that hit Storm, and wanted Magneto off the Genosha counsel. Instead, she destroyed an entire country and she wanted to protect humanity but instead made them into monsters.
The X-Men weren't expecting Trask to be a new Sentinel last episode. There was a line where Mr Sinisiter chastises Bastion for tipping their hand too soon and the X-Men would learn from that encounter. Also, I get that you (and many others) didn't know about Xavier being alive, but it isn't a secret to fans of the old show. We knew he was off world getting restored to health with Lilandra. Oh, and, Magneto was right. The first word Magneto speaks since his capture is one simple word: "Enough".
I did like this episode quite a bit. I do like the Magnito was right. My hope is that Magnito does come back not with the intention of burning it all down - but to work with the X-Men to find a solution together, through peace. I don't think they would do the redemption arc, or Rouge's arc for that matter if it was just to go out in kill kill killl...... I do think , just like everything else that Apocylpyse is behind it all. They still haven't brought Gambit in as the 4 horseman (although they did that storyline already) just makes me wonder if they will do that in Season 2.
I think one thing that needs to be born in mind when reviving - not rebooting, but reviving - a show that was last on air 27 years prior is that a lot of your audience won't have been alive when the show was last on air, and it's an unreasonable expectation of them to watch the thing from the start, no matter the quality of the material. A few things you're saying means I'm not sure the writers of this are always managing to do that - Compare and contrast how this handled Mr Sinister, based on your review, seemingly with an assumption that you're familiar with how he was handled in the original run, and how Doctor Who was careful to reintroduce Sarah Jane Smith to the audience in 2006 - A revival that was 16 years after the last regular series, rather than 27 years after.
In Disney's defense, they do have the original show streaming on the same platform the new show is on, and in a case like that it's more feasible that an audience could watch the whole thing before seeing the new stuff. But I still think that's a big ask.
@@BreakRoomofGeeks Yeah, exactly. It's doable in a way it wasn't really with Who's revival... But... Asking people to do that doesn't feel reasonable? I'd consider it a reasonable ask if it was a book - or even film - series and it was a book released every 3-4 years (but ideally each book would be a standalone story even then), maybe even if there were five books in the 90s and now a 6th releasing today - but 5 seasons of a tv show feels like a bigger ask than 5 films or 5 books even when they're easily accessible to those with access to the new one like here.
Fear for the mutants being justified is the point. TO Conservatives diversity IS a world destroying power. There are lots of those around us and overreacting to the one getting showed in your face, does not only not fix this one, but it even adds one more. This is the lesson the shows trys to bring across. Can't critique fashismn without making some fashists. Showing the price is turning yourself into a zombie, is a strong move on the shows part. "Magneto was right" only applies in universe. Irl it only means the writters made magneto right. 90's shows took alot of episodes to set of the payoff for the truely great ones. The mid season fnale was a meme at the time. Cutting some of the fat was good, but alot of modern shows cut the meat with it. If you teach someone to fish, does he fish intentionally or because he is a fisherman? At some point in his life trump learned that the overwhelm strategy works and now everything is a nail to it.
I know it's the thing we always say about the X-Men... But if anyone says that this show is trying to make a statement about the world we live in today, you can point to the original run and say that it is 100% in-line with the original 1992 show. Even with things that seem very close to our reality.
Kurt is my favourite too, also Mystique but I don't want to mentally compete them. I was actually thinking recently why I like Kurt so much. My conclusion was that Kurt should have all the reason in the world to be cynical, based on how people would see him, but when realised he is anything but that. As opposed to perception he takes the best part his faith, love, he chooses to make others happy, and he has pride in who he is. Granted, I don't think every adaptation got his optimism. But based on even his mention of Mystique in the episode, I wonder if we will get what I understand of story that has put her in better lights, where her abandonment of Kurt was a result of Destiny's prophecies for a good future.
Sure, 'mutants are more dangerous' is true, but when it comes to the reactions of people who choose hate, it seems like not really? They see the existence and fair treatment of people not like them as a foundational attack. "The Great Replacement Theory" Is precisely the same rhetoric used by the mutant hating villains who made the Sentinels or argue for mutant segregation.
