Previously on the Disney+ series X-Men ‘97, Rogue fought her mental battles, learning that Gambit possibly killed Apocalypse. X-Force and the X-Men join forces as Gambit, who’s immortal, captures Rogue to wed and turn her immortal. They rescue Gambit, but sense the threat remains as X-Force aligns with X-Factor to finish the job.
The episode begins with Cable explaining that there may be no way to defeat Apocalypse without killing Gambit. As long as Apocalypse remains connected to Gambit, the X-Men cannot simply save him without putting everyone else at risk. Meanwhile, Nightcrawler, Beast, and Rogue travel to Apocalypse’s ship to learn how to defeat him. The ship tells them they must face the Celestial being, but warns they will not leave the same. Before Beast and Nightcrawler can react, Rogue volunteers, walking through the portal.
Inside, Rogue is confronted by Eson. Rogue struggles to fight Eson, who grants her the power to save Gambit in exchange for a sacrifice— her life. Meanwhile, X-Force and X-Factor break into the X-Men headquarters, resulting in an epic battle sequence. Cable aims to kill Gambit, but Jean and Cyclops block his path.
Gambit awakens to assist in the battle, destroying the building with his atomic cards. At the end of the fight, Cable kills Gambit before anyone can stop him. But Apocalypse wakes up in Gambit’s body and takes over all the X-Men in a trance. He tries to kill Professor X, but Rogue appears with her new power from Eson and kills Apocalypse once and for all.
Gambit awakes from the possession and reunites with his lover, Rogue. She quickly remembers the sacrifice she made to Eson, but doesn’t notice Beast has returned alone. Nightcrawler begged Eson to take Rogue’s place, sacrificing himself.
In the post-end credits scene, we see Val Cooper looking over Mystique’s file. Suddenly, the real Val Cooper enters the office, confused. The double is revealed to be Mystique, who kills Cooper before taking her identity.
One theme that stands out in this finale is sacrifice, which has shown up so much in this season as a whole. Gambit is the main subject of this episode, and as a result, Rogue gives her life for her beloved. Throughout this episode, everyone is, in a sense, completely sacrificing themselves. Another significant example is Nightcrawler’s decision to offer himself to Eson so that Gambit and Rogue could stay together. They’re all choosing to put someone else’s lives before their own.
Another strong theme is redemption. In the past couple of episodes, we have seen Gambit as this “evil” villain, but his soul was tied to Apocalypse’s. He was able to redeem and reclaim himself after the X-Men defeated Apocalypse.
Overall, this was a great way to end season 2. There was a good balance between the emotional and action moments. A.J. LoCascio did an incredible job as Gambit in this episode, as we see him transform back to himself and reunite with Rogue. This episode focused fully on the X-Men and their rivalry with Apocalypse. But now that he’s dead, what will happen, and what are Mystique’s intentions?
Rating: 10/10