Mr. & Mrs. X: The Gambit and Rogue Appreciation 2024

[ChronoRogue]

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I was getting that vibe too, maybe it's just going to be playing into his self doubt (and also making all of us jump to conclusions too lol). I think Remy is struggling with his past a bit like he does in the comics. Seems likely when you consider when bad-dream-Rogue said she found a man and he was a real hero. Maybe the plan is Magneto to help her get control of her powers like Charles couldn't, wouldn't that be a kick in the pants

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Yea, I could see that happening. I do think there still is some romance subtext, but I'm not sure if they're gonna go full Rogneto now.

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[CamilleMoineau]

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I was getting that vibe too, maybe it's just going to be playing into his self doubt (and also making all of us jump to conclusions too lol). I think Remy is struggling with his past a bit like he does in the comics. Seems likely when you consider when bad-dream-Rogue said she found a man and he was a real hero. Maybe the plan is Magneto to help her get control of her powers like Charles couldn't, wouldn't that be a kick in the pants

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That's what I'm thinking; it's playing on his insecurities, he's gonna think there's more to Rogue and Magneto's relationship, try to prove himself a hero in a stupid way, then it'll turn out she and Mags were working on her getting control of her powers.

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[Sisterhood Of Mutants]

Ha, I feel that. Sometimes some fans do such a disservice to the character that it turns me completely off the character I would otherwise enjoy at best, or be ambivalent to at worst. I’m glad that kind of stuff is kept to Twitter, but less glad it’s the sole focus of the X-office for years now.

This happened to me with so many characters during Krakoa. Even some of the most perfectly bland or Z-list. And yeah, the outgoing office feeding into it, down to the very last death rattle of an event, has… not helped lol.

There’s plenty of Rogue fans who like the pairing too. He’s a prestigious “get” for Rogue, maybe equaling more page-time for her. She’s a strong enough character with enough popularity that she won’t be fridged or nerfed for the sake of Magneto’s character story. At worst, she’d have his baby, because he’s just so virile it would be a privilege to be a mother to his child (probably a son). If you squint really hard, he is very attractive. He’s noble and driven. AND she can touch him, so why not? If there’s fans that liked Rogue for her headstrong, flirty, fun character, well Magneto’s probably not an appealing pairing. He’s a total wet blanket. BUt being Magneto’s Queen super soldier in his crusade might be the right choice for a matured, cause-driven/focused Rogue.

I do like Magneto as a character, and Claremont could have been cooking if he treated him like another Wolverine for Rogue - an offbeat mentor who gets on her level and understands her better than Xavier could. But I think a romantic relationship between them does nerf her.

Not necessarily in terms of her powers (though lol at there always being some deus ex machina for all of her non-Remy love interests to mysteriously be able to touch her), but her character always seems flattened. Age gap and the sheer optics of it starting when she was a teen aside, writers never try to present them as true equals. If they met as full-fledged adults, and it focused on building up both characters as worthy of respect and awe, like the Magneto and Storm interactions in Red, I might be willing to give it a chance. But they’re never going to write it like that, because the power imbalance has always been a feature, not a bug. (He calls her “child,” for God’s sake lmao.)

She went from the most ballsy and rebellious female character on the team to getting the Slave Leia treatment during the Savage Land. She starts out as pretty much his adopted kid during AOA. And as much as I enjoy (most of) Legacy, it falls flat there, too. I love that Carey went all in on exploring her power set and her interest in mentoring younger mutants, but her edge and feistiness faded. Of course she’s older and more mature, but growth doesn’t mean her personality should be sanded down just to fit a specific partner.

I view the X-men as a cast of more or less equal importance. So in my head giving Scott, Ororo, Jean and Logan more screentime is antithesis to the concept. I can accept that Logan is more populuar but I dont' see any reason why some characters must dominate the plot and others don't. How do we expect some characters to regain their populairty or reinvigorate theirs if we keep hitting the same chords with the same characters we did in other shows? To me one of the things that made the XTAS work in the first place is that it wasn't Logan+05 or All New.