Good thoughts. What an episode it was, Kurt is definitely my favorite and love that line he says to Jean so good! We shall see where this goes. Overall Magneto was right
There wree some good Family thenes being explored throughout. Kurt makong the ever strong point abput cboices mattering over blood fhat idea careies over into Jean's relaionahip with Cable and Roberto's deteriating one with his parents.
Two things are weird to me. 1. Maybe I missed it, but none of the xmen seemed to have any hesitation attempting to kill the infected humans, especially strange for Nightcrawler. They immediately just treated them like robots. 2. I'm not sure the show realizes that becoming a prime sentinel is a horror. It's unclear how many casualties Magneto's action will have, but he did basically just stop the borg from taking over the entire human population, didn't he? It feels like the show thinks this is an action that favors mutants over humans, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
I ended up liking Cable more than I would have thought. In the old show, he was always the less interesting time traveler compared to Bishop for me. (Though I do like the foreshadowing in one episode of the old show where Cable is researching the X Men, and tells the computer he already knows about Scoot and Jean and to skip to the others.) Cable's still not great IMO but the family dynamic helps to make him a bit less bland here. I am however, a little tired of the 'time traveler from the future comes to change the past' thing. Looking at 97 as a new standalone show, it probably doesn't stand out as much. But this was used FREQUENTLY in the old show, and viewed as a continuation I'm just done with the concept. They start with 'days of future past' with Bishop coming back to prevent Kelly's assassination. Okay cool. But then the future is still messed up so he goes back in time to prevent a plague, but Cable is sent back to make sure the plague happens because humanity needs to get the antibodies from it to survive long term, and then the two find a compromise by infecting Wolverine who heals through it and makes the antobidies that can be taken to the future. But EVEN THEN Bishop's future is a mess and it's just like...feels like the future just refuses to be saved. If it's not one thing it's 5 other things. Now Bastion is just the latest link in a long long chain of things that have to be taken care of to prevent a bad future.
Another one of Bastion's strategies for securing volunteers that I thought REALLY resonated with the current world that we live in is that humans were getting fired from their jobs and getting replaced with mutants and that can start to breed hatred in the hearts of humans. That's a DIRECT reference to dynamics that immigrants and citizens might have with one another. Not to mention that Bastion specifically says that folks might just be ardent mutant supporters one day and then something like them losing their job to a mutant will most likely change them into an ardent bigot the next day. He also states that the human community matters to. This whole situation between mutants and humans honestly reminds me of the Great Replacement theory that a lot of alt right white people put stock into. That the white population is getting replaced with people of color, whether that be through intermarriage, immigration, etc. I mean Bastion literally makes a statement that humans are going to become extinct in the next hundred years or so. But of course like you said this analogy is best done when tackling the causes rather than completely mirroring an oppressed group. Imo I draw the line when comparisons are too one to one or when folks start to use media like the X-Men to substitute learning about real groups and real history that has happened or is currently happening in the world. I'll always advocate for learning about real people and real history before I ever suggest watching allegories made with superhumans. Cause at the end of the day, real life immigrants don't have the strength of 10 men, superspeed, X-Ray vision, etc. They are humans just like us with stories and experiences grounded in reality. Also just wanted to say that I love to see you reacting to this show as a long time X-Men fan and I hope to see Bastion get more spotlight in future X-Men media! He's severely underused imo! : )
Theres something that has never quite made sense to me with mutants. If they exist in a world where you have others with super powers like Spider man or the Fantastic Four why are mutants feared but not them? Other than Jameson no one seems that bothered by Spidey and no one bats an eye at the activities of Ant man. It gives me dissonance at the seemingly this mental block people have when it comes to supes with these arguments of trust and fear.
Not a big fan of this episode. Jubilee's boyfriend willingly surrendering to creatures that are going to KILL him, that blonde woman with broken arm being not complicated, like the writers apparently wanted her to be, but just stupid and unstable... But at least fighting was good.
