The Gifted – outfoX

By starrymag | December 10, 2017

By: Maggie Stankiewicz

 

 

In simpler times, the Strucker family goes back to basics with a picnic at the park. Reed (Stephen Moyer) and Caitlin (Amy Acker) reconnect and barbeque while Lauren (Natalie Alyn Lind) and Andy (Percy Hynes White) argue over proper skateboarding technique. Andy has more experience than his older sister, who is nervous about balancing on the moving board. He promises to catch her if she falls, and she reluctantly agrees to give it a try. It’s doesn’t take long for gravity to play a trick on her. Lauren slips off of the board and Andy grabs her hand. The space between their palms illuminates and time stops. Their hair raises as though they were floating through space. Startled, alarmed, they let go of each other’s hands and separate.

 

Reed is still mourning his father’s death, allowing himself to relive memories from his childhood. Through his illness, through Otto’s abandonment of him. The time needed to process the passing of their relationship is more than he can handle within the span of a few days. Kate is aware of this as she finds him sitting alone. The human matriarch of this mutant clan dispenses her signature empathy on him, before breaking out into asking about the genetic logistics of mutations. Reed reveals that the mutant genes in their children were inherited from him. Otto succeeded in suppressing the mutant gene in Reed, but not in his children. Reed assures Kate that he didn’t know – that the suppression was guised as leukemia to him and his family.

 

Deeper into the underground, Esme (Skylar Samuels) is adamant about the necessity of their next mission to rescue another small population of mutants. Polaris (Emma Dumont) shuts her down, and John (Blair Redford) reminds them of the importance of discretion and subtlety. When they disband and John goes to brood alone he is conveniently interrupted by Dreamer (Elena Satine). He is burdened by the guilt of Pulse’s abduction and death, too overwhelmed to fall into the woman’s arms.

 

Lauren and Andy have some concerns of their own. Curiosity-induced insomnia has them both in its grasp. They’re curious as to just how much truth is in the story about their great-grandparents, and in the genesis of their own abilities. They look through a book with newspaper clippings about their family history, but Lauren gets too spooked by the possibility of becoming a monster. She insists on going to sleep.

 

Already in a fitful slumber, Polaris finds herself in the midst of a disturbing dream. She is in Trask’s custody, the sounds of a baby crying filling the corridor. As she moves down a hallway, she realizes that the cells are full of her friends. Blink (Jamie Chung), John, Marcos (Sean Teale)…and her unborn baby. The dream elicits such a response, that the metal within her room begins to float until it comes to a head, crashing to the floor as she jumps into consciousness. Marcos pulls her close, looking around the room’s destruction. What’s more unsettling – the unpredictable future, or the unpredictability of Polaris’ powers?

 

Jace Turner (Coby Bell) watches over a severely burned and wounded Sentinel Services agent. Jace believes that his personal vendetta trumps Washington’s orders, and proceeds to paint himself as the innocent victim in this war. Speaking of the war…both sides are hard at work.  Sage has been hard at work extrapolating data and researching for the gang’s next mission. Polaris volunteers and invites Dreamer along on a clandestine mission to gather intel from a source at a local bar.

 

Even the best fall down sometimes, and Kate Strucker is having a moment of weakness as she wonders how much easier their lives could have been in Lauren had confessed she was a mutant before the school incident. Reed makes the mistake of escalating the situation even further by informing her of Lauren and Andy’s potential ability to cause mass destruction.

 

Dreamer and Polaris make their way to the bar dressed as seductive civilians, trying to coerce a security guard into giving them information on Trask’s security situation at main headquarters and the substation. The guard is visibly anti-mutant, and brags about the abuse of power he exerts over the prisoners. Polaris reacts a little too emotionally, and cracks him in the jaw, rendering him unconscious. Dreamer takes advantage of his status and purple hazes the information directly from him. They walk out, patting themselves on the back for a successful Girls’ Night Out.

 

The Strucker parents have decided to have a sit down with their kids in the underground’s vault, where they are discussing the Von Strucker twins and their abilities. Kate and Reed want to perform a tentative test on their kids to see if the rumors have any clout. Lauren and Andy agree. They stand before their parents and loosely hold hands. Nothing happens. They strategize on how to invoke a response. Andy suggests that they try harder and hold hands with intention. Their hands clasp once more and they close their eyes in sibling meditation. An eerie stillness settled upon them. While Kate and Reed look at their children, the world shifts for the Lauren and Andy. Their parents disappear, the world have fallen away. They are bathed in light, hair floating through the air. It feels as though the cord of their very existence is tightening, the tension fraying their attachments to the material world. A high-frequency hum fills the silence and the world becomes far too over-saturated. Something is about to give. Reed snaps out of his trance and breaks the kids apart. Lauren is shaken. The feelings that they shared were isolated and devastating. If they were tempted to “push” – they could have killed everyone in the underground.

 

The mutants regroup. Dