The Mutant Ages

Ryan, Maddy, and Todd watch the second half of Deadpool (2016) and realize they probably didn't need to divide this episode into two parts because there isn't that much to say about the second half of Deadpool (2016). Wade Wilson's arch nemesis Francis kidnaps his ex-girlfriend Vanessa for some reason. Deadpool, Colossus, and Negasonic Teenage Warhead team up to save Vanessa and destroy a helicarrier in the process. Why is there a helicarrier? We can't actually explain anything that happens at the end of this movie, and it's not funny enough to justify itself, either.

Next episode: The Gifted season 2????

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Maddy, Ryan, and Todd convene to analyze the first half of Deadpool (2016), which we probably didn't need to divide into two parts because it turns out this movie is really simple. Also, most of these jokes do not hold up! Bounty hunter Wade Wilson meets a hottie named Vanessa, finds out he has cancer, dumps her so she doesn't have to watch him die, then participates in an experimental treatment program that gives him superpowers but also makes his entire body look like shit and gains him a super-powered nemesis named Francis. More in Part 2, such as Blind Al, the best part of the movie! We didn't exactly have a great time watching this, but compared to some of the Fox films we've watched lately, it does at least have a coherent plot that's easily summarized.

Next episode: Deadpool (2016), Part 2

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Maddy and Ryan do a miniature listener mail that is mostly just a return to The Mutant Ages: The Comic Book, because we didn't have that many emails to read this time around. We answer questions about how to fix The Gifted (the question everybody wants to know the answer to) and how we would go about writing Bobby's coming-out story on X-Men '97 if it were up to us.

Next episode: Deadpool Part 1 (the first half of the movie)

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Maddy and Ryan finally reached the season 1 finale of The Gifted, titled "X-Roads," and it's not bad. Finally, there's a plot on this show! Lorna breaks with the rest of the Mutant Underground by deciding to resort to violence in respond to Dr. Krieger's evil plan, which then leads to a larger shake-up at the episode's conclusion. Andy and Lauren also end up resorting to violence once Jace Turner discovers the Mutant Underground's hideout. Took him long enough, since it turns out that place wasn't very well hidden after all ...

Next episode: Listener mail!

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The Gifted aired its finale in two parts, and this is the first half. Unfortunately it's also the more boring half; we'll get to the real action in the next episode. In "eXtraction," Thunderbird, Eclipse, Blink, Lorna and the Cuckoos work together to break into Humanity Today, an anti-mutant conference that Dr. Campbell (or as we always call him, Dr. Krieger) is attending alongside anti-mutant bigot Senator Montez. But that plotline doesn't come to a head until the last five minutes of the episode. Up until then, this is a meandering episode about the Strucker family trying to reconnect with Reed's mom to save her from getting waylaid by Sentinel Services. This plotline goes nowhere and this episode didn't need to exist. Dang it, The Gifted, why are you like this?

Next episode: "X-Roads," The Gifted

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With a title like "3 X 1," you'd think this episode of The Gifted would be all about the Cuckoos, but mostly this episode is about the Struckers deciding to leave the Mutant Underground only to return once again by the time the episode ends. Why does Reed Strucker love to walk in circles? We do still get to see some fun moments with Esme and her sisters, and we get a little bit of new information about the Hellfire Club and its motivations, but overall this episode could stand to have quite a bit more plot in it. This is also the episode that introduces the plot point that Polaris has bipolar disorder, so Ryan and Maddy do some deep dives into their own diagnoses and the various diagnoses of the X-Men in discussing that.

Next episode: "eXtraction," The Gifted

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Maddy, Ryan, and Todd read the five-issue comic book series "X-Terminators" and loved it. We go over the major plot beats and outline all the reasons why it's great and everyone should read it. Namely that it's four women being hilarious hot messes who love each other and love ribbing on each other. They get into some hot water with Dazzler's shitty ex-boyfriend and then bomb their way out of it.

Next episode: "3 X 1," The Gifted

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"eXploited" is by far the best episode of The Gifted yet, with Esme Cuckoo's machinations on full display and tons of other great scenes in the mix. Blink, Dreamer, and the Strucker kids are in captivity at Trask Laboratories, and the torture has begun. The Strucker parents track down Jace Turner and try to convince him he's doing the wrong thing, and it actually works ... but unfortunately, Esme's plan runs in conflict with that.

Next episode: We're taking a brief break from The Gifted to do a special episode about the comic series "X-Terminators" (2022). Feel free to read it along with us!

E-mail us your feedback at [email protected] or follow us on social media at TheMutantAges, MIDImyers and RyanPagella. If you like what you hear, please consider supporting us via patreon.com/themutantages. Thanks!

Maddy and Ryan watch one of the best episodes of The Gifted in a long time, in which Esme Cuckoo continues to keep the plot moving along and gets the Mutant Underground on board with breaking in to Dr. Campbell's lab to rescue her family members (the other Cuckoos, not that any of the characters on the show know that). We also talk about Deadpool & Wolverine quite a bit, since Maddy had seen it by this point. There are various other goofy off-topic diversions along the way (idk why we were particularly distractible this week).

Next episode: "eXploited," The Gifted

E-mail us your feedback at [email protected] or follow us on social media at TheMutantAges, MIDImyers and RyanPagella. If you like what you hear, please consider supporting us via patreon.com/themutantages. Thanks!

Finally, it's an episode of The Gifted that is pretty much okay. Not amazing, but okay! Esme Cuckoo is here at last for an anti-climactic entrance that does not foreshadow how significant her role is going to end up being, but Maddy and Ryan are very glad to see her nonetheless. Reed Strucker tracks down his estranged father and finds out some family secrets, such as the fact that he has a repressed version of the X-Gene. Also sorry to say we have to talk about some Nazi twins in the Strucker lineage who may or may not have engaged in incest and if that grosses you out, this might not be the episode for you, because, well, the show really seems to be implying that's happening.

Next episode: We're figuring it out tbh! We might combine multiple episodes of The Gifted in future coverage because the plot moves pretty slowly.

E-mail us your feedback at [email protected] or follow us on social media at TheMutantAges, MIDImyers and RyanPagella. If you like what you hear, please consider supporting us via patreon.com/themutantages. Thanks!