| The Toad, the Witch, and the Wardrobe | |
| Season Three, Episode 7 | |
 | |
| Air date | November 9, 2002 |
| Written by | Cydne Clark Steve Granat |
| Directed by | Gary Graham |
| Episode Guide | |
| previous X-Treme Measures |
next Self Possessed |
- " Hey, I skipped this day in hero class, okay?"
- —Toad to Kurt attempting to save Wanda
Premise[]
When Wanda Maximoff finally tracks down her father, Magneto, at his Acolyte headquarters in the local ski resort, she falls victim to Mastermind's powers at the behest of Magneto. Kurt Wagner meets Amanda Sefton's parents only for the night to worsen when Todd Tolansky steals his Image Inducer causing the two to team up upon learning that Wanda is in trouble.
Plot[]
As Mastermind roams the streets of Italy, he starts using his illusions to trick people into believing different things. As he comes across a lamppost, he watches as it starts acting up and knows that it is Magneto. As the latter appears, he offers Mastermind a job which he agrees to.
Back in Bayville and in a taxi, Wanda watches as a bridge catches fire and gets out noticing all the people running from the wreckage and goes to confront the source whom she discovers is Pyro using his pyrokinesis and laughing at the scene he is causing.
At Bayville High, Amanda tries to convince Kurt to meet her parents but he expresses his worry for doing so as his image inducer has recently been having inducer, something with Amanda looks past that and insists her parents should see the real him but their conversation gets interrupted when the two notice a fire. The commotion is also seen by Jean and Scott who drive off to see what was happening.
After fighting against Pyro, Wanda struggles to gain the upper-hand as she is thrown back causing her to almost fall into the lake below due to an SUV almost falling besides her but she regains her grip in time. As Scott, Jean and Storm do their best to stop the issue from getting worse, they also find out that Erik sent his daughter a message, one that involved she stop looking for him and her brother but Jean insists that Pietro returned to the Brotherhood causing Wanda to leave, now angered.
At the Brotherhood house, Pietro relishes in his new leader role and has Fred, Toad and Lance doing work for him while he sits down to relax which to the other three are not happy about as Toad almost fell off the roof to perfect the television signal and Lance came inside the house in oil after fixing up a vehicle. Tired of being bossed around, the trio express their hatred for taking orders and question why Pietro is in charge to which the latter tells them that Magneto needs to know they can work as a team but soon stops realising his sister is on her way and begs his teammates not to tell her where he is hiding as he speeds over to hide into a closet. As Wanda enters, she demands to know where her brother is and the three willingly tell her.
As Wanda confronts her brother, he admits their father only contacts him when it is necessary. As Toad tries getting with Wanda, he questions what it will take to be with her but is told by Wanda that he would have to be a different person. Toad plots to steal Kurt's image inducer. At Amanda's house. Kurt gets there early and is invited inside, he hands some flowers to Mrs Sefton as Mr Sefton goes to grab some drinks, Kurt's inducer then fails but he teleports out of sight to prevent his true form from being seen.
As Kurt appears in the kitchen, he starts hitting his inducer to get it to work again. His sudden appearance in the room startles Mrs Sefton. After a few close calls, Kurt joins the Sefton's to eat. After dinner, Kurt assists them in cleaning up as Amanda voices her consideration for him. As Toad appears to steal the inducer, Kurt loses control over his human form but regains it in time before he is seen as a fight between the two mutants breaks out after Kurt apologises for the mess. As the fight concludes, Toad manages to steal the inducer revealing Kurt's real self to the Sefton's much to their shock with Amanda attempting to lighten the mood as she wonders if anyone is hungry for dessert.
Still trying to find her dad, Wanda makes her way to a Mountain Trolley but is flirted with by Toad whom she already sees through the disguise. As her scarf blows away, a guy appears insisting to get it but as he leaves, Wanda realises his mannerisms resembles Toad and she hexes him once again. Noticing Pyro, she follows after him as she sits on a ski lift but shares the ride with another guy. As Pyro continues to ski from the lift, Wanda pursues him and the guy, who introduced himself as Eric, tries following her but he fails to ski and the inducer fails once more revealing it to be Toad. As the latter catches up to Pyro, he watches as Wanda is taken inside a metallic sphere and knows Erik is involved.
As Toad finds Kurt, he begs the X-Man for his assistance but only allies himself with the Brotherhood mutant as a way to get his inducer back. Inside the sphere, Erik admits he knew Wanda would come looking for him and knew she would follow Pyro's clues, he insists leaving her at the mental institute was a hard decision and he wishes to repair their relationship but Wanda refuses to negotiate, her retaliation is met by Mastermind who begins to rewrite her memories and make her believe that Erik had always been a kind and caring father.
Outside, Kurt and Toad agree to team up with Kurt demanding his inducer back after Wanda has been rescued. Meanwhile, as Colossus is picking boxes up, he sees people walking behind crates but upon investigating, he sees nothing but teleportation smoke.