…yeah, this dovetails with my suspicions regarding why the loudest Twitter gatekeepers so very mad about this show’s mere existence shut up right after the first two episodes dropped - not just because of its quality, but because the disproportionate screentime skewed in favor of their blorbos. And judging from things the former showrunner said + the leaked synopses (and even those rearranged title cards lol), it’s likely not budging. Very much hoping to be wrong, though!

Hmmm I dunno, the “Val Cooper is Mystique working for Magneto” part sounds like a theory formulated by someone who only knows their dynamic from the films.

I can see “Val Cooper is Mystique working for Mystique,” though.

(Or better yet, Destiny.)

I think it's spot on for Rogue to choose the more difficult path in order to be true to her convictions. The man she loves but can't touch over the man she can touch but doesn't love. I'm a little less sure on whether she'll choose or not choose an inhibitor collar eventually. And maybe we won't get there this season. In the comics she was eventually willing to use them on a temporary basis, but it's at odds with the radical self acceptance that is key in the show. Maybe this series will find a third path. I'd still prefer Rogue getting some degree of control, but since DeMayo seemed less interested in pursuing that I'm less certain. This is where X-Men also dips into ableism and mental health politics a bit with when it's acceptable to let a character use technology to control or modulate their mutant powers in order to improve their quality of life and why it doesn't mean they are betraying their identity. Nobody is accusing Scott of denying himself as a mutant by controlling his optic blasts with his ruby quartz lenses for instance. But without that technology he'd have to live with his eyes closed at all times. That similarity between him and Rogue is one of the more interesting points that X-Men Evolution made.

All of this is beautifully put. I can get that the collar feels like a cheat with Rogue (and it’s frustrating that the ex-showrunner had zero interest in her learning control), but it’s very weird how some fans/writers desperately want to punish or dismiss her whenever she expresses discomfort with her own body. I hope we see this kind of nuance that doesn’t treat her like some cowardly race traitor (not sad to see you go, Fox movies!) if she’s simply curious about exploring different options.

Lol. As if Mags would care about his kids.

The most hilarious part of seeing those memes everywhere is how most of the replies are exactly this lmao. Ouch tbh.

I hope that he doesn't become a villain, and especially not for being briefly rejected by Rogue--I've seen disturbing comments about how he's now been redpilled by incel losers. I strongly believe that's not the way they'd go, because he's got waaaay more self-confidence and I can't see him getting swayed by a bunch of far-right losers. He's hurt and he's jealous, sure, but I hope if they do go the Villain Temp route, it's one of his misguided attempts to help that backfires on him, but not so heinous that he's irredeemable and audiences turn on him.

Hoping they don’t go there with him, either. Yes, he’s still risk-taking and dangerous and is unafraid to deal in shades of grey, but he’s still a good person. Those things can co-exist. We don’t need anymore outright character assassination, R&G 2.0 was bad enough.

[Sparta]

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I was actually expecting a lot more Rogue/Magneto, but pretty much everything was from Gambit's perspective, his hallucination of the Savage Land was actually quite well done, it reminded me of that scene from Excalibur (Boorman film) with King Arthur and Guinevere/Lancelot. Even had that green lighting. Disturbing, but well executed. Rogue's line to Gambit in the hallucination referenced his self doubt about being a hero, which is on point to what Xavier told Gambit on his death bed when he convinced him that he is one. The episode was so fast paced, I'll need another viewing for the Jean/Maddie stuff.

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[Nox Noctes]

So, do the intro credit scenes show what's to come? Or are they just random throwaway scenes?

[Sparta]

So, do the intro credit scenes show what's to come? Or are they just random throwaway scenes?

Scenes from past episodes and from the comics. Phoenix Saga, Bishop travelling through time, first battle against Magneto etc...but they actually referenced a Romy scene from the Jim Lee era.

