Did DeMayo Firing Ruin S2? - X-Men '97 | Screen Check
The X-Men '97 Season 2 finale delivered major comic lore and high-octane brawls, but ultimately fumbled the emotional weight of its biggest character moments. Join our Patreon for ad-free episodes and over 100 hours of exclusive commentary: https://www.patreon.com/wtrshow.
In this debut episode of Screen Check with Steven, Steven delivers a real-talk analysis of the Season 2 finale, "Survival of the Fittest." He evaluates how the compressed 9-episode streaming order hurt the season's overall structure, forcing pivotal narrative beats like Nightcrawler’s climactic sacrifice to feel unearned. Steven digs into the conflict between X-Force, X-Factor, and the X-Men, the political coding of Val Cooper’s government regime, and the creative misstep of keeping Apocalypse as a background figure for most of the second half.
Steven also addresses the broader industry context surrounding the show, evaluating how former showrunner Beau DeMayo’s absence impacted the writing and pacing compared to Season 1's high-stakes Bastion arc. From the visual execution of Gambit as the Horseman of Death to the post-credits Mystique and Graydon Creed tease, Steven outlines what worked, what failed, and what comic fans should expect heading into Season 3.
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