The Gifted – gaMe changer

By: Darryl Ley

One year ago we see Rebecca (Anjelica Bette Fellini) and her family having breakfast. What she doesn’t know is after an attack on her teacher that her parents Mr. and Mrs. Hoover (Jason Davis & Maureen Montcastle) have called in Sentinel Services to take custody of her.

In the present we see Rebecca imprisoned at the Inner Circle in a custom made prison to stop her using her powers to escape. Andy Strucker (Percy Hynes White) is horrified by her suffering so he confronts Sage (Hayley Lovitt) who explains the nature of the prison. Reeva Payge (Grace Byers) talks with the Frosts Sisters (Skyler Samuels) who are concerned that the Rebecca situation might delay the rest of their plans because of Andy. Reeva says she will talk with him.

At the university Lauren Strucker (Natalie Alyn Lind) and Dr. Madeline Risman (Kate Burton) are in the lab when Lauren’s parents Reed Strucker (Stephen Moyer) and Caitlin Strucker (Amy Acker) come to pick her up. She tells them about Dr. Risman’s endgame of the suppression of X-gene in the public and they initially don’t believe her because of the fact that her brother helped to found the Purifiers. They eventually agree that they have to destroy the research and their samples.

On the roof of their apartment Marcos Diaz (Sean Teale) is looking at a picture of baby Dawn when John Proudstar/Thunderbird (Blair Redford) comes to see him. He tells Marcos about Regimen Technologies, but Marcos is still thinking about Dawn being sent away. John begs Marcos to help arguing that it is protect the future for Dawn.

At the Purifiers meeting Officer Wilson (Tom O’Keefe) introduces Jace Turner (Coby Bell) and he talks about the Mutant Uprising introducing a hotline for sightings and arranging patrols in the city. Sage checks in with Reeva about Rebecca’s condition. Reeva is only concerned that she stays alive. Andy comes to see Lorna Dane/Polaris (Emma Dumont) and asks the question if the mission of the Inner Circle is worth everything that has happened so far – the killings at Creed Financial, giving Dawn up, etc.

Lorna says she is doing this for Dawn and reassures Andy that there dream of a mutant homeland will happen. In a garage John, Marcos and Clarice Fong/Blink (Jamie Chung) plan to kidnap a systems analyst from Regimen which Clarice is vehemently against. At Dr. Risman’s home Lauren, Reed, Caitlin and the doctor are having breakfast when Lauren says she is going in early to do more tests with Noah (Ken Kirby). Dr. Risman states that with their help she will be change the world.

Marcos is in the car waiting for Clarice and John to return when he gets a call from Clarice who is under fire. He opens the trunk in time for Clarice to open a portal and send Lawrence Hayes (Christopher Cousins) through. John and Clarice portal in and explain that there were complications in the form of security guards.

In the lab Caitlin reveals to Reed that she has stolen some of the medication before they are interrupted by Dr. Risman. Reed feels guilty for what they are doing while Caitlin is more concerned about learning about Reed’s condition. The doctor explains how Reed’s powers work as his X-Gene creates complex proteins that release energy and it is the build-up of that energy that is so damaging to Reed.

Noah apologizes for putting pressure on Lauren in his previous talk about her blood saving millions of people. Lauren asks where all her blood samples are kept and insists on seeing it with Noah eventually agreeing. At the closed Medical clinic, John and Marcos tie Lawrence to a chair. Clarice grabs John to tell him that the police are looking for them with their descriptions. John doesn’t seem concerned, which angers Clarice even more criticizing him for taking Marcos on the mission so soon after the loss of Dawn and failing to have a real plan.

Lawrence tries to suggest that his company is just another boring tech company, Marcos explains that Regimen is the Inner Circle’s next target so they know it isn’t a simple tech company. John then takes over the interrogation and scares Lawrence into revealing that Regimen is responsible for maintaining the mutant restraint collars across the nation.

At the Inner Circle the Frost Sisters watch Jace Turner and Benedict Ryan (Peter Gallagher) debate whether or not The Purifiers are a hate group on The Ryan Hour. Reeva enters and tells them that the citizen militia means that their plans are on track. Sage enters to say that someone is accessing the systems at Regimen. Reeva tells her to shut it down by finding the location and sending Fade to deal with whoever it is.

At the lab Dr. Risman confronts Reed and Caitlin about a secret they have been hiding. She reveals that Lauren has two versions of the X-Gene in her system – something that Otto Strucker believed was the case with Andreas and Andrea, the Fenris Twins. Dr. Risman wants Andy to be a part of the study and the Struckers reveal that he no longer lives with them.

Noah takes Lauren to see the samples room where she notes the high level of security. Noah talks about how D.r Risman and her treatments changed his life. Lauren asks him if he wants to eliminate the X-Gene forever and Noah replies that he just wants to be normal. They leave for lunch, but before the door to the storage room closes Lauren uses her barrier to prevent it from properly locking.

Lawrence is accessing the Regimen network trying to figure out where the attack will take place and John is becoming more and more upset with the time it is taking. Clarice comes back to tell him that the police are now performing a search in a six block area and arresting all mutants that they find. They argue and Clarice leaves upset.

At the Inner Circle we see Reeva come to see Andy and they talk about Rebecca and her actions. They debate back and forth and Reeva leaves saying she believes he will do the right thing. Later, we see Andy packing his things before heading to Rebecca’s prison and breaking her out. The rest of the team are in a meeting regarding the operation and wants to escape with her.

Andy tells Rebecca that he thinks she made a mistake killing the Creed Financial staff, but Rebecca tells her she intended to do it. Instead of escaping, Rebecca heads upstairs to kill the rest of the team arguing that Reeva will never stop chasing her. When Andy tries to stop her she threatens him. Rebecca steps out of the elevator and prepares to kill the assembled group, but Andy uses his power to throw her back and Rebecca accidentally dies when his telekinetic push smacks her against a wall and breaks her neck. Reeva says he saved them while Andy is inconsolable.

Marcos confronts John over his recent attitude, but they are interrupted by Lawrence who says he has found something before he can tell them though he is shot and killed by Fade (Jeff Daniel Phillips). Marcos and John then track him as he tries to escape,. They are able to subdue him, but are interrupted by police sirens.

At the Purifiers base Jace is coordinating the militia patrols when Officer Wilson tells him about a mutant fight that was reported on the hotline. He realizes that area is the same as where the mutant clinic was and immediately heads out to investigate.

Lorna goes to see Andy who is crying. She explains that Rebecca was broken by her time in the medical institution. She also tells him about the mission. They are going to target the control facility for all the mutant collars. Lorna tells him it is a way to get justice for Rebecca.

While Sage monitors the operation Reeva, The Frosts, Andy and Lorna infiltrate the control centre with Andy quickly destroying the reinforced door. Back at the university Caitlin, Reed and Lauren head into the storage facility and prepare to destroy everything. However, before Lauren can begin she is stopped by Noah with two armed security guards. Dr. Risman enters asking why they would do this as she had become suspicious when Noah took Lauren to the facility. Reed confronts her wanting to destroy an entire race and she replies that she is saving the human race. She calls Noah and Andy curses on their families. Noah changes sides when he hears that and removes his inhibitor causing his resonance powers to activate he tells them to go while he destroys the samples.

John, Marcos and Fade attempt to escape but are found by a Purifier patrol with Fade getting shot. John stays to hold them off while the other two escape, resulting in him being captured by Jace. At the control center Lorna disables the servers with a pulse while Andy tears the equipment apart as we see mutants in prisons around the country realize their collars have been deactivated and attack.