Episode #15 - Bada Bing, Bada Boom
Original Airdate October 6th, 2001

A new mutant at the Institute, Boom Boom, is forced to commit robberies by her Father.

Credits
Written By: Greg Johnson
Directed By: Steve Gordon
Music Composed By: William Anderson
Guest Starring: Dale Wilson as Principal Kelly, Megan Leitch as Boom-Boom, and Vincent Gale as Duncan Matthews.

Review: The season continues with another strong episode, this time focused on one of the new recruits, Boom Boom. She was an odd character to appear in the show, but she fitted in with the shows teen vibe, and was actually an interesting character, despite being annoying. It was an odd experience, I found her irritating, but she was perfectly watchable.

I really enjoyed the plot behind this one, with Tabitha’s father using her mutant abilities for his own needs, regardless of how she felt about them. I really got the impression that she was a troubled kid in a mere 22 minutes, which is really impressive writing when you get to the core of it. Similar stories have been tried dozens of times and it’s not easy to pull off. Think of how apathetic you were towards Cathy DuCain’s plight in Batman’s Mystery Of The Batwoman DTV, and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

I could’ve done without the almost romantic subplot with Kurt, but the beginning when he got knocked out was great fun! I liked most of the stuff at the fairground too, especially the beginning stages of Scott possibly getting a new girl, just to throw a curveball to him and Jean. I found that their relationship was done masterfully throughout the season; with the exceptional of the 2 dimensional Duncan I couldn’t really fault it. It followed on greatly from the end of Power Surge.

I thought Tabitha ending up with The Brotherhood, who are essentially a group of orphans and misfits themselves, was more than appropriate. It also added a little diversity to their ranks, which I felt was much needed after their overuse in season one. All in all, a great episode.