Gambit and Pyro are walking around a corner as they teleport in, they jump into a room where Colossus is picking boxes up. He hears them and turns around only to see their feet go behind a crate. He starts walking towards the crate, as he goes around the corner; all he sees is the teleportation smoke puff. He starts to scratch his head. Upon entering the sphere, Mastermind warns Erik of the company as he continues to change Wanda's memories. As the two temporary allies leave, Erik questions if the job had been completed causing Mastermind to admit that it was successful.
Back at the ski resort, Wanda wakes back up and kisses Eric the ski instructor but upon doing so. the inducer fails and Wanda discovers that the guy she is kissing is Toad in disguise, she hits him but soon thanks him for saving her as he smiles in return but she soon returns to being grossed out by his behaviour once he eats a fly. At the park, Kurt and Amanda continue to walk through as Kurt is saddened that his relationship with Amanda might have to come to an end now that the Sefton's know about his real self but Amanda assures him that it's okay and cheers him up.
At the Brotherhood house, Wanda is in a confused state unaware that her memories were altered. As Toad goes to tell her, he is stopped by Pietro who claims that his sister is much happier now and that Wanda will be around for much longer. Toad, now happy, hops over to Wanda as his theme plays.
Quotes[]
Pietro: May I remind you losers that Magneto put me in charge for a reason? The only chance you have of joining his new crew is if you guys can prove you can work together as a team. And that, my friends, takes leadership--Strong, decisive, fearless- Aah! Wanda! Don't tell her I'm here!
Todd: Babycakes! You've come back to me.
Wanda: Where is he?!
Todd: Pietro? Hiding in the closet.
Pietro: Thanks a lot, Wart boy!
Todd: Bu-but, sweetums, I'm your servant, your slave. Just tell me what I have to be to win your love.
Wanda: Someone else.
Kurt: That was a delicious dinner, Mrs. Sefton.
Margali: Well, it was sweet of you to offer to do the dishes.
Amanda: Oh, Kurt is very considerate. He gets good grades, too. And he has the nicest friends.
(Immediately before Toad crashes into the Sefton cottage and tries to steal Nightcrawler's portable holo-projector.)
(After Toad accidentally slips into the sink.)
Toad: Ewwww! I touched soap!
Toad: Hey, hey, hey. Nightcreeper!
Nightcrawler: You! You ruined my life, you bug-eating scab! Give me back my inducer!
Toad: Hah hah. Now I'm sensing some hostility here.
Magneto: It's time we had a talk, father to daughter. Wanda, leaving you in that hospital was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do. I know it must have been hard on you.
Scarlet Witch: Save it.
Magneto: Please understand it was for your own good. I-
Scarlet Witch: You never cared about me! Only about yourself! I was just something else in your way.
Magneto: Wanda, I had hoped we could start building a new relationship.
Scarlet Witch: Not in this lifetime.
(Wanda is packing books into a box.)
Todd: Okay, okay... Let me get this straight. You mean you're not mad at your father no more.
Wanda: Not really... I know I was once, but it's funny, I just can't seem to remember why. It's all a blur.
Toad: Maaan they really did a number on your head. Well, let me enlighten you snookums, uh see when you were a kid ugh...
(Pietro speeds by them, grabbing Todd and takes him into the kitchen.)
Pietro: Are you nuts?! Why do you want to start all that again?
Todd: Hey, I was just...
Pietro: Look she's a lot happier with all those memories gone. Which means she'll stop looking for Magneto. Which means she'll stick around here, near you.
Todd: Hahahn. You got a point. Okay, I'll keep my mouth shut. Besides if she can get over hating her father, then there's hope for me yet!
Notes[]
- Introduction of Mastermind.
- The Acolytes all make appearances, but have no lines.
- When Quicksilver lights up the bridge, you can see the same Bulldog Trucking truck on the bridge from when Rogue and Kitty hitched a ride, days earlier.[1]
- Pietro is watching the "Crocodile Hunter" as the guy is getting bit by a snake when the camera cuts away.
- Toad's theme song now has lyrics and it is heard during his and Nightcrawler's fight. It previously didn't.[2][3][1]
- When Pyro is on the bridge his fire is in the shape of four horses, possibly foreshadowing Apocalypse's four horsemen.
Trivia[]
- The scene when Toad kisses Wanda for mistake is possibly reference to "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies" cartoons.
- In the comics, the original Brotherhood consisted of Erik, Pietro, Wanda, Toad and Mastermind.
- Mrs Sefton's name is Margali, a reference to Kurt's mother in the comics.
- In the comics, Margali kicked Kurt out, under the impression that he killed Amanda's brother, Stefan. Amanda's father is dead and she had a very strong relationship with her mother.
- The name of the episode is a reference to the film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
Cast[]
|
Main Cast |
Recurring Cast
Guest Cast |