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YES. YES, *THAT* WILLIAM. AND IT IS INCREDIBLE. I HAVE NO WORDS FOR HOW AMAZINGLY RIDICULOUSLY OVER-THE-TOP THIS BOOK IS.

Emma is showing Jean a way through her mind. Apparently, to her flying castle.

Charles' relationship with his mutation in 9 11 10 is so fascinating. 

9 11 10 Charles is a man who’s spent his life suppressing his mutation to keep himself safe. Due to his financial and social privilege has never been forced to exercise or practice his powers. So before he’s kidnapped by the EBS, it’s not just that he’s unskilled in the use of his powers, it’s that he actually doesn’t know what his powers can do.

Charles figures out pretty immediately, however, that his powers can do a lot. He veils his entire body from Erik’s sight. He senses Syracuse at a distance. He gathers a aviary of birds that seem capable of completing any number of wee tasks for him...almost all undetected by Emma... and all within the first handful of chapters...

Charles is not an idiot. He’s a professor with a brigh and curious mind; he was going to be a scientist before he moved to classics. He knows that this is a Big Deal. So from this moment on -- why doesn't he spend every waking moment practising the use of his power? Why doesn’t he read the minds of people who could lead him to supplies or an escape route?! Why doesn’t he send thoughts flying over the Atlantic to contact Raven, for goodness sake?!!!

Instead, for literally months, Charles continues to only expand the capacity of his powers either when explicitly needed in the immediate (such as to send images of Sabretooth to warn Moira), or to fulfil random whims (such as his desire to spy on Erik at the bonfire party...) 

Are you fucking telling me Charles that those are the only places you’ve been? After all these months you’ve still only tested the boundaries of your awareness three times????!!!

Quite frankly, despite the months Charles spends with the EBS and how much he is *apparently* keen to escape, the amount of time that he spends exercising and honing his mutation is, I would say, shockingly little. It doesn't seem like Charles it biding his time, withholding his trump card. It seems like Charles isn’t even interested in finding out what his trump card is.

Which leads me on to my next question...

Why doesn’t Charles try to defeat Emma?

#UnreliableNarratorCharlesStrikesAgain 

It’s early days in the story when Charles starts to believe that his power might be far greater than he’s realised... perhaps great enough to rival Emma. 

This isn’t just an arbitrary thought. Charles is arrogant, yes, but he’s also pretty fucking astute. So does he do anything with this new knowledge? Fuck no!

And then we have it explicitly confirmed by Logan that Charles is more powerful than Frost.

Once again, does Charles take this knowledge further and incorporate it into his “plans”? Nah.

As another example, he later finds out his natural defences are so powerful he stopped Frost from assaulting him whilst completely drugged and unconscious... is he curious to find out why and investigate this? Nu-uh!

At this point what the hell stops Charles from attempting immediate escape? From throwing everything he's got at Emma's defenses and seeing if he can overwhelm her? Why doesn’t he? Why in the gluten free justin bieber universe doesn't he?!

Is Charles afraid? Is he practising behind the scenes, and not using those skills or informing the reade? Is his strange leadenfootedness in there for the purpose of lengthening the story? Is his reluctance to confront the reality of his powers a cultivated faux-naivety, a semi-deliberate act of denial, to maintain his own illusions of his normal, human, Oxford professoring self? 

Or is it that deep down.... he doesn't want to leave? That more of him is invested in the little position he's built within the EBS than he'd like to admit? That perhaps Oxford was getting a little bit too small? That part of him actually enjoys playing power politics and violent sexual tango between the White Queen and her Prince...?