X-Men: Evolution S1 E7

## Plot

During a training simulation, Scott panics and shuts it down when Rogue is unknowingly placed into the simulation instead of Storm. Xavier tells him to always expect the unexpected. Mystique lies to Rogue and tells her that the simulation had her as a target. Rogue wonders why they would do that. Mystique arranges things so that Jean has to stay at the Institute during a field trip and Rogue takes her place. Magneto pays Xavier a visit, and accuses him of not trusting his students with the truth. He's not entirely wrong. He knows who Darkholme really is, but won't tell his own students. If they can deal going to school with the Brotherhood, then I'm sure they'd be able to deal with the leader being their principal. Maybe. Possibly. Okay, I have my doubts too. As a realist/optimist/cynic (it really depends on my mood), I can just naturally see the valid points of an argument, unless you get political or religious. Maybe it's because I lack a bias. Anyways, the bus crashes due to a snowstorm, and Scott is able to secretly save everyone by creating a snow bank for them to crash into. They're going to head back, but the bus won't start. Rogue suggests waiting the blizzard out in a nearby cave. While racing with Scott, she almost pushes his snowmobile off the cliff, which would've totally killed him and the student he was riding with. And the worst part is that she shows no regret about it afterwards. Disturbing. Xavier doesn't know whether or not to tell the kids the truth. He, Storm, and Logan head out in the jet after hearing about the blizzard. Mystique pretended to be a student on the trip, and pushes Scott off a cliff, which Rogue witnesses. This… is really stupid of her. The whole point of sending Rogue on the trip was to make sure her loyalty didn't waver. So… you try to murder a student right in front of her. What the heck? There's out of character, and then there's doing something so nonsensical that it has to be from fanfiction. Rogue naturally turns on Mystique after seeing that she's an insane psychopath. She absorbs her memories and realizes that she manipulated her during episode 3. I'd be pissed if I were her. Scott was able to hang onto a ledge, and Rogue saves him from falling. They both fall into a river when Mystique tries to crush them with a boulder. They end up on a rocky catwalk outside, and Scott hits his head. Yeah, he definitely has a concussion. Rogue apologizes for everything, and Scott thanks her for saving his life. Mystique transforms into a wolf, or a coyote, and keeps trying to kill them. Woman's relentless, I'll give her that. The X-Men can't find them, so they use Scott's optic blasts as a flare signal. Rogue absorbs a little of his power to blast Mystique away, along with this epic line: "Some friendly advice teach. Don't mess with the Rogue!" So cool. Mystique transforms into a bird. The catwalk is crumbling away, but the X-Men get there in time and save them. Rogue picks their side, and Logan welcomes her to the X-Men. Back at the mansion, the students are really letting Xavier have it about him knowing that Darkholme was Mystique and not telling them. He apologizes, and explains that there are some secrets they can deal with, and some they're not ready for. He promises to do better in the future about knowing which one is which.

## Review

I liked this episode. A Rogue focus episode, yay! Aside from the out of character moments with Mystique, this was a great episode and my favorite of the whole season. And now I will listen to the epic theme song! If I were the kids though, I wouldn't be sure that I could trust Xavier after he basically confirms that he's keeping multiple secrets from his charges, even if he claims that it's for their own good.