Some spoilers below.
The Good
We ended the last issue of UNCANNY X-Force with Betsy Braddock "committing seppuku" -- which is basically committing suicide the way the Samurai would in feudal Japan. Seppuku is when a warrior (in this case, Psyclocke) is so overcome with shame that they disembowel themselves with their sword. They are so disappointed in themselves that they see death as the only solution. I think this scene made a lot of sense, as far as the plot was concerned. Psylocke sees the world and what it's become and feels responsible for the state of things because, essentially, her future self and her actions led to all of this -- she is to blame. This entire scene makes sense and works well here.
After she is captured and taken away, she has a vision. It's a very sad vision and it serves to reinforce some things we saw in previous issues, but it's also easy to see how this vision served as a means to control Betsy's actions. It's interesting. I loved the way the style of the art changed in this scene -- it becomes clearer, more crisp. The background is detailed and the colors are bright -- lots of white and yellow shades. It's a great contrast to the dark, dreary reality captured on the pages of the rest of the book. The abstract panels and shapes, the dark colors -- all of this serves to help set the mood and the tone of the story beautifully.
So much of this issue really sucks you into the story, but it still feels as if the story is shrouded in mystery. It's hard to understand exactly what's happening in many parts of the issue because it feels like there is a lot we won't know until the issues that follow this one -- particularly towards the end. That mystery, however, can be good for the story.
The Bad
Psylocke must have some seriously crazy inner strength to go from laying lifeless on the ground, unable to move and sever her own spinal cord to suddenly be running away from The Punisher, propelling herself into the air. I understand that sometimes certain things need to happen in order to move the plot, but she went from being completely weak to being able to function normally. In addition, at the moment when Psylocke stabbed herself, her future self grew weaker and began to fade away. How does the future Betsy go from nearly disappearing to use her psychic abilities to control young Betsy's mind? This just didn't really add up to me.
The Verdict
I understand I may be nitpicking a little bit, but I really do think it's important to have consistency. You can't show Psylocke unable to move in one panel and then depict her running across the page in the next. It's hard to understand how severe her injury was. Aside from this detail, however, this issue is yet another example of the complexities of Betsy's character. Remender isn't only dealing with surface issues, he's really digging deep into her character and dissecting her -- and it's really interesting to see.
One of the things I've really enjoyed about these last few issues is the fact that Remender toys with the idea that the crimes you commit today, mold you in the future. Which is exactly what happens here. As members of the X-Force team, they have had to kill in order to make things right; and this line of thinking is what shapes a "peaceful future" shaped by preemptive murder and fascism.