X-Men '97 Season 2 Finale: Nightcrawler's Sacrifice Left Us Reeling

The Season 2 finale of X-Men '97, titled Survival of the Fittest, ends with a twist neither of us saw coming. After Rogue sacrifices herself in the celestial shrine to save Gambit from Apocalypse, it is Nightcrawler who steps in to complete that sacrifice instead, giving his own life so his sister can live. "That is not how you end this season. That is not how you end a season," was the reaction the moment it happened, and it genuinely knocked the wind out of us.

Going in, we already knew a cliffhanger was coming since this season only ran nine episodes compared to last season's ten, and that felt like a big loss for a show we wanted more of. Apocalypse spends the episode trying to fully take over Gambit's body after hiding his consciousness inside him, forcing X Factor and X Force to team up and storm the tower together to stop him. Rogue ultimately enters the celestial shrine and offers her life for Gambit's, only for the price of that sacrifice to fall on someone else entirely.

Nightcrawler's Death Hits Harder Than Expected

When Kurt steps forward to "complete" Rogue's sacrifice, his reasoning is that he believes his memory will be a seed and that his death will help build a better future, telling Rogue he has faith in that. That line, paired with Beast simply holding up a book earlier in the episode that gives the answer without giving it away, made the ending land even harder. "I love him. I think he's a great character. I love how they portrayed him and it makes so much sense," was the feeling about Nightcrawler after the fact, even while debating whether his death or Gambit's death in Season 1 hit harder.

Our one real complaint about the season is that Apocalypse himself did not get enough screen time as a direct threat. The season built out his origin story well, but a bigger fight involving him personally felt missing, aside from the significant moment involving him and Magneto. Between Magneto and Nightcrawler, the X-Men are down two members heading into whatever comes next.

The Mystique Cliffhanger Sets Up Season 3

The end credit scene reveals Mystique has apparently killed Val Cooper, seemingly to take her place by impersonating her, which raises the question of how she disposes of the body and what she does next posing as Val. The season then cuts to President Kelly reading a file on the X-Men and declaring an attack on the United States, closing on a full cliffhanger. "This whole season has really taken me for a spin," summed up the overall feeling about the finale. Season 3 is already green lit and, from what I can tell, already in production, though based on the gap between the first two seasons, another year long wait is expected before it arrives.

What do you think Mystique is planning as Val Cooper, and could Nightcrawler's sacrifice actually stick this time?