Warning: this article contains full spoilers for X-Men ’97: Season 1, Episode 7!

X-Men ’97 took a bit of a detour following the highly dramatic Episode 5, with the subsequent installment shifting focus to Storm and Professor Xavier and leaving viewers to stew over the many mutant deaths so recently witnessed on Genosha. Episode 7 is more what we would have expected from a follow-up. It’s another briskly paced chapter that both allows the characters to mourn their loved ones and sets the stage for a truly epic finale arc.

“Bright Eyes” nails the complex mix of grief and rage that follows such a monumental tragedy. We get to see the team mourn the fallen Gambit (complete with the much-needed cameo of Gambit’s former lover Belladonna and the Thieves Guild crew) and process their trauma in different ways. The Genosha scenes make excellent use of Beast, a character who up until now had been playing a frustratingly passive role in the series. The funeral scene also proves what an inspired choice it was to bring Nightcrawler back into the fold here and now. His unique brand of wisdom and compassion is exactly what the show needed.

However, it’s the Rogue scenes that hit hardest in the first half of the episode. Rarely has the character been so compelling, as she sublimates her grief into a quest for vengeance and cuts a swath of destruction across the Marvel Universe. Last week’s Storm-centric episode gave Alison Sealy-Smith a chance to shine, and this week it’s Lenore Zann’s turn in the spotlight. She aptly conveys Rogue’s pain and rage in the aftermath of a profound loss.

These scenes also give us some cool guest stars in Captain America and General Ross (Josh Keaton and Michael Patrick McGill, reprising their roles from What If…?). The original series normally had to settle for silent cameos when it came to non-X-Men characters, so it’s nice to see X-Men ’97 isn’t operating under that same limitation.

Had this episode remained so focused on the grieving process, it might have grown a little tedious by the end. Fortunately, X-Men ’97 is never a series guilty of spinning its wheels or taking the slow burn approach. The focus quickly shifts toward setting the stage for the three-part “Tolerance Is Extinction” storyline that will cap off Season 1. We get hints of Operation: Zero Tolerance and even get to meet its ringleader, the humanoid Sentinel Bastion.

Bastion certainly makes a strong impression here. His encounter with Gyrich is a chilling way of introducing this major villain. There’s a bit of camp to the character (hence the “Purple People Eater” needle drop), but it also quickly becomes clear that he’s ruthless in a way we’ve rarely seen from villains in this universe. Theo James’ quietly sadistic vocal performance certainly helps. Also appreciated is the way in which this episode establishes the power dynamic between Bastion and Mister Sinister. Episode 6’s implication that Sinister was the true hand behind Genosha’s destruction didn’t feel right given the character’s usual motivations. Now we know that Sinister is a pawn in another villain’s complex game.

This episode’s strongest sequence comes in the shift to Madripoor and the team’s reunion with Bolivar Trask. Here we get a gut-wrenching payoff to Rogue’s arc, as she avenges Gambit and the other victims of Genosha by dropping Trask off the ledge of a skyscraper. That’s an unexpectedly bleak turn for the character, and something that never would’ve flown on Saturday mornings. I’m interested to see what long-term ramifications Rogue faces for this callous act; hopefully, it’s not swept under the rug in the push toward the finale.

Trask’s “death” also paves the way for an enjoyable action scene as the X-Men take on a new breed of Sentinel and Cable shows up to save the day. This episode offers up a little bit of everything in its efforts to set up “Tolerance Is Extinction,” and it even drops one final bombshell: Magneto lives. As ambivalent as I am about X-Men ’97 negating his sacrifice, I can’t wait to see how the Master of Magnetism factors into Bastion’s plans.

Verdict

It may have taken a week longer than expected, but “Bright Eyes” is exactly the sort of emotionally charged “Remember It” follow-up that X-Men ’97 needed. The series deftly explores the complex mix of grief and rage that inevitably follows such a monumental tragedy. Episode 7 especially shines as it explores Rogue’s self-destructive response to Gambit and Magneto’s deaths. Thankfully, the series maintains its brisk pacing even amidst all the grief. It provides an effective introduction for Bastion and lays the groundwork for a truly epic final story arc in Season 1.