3x18 Nightcrawler

[7.2/10] You don’t get a lot of religion on mainstream children’s television shows. That’s probably for the best. It’s such a personal and often touchy thing that it’s tough to get right, especially for a younger audience.

But despite having some qualms about the things this episode glides over, I like that “Nightcrawler”, true to its eponymous character’s personal history, explores what religion means in a world with mutants. The show asks a valid question -- how would mutants feel about religion and God when they’re born different, with no control over that fact, and ostracized and persecuted for it There’s meat to that question. X-Men leaves some of it on the bone, but contrasting comparing people who’ve grown more cynical or more pious when trying to answer that question is a good tack for the episode.

Granted, some of this one doesn’t land because the first half tries to sell Nightcrawler as a scary possible bad guy, and if you’ve consumed any X-Men media in the last thirty years or so, there’s a good chance you know that’s not the case. That isn’t the show’s fault. I think this was my introduction to the character when I was a kid. (Either that or the famous arcade beat-em-up game.) So there’s room to spook a younger audience. But none of the “Oh no, maybe he’s a demon” material really landed with me.

There’s also some unavailing ski lodge material, and a pretty flat setup where one of the monks Wolverine, Rogue, and Gambit run into at the monastery where Nightcrawler lives is a betrayer who fears him because he’s a mutant. The townsfolk with torches and pitchforks are a cliche. On a pure story level, this one is no great shakes.

(Though lore-wise, I do appreciate the flashback that shows he’s Mystique’s son, making him a sibling of sorts to Rogue, even though neither of them knows it.)

But theme-wise, I find this one fascinating. Wolverine has been through a lot, so he understandably feels like religion has no purchase in his heart, believing that a loving God wouldn’t allow these things to happen to him. Nightcrawler, on the other hand, sees the good in his experience, the people who’ve cared for him, and takes comfort in the fact that whatever prejudice he faces here, there is a source of unlimited love for him in God. You can understand both perspectives, how their experiences have led them to these opposite conclusions, and what each view of spirituality does for them.

There’s also a sharp contrast here. There are depictions of how true believers can be some of the most altruistic and understanding among us. The Monks take in travelers and care for them without question. They accept Nightcrawler and even make him one of their own. They seem devoted to a sense that God’s love belongs to all, and all are his children, taking that to heart as a true purpose and not just window dressing.

On the other hand, you have Brother Reinhart and the angry townsfolk who view Nightcrawler as an abomination and believe that it’s God’s will to “purify” the monastery of this “demon.” It’s a sign that religion cuts both ways, and can be fodder for prejudice, exclusion, and violence in the same terms it can be a cause for acceptance.

Of course, this is an ultimately optimistic series, despite tackling some tough topics. So Brother Reinhart ultimately sees the error of his ways thanks to Nightcrawler’s intervention. And even Logan finds comfort in some bible passages Kurt chose for him. I’ll admit, I find the answers here a little easy, albeit age appropriate, as landing spots for the complex issues “Nightcrawler” raises.

But what makes me ultimately appreciate this one is that, as an exploration of religion in a world of mutants, it acknowledges that religion can be a cause for compassion and acceptance, or it can be a cause for demonization and hate. And there’s something nice about the idea, however aspirational in a tough world, that the former brand of true believers will win out over the latter.