Him surrendering makes sense because he is a Mama's boy The party also had civilians fighting would have gotten civilians hurt His best shot was his mother protecting him which she failed to do Val is a complex character she clearly was working with Bastion to give humans an edge but turned kn Bastion after 1. She witnessed the trye extent of Bastions action in Genosha 2. She realized Bastion was essentially using humans without their consent ( Bastion was a threat to humanity too. 3. She definitely wasn't stupid/unstable but clearly being used. 4. She realized that humanity had become the villain after all, freeing Magneto was because she knew Magneto was a threat to Bastion and he would probably give mutants a fighting chance All those things make her a complex character.
@@shippendales8543 No, they don't. Changing sides every episode don't make a character complicated, only stupid and as changeable as a weathercock. About Jube's boyo okay, still idiotic, but okay, he wanted to save and help his mum, can buy it.
The line about feeling deja vu while seeing your people face tragedies every day hit too hard
When Cable talked about the future that Bastion would create - a utopia built on the backs of mutant oppression and slave castes - I thought of the sci-fi novella from the 1970s “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”… The price for any sort of “perfect” world will always put the onus of suffering on someone, we must decide for ourselves to not accept that.
Another interpretation of that work is that it is an actual critique of what humans normally deem as realistic. Leguinn is constantly asking you if you believe omelas is real, and then she says she says "Oh, so you don't believe, so let me tell you that this utopia is based on suffering". It's saying that for us, humans, an utopia is so impossible that there most be some kind of "catch" or "dark secret" to be believable. It's easier to believe in some kind of supernatural deal that as condition makes a human suffer, than to think these humans from omelas reached this utopia on their own.
1 death is a tragedy. 16 million is a statistic.
as an american college student currently protesting for palestine, the way you discuss the issue is endlessly appreciated!
Your desire for nuance at “Magneto Was Right” is very correct. When Grant Morrison used it in their run, the intent was to criticize it. It was like the Che T-shirt, someone who has a mixed and violent legacy, but fashionable. Grant didn’t really believe the “reform” of Magneto in Claremont’s run, viewed him as a mad old loon of a terrorist. And almost as soon as Grant’s run ended with Magneto doing a genocide of his own, Marvel retconed what Grant did, returned Magneto to the anti-hero status quo.
But living in America in 2024, the fascism rising through the last ten years through with no sign of stopping… Magneto was fucking right.
The thing that was really just an extra layer, was that Sunspot’s Mom WAS HOSTING A “HUMANS FOR GENOSHA” GALA when the whole thing with her went down and NONE of the humans there stood up for the mutants right in front of them.
I loved that you brought up how the tools of oppression were being depicted in this episode, and even highlighting some of Bastion's dialogue. The kind of dialogue we're certain that many powerful figures of today have uttered many times behind closed doors. That scene with Bastion was chilling.
I'm so happy that Nightcrawler is getting such a strong showing in this series.
(...and I'm overjoyed to see the original Dave Cockrum-designed Storm costume. Hope we get to keep it for a while..)
What kind of hit me to the core was the statement about how some events cannot be changed. That some tragedies have to happen. And I know it's a narrative tool, but the statement that the world REFUSES to change without some massive tragedy to drag the world in a direction just ... It cuts deep.
The vibe I got from how a bunch of random everyday people were prime sentinels was akin to how any random person in The Matrix could be taken over by an Agent: When you're a member of a marginalized group merely fighting for your existence, but treated as an existential threat to the system, every member of the majority is in fact a potential life-ending threat to you and you do not know it until it's too late because every member of the majority - even those who convincingly present themselves as your allies - still benefits immensely from the way the system operates and can more easily be convinced to fight to protect the status quo than to live up to any morality they claim to have.
The way I look at it is while the allegory isn't always perfect I feel the message is always relevant. One of the things I have liked about the show is how much conversation it has sparked about what is trying to do and how it comments on life right now. I think this is the best the X-Men have been adapted, in terms of the metaphor, period and that's why it's striking such a chord.
When a story is unfolding (especially one this complex) I personally find it best to rewatch (or re-read) before judging individual chapters or sections because the bigger picture is still unfolding. Even having watched every episode twice with two left to go, I've realized how needed episodes 4, 6 and 7 were and how much better they sit with context. To me the show didn't peak early, it just hasn't revealed it's hand. Episode 5 is the centerpiece, but it evolves upon rewatch as each new chapter comes out.
