The Gifted – Monsters

By: Darryl Ley

Two months ago Clarice Fong/Blink (Jamie Chung) and John Proudstar/Thunderbird (Blair Redford) are in bed, Clarice is worried because she’s never been this happy before and doesn’t feel deserving of it. She talks about her time with the Brotherhood and how she deeply regrets it. She also tells him that at her worse moments she thought about using a portal to nowhere existing outside of things the two embrace as the title credits roll.

In the present Caitlin (Amy Acker) and Lauren Strucker (Natalie Alyn Lind) are driving away from the police and take refuge in a car park. Caitlin tells the Morlocks they are transporting to split up and run as the police arrive.

In the alley John is furious after seeing Clarice get shot and confronts Erg (Michael Luwoye). The two argue with Erg ultimately blaming John for Clarice’s decision to join the Morlocks. John lashes out at Erg, but he is stopped by the young girl he is accompanying. The two then leave as John screams out in anger and mourning.

At the Inner Circle we see Reeva Payge (Grace Byers) addressing the entire team including the Frost Sisters (Skyler Samuels), Lorna Dane (Emma Dumont), Heather (Chelle Ramos), Tico (Tyshon Freeman) and Andy Strucker (Percy Hynes White). She tells them about her overall plan to force a two nation situation – one for humans and one for mutants. Reeva will hand out assignments for the next day later that evening.

At the scrap yard Reed Strucker (Stephen Moyer) and Marcos Diaz/Eclipse (Sean Teale) drop off the Morlocks and as Marcos is about to head out to find John he receives a call from Lorna. She tells them both that Sage was executed in her place when Reeva thought she was the traitor. Reed begs her to bring Andy back.

Outside of the Morlock tunnels Jace Turner (Coby Bell) and Officer Wilson (Tom O’Keefe) and their team are talking with the police. Wilson wants to help in the search, but Jace is having second thoughts. Wilson tells him to get some rest and then heads off to coordinate the Purifier search. At the Inner Circle Andy comes to see Lorna to ask why she is joining in on the scouting mission.

He wonders if she is checking up on him and she asks if he is ready for what comes next. Andy tells Lorna that she is the one who inspired him to join the Inner Circle when she brought down the plane. She tells him that killing someone leaves scars and Andy says he is ready. Marcos and Reed go looking for John and find him. Marcos talks to John while Reed keeps lookout. Marcos finds out that Clarice was shot and discovers that John is inconsolable and barely under control.

As they talk Reed sees a Purifier patrol and narrowly evades them only for Wilson to come up behind him and start to question him on why he is in the area. Reed becomes nervous during the confrontation and his powers activate prompting Wilson to try and shoot him. Reed disintegrates the gun and then goes on to kill Wilson using his mutant powers. Reed runs to tell Marcos and John about the Purifiers but when Marcos tries to get John to leave John throws him across the alley.

Marcos blinds him with a flash of light from his hands and then asks him what would Clarice want him to do, finally getting him to move. Meanwhile, Lauren and Caitlin continue to run from the police. Lauren realizes that Caitlin told the Morlocks to run in order to give them more time to escape. They hide in an old factory.

At the apartment John sees past echoes of Clarice in the apartment while Reed and Marcos try to track down Caitlin and Lauren. They ask John if he can track them and he refuses they find out that whenever John tries to track he sees Clarice. Andy, Lorna and the Frosts head to the tunnel entrance at the train station. They meet Reeva and Bulk (Renes Rivera) there and she explains that these tunnels will allow them unfettered access to the city. Andy asks why they haven’t used the tunnels before and Reeva dodges the question.

Once they are in the tunnel Reeva reveals the plan Andy will take a team to take out the Sentinel Services headquarters which Andy seems more than a little nervous about. At the old factory Lauren and Caitlin hear police helicopters and police dogs closing in on them. Lauren still can’t access her powers Caitlin resolves to fight against the cops rather than surrender.

At the apartment while John sits Marcos asks Reed about his powers returning. In turn Reed asks Marcos if he feels that powers have a purpose. They are interrupted by John who has heard the police report on Caitlin and Lauren. Reed and Marcos go and leave John behind. At the Inner Circle we see Esme (Skyler Samuels), Lorna and Andy get back from the mission.

Lorna asks Esme what she will be doing in the main mission the next day and she admits that she will use her powers to force people into believing in the mutant homeland. Lorna challenges Esme on whether forcing people is the right way to do things while she argues that it is for the best. As the police prepare to breach, Caitlin shoots at them to slow them down. Caitlin says she’ll be the distraction, which Lauren immediately refuses and is so angry about the idea that she activates her powers.

In Jace’s hotel room he’s found a video of a man talking about the Morlocks included on the video is footage of two Morlock children breaking into a store. Marcos and Reed arrive and see the police presence with no clear way to get past them to Lauren and Caitlin. Reed sees a way by going through the wall of old factor., Marcus gets him there by using his power to cloak them in darkness.

At the Inner Circle Lorna prepares to depart for good when she sees Andy. At first she is planning to leave then decides to convince Andy to come with her. Andy is surprised and upset by the revelation that Reeva Payge and Benedict Ryan (Peter Gallagher) are working together. He is disgusted when he learns that Reeva ordered the slaughter of the Morlocks. Andy refuses to leave with her, not believing he is good enough to return to his family.

Marcos and Reed get to the wall of the old factory while inside Caitlin and Lauren continue to hold out against the police. It takes Reed stressing out to activate his powers and begin to take down the wall. They get through and retrieve Lauren and Caitlin before escaping. Later while driving back they get a call.

The call is from Lorna who wants Reed to talk to Andy. During the course of their conversation, as Andy tells him that he thinks of himself as a monster, Reed confesses that he killed a man earlier and understands what his son is going through. Andy hangs up after learning that as he is stunned. At the apartments Caitlin and Reed pack some food for the Morlocks and talk about the death of Officer Wilson with Caitlin trying to reassure him. Reed admits that he thinks Andy won’t come back to them.

John comes in to check on Marcos and apologizes for not being able to come along. Marcos tells him that Clarice didn’t die in vain as she saved all those Morlocks who they managed to get out. Jace goes to see Benedict Ryan to confront him over the Morlocks. Ryan dismisses his issues and tells him that there is expected to be a mutant terrorist attack the next day. He also informs Jace of the death of Officer Wilson which he wasn’t aware of.

At the apartments the Struckers are sitting down for a meal when there is a knock on the door. They open it to reveal Andy and they have a tearful reunion. Meanwhile, Lorna returns to Marcos and the two embrace.

On the roof of the apartments John reminisces about Blink before mysteriously hearing her voice call his name as he sharpens his axe. He is interrupted by the now reassembled team coming up to see him. Over at the Inner Circle Andy and Lorna’s absence is noted and Reeva resolves to move forward without the two and to have them both killed.