[Sisterhood Of Mutants]

spoilers:

I was getting that vibe too, maybe it's just going to be playing into his self doubt (and also making all of us jump to conclusions too lol). I think Remy is struggling with his past a bit like he does in the comics. Seems likely when you consider when bad-dream-Rogue said she found a man and he was a real hero. Maybe the plan is Magneto to help her get control of her powers like Charles couldn't, wouldn't that be a kick in the pants

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I’ve been saying this since last week, but the larger part of fandom was tripping over themselves so fast to brand Rogue as some hussy that I told myself it was denial on my part lol. But I believe it, especially after this episode. They weren’t acting romantic, or like they were hiding some tryst. Even Morph and Wolverine seemed to find the idea hilarious. Rogue rushed right over to Remy when he was injured, and Magneto chose her to stay behind and attend to him instead of coming along on the mission. And it would explain all of their training together. If they double down and backtrack fully on any alluded romantic history vibes, I’d laugh so hard if they revealed Magneto as simply another surrogate parent for her in the spaces between Raven and Xavier.

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[Duckie]

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I’ve been saying this since last week, but the larger part of fandom was tripping over themselves so fast to brand Rogue as some hussy that I told myself it was denial on my part lol. But I believe it, especially after this episode. They weren’t acting romantic, or like they were hiding some tryst. Even Morph and Wolverine seemed to find the idea hilarious. Rogue rushed right over to Remy when he was injured, and Magneto chose her to stay behind and attend to him instead of coming along on the mission. And it would explain all of their training together. If they double down and backtrack fully on any alluded romantic history vibes, I’d laugh so hard if they revealed Magneto as simply another surrogate parent for her in the spaces between Raven and Xavier.

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That would be a good "gotcha" for all of us that jumped to conclusions. haha

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[Nox Noctes]

Scenes from past episodes and from the comics. Phoenix Saga, Bishop travelling through time, first battle against Magneto etc...but they actually referenced a Romy scene from the Jim Lee era.

Yes, I know the scene, but that scene in the intro was just different enough from the comics, that I'm wondering if it will show up in '97.

Anyway, I think we've been tying ourselves in knots over nothing.

[Purplevit]

After episode 3 I am sure that rogneto won`t be a problem and is just a misdirection.

Gambit`s arc for season 1 maybe finally realizing that he is a hero and people need him. Like Cyke told in ep1 hat we needed you but Remy didn`t bother even to listen.

As for Rogue then Mags probably will help her to start control her powers. But in the end it will be made to make her weaker.

Mags in ep2 told that Xavier always was staying in his head so I am ready for Onsalught reveal in the end of season 1 and that Mags planned most of stuff and played a long game to destroy X-Men from within or smth like this.

[Duckie]

Anyway, I think we've been tying ourselves in knots over nothing.

I really hope you're right. A little angst is ok. Full Rogneto is not.

[CamilleMoineau]

I think next ep might end up being my least favorite, if only because Jubilee and Mojo don't interest me. Good thing Lifedeath Pt. 1 is on the same day.
Then Episode 5 to finally find out what's going on in that balcony scene.

[Ilargi]

You are right maybe Rogneto is a red herring. I think we are all triggerd to Rogneto that if we see a scene of them together, alarm bells go off.

I don't think Remy is going the villain route, maybe a little thieving and gambling because he's hurt/jealous.
I would love for Rogue to tell him that he is a true hero and that she has nothing to do with it. That she knows his heart and she knows it.

[Nox Noctes]

It's interesting to note how quickly the episodes resolve certain plots (in this case, Jean), but others (Romy) are left to simmer in the background. I seem to recall an article where Romy are described as the OTP relationship of the series, but we haven't gotten much so far. I doubt we'll get anything more than a scene or two (if even that) in the next ep, so yeah, looking forward to something more substantial in ep 5.

[AppleJ]

Put my gushing up in the spoilers thread, but this episode left me feeling distinctly better about the direction for Rogue and Gambit and trusting that statement about them being the OTP.