“You took away everything I had. Everything I ever was!”
After an explosive mid-season 2-parter, X-Position returns with a pair of stand-alone episodes picking right back up with the familiar character-focused format. And while another three episodes remain, these installments will actually round out the character spotlights that have come to define the show’s second season. “A Rogue’s Tale” functions as something of an origin for its titular character, as ghosts of the past come back to inform events in the present. It’s a crunchy, lore-heavy episode no doubt satisfying for longtime X-Men fans, featuring a deep dive into Rogue’s tortured past, tutelage under Mystique, and a prominent role for Ms. Marvel all reframed to fit the context of this animated universe. It smartly puts Professor Xavier’s disappearance to use as a plot point, making clear that the central conflict is only made possible by his absence. Less satisfying is its conclusion, which essentially confines an innocent woman to solitary confinement and calls it a day. While far from being presented as a happy ending, it’s unclear where the show ultimately lands on the existential question of how Carol Danvers’ disembodied consciousness should be regarded – resulting in some muddled messaging ethically.
On the other side of the coin, “Beauty and the Beast” takes a closer look at Dr. Henry McCoy’s interior life, a topic that is naturally of heightened interest given how little time viewers have spent with him relative to other characters. Aside from a quick scene of Hank reminiscing over some family photos, this episode is differentiated from the season’s other character studies in that it is largely unconcerned with mining its protagonist’s past. The approach makes sense given Beast’s relatively stable upbringing. Despite his “heteromorphic” appearance, Beast has largely been presented as the character most at ease with his mutation and public image – whether as a mutant, accomplished scientist, or pardoned felon. Hitting Hank where it hurts the most means discrediting his accolades and good nature – and most pointedly, dashing a promise of love that he has long denied himself – solely on the basis of him being a highly visible mutant. All put to great effect by the militant anti-mutant Graydon Creed. It gives Beast the rare opportunity to cut lose while Wolverine employs the art of subterfuge in a satisfying role reversal, capped off with Creed’s ironic comeuppance.
X-TRA: Another version of these episodes might have seen their otherwise disparate plots woven together by way of a common element: none of other than Mystique. While Rogue’s upbringing by Mystique is the driving force in “A Rogue’s Tale,” we also have one side of Graydon Creed’s parentage revealed in “Beauty and the Beast.” Sabretooth is confirmed to be Creed’s father, but his mother in fact being Mystique remains a mystery for another day. Despite this familial connection, the latter is actually the only episode of the season in which Rogue does not appear.
