X-Men '97 Episode 8 Review: We Were Sobbing Over Gambit and Rogue's Reunion in 'The Dead Man's Hand'

We finally got the Gambit episode of X-Men '97 season 2, and it left us in tears. Episode 8, titled The Dead Man's Hand, delivered the tragic Gambit and Apocalypse backstory we had been waiting for, and by the end we were calling it emotionally overwhelming in the best way.

This episode matters for fans because it finally answers what happened to Gambit after his fate was left hanging, and it ties his story directly into Apocalypse's return, setting up what looks like a huge finale next week.

We went in already theorizing about Apocalypse body hopping

Before even starting the episode, we brought up a theory from the comments on our episode 7 reaction: that Apocalypse looks for host bodies, or body hops, which is something we remembered being referenced in the live action X-Men Apocalypse movie with Oscar Isaac. We noted that whatever was left behind would just be his old husk of a body, which set up our expectations going into this episode.

Gambit's diseased, corrupted look and his death card powers stood out to us

Once Gambit reappeared with the Thieves Guild, we were struck by how different and unsettling he looked, calling his cards cool but pointing out how they seemed to be dripping, and asking whether they were all death cards. When Gambit said the line "Death is evolution," it was a turning point for us, because instead of killing people he was making them his own, which we called dangerous and crazy.

The reveal of the External and her betrayal of Apocalypse gave the episode real weight

We picked up on the backstory that a priestess of ancient Egypt once courted Apocalypse before betraying him, a trap laid to seek revenge for what he did to her people, and that locals know her as the External. We connected this to earlier imagery, recalling that she was the figure shown in the stained glass, and we speculated that the ritual we were watching, using Rogue, was either a wedding or a ritual to bring Apocalypse back, with the External seeming to have her own plan.

Cable's betrayal attempt and Xavier's intervention hit us hard

When Cable turned on the team to try to kill Apocalypse while he was inside Gambit, insisting "the Apocalypse is in there, it's my destiny to kill him," we were shocked, especially once Xavier stopped him. We debated whether Cable would have gone through with it even if Jean Grey had not been in the crosshairs, with this take: "I think even if she wasn't, I think I don't think he would have done it."

Rogue's touch scene and the ending left us emotional

The moment Rogue finally touched Gambit and he came back, even partially, with Apocalypse still inside him, was the point where we admitted we were about to cry. We were relieved the episode did not end on a cliffhanger, since the team is shown regrouping afterward, and we liked that X-Force and Rogue's group end up offering each other a deal instead of fighting further.

Our verdict and finale predictions

Overall we called it a good episode that got us emotionally, in a good way. With only one episode left in the season, and knowing a new season is already confirmed, we predicted that Apocalypse will likely survive, since he is "one of those never ending enemies" who "always survives." Our guess is the team finds a way to transfer Apocalypse's consciousness into his old body only for him to escape again, setting up X-Force and X-Factor teaming up against X-Corp in Genosha next season. We also wondered whether Gambit gets to survive the separation and rejoin the X-Men, and we think he will, reasoning that the show "wouldn't cut out Gambit... he's one of the most popular characters, especially him and Rogue." We admitted this season has felt like it had a Gambit shaped hole that only just got filled, but called it an amazing season overall and said we wished there were a few more episodes so the wait for season three would not feel as long.

Do you think Gambit survives once Apocalypse is separated from him, or is this the end for him?