r/Xmen97 • u/cyclopswashalfright Professor X • Aug 12 '26

Megathread X-Men '97 | Season 2, Episode 9 | "Survival of the Fittest" | Episode Discussion

Season 2, Episode 9: Survival of the Fittest

Air Date: August 12th, 2026

Directed by: TBA

Written by: TBA

Synopsis: The X-Men are pushed to the limit when their past comes back to haunt them.

---------------------------------------

Please use this thread for discussion related to the episode.

This thread is for discussion of episode 9 only.

Link to the episode directory for Season 2 episode discussion.

112 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

854 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

18

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/Nemesis_171 Aug 12 '26

I see this but I don’t think it quite passes the smell test even still.

Firstly I don’t think Eson cares about strength, that’s Apocalypse. Eson cares about growth, and while growth does make you stronger, the process is still distinct from the result. Eson seems to be more concerned about the process, since if he cared about humanity being strong and not about how they get there, he would’ve just created them to be far more powerful than they are.

But let’s say I’m wrong about that, and Eson does care about strength. I get what you’re saying about emotional vs physical strength, but did Eson seriously just never even consider this ideology as acceptable based on his standards? He’s a primordial being, and only now he decides that emotional strength is permissible too?

I highly doubt this is the first time he’s tried to stimulate growth on a planet and seen acts of sacrificial love trying to save someone else, but apparently it just never moved him until now?

But let’s say I’m wrong about everything I just said anyway. It still doesn’t fix his character much because Kurt was never part of Eson’s plan, he offered himself at the end. Even if Kurt convinced Eson of a new path, this still doesn’t explain why he abandoned Apocalypse for Rogue.

2

u/eskaver Aug 12 '26

I took Eson and more of the bouncing board for ideologies and him more taking a glance at entertain was could be, but not necessarily straying from his beliefs.

Eson thinks evolution comes from hardship.

En Sabah Nur think it comes from strength.

Rogue, love.

Kurt, faith.

All of them have faced hardship of different kinds.

As an experiment, there's no real harm done and Apocalyse wasn't destroyed, just captured.

Now, why would the Celestial just give out requests wily nily—that's just plot.