We’re so used to the climax coming at the end of the story that it can be jarring to see a mainstream story told with waves of rising and falling action in that way. The Last Jedi is a rare modern action film that comes to mind with a five act structure instead of three, the climax of the film is the Throne Room sequence and the rest is denouement and conclusion (although there’s still plenty of action in those sections, they’re not as pronounced or pivotal).
@@DanTheElevator I consider Captain America Civil War to be another. The airport battle was the climax for all intents and purposes.
@@dgm66 Good call!
I actually really liked how twisted Bastion's backstory was, and how it used two of the most heartfelt moments from Man of Steel (the classroom sensory overload and a son wanting and getting validation from their parents) and turned it into a villain's origin that is so much more layered than the standard homicidal A.I. story.
Taking someone who has gone through so much pain from their otherness and infusing it into their own hatred for those others he was created to destroy.
I loved Jean being a nagging mum and Scott being a showoff dad to Cable. Here family is both blood and a choice.
One thing I wonder about what Magneto did is will they address the full scope of it next episode. Because it goes far far beyond the potential for chaos that they showed. In one fell swoop he probably killed an order of magnitude more humans than mutants that died in Genosha. Planes in the sky, hospital life support and surgeries in progress, ships trains and automobiles in crucial moments of navigation. Not to mention when the power grids go down like that, there will be massive damage as sections overload before shutting down. Power plants can't just be switched on again in moments, it will take weeks to safely re-establish the grid and half the planet is in winter (though if the show is any indication it is the less populated southern hemisphere). All that with the sure knowledge that Magneto could just go do it again if humanity starts to get back on its feet.
I mean I get it, they can't necessarily go full tilt into how utterly futile a real war against the mutants would be if Magneto can do that, or if Storm decides to disrupt the harvest in a dozen or so key locations around the globe, or any of the Omega level mutants really decide to cut loose. I just always thought it was funny that the show goes out of its way to show humanity deathly afraid of 'a mutant kid who loses control of their powers' when the real threat has always been any strong mutant who has skill and training with their powers.
At this point I have faith in the show to do just that. Thus far it's been more than willing to tackle things head on, so I'll be surprised if they hand wave anything away.
What I am really enjoying is not knowing how events will be resolved. Even with some knowledge of the comic book stories being adapted, the writers are very happy to go in their own direction. Also with this not being part of a mass multi franchise interconnected universe like the MCU, everything can potentially be on the table in terms of character fates and fhe stafus of the world.
I held it together until you gave us the main channel ending. Now I'm sobbing and I genuinely want to thank you for that, because this episode overwhelmed me to the point of numbness and I really, REALLY needed a good cry.
I think one of the ways its pretty easy to cut through the "well some mutants ARE actually dangerous" argument is the fact that 1) most humans in the Marvel Universe dont act the same to other superheroes like Thor who could also very easily level a city, etc., and 2) the Marvel Universe is a world where a lot of humans, if they look for it, can access technology, magic, etc., fairly easily, so while sure a baseline human may not be as powerful as like magneto or whatever, there's a lot of ways around that initial power imbalance. Also the fact that like 90% of mutants have like shit powers/actively detrimental mutations, and i think in universe a lot of those arguments fall apart
I think that’s true about comics, but not really true about adaptations of X-Men. Most have been only mutants, and while some have had cameos of a broader world of superheroics, the shows and movies never really gone beyond that.
It was clever how they blended the differnt oppressed groups together. The apathy from mass tradgedy with Palestine, the very direct paraellels made with the Jews and Nazis through Sinister's ambitions, the economic anxieties exployird with minitity ethnic groups/migrants, the hatred being tridgered when a LGBT person flirts. As you say, they would be very flawed allegories on their own, but the nultiple parallels helps stop someone like me overthinking it which I can be prone to do!
