X-Men Season 5 (1996)
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X-Men Season 5 Review
X-Men Season 5 is a very strong season and a fittingly good conclusion to the overall show which truly is respectable.
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“Rogue.
You cannot touch anyone,
but you touched us all“
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The Phalanx Covenant is such a good story with a particularly effective alien plot, memorable character moments and good action. Part 1 is better than Part 2 but both are admittedly quite good. A Deal with the Devil has its moments and is solid, but one of the weaker episodes of this season in my opinion.
No Mutant Is an Island is such a strong, emotionally resonant storyline that focuses on Cyclops in a wonderful, highly sympathetic and moving fashion. Longshot is silly as is every storyline involving Jubilee, but highly endearing and fun nonetheless. The same cannot be said for Bloodlines which is the worst episode of this season as even the X-Men themselves point out how ridiculously soapy this entire story is.
Storm Front is such a good story. Admittedly I’ve seen many stories like this before in science fiction where a partner discovers her to be husband is a maniac and that’s why Part 1 isn’t as exciting, but Part 2 is particularly so well executed, resonant emotionally and with good dialogue that it really works. I particularly loved seeing how the X-Men care for Storm so much.
Jubilee’s Fairytale Theatre is simply a giant filler of an episode as it’s a story for children told to children with no relevancy to it whatsoever. The Fifth Horseman is overall solid and with good action, but familiar in terms of storytelling.
Old Soldiers is such a fun episode which features Captain America which was odd to witness in an X-Men show, but still that led to a highly entertaining, even charming episode. Hidden Agendas is a politically charged, again emotionally resonant and strong family drama.
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Descent is an intriguing, dialogue heavy and powerful biology lesson and mixing evolution with mutants is a great, highly sophisticated combination that just works. And Graduation Day is naturally one fine conclusion to this season and the entire show with the last moment where Professor Xavier praises everyone being heartwarming and beautiful.
So in the end, this fifth season is one of the best of the show. It has its detours, but most of the episodes are terrific and the focus on strong one-parters instead of bigger storylines worked so well as it led to a more emotionally resonant, frequently even truly moving storytelling. I really liked this show and it’s a great example of how potent this brand truly is.
Worst Episodes: A Deal with the Devil, Bloodlines and Jubilee’s Fairytale Theatre.
Best Episodes: Storm Front Part 2, Descent and Graduation Day.
