The Good: Special effects are fine
The Bad: Dull story, Lackluster character development, Bored performances, Lens flares.
The Basics: Inhumans continues its fractured story of the Attilan Royal Family fleeing around Hawaii encountering equally boring humans.
It is hard to imagine a bigger conceptual failure for the Marvel Cinematic Universe than Inhumans. Within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there have already been Inhuman characters rooted in a far more practical "seeded alien DNA" concept within the otherwise grounded biology of the MCU (as opposed to a race of people living on the moon), there has been a Shakespearean royal coup (in the Thor storyline) and the viewer is expected to root against the guy who wants to abolish a caste system and free the lower classes from slavery in the mines. So, what exactly is the selling point for Inhumans? By the fourth episode, "Make Way For . . . Medusa" it is still not clear.
"Make Way For . . . Medusa" follows on the heels of "Divide And Conquer" (reviewed here!) and given how many disparate characters and plotlines are in play, it is impossible to discuss the new episode without references as to what came before. By "Make Way For . . . Medusa" most of the Inhumans are on Earth, in Hawaii, where they are interacting with humans and humans who became Inhuman when they underwent terrigenesis because of the poisoned fish oil supply.
Dr. Evan Declan rescues Black Bolt and his Inhuman friend from jail, while Medusa holds Louise at gunpoint to have her drive her in the same direction as their fleeing helicopter. On the moon, Maximus threatens his former friend from the Genetic Council. Crystal, in the meantime, has to deal with the fact the Lockjaw has been wounded and she sets about to getting him medical attention. Declan figures out what Black Bolt's abilities are and Black Bolt manages to communicate with Declan that he will help find Medusa. Declan reports back to Maximus, who urges the scientist to kill Black Bolt.
Meanwhile, Karnak teaches the weed farmers irrigation and Gorgon laments the death of humans on his account. When the police close in on Medusa and Louise, they are forced to flee their hotel while still hunting for the helicopter that took Black Bolt away. And Maximus finds his allies on Earth far more shifty than he would have hoped.
Maximus is characterized in "Make Way For . . . Medusa" as a pretty generic villain. Instead of developing Maximus as a genetically-wronged Inhuman who actually wants to create an egalitarian society for his people, Maximus is vengeful, inefficiently strangling his supporters and urging murder where it is not necessary. Maximus and Declan working together is introduced as if it were supposed to be audacious, but the revelation falls flat. Maximus wants to become a powered Inhuman again and he believes Declan's experiments might provide him with the genetic manipulation to undergo terrigenesis a second time.
"Make Way For . . . Medusa" plays the titular character's arc as a cheap buddy comedy. Medusa and Louise pal around with Medusa acting - predictably - like a fish out of water. Louise is basically pushed around by Medusa the entire episode. Their fleeing is dull and melodramatic, their jokes fall flat and Louise has a ton of moments when she easily could have escaped Medusa and the Queen's gun.
Inhumans continues to lack big character moments in "Make Way For . . . Medusa." None of the main characters are afforded the opportunity to portray any sort of truly deep emotions needed to make them appear empathetic to the viewer. Instead, the actors plod through "Make Way For . . . Medusa" as if they are waiting for the chance to shine.
Ultimately, "Make Way For . . . Medusa" is a dull waste of time. The viewer waits for any one of the many plotlines to matter and feel connected to the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a way that would justify their investment in the episode or Inhumans.
For other works with Henry Ian Cusick, please check out my reviews of:
Fringe - Season 5
Lost
Dead Like Me: Life After Death
[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Marvel's Inhumans - The Complete First Season, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the premiere season of Inhumans here!
Thanks!]
.5/10
For other Marvel Cinematic Universe reviews, please visit my MCU Review Index Page for a relativistic listing!
© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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