I really appreciate this video. Much as I love gleefully talking about Nightcrawler's saber wielding and such in this episode (I love the fuzzy blue elf), it is nice to see someone focusing on the messages and meaning and such in this episode. The starting talk about the discomfort with "Magneto was right", then about use of mutants as an allegory for minorities (hitting upon a point that has always left me a little uncomfortable, that there is some mild justification for fear of mutants, which makes them a problematic allegory), the discussion about Bastion as a villain (when I think about the apathy line, I think not of a specific atrocity but the continued atrocities and how you essentially get "headline burnout" on certain topics, from COVID to Ukraine to abuse of Indigenous women to the horrible treatment of trans people, on and on), stuff about OZT, just a great video really touching on a well-made episode. I do agree that they may have gone too far with how many Prime Sentinels appeared, especially with how powerful they were set up to be, but it led to some action I loved. Overall, I'd say episode 5 was better, but this was excellent.
Val's comment was the tagline I didn't know I needed...
The Jay and Miles X-Plain The X-Men podcast have a great variation on the #MagnetoIsRight slogan that they've used for t-shirts: #MagnetoMadeSomeValidPoints
Ooh, I like that!
I was going to comment saying this - hello, fellow Jay and Miles listener!
@@citrinedragonflyHeyo! I’m not the only fan of theirs! Yaaaaaaaay!!!
When you read and explained the context of "Make them feel relevant again", my mind went to the saying of "Be the hero in your own story". They think they're the heroes, when they're actually the villains.
I like the idea of these people, who see mutants as less than human, themselves becoming something less than human in order to fight them. There's a sort of twisted irony to it. One thing I wish the show brought up more is that...mutants ARE human. One of the few moments that really stood out to me binging the old show for 97, was at the end of season 1 with Master Mold. Master Mold betrays Trask and his allies because...in his own words, 'Mutants ARE Human.' MM's programming was to 'protect humans from mutants' which then translates to 'protect humans from themselves' which turns to MM trying to control humans as well as mutants. Now, 'robot turns against its creators' is nothing new or profound but the angle of having the bigotry of the antagonists bite them in the ass because their creation, a soulless robot, recognizes the truth that mutants ARE humans, was great. Just a shame that this plot point got dropped, and in subsequent appearances MM was just back to 'subjugate or destroy mutants.'
I'm glad you got to go from sitting through Police Academy to this. Talk about a palate cleanser.
This episode did a lot , but was also visually spectacular. It was amazing to see Wolverine's perspective on tagging along with Kurt when he teleports.
As much as you're not the biggest fan of last episode's Charles Xavier detour I think it was needed. Both as a counterpoint to Storm's rebirth and a way to introduce/re-introduce the space aspects, and to give us a demonstration of who Xavier is without getting bogged down later in these three episodes going into the finale.
I think it probably could've been handled better (couldn't give exact notes) but I agree. Part of me wishes he wasn't brought back this season and he would return after the X-Men have to not only face but overcome one of their darkest hours without him, but seeing him return is kinda nice.
@@TuaronYeah I thought he was going to stay back for a season, come back the next. But emergencies happen
It was two eps ago, but your point still stands.
Here's a thought. In the comics Sinister wanted Cable to use him as a weapon against Apocalypse. Could Sinister's alience with Bastian be part of his secret war against Apocalypse? Will the X-men's victory over Bastian be paving the way for the Age of Apocalypse?
"Magneto was right" means him saying coexisting with normal human would never work. Xavier's dream is just that; a dream.These "allegories" have always represented ALL bigotry. Gay, rascism, transphobia. Your perspective and opinion is not invalid. I respect that for you. "Hated and feared for being born different" has applied to all minorities from the beginning. Mutants may literally be able to move mountains, but so can a group of marginalized people in the real world when we come together. Don't diminish us as peoples in the real world simply because we lack mutant powers. Bastion represents real life more than any other X-Men villain around. Someone born different who uses the same platform we use to earn our equality to spin it into a fear mongorring counter weight.
Keeping it in the family, isn't Kurt usually Mystique's son in canon?
He is, yes.
The 90s Animated series made Kurt Mystique's Son before it was explicitly confirmed in the Comics after heavy foreshadowing over the years.
I heard what was being said, especially the dive bar one and my mind went to Matthew Shepard and I was just like "well they aren't pulling punches" the old series hit these points to a degree but its was and is a kids show, this I feel is more like a show for teenagers at youngest. man it hit hard... and I am glad.
