Roundtable Discussion: Marvel’s Inhumans “Make Way for…Medusa”

The fourth episode of the debut season of Marvel’s Inhumans aired on ABC last night, and the focus was on Medusa’s desperate search for her husband Black Bolt, being aided – albeit at gunpoint – by human Louise, who proved to be a valuable resource for the Attilan Queen. Meanwhile the other members of the royal family were dealing with the circumstances dealt them within the parts of Hawaii upon which Lockjaw left them after departing their home on the Moon.

The official synopsis for last night’s episode is as follows:

The search for Black Bolt continues on Earth; Maximus makes bold moves to cement his status as the new ruler of Attilan.

Please join Cara, Karen and Rueben as they discuss their thoughts on how the episode played out:

At first it seemed that Declan was working with Maximus, but obviously, Declan is pretty clueless about who he is really dealing with. What do you think Declan knows and does not know about Maximus?

Cara: I don’t think Declan knows just what he’s dealing with at all, and I’m curious how he got linked up with Maximus.

Karen: I’m guessing Max reached out under cover as some kind of human entity. Otherwise Declan wouldn’t be in bed with him. He seems to be totally clueless.

Rueben: Agreed. You said it best Karen that Max probably reached out to Declan, lying to him like he has been lying to people on Attilan; or more to the point, speaking his truth and only his truth.

What are your thoughts about the Karnak story line with Jen? Given what we saw at the very end of the episode and in the clip for next week, Reno is unhinged. How bad do you see that going for Karnak?

Cara: The relationship between Karnak and Jen felt forced to me, and even a little predatory on her part. Reno seems like he’s got what he needed from his partners, so now he’s getting rid of them. I think Karnak will be forced to deal with Reno, but maybe that will push him to move on and find his family.

Karen: Yeahhhh… Karnak is gonna be caught off-guard, and it’s new territory for him. Antithetical to his powers. The women on this show are not written as well as I’d like, so I have no idea what Jen is up to. Is she hinky or is it just bad writing? That’s the pitfall of a show that doesn’t have solid footing. The whole “finding each other” thing was enough angst, then add Maximus to it and I think that was plenty. Now we have all of these side plots and there’s a lot of stuff junking up the joint. It’s a limited run series… Not sure I know where they’re taking these side plots. Reno will have to be dealt with swiftly if we want the main story to dovetail in.

Rueben: Ugh, I was just so turned off by that whole thing. The side plots – especially this one – just doesn’t fit in the show. This should be about the royal family finding each other and getting back to the moon to stop Maximus not having some ridiculous fling with a girl who grows pot. It’s just pathetic to me.  And, I don’t see this turning out well for him or Jen or Reno.

Halfway through the episode Medusa tells Louise that she likes her. What do you think about Louise?

Cara: I like her. Medusa is being a major B, but Louise isn’t taking her crap and gets what she wants in the end. She unflappable, even when dealing with aliens with strange names that come from the moon.
Louise: How’d you guys get here?
Medusa: My sister’s teleporting dog.
Louise: …

Karen: Yeah, Louise is pretty much the bright spot in this episode. We can see ourselves in her. There’s Audrey too, but she was a bit brusque for my tastes. After she saw Lockjaw, she should’ve melted, BECAUSE LOCKJAW.

Rueben: Cara, yes! Exactly. I like Louise too. She was the bright spot as Karen said. She may be the only female character in the show that I even remotely like and the one character besides Black Bolt that I want to see more of.

What do you think Tibor, the genetics council member, did to Maximus when they were younger to betray him?

Cara: It seems like Tibor turned his back on Maximus after he turned out to be human. I think Tibor understands that what Maximus wants isn’t possible, but he doesn’t want to be the one to tell him.

Karen: Agreed. It’s all about the Caste system with the council, and Maximus is there to get his pound of flesh from them. Of course he’s trembling in his boots. He knows that if he goes against him, even if he’s right, it means his demise.

Rueben: I think poor Tibor is between and rock and a hard place – then and now. Especially now given what Maximus had his guards do to the other members of the genetics council. As for what Tibor did to Maximus then, I agree he probably did turn his back on Maximus because that is “just what you do” in their world when you turn out to be human, right?

Now that Black Bolt and Medusa are reunited, and armed with Louise as their “sidekick,” do you see them finding the rest of their family?

Cara: I think Louise is their best chance of finding the family, but a healed Lockjaw might do that as well. The reunion kiss between Medusa and Black Bolt was less romantic and more awkward to me, but I’m glad to see them together again. Now they can start taking care of business, both on Earth and on the moon.

Karen: Ugh with Medusa. She pains me. The only thing that saved her in this episode is that we were supposed to be frustrated with her. Job. Done. I agree with you Cara, They’re back together, so at least that part of the story is over. The other threads need to weave in now, I just don’t know how that will play out.

Rueben: I was pleased that they were reunited, but Medusa just pissed me off during most of the episode. She was just acting too high and mighty for my taste. Let’s just hope they find the other royal family members and end these farcical, subplots.

How are you feeling about the show now that we have seen four episodes?

Cara: I’m feeling pretty ambivalent. I’m more invested than I was at the beginning, and I do think the show is improving a little, but overall I can take it or leave it.

Karen: Yeah, same here. It’s not “watch live” viewing for me. I’d be watching even if I wasn’t doing the roundtable because duh, comic books on TV, but I think it suffers from really poor writing and execution. Scott Buck has a wonderful pedigree with Six Feet Under and Dexter, but now he has Iron Fist (which I dug, but it had its share of issues) and Inhumans weighing him down. He needs to step up his game. Looking back on those early shows, I see some really great, strong female characters. I’m just not seeing them now.

Rueben: I really, really wanted to like this show, as I’ve enjoyed most of the other stories within the Marvel universe (on the big and small screen). But, the pacing is off, much of the acting is off and I find myself bored during the episodes instead of invested in what’s going on. I had really hoped the show would improve, but it’s just not doing “it” for me. Sigh!!

What are your thoughts on the show so far? Please share your thoughts in our comments section below.

The next new episode of Marvel’s Inhumans will air on ABC on Friday, October 20 at 9/8c.