"Hated and Feared" Re-Watch: "Orphan's End" & "Love in Vain"

 X-Men

We are wrapping up season three of "X-Men: The Animated Series." This is my favorite season of the show so I'm kind of sad to see it go. But let's get into it.

"Orphan's End"

Corsair: "So, you're gonna marry that redhead that beat the pants off of the Imperial Guard."

Cyclops: "She's calmed down a bit since then."

Corsair: "Reminds me a lot of your mother."

Cyclops: "How?"

Corsair: "Maybe I should wait to tell you till after you're married."

Cyclops and Storm are thrown into an intergalactic incident when Corsair of the Starjammers arrives being pursued by Shi'ar Imperial Officers. This mission becomes personal for Cyclops when he finally learns that Corsair is his father. The happy reunion is short lived when Cyclops learns that the Corsair kidnapped a witness not to protect her but to have her lead him to a hidden fortune. Corsair claims there is more to it then that, but can he convince Cyclops to listen and put family over duty?

That ponytail.

I think we have to start off talking about the most important thing in this episode. That's right. It's Storm's ponytail. That high ponytail is everything. I want to see her have it every time I see her. It's so amazing. 

We learned way back during "The Phoenix Saga" that Corsair of the Starjammers was Cyclops father, but Cyke has been in the dark this entire time. I think that episodes that focus on Cyclops are just a little boring because Cyclops is boring, particularly this era of Cyclops. He doesn't hav many layers. He's just the leader of the X-Men. He's very stiff. He's all about duty. There's not a lot there so I was hoping that this episode would bring more layers to Scott Summers. We had an episode earlier in the season where we explored his history at the orphanage where he grew up and it kind of fell flat. But maybe a reunion with his estranged, long lost father would give us some actual emotion from the stoic leader of the team. 

It really doesn't, though. As always, I appreciate how "X-Men: The Animated Series" stays true to its comic roots. Everything that Corsair tells Cyclops about what happened the day that the Shi'ar kidnapped himself and his wife, Katherine. D'Ken and his troops descend on the plane that Corsair is flying and wants to take them to keep as slaves and experiment on them. Corsair straps his son's into the only parachute on board and pushes them out of the plane hoping that they will survive. D'Ken eventually kills Katherine which leads Corsair on his quest for revenge against D'Ken that we saw during "The Phoenix Saga."

I just wanted more from this reunion. The episode can't seem to decide how they want Cyclops to feel. At first he's furious, then he learns what happened and he softens. Then he is upset again when he thinks that Corsair is doing all this for personal gain. It's just like emotional whiplash. And it doesn't make a ton of sense to me. I thought maybe that had Storm join Cyclops in this episode so she could try to get him to be more empathetic with Corsair, but there's not a lot of that here.

The plot of this episode is paper thin and pretty predictable. I think we all knew from the start that the villain of this piece was the Shi'ar officer, Raknar. It doesn't make a ton of sense why Corsair doesn't tell Cyclops the truth from the jump, especially once we find out that the person who tipped Corsair off to Raknar's plot to assassinate Jandra was a member of Raknar's crew. Why wouldn't Corsair tell Cyclops that? The answer is because then the plot wouldn't have that much drama but having characters act like this to serve the plot just goes to show how flimsy the plot itself is.

Alls well that ends well though as the episode ends with Cyclops and Corsair finally doing some actually connecting. So... huzzah?

Grade: C-

"Love in Vain"

Gambit: "What's this? The most beautiful woman in town alone on a Saturday night."

Rogue: [sighs] "I was reading about love and adventure Gambit. What more could a gal want?"

Gambit: [chuckles] "The real thing, chere. Gambit at your service."

[Gambit kisses the back of Rogue's gloved hand]

Rogue: [sighs] "Even crazy swamp rats need a gal they can touch."

While on a walkabout, Wolverine is attacked by a group of lizard-bug aliens that fly around in space whale. At the same time, Rogue is confronted by the first boy that she kissed and ended up putting in a coma because of her powers: Cody. When it turns out that Cody is in league with the Colony, the aliens that attacked Wolverine, will Rogue choose her love or her chosen family?

Kiss me more.

A famous threat that the X-Men have faced are the alien Brood. They reproduce by implanting their eggs in people, similar to how xenomorphs reproduce in the "Alien" movies. They have enslaved a race of space whales called the Acanti and use them as their living ships. When I saw the Acanti appear, I was excited to see the Brood. I didn't really remember this episode. I like had a vague memory of it but nothing about the specifics. So, imagine my surprise when it's not the Brood that emerge from the Acanti but instead these green aliens that look like a cross between lizard and bugs. And for some reason they all have Doc Ock arms. What the hell? It's so random and so weird. Like why not just use the Brood? Why create the Colony? Why give them metal octopus arms? I'm confused.

I usually love a Rogue focused episode. I think "X-Men: The Animated Series" really made me enjoy Rogue and I can't praise Lenore Zann's voice work any more than I already have during these recaps. I think that Rogue's relationship with Gambit and their banter is some of the best parts of the series. I loved the little scene between them in her bedroom. Things take a turn for the worse when Rogue gets the call from Cody.

When Cody makes the scene, things go downhill in this episode. It feels like all sense leaves Rogue and I just don't get it. A big part of Rogue's character is that she does yearn for those romantic feelings and yearns to touch others, but I have never gotten that she still pines for Cody. Does she feel guilty for putting him in a coma because of her burgeoning powers? Certainly. But is she still in love with him? I hadn't gotten that but this episode is really trying to sell it to us. But I'm not buying it. Rogue asks no questions about Cody's reappearance at all. She doesn't ask how he woke up. How long he's been awake. She doesn't ask how he can kiss her. It's so odd that Rogue just accepts all this and reverts to this giddy Southern schoolgirl. It left me shaking my head. 

Things get even more confusing when she brings Cody to the X-Mansion and demands time off. Xavier explains to her that this is maybe a bad time since they just got a distress call from Wolverine but Rogue is not moved. She is going to leave right now and she doesn't care what is happening with Wolverine. Again, this doesn't make a lot of sense. It flies in the face of how Rogue has been portrayed as someone who would do anything for the team so it is just extremely strange and out of character.

The two sides of this story finally meet up and they do not match. Cody is working with the Colony and they need Rogue and her powers. Wolverine uses his healing factor to expel the Colony. It's just all so disjointed and its really difficult to care. I am honestly just glad when its finally over.

Grade: D

Next up, we get the returns of the Juggernaut and Omega Red.

What did you all think of these episodes? As always, am I being too hard here? Did I miss something? Let me know in the comments.