THANK YOU! The zombie Sentinels very much reminded me of how people's attitudes became suddenly hostile as the 2016 election was ramping up, and I'm glad I wasn't imagining the connection.
Thank you so much, finally you said it, Palestine. I've been thinking about it all the time and being hyper emphatic it is hitting me hard at all levels.
Thank you for making these videos, Vera. Your analysis on the parallels between the story of the show and the reality of our world is genuinely poignant.
This went hard and I loved it. Disappointed again in Mrs. DaCosta, but I'm starting to reconcile that this is her cartoon version. Bastion's plan is evil and cruel on so many levels. Seeing even humans who considered themselves allies to the mutants, like Trish Tilby, taken over by the Sentinel programming was a gut-punch. So was the brief not-quite conversation between the Summers family about Maddie. I was hoping to see Storm reunite with the team this episode, but I wonder if she's still separate so she can help try and mitigate the fallout from Magneto's EMP. Also, I know it's coincidence, but one of the most recent episodes of Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men was covering the Magneto War from the late '90s, and Mags threatening to do what he did in episode 8 of X-Men '97, only to have Joseph take on all that energy until it killed him. Listening to that felt almost like a primer for this week's episode of the cartoon, and it was pretty cool.
I cannot wait to see the last two episodes this season. The show has been building and building, and I have no idea where it's going.
Someone should commission her for going on that tangent
In terms of the ninja bit, they were caught off guard with trask, if it helps a bit. And I'd think trask would be stronger, but I'm not sure.
About the inverse ninja law: it is my belief that the sentinels deliberately held back in order to avoid making martyrs of the X-men, and in fact pin the murder of hundreds of sleepers on them. The evening news will show the aftermath of the primes that Wolverine cut in half. I think the endgame might actually be Avengers vs. X-men. They've been expanding the universe very quickly and really widening the divide between humans and mutants.
I completely agree that Xavier should not have been teased let alone had a full episode of his own prior to the end of this episode. It undercuts so much of the dramatic tension and payoff to show him as totally alive and well in advance.
I understand what your talking about, i try watching season 5 could only watch the first two episodes before giving up, and sox months later got enough willpower to watch the last episode.
I think "Magneto was right" was a guilt-driven remark. Val just wanted Magneto put down but his intolerance of him led to the devastating events after. She bankrolled the sentinel/OZT programme, helped X-Cutioner get that mutant neutraliser gun that hit Storm, and wanted Magneto off the Genosha counsel. Instead, she destroyed an entire country and she wanted to protect humanity but instead made them into monsters.
Great review.
The X-Men weren't expecting Trask to be a new Sentinel last episode. There was a line where Mr Sinisiter chastises Bastion for tipping their hand too soon and the X-Men would learn from that encounter. Also, I get that you (and many others) didn't know about Xavier being alive, but it isn't a secret to fans of the old show. We knew he was off world getting restored to health with Lilandra.
Oh, and, Magneto was right. The first word Magneto speaks since his capture is one simple word: "Enough".
Regarding Bastian, check out Second Coming. Comics Explained just did a great 3 part series.
Unless the show suddenly introduces a mutant version of Flag-Smasher leading the Mutant Liberation Front, no one was right.
You should really watch the OG Series, it's a lovely show that it was the best X men show prior to this, I'm sure that you'd love it.
I’m also a fan of nightcrawler and love all your reviews
I did like this episode quite a bit. I do like the Magnito was right. My hope is that Magnito does come back not with the intention of burning it all down - but to work with the X-Men to find a solution together, through peace. I don't think they would do the redemption arc, or Rouge's arc for that matter if it was just to go out in kill kill killl...... I do think , just like everything else that Apocylpyse is behind it all. They still haven't brought Gambit in as the 4 horseman (although they did that storyline already) just makes me wonder if they will do that in Season 2.
I think one thing that needs to be born in mind when reviving - not rebooting, but reviving - a show that was last on air 27 years prior is that a lot of your audience won't have been alive when the show was last on air, and it's an unreasonable expectation of them to watch the thing from the start, no matter the quality of the material.
