Wolverine and the X-men Episode 12

And straight to it this week. A good way to relax after another energy sapping deadline. As usual, spoilers under the cut and stream of consciousness reviewing. If either bothers you, don't click.

And first impressions from the recap section: Could this finally be the episode focusing on Cyclops that I've been waiting for? He's been little more than scenery for most of the series so far and from the recaps maybe they're going to address the disappearance of Jean. My hope? That they discover that Jean is dead and not coming back. Apologies to fans of the character, I'm just enjoying the fresh approach of some of the cartoon and Jean4Scott4evah! has been done plenty before. It'd be nice to go five minutes without bringing up the Jean/Scott/Logan love triangle again and focus on Scott as a character, not a cuckolded husband.

That said, seeing Scott blow Logan through walls never gets old.

And kicking ass. Hello badass Scott. I've missed you. BUT STOP WHINING ABOUT JEAN, YOU MOPING NANCY!

But on the other hand, the "Hey, let's gang up on Scott for beating up a bad guy and getting him off the street" isn't exactly a helpful attitude either, you shower of bastards.

Hmm, so the X-men have encountered Sinister before, but not Mystique? Weird.

Aw, good old Bobby. Go to the head of the class. At least SOMEONE'S paying attention when the nasty mutant's in the house. And he's not distracted by Kitty's foofy hair this week.

"I'd never drag the X-men down with me." Sure you wouldn't Logan. And people say Scott is the pompous asshole?

Turnabout is fair play. Go on Scott, steal his bike. Hmm. And is that a flicker of attraction there Emma? Be careful, you're in danger of feeling an actual human emotion there. Even if it is hysteria at the sight of Scott in his funny little motorcycle hat.

Okay, Scott, I say this in the nicest possible way, but you don't think you might be overreacting a teensy little bit? While I appreciate the opportunity to see almighty smackdown put on the Marauders, who certainly have it coming, cutting buildings in two and bringing down half the city might be a little t... aw, forget it. Bring on the demolition!

"Good afternoon. I'll be your ass kicker for today."

"I'm sorry, what was the question? I couldn't understand you with all the snarling." Oh, Emma, never change. I can always rely on you to bring that obnoxious oversized rodent down a peg or two. He's annoying when he's trying to act holier than thou.

"He's a boy scout." Judging by the world of hurt that boy scout just laid down on Arclight and the other Marauders, I'm getting a different vibe just now, Logan. Have I mentioned I love it when Scott kicks several million types of ass? Because I do. And he just trashed Logan's bike in the process, so that gives me the warm fuzzies too.

And speaking of warm fuzzies, Emma just succinctly sums up why I love Scott when he's written well.

A huge part of me's hoping that Logan's wrong and Scott'll walk into this trap, kick ass until his toes bleed and walk out again, giving Logan a dismissive nod and a "by the way, your bike's screwed" on the way past.

Sinister, you smug bastard. I like you, yesss.

Hey Jamie. Bad guy again, huh? Sigh. Still, at least this time you've got the excuse of Sinister brainwashing you, right?

"Wanna hit someone? How about me?" Okay then.

Just when you thought Scott couldn't get any more badass... he has to go that extra mile to prove a point. Army of Madroxes? Pft. just don't get coc... too late.

So, anyone wanna stop Sinister escaping? No? Ho hum. C'mon, it's not like Scott and Bobby can do EVERYTHING.

Oh Logan, just FUCK OFF.

C'mon Scott, smack the stupid, holier than thou look off his hypocrtiical smug face. You've got it in you to stand up to this asshole. It wouldn't hurt to just lay him out with one punch and then say "Fine, I'm back on the team."?

DAMNIT.

DOUBLE DAMNIT!

Final conclusion: A mixed bag here. On one hand, Scott kicked so much butt this episode and it's good to see what a world of hurt he's capable of bringing when he puts his mind to it and in terms of sheer spectacle I loved to see that. What I was less happy about was he was out of control emotionally to do it. But Scott's on a personal journey and it's nice to see him get some screentime at last to progress his issues some. However, making Logan an unforgivable, unrepenting asshole and, worse still, having Scott back down to him turned my stomach. Fingers crossed this comes back to bite Logan hard in the ass. This episode served to remind me why I hate Logan's character sometimes, especially when he's trying to take the moral high ground. I was really hoping someone would tell him to back the fuck off at the end of the episode and not get the ending that we did.

So, it's hard to know how to rate this episode. For the focus on Scott and the majority of other characters as well as spectacle and drama it deserves a high score. But Logan was simply hateful this episode and it's gonna be a while before I'm going to be over the desire to see him beaten repeatedly in the face by someone or something. Because of that taking the shine off it and Scott being just a bit TOO emo, it has to be an average:

RATING - ***