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Marvel’s Inhumans season 1, episode 4 review: Make Way for… Medusa

By Rob Wolkenbrod

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Marvel’s Inhumans returned for its fourth episode on Friday night.

Marvel’s Inhumans is back for episode 4. Black Bolt and the Inhuman inmate are in the helicopter with Dr. Declan, who appeared in the previous episode. Declan wants to experiment on Black Bolt, and offers to help find Medusa as compensation. The Queen of Attilan and Louise are tracking them right below the helicopter, but lose sight of the aircraft.

Maximus continues to be the star of the show, with his developing craziness and aggression to rule Attilan. He’s still the only person to stand out through three-plus episodes.

Episode 3’s weird cliffhanger with Lockjaw gets answered, as we meet Dave, who ran into Crystal’s dog. Yet another character added to the show, and someone that feels like an early candidate to start a relationship with Crystal. So many characters to keep up with through four episodes, and it’s difficult to keep up with everyone’s names.

Declan presents the DNA results to Black Bolt and goes outside to make a call. It’s to Maximus. Woah. That’s the first real twist Inhumans has thrown at the viewers. Yes, that includes the lackluster reveal of the prisoner that’s Inhuman. Maximus wants Declan to kill him, but the latter is too interested in the science aspect.

It takes 17 minutes for Karnak to appear. He’s developing chemistry with the girl from the marijuana farm. Meanwhile, Gorgon is with the people he met in the forest, who we still know nothing about. It’s difficult to care about what they’re doing, even when fighting Maximus’ fighters on Hawai’i.

This week, Medusa gets the flashbacks. They aren’t anything meaningful toward her story. It leads to some happiness from Medusa, however, as she eases up on Louise who wants to help her get around the island.

Maximus desires to be experimented on to gain powers, but gets turned down. He’s testing the loyalties of the Genetic Council, which seems like a recipe for someone falling, and that’s likely not the new King of Attilan.

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Dave and this veterinarian bicker immediately, as they broke up last year. Does that matter? She says Lockjaw needs time to heal, with injuries that weren’t announced. Alrighty then. An awkward scene all around.

The woman from the marijuana farm gets Karnak to strip to his shorts and go in the ocean with her. They kiss and become the first human-Inhuman relationship before Dave and Crystal (they eventually teased romance). Kind of a fast-moving thing, here, for both relationships. We don’t know anything about Dave or this woman.

Gorgon gets passionate about protecting his family, and not just the Royal Family. These guys he’s been working with on Hawai’i are still unknowns, and there’s no reason to care about them. The weakest story, by far, belongs to Gorgon.

Maximus still wants to go through terragensis. Since the Genetic Council wouldn’t help him, he banished them. Maximus is getting darker by the scene and has shown the only bit of character development. His lead worker on Earth, Auran, finds Black Bolt and the human-Inhuman. Black Bolt then unscrews a conveniently placed gas tank, so Mordis opens his mask when he sees Medusa arrive in a car and the tank blows up.

Black Bolt and Medusa taking someone from Maximus’ group is an interesting development. They think this woman will help them out, but why wouldn’t she just lead them to Maximus?

Rob Wolkenbrod’s take

Episode 4 of Inhumans finally saw some development, at least with Maximus and Medusa. Maximus is more dangerous than ever with every dark tactic, while Medusa became likable around the midway point. This show’s big bad has been the show’s lone bright spot through four episodes, so it was nice to see someone else step up and grow.

Unfortunately, the same doesn’t go for everyone else. Gorgon is almost nonexistent. For some reason, we’re supposed to care about the nameless friends he met on Hawai’i, who he considers family. Crystal’s episode 3 cliffhanger meant almost nothing, except for a fast-paced relationship with the Dave guy that hit Lockjaw. Karnak’s relationship with the woman from the pot farm went sexual within two weeks and maybe four scenes, which felt like a rushed storyline. I guess that’s what happens with just eight 42-minute episodes.

Inhumans would be a better show if it had the central storyline of the Royal Family vs. Maximus and maybe a subplot or two for everyone on Hawai’i. They’re trying to tell seven or eight stories in every episode, which clutters the field with too many characters. From the human-Inhuman that’s with Black Bolt to Louise and Medusa, the random guys with Gorgon, the pot farmers, Dr. Declan, the Genetic Council, Auran and her team, and Crystal’s encounter with Dave and his ex-girlfriend, it’s way too much.

The positive is the main story of Black Bolt and Medusa vs. Maximus gaining strength. When in doubt, that’s the central plot and the only one that ultimately matters. Hopefully, it takes another step in episode 5, along with the rest of the show.

Mike McNulty’s take

Four out of eight episodes in, and this series still struggles finding cohesiveness. At least until the end in which three of it’s seven(?!) storylines converge. That’s been Inhumans biggest problem, other than it’s ambition not matching it’s limited budget. By separating the cast as early as they did, it’s created a very uneven narrative, and some stories are definitely more interesting than others. Black Bolt, for instance, comes across as the most likable, probably because he doesn’t have to actually talk. Medusa, on the hand, is really getting on my nerves, and the scenes between her and Not-Felicity Snoke are just plain bad.

It’s also very clear the series is about how the Inhumans learn not be so closed minded. It’s a noble sentiment but with a rushed script. Despite knowing her less than a day, Karnak winds up in a romance with the weed growers’ lone female, much to head weed grower’s jealousy. Krystal befriends the quad racer who ran into Lockjaw, who’s ex-girlfriend just so happens to be a vet. Gorgon decides to break off from his surfer buddies after one of them died last episode, because he cares for them “like family” all of the sudden. Meanwhile, Maximus wants to go through Terrigenesis again, and kills the Genetic Council (something he should’ve done during his coup) when they refuse.

Something positive? Mordis, a.k.a Cyclops in the Iron Mask, nearly blows everyone up. Though I’m hoping we soon get a fight where his energy blasts and Black Bolt’s screams collide. Maybe that’s what the budget is being saved up for? Oh, and we also get Karnak resembling his current look in the comics, too. Hooray for fan service, I guess.

Must Read: 100 greatest superhero stories

Stay tuned for more reviews from the Bam Smack Pow staff of Inhumans.

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