The Gifted – iMprint

By: Darryl Ley

Eight years in the past we see the younger Frosts (Saree McIntosh) in hospital gowns and wearing mutant inhibitors led into a room. They are asked to telepathically interrogate a prisoner and then initially refuse before reluctantly agreeing when their family is threatened. Then, we hear the man’s screams.

In the present day, Esme (Skyler Samuels) is still recovering from the burn that she got from Marcos (Sean Teale) while Andy Strucker (Percy Hynes White) and Rebecca (Anjelica Bette Fellini) are getting along at breakfast. Later, as Lorna Dane/Polaris (Emma Dumont) spends time with baby Dawn, Andy comes to fetch her for training and we see she’s upset with the recent heavy training schedule. All three Frosts (Skyler Samuels) are deciding what to wear. Sophie and Phoebe tease Esme about her wound.

Andy, Rebecca and Lorna train against a holographic SWAT team making quick work of them. Reeva Payge (Grace Byers) comes to speak with them only to be met with a very angry response from Lorna who issues an ultimatum either tell her the plan or she’s out.

Lauren Strucker (Natalie Alyn Lind) gets checked out by Caitlin Strucker (Amy Acker) who confirms she is no longer suffering from a concussion. Caitlin reveals that she has tracked down the psychiatrist from the institution and arranged an appointment with her while Lauren wonders if she will be willing to help. Reed (Stephen Moyer) and Caitlin argue about neglecting his training and she eventually convinces him.

The Purifiers are meeting at a church and after being introduced by Officer Wilson (Tom O’Keefe). Jace Turner (Coby Bell) fills them in on what he found from the files he stole. He has figured out where the Baltimore Mutant Underground station is and he argues with one of the more militant Purifiers about improving their image with Wilson stepping in to say that they will follow Jace’s plan.

In Andy and Lauren’s shared dream the two speak with Andy saying that the Inner Circle help people. Lauren sees the huge safe that got turned inside out and pricks her finger on it. When she wakes up, she sees that her finger is actually bleeding. At the Inner Circle the Frosts walk with Reeva as she heads out. They argue that telling Lorna about the plan is the only way to keep her in the operation and Reeva reluctantly agrees.

Esme goes to see Lorna but before entering her room she telepathically soothes baby Dawn before coming in to talk. She reveals details of the operation, but Lorna insists on seeing the site itself, to which Esme agrees. John (Blair Redford) helps Reed to train and nothing happens until John gets him angry and his power activates. They get interrupted by Marcos and Clarice (Jamie Chung) who show them footage of the Purifiers bombing a sanctuary church where many mutant refugees were taking shelter.

They decide to go to help but worry about moving the mutants out of the city with the increased police presence on the major roads. They arrive at the Baltimore Mutant Underground Station where they are met by Shatter (Jermaine Rivers) he reveals that previously friendly human groups have now stopped helping, they resolve to make new IDs for the refugees so they leave to collect names. As Reed unpacks the truck John asks him if he can do this and the two discuss Reed’s powers and Shatter looks on.

Later Shatter talks to Reed about his own experience of learning he was a mutant and his attempt to take his own life. Esme and Lorna sit outside in front of the intended target Creed Financial a bank that was built on the back of mutant suffering and was responsible for financing the lab that made the Frosts. Esme reveals that she and her sisters are clones who were created at the lab and made to be weapons.

At the Baltimore station the team realize that the bombing of the church was a trap that allowed the Purifiers to figure out where the station was, but they are too late as the Purifiers are already out in force having surrounded the building. Jace argues on what to do next but eventually brings out knockout gas grenades.

As Esme and Lorna return from their trip Esme begins to hum a tune that Lorna realizes is the one that she sings to her child and that Esme must have been in Dawn’s head to hear it she reacts angrily and violently but is stopped by Reeva who uses her sonic attack on her. Caitlin and Lauren drive to the psychiatrist and argue about Andy with Caitlin refusing to accept that Andy has changed and likely won’t be coming back on his own.

They meet with Dr. Taylor (Sumalee Montano) and talk about her time at the institution when they bring up Rebecca she makes her excuses and heads to another room where she attempts to call the authorities before being stopped by Lauren. The doctor tells them about Rebecca’s powers and then shows them video of Rebecca killing an orderly before revealing that Rebecca killed her family.

At the Inner Circle Reeva is not happy. Sophie and Phoebe want to mind control Lorna through the operation, but Esme objects and says that is what the scientist who created wanted them to do. She appeals to Reeva and then leaves while Reeva seems to be arranging a date for later that week.

At the Baltimore station everyone is trying to get the refugees ready to move out when a Halothane-X grenade comes through the window, which knocks out several mutants out. Marcos, Reed and Shatter (Jermaine Rivers) didn’t inhale the gas, but John has been affected and Clarice is unconscious. One of the mutants mentions that there is another out, but it is on the other side of a wall. Reed says he can take care of that. Meanwhile, Shatter goes out to distract the Purifiers in order to allow the others to escape.

Shatter takes small arms fire and is slowed but not stopped as Marcos fires blasts to keep some of the Purifiers busy. Shatter gets to one of them and uses his power to turn him to crystal while Reed struggles to activate his power. Shatter is shot and killed by Jace with a high-powered rifle that goes through his extra tough body. As Shatter falls Reed activates his power and brings the wall down and the remaining mutants go through the hole.

At the Inner Circle Lorna sits with baby Dawn before Esme comes in and begs for a chance to speak. She apologizes for invading Dawn’s mind. She tells Lorna about a bit of the story she left out, originally there were five of them. Celeste and Mindee were held as insurance that day and they were killed when the triplets murdered the scientist and the guards. Esme felt her two sisters as they died and describes the horror of it while pledging to do her best to protect Lorna for her daughter’s sake.

Jace holds a bit of Shatter’s skin while the news discusses their work apprehending the mutants from the station. Officer Wilson tells him that Shatter is one of the mutants believed dead in Atlanta vindicating Jace’s belief that his wife would not accept him for who he has become. He tells Jace that he is now one of them.

Lauren and Caitlin head back to their apartment and Caitlin takes the time to apologize for placing to much pressure on Lauren to bring Andy back. Lauren resolves to bring Andy back whether he wants to or not. We then switch to seeing Rebecca and Andy playing video games together. Lorna is coming to see Reeva and the Frosts in bed. When Caitlin and Lauren enter, Marcos and John say there is a problem with Reed. They go into the next room and we see that Reed can’t get his powers to stop.