The Good: Decent direction, A couple of good performances
The Bad: Forced character development, Meandering and listless plot, Very few good performances/performers used well
The Basics: "Something Inhuman This Way Comes..." takes a long time to do anything for the Inhumans the viewer might actually care about.
One of the unfortunate issues with having so very many options for television and movies for comic book fans is that there is only so much time in the day and only so much brainpower even fans can devote to the subject. That thought was at the forefront of my mind when I sat down for the latest episode of Inhumans. When I sat down to review the new episode, "Something Inhuman This Way Comes . . .," I realized that the last time I thought about Inhumans at all was when I reviewed the prior episode. In other words, an entire week went by and I did not even muse or think about Inhumans. That is not a good sign for the show.
"Something Inhuman This Way Comes. . . " was preceded by "Make Way For . . . Medusa" (reviewed here!) and it was another episode that kept most of the Attilan Royal Family separated. The big reveal in the prior episode - which resonates into "Something Inhuman This Way Comes . . ." was that Dr. Evan Declan is working in concert with Maximus. Beyond that, Medusa and Louise are off doing a buddy team-up comedy escape plot and Karnak is just kind of hanging out with illegal farmers.
On Oahu, Karnak wakes up with Jen and the pair is hunted by her jealous coworker. Karnak's power's resurface, which allows him to deflect a bullet with his hand, but he inadvertently sends it into Jen. Medusa and Black Bolt, reunited after their fight with Mordis, are driven by Louise toward safety. When Locus makes noise, they release her from Louise's trunk and while they move in the direction of Karnak, they get a call from Maximus. After Lockjaw proves he is healthy enough for teleporting - by taking Dave and Crystal away from the vet - Dr. Declan discovers how Sakas's power appears to have worked by performing an autopsy on him.
As Karnak and Jen try to flee the drug lords who have come for their latest crop, Maximus searches for a member of the lower caste to send down to Earth to take on the royal family. When Auran resurrects, much to Declan's surprise, she is ordered by Maximus to keep the scientist alive.
"Something Inhuman This Way Comes. . . " continues the Inhumans trend of being an ensemble piece that is so spread out that it is virtually impossible to emotionally invest in the story. While something like Game Of Thrones has a vast cast and several different plotlines, Inhumans is meandering far more toward a sense of an inevitable showdown as opposed to feeling like it is building something. So, for example, in "Something Inhuman This Way Comes. . . " Gorgon has a flashback to a time when he stole the U.S. flag off the moon and Karnak had to convince him to return it. Gorgon's story, however, continues to meander and it seems like he's just a guy with hooves running around Hawaii.
Inhumans is hampered as well by the fact that Maximus continues to justify his actions by a comparatively noble goal; to free the lower caste and free all the people of Attilan. In "Something Inhuman This Way Comes. . . ," Maximus starts to show that he is willing to do anything to survive, but it is hard not to feel somewhat empathetic for him and his plight. After being threatened by Black Bolt (through Medusa) from Earth, Maximus opens up to using one of his citizens for an assassination mission. Maximus's coup was comparatively bloodless and he stood up for oppressed people. Maintaining that after the royal family fled is realistically difficult in "Something Inhuman This Way Comes. . . ," but Maximus asking for a sacrifice from his subjects still plays more as self-preservation than oppression. Even in the final moments of the episode that feature Maximus, his coming unhinges seems much more about self-preservation and a sense of a desire to change Attilan for the better than megalomaniacal tendencies.
Anson Mount continues to be impressive as Black Bolt in exhibiting a pretty extensive range without ever speaking. Karnak is given a fairly decent role in "Something Inhuman This Way Comes. . . ," as he begins to learn from Jen. Karnak's flashbacks appear to illustrate that he has not learned much of anything in his life on the moon, though he works hard with Jen to suddenly embrace . . . essentially what Gorgon told him for years in their time in Attilan. Ken Leung does fine with the material he is given, but Karnak is a pretty cold character and it's tough to buy into the idea that Jen and a head injury that appears to be mostly resolved have managed to turn him around on his whole life philosophy.
Kevin Tancharoen directs "Something Inhuman This Way Comes. . . " well, but the script is one that is so fractured that the content of the episode is often uninspired. Crystal's subplot with Dave rings especially hollow given that Crystal is essentially alone and her whole purpose is to find Medusa and Blackbolt and help them restore the monarchy on the moon. The result is a slow chase episode with a pretty obvious ultimate purpose that meanders into getting there.
For other works with Iwan Rheon, please check out my reviews of:
Game Of Thrones - Season 6
Game Of Thrones - Season 5
Game Of Thrones - Season 4
Game Of Thrones - Season 3
[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!]
3/10
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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