In Badlands the narrative takes a dark and intense turn as it explores the dystopian future where Professor X and his new team of X-Men are on the run from the Sentinels. The episode opens with a gripping chase scene, setting the tone for the high-stakes drama that follows. As the team navigates the desolate landscape, they encounter various threats that test their resilience and unity. The bleak environment of the Badlands serves as a stark backdrop, emphasizing the dire circumstances the mutants find themselves in.

A significant part of the episode revolves around the character of Polaris, also known as Lorna Dane. Polaris is found living in isolation in the ruins of Genosha, a once-thriving mutant haven now reduced to a wasteland. Her character is portrayed with a deep sense of trauma and loss, reflecting the broader themes of the episode. The interactions between Polaris and Professor X are particularly poignant, as they delve into the emotional scars left by the war and the destruction of Genosha. Polaris’s mistrust and anger towards Professor X highlight the complexities of their relationship and the broader conflicts within the mutant community.

In the present, Logan, Kitty and Forge go undercover to find out more about Master Mold. But unfortunately, in the process, Wolverine makes Trask’s job easier – and the future a little bit more terrifying…

Twenty years from the present day, having escaped the termination camp, Xavier and the future X-Men (Bishop, Hellion, Marrow and Domino) race away from a new robotic threat: a Sentinel Hound. No matter what they do, they are gaining on them.

In the present, at an MRD facility, Wolverine, Forge and Shadowcat prepare to sneak inside. Their mission is to get inside and find information on Master Mold and then to work out how to disable it. They’re discovered quickly and realise that they’re actually in a Sentinel Processing Planet. Trask is there and he orders an incomplete Sentinel to take the team out. Wolverine orders Kitty and Forge to run and he is taken by the Sentinel and rendered unconscious. Trask begins to scan Logan‘s body.

In the future, Bishop’s attacks prove useless when the Hounds can self-heal. It also displays Wolverine-esque claws, much to Professor X‘s horror. They reach the edge of the Badlands, a desolate desert where no one ever travels. They believe the Hounds won’t follow them, but they’re wrong. As they race for their lives, the Hounds and Xavier’s exo-suit, that keeps him walking, malfunction in an electrical storm and Xavier is pulled away in the chaos by an unknown force.

In the present, Kitty and Forge go back inside for Logan, who has been throughly examined by Trask. Kitty easily phases them all free.

As Charles finally comes to a storm, he’s approached by a figure in Magneto‘s costume, but it’s not Erik: it’s his daughter, Lorna. Calling herself Polaris she has been left unstable by seeing Genosha and her father killed. When the X-Men turn up to rescue Charles, Lorna creates a battle-damaged Sentinel out of spare parts. Domino manages to remove Polaris’ helmet and Charles reads her mind, seeing the destruction and psychically calming Lorna down. She defends them from a group of Sentinels and they leave, battle-damaged Sentinel in tow protecting them.

Charles contacts Logan and warns him that as a result of his scanning in the past, a new formidable enemy has been created – and the Sentinel’s programming is evolving…

Forge, Shadowcat and Wolverine wear black and grey stealth outfits in this episode to break into the facility: they resemble Wolverine’s X-Force uniform.

In the comic books, Lorna Dane was on Genosha when it was destroyed in New X-Men #115. Investigating the ruins in the aftermath in New X-Men #132, Charles and a team of X-Men found her suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and was mentally incapacitated. She returned to the safety of Xavier’s school, but it took some time before Lorna was back on her feet. There is also a theory that Lorna’s powers being magnetic interferes with her brain chemistry, making her somewhat unpredictable.

Polaris’ costume resembles her wedding outfit from Uncanny X-Men #425-426.

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