A few things you're saying means I'm not sure the writers of this are always managing to do that - Compare and contrast how this handled Mr Sinister, based on your review, seemingly with an assumption that you're familiar with how he was handled in the original run, and how Doctor Who was careful to reintroduce Sarah Jane Smith to the audience in 2006 - A revival that was 16 years after the last regular series, rather than 27 years after.
In Disney's defense, they do have the original show streaming on the same platform the new show is on, and in a case like that it's more feasible that an audience could watch the whole thing before seeing the new stuff. But I still think that's a big ask.
@@BreakRoomofGeeks Yeah, exactly. It's doable in a way it wasn't really with Who's revival... But... Asking people to do that doesn't feel reasonable? I'd consider it a reasonable ask if it was a book - or even film - series and it was a book released every 3-4 years (but ideally each book would be a standalone story even then), maybe even if there were five books in the 90s and now a 6th releasing today - but 5 seasons of a tv show feels like a bigger ask than 5 films or 5 books even when they're easily accessible to those with access to the new one like here.
Fear for the mutants being justified is the point. TO Conservatives diversity IS a world destroying power.
There are lots of those around us and overreacting to the one getting showed in your face, does not only not fix this one, but it even adds one more. This is the lesson the shows trys to bring across.
Can't critique fashismn without making some fashists. Showing the price is turning yourself into a zombie, is a strong move on the shows part.
"Magneto was right" only applies in universe. Irl it only means the writters made magneto right.
90's shows took alot of episodes to set of the payoff for the truely great ones. The mid season fnale was a meme at the time. Cutting some of the fat was good, but alot of modern shows cut the meat with it.
If you teach someone to fish, does he fish intentionally or because he is a fisherman? At some point in his life trump learned that the overwhelm strategy works and now everything is a nail to it.
i know breif but what were you thoughts on how had other marvel characters cameo outside of x men related ones
That sure was… a thing that happened.
I know it's the thing we always say about the X-Men... But if anyone says that this show is trying to make a statement about the world we live in today, you can point to the original run and say that it is 100% in-line with the original 1992 show. Even with things that seem very close to our reality.
Kurt is my favourite too, also Mystique but I don't want to mentally compete them. I was actually thinking recently why I like Kurt so much. My conclusion was that Kurt should have all the reason in the world to be cynical, based on how people would see him, but when realised he is anything but that. As opposed to perception he takes the best part his faith, love, he chooses to make others happy, and he has pride in who he is.
Granted, I don't think every adaptation got his optimism. But based on even his mention of Mystique in the episode, I wonder if we will get what I understand of story that has put her in better lights, where her abandonment of Kurt was a result of Destiny's prophecies for a good future.
Sure, 'mutants are more dangerous' is true, but when it comes to the reactions of people who choose hate, it seems like not really? They see the existence and fair treatment of people not like them as a foundational attack. "The Great Replacement Theory" Is precisely the same rhetoric used by the mutant hating villains who made the Sentinels or argue for mutant segregation.
Good thoughts. What an episode it was, Kurt is definitely my favorite and love that line he says to Jean so good! We shall see where this goes. Overall Magneto was right
This really hit the fan
There wree some good Family thenes being explored throughout. Kurt makong the ever strong point abput cboices mattering over blood fhat idea careies over into Jean's relaionahip with Cable and Roberto's deteriating one with his parents.
#MagnetoWasRight
Two things are weird to me.
1. Maybe I missed it, but none of the xmen seemed to have any hesitation attempting to kill the infected humans, especially strange for Nightcrawler. They immediately just treated them like robots.
2. I'm not sure the show realizes that becoming a prime sentinel is a horror. It's unclear how many casualties Magneto's action will have, but he did basically just stop the borg from taking over the entire human population, didn't he? It feels like the show thinks this is an action that favors mutants over humans, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
so you not going to talk about Spiderman cameo?
Not really. It’s so far down the line of what impressed me, and it really doesn’t mean anything on its own.
@@BreakRoomofGeeks I got a feeling that it means they going to bring his show back and going to titled Spiderman 98
Shouldn’t it be ‘99?
Meandering for the meander god! ;)
Magneto was obviously being manipulated into doing exactly what Bastion wanted. This is really going to get bleak now.
