X-roads
"Someone has to make some hard choices here."
Written by Matt Nix & Jim Garvey
Directed by Stephen Surjik
Directed by Stephen Surjik
"This is exactly the time to move forward. This just shows how seriously the enemy takes us. This is our moment, Senator. Now is the time to strike."
— Dr. Roderick Campbell
Sentinel Services moves on the Underground, while the Frost sisters come up with an alternative plan to neutralize the Hound program.
Tropes:
- All Your Base Are Belong to Us: Sentinel Services attacks the headquarters of the Mutant Underground and they are forced to abandon it.
- Asshole Victim: Campbell and Montez, who defend committing genocide against mutants, are killed by Polaris along with some of Montez's staff.
- Berserk Button: When his superior uses the word tragedy for his failure, Jace loses it, being reminded on his own personal tragedy and the sacrifices he made for his job.
- Breaking the Fellowship: Both the Mutant Underground as well as the Strucker Family are torn apart in the end.
- The Bus Came Back: Pedro, the Underground's Gate Guardian, returns after a long time of not appearing on screen.
- The Cameo: Evangeline, the mutant lawyer who recruits Polaris for the Mutant Underground, is the show's version of Evangeline Whedon, a mutant lawyer who could transform into a dragon when coming in contact with blood.
- Face–Heel Turn: After assassinating Doctor Campbell and Senator Montez, Polaris joins the Hellfire Club and convinces Fade, Sage, Mark and Andy to join her.
- Face Your Fears: The Sentinel team heads to the mutant base and Pedro tries to repel them with his Supernatural Fear Inducer. However, Jace says "my worst fears have already come true twice" regarding his daughter's death and yells at his men to put their fear aside for the attack.
- Fantastic Racism: Andy more and more displays this, referring to the rest of the world as the humans. Fade also tells Caitlin that she, as a human, shouldn't even be among them.
- Godzilla Threshold: Andy and Lauren combine their powers to destroy the Mutant Underground headquarters so Sentinel Services can't pursue the escaping mutants. The building is vaporized by their attack, along with the two Hound pairs Sentinel Services sent against them.
- Hold the Line: Andy, Lauren, Reed, and four other mutants mount a defense from the second floor long enough for the others to destroy everything in the data center and create an escape from the vault.
- Hope Spot: Andy seems to have, for a moment, gotten past his differences with Lauren when the two join powers to destroy the HQ to throw Sentinel Services off the trail of the Mutant Underground. But then he decides to join the Hellfire Club against the wishes of his family.
- Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: After blowing up the plane, Polaris abandons her friends at the Underground to join the Hellfire Club and take the fight to the humans directly.
- Karma Houdini: Jace Turner is the only main antagonist who makes it out unscathed in the end.
- Know When to Fold Them: Jace immediately tells his men to fall back when he sees what power the Strucker twins wield.
- The Last Straw: Polaris had been on the edge of sanity and scrupulousness for a while now. If one were to discount Esme, it would definitely be the sight of politicians and rally attendants happily and casually chatting at a convention about carrying out genocide against her kind that convinced her to switch sides and start taking more drastic measures.
- Mythology Gag:
- The medallion Polaris is toying with during the flashback looks similar to Magneto's helmet.
- The sanctuary where the Mutant Underground escaped is labelled J. Kirby.
- Eclipse's discussion with Polaris in the airport mirrors Charles and Erik's beach confrontation in X-Men: First Class. Later, Polaris returning for her new recruits resembles Erik's formation of the Brotherhood.
- Andy's estrangement from his family and eventual defection to the Hellfire Club makes him a close stand-in for Mystique and Angel Salvadore, including the "no more hiding" and "mutant and proud" sentiments.
- Polaris' Hellfire Club Evil Costume Switch has a plunging neckline resembling Selene/Jean Grey's Black Queen. The V-shaped lapels also parallels Magneto's White King costume during his time as a member of the Inner Circle in the comics.
- Sage joining the Hellfire Club fits her long-time loyalty to that faction in the comics.
- The Frost sister (presumably Esme) who shows up in the final scene alongside Lorna is wearing a white coat, making her resemble Emma Frost a.k.a. the White Queen.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Turner gives one to Director Wolcott and his colleagues when they decide he's to blame for the failed attack at the Mutant Underground.
- Rousing Speech: Reed gives a big one to the Underground when Sentinel Services is approaching.
- The Scapegoat: When the raid on the Mutant Underground goes south thanks to Andy and Lauren, Director Wolcott blames Jace for getting several agents killed (the Hounds in the building), even though he ordered the attack in the first place.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Jace quits Sentinel Services when his superiors try to scapegoat him for his failed raid on the Underground headquarters. Also, Polaris, Sage, Fade, Mark (Sunder) and Andy join the Hellfire Club.
- Shut Up, Kirk!: Unfortunately, Lorna ignores everything said by John, Clarice and Marcos and proceeds with destroying the plane.
- Super-Strength: Mark, a member of the Mutant Underground, and the show's version of Sunder (one of the Morlocks).
- Take No Prisoners: Jace Turner tells his men to kill everything on sight when approaching the Mutant Underground base. Wolcott cites this as one of the reasons to pin the blame on him as Wolcott specifically ordered the detention of the Underground members.
- Take This Job and Shove It: After Jace is blamed for the botched raid on the Mutant Underground's main base, he finally loses it and delivers a brief "The Reason You Suck" Speech towards his superiors, before giving his badge to them and leaving.Jace: Tragedy?! You're talking to me about tragedy?! I sacrificed everything for this agency.
Wolcott: I suggest you calm down.
Jace: Yeah, I don't need your damn suggestions. While you cowards sit here covering your asses, real people are dying out there. Our country, our species is under attack. You want to play your little bureaucratic games? You go right ahead. You can do it without me. I quit. - This Is Unforgivable!: John, Clarice and especially Marcos are incredibly pissed at the Frost Sisters for convincing Lorna to destroy the plane Campbell and Montez are on. Marcos even threatens to blind Esme.
- Trash the Set: The Mutant Underground Headquarters are vacated and destroyed by episode's end.
- The Unfettered: At the end of the finale, Lorna has abandoned all hope for a peaceful fight and is willing to kill innocent humans too if it means destroying the enemy.
- Wham Episode: The Mutant Underground flees the headquarters and destroys it once the Sentinel Services mounts an attack on them. Polaris destroys Dr. Campbell's transport jet, killing him in the process, joins the Hellfire Club and convinces Andy and several others to follow her. Jace quits Sentinel Services after being given the blame for the latest bust gone wrong.
- Would Hurt a Child: Esme in no way whatsoever accepts John, Marcos and Clarice abandoning their mission for the sake of human children.
- You Remind Me of X: Lauren brings up how much Andy starts sounding like the Frost Sisters and he doesn't object.
"There's nothing noble about struggle, Marcos. And sacrifice is just a pretty name for losing."