I ended up liking Cable more than I would have thought. In the old show, he was always the less interesting time traveler compared to Bishop for me. (Though I do like the foreshadowing in one episode of the old show where Cable is researching the X Men, and tells the computer he already knows about Scoot and Jean and to skip to the others.) Cable's still not great IMO but the family dynamic helps to make him a bit less bland here.
I am however, a little tired of the 'time traveler from the future comes to change the past' thing. Looking at 97 as a new standalone show, it probably doesn't stand out as much. But this was used FREQUENTLY in the old show, and viewed as a continuation I'm just done with the concept. They start with 'days of future past' with Bishop coming back to prevent Kelly's assassination. Okay cool. But then the future is still messed up so he goes back in time to prevent a plague, but Cable is sent back to make sure the plague happens because humanity needs to get the antibodies from it to survive long term, and then the two find a compromise by infecting Wolverine who heals through it and makes the antobidies that can be taken to the future. But EVEN THEN Bishop's future is a mess and it's just like...feels like the future just refuses to be saved. If it's not one thing it's 5 other things. Now Bastion is just the latest link in a long long chain of things that have to be taken care of to prevent a bad future.
Another one of Bastion's strategies for securing volunteers that I thought REALLY resonated with the current world that we live in is that humans were getting fired from their jobs and getting replaced with mutants and that can start to breed hatred in the hearts of humans. That's a DIRECT reference to dynamics that immigrants and citizens might have with one another.
Not to mention that Bastion specifically says that folks might just be ardent mutant supporters one day and then something like them losing their job to a mutant will most likely change them into an ardent bigot the next day. He also states that the human community matters to. This whole situation between mutants and humans honestly reminds me of the Great Replacement theory that a lot of alt right white people put stock into. That the white population is getting replaced with people of color, whether that be through intermarriage, immigration, etc.
I mean Bastion literally makes a statement that humans are going to become extinct in the next hundred years or so. But of course like you said this analogy is best done when tackling the causes rather than completely mirroring an oppressed group. Imo I draw the line when comparisons are too one to one or when folks start to use media like the X-Men to substitute learning about real groups and real history that has happened or is currently happening in the world. I'll always advocate for learning about real people and real history before I ever suggest watching allegories made with superhumans.
Cause at the end of the day, real life immigrants don't have the strength of 10 men, superspeed, X-Ray vision, etc. They are humans just like us with stories and experiences grounded in reality. Also just wanted to say that I love to see you reacting to this show as a long time X-Men fan and I hope to see Bastion get more spotlight in future X-Men media! He's severely underused imo! : )
Theres something that has never quite made sense to me with mutants. If they exist in a world where you have others with super powers like Spider man or the Fantastic Four why are mutants feared but not them? Other than Jameson no one seems that bothered by Spidey and no one bats an eye at the activities of Ant man. It gives me dissonance at the seemingly this mental block people have when it comes to supes with these arguments of trust and fear.
Yikes
Not a big fan of this episode. Jubilee's boyfriend willingly surrendering to creatures that are going to KILL him, that blonde woman with broken arm being not complicated, like the writers apparently wanted her to be, but just stupid and unstable... But at least fighting was good.
Him surrendering makes sense because he is a Mama's boy
The party also had civilians fighting would have gotten civilians hurt
His best shot was his mother protecting him which she failed to do
Val is a complex character she clearly was working with Bastion to give humans an edge but turned kn Bastion after
1. She witnessed the trye extent of Bastions action in Genosha
2. She realized Bastion was essentially using humans without their consent ( Bastion was a threat to humanity too.
3. She definitely wasn't stupid/unstable but clearly being used.
4. She realized that humanity had become the villain after all, freeing Magneto was because she knew Magneto was a threat to Bastion and he would probably give mutants a fighting chance
All those things make her a complex character.
What are you yappin about
@@JJ-tq5sk About a mediocre episode of nice cartoon.
@@shippendales8543 No, they don't. Changing sides every episode don't make a character complicated, only stupid and as changeable as a weathercock. About Jube's boyo okay, still idiotic, but okay, he wanted to save and help his mum, can buy it.
This was a really good episode. I can't wait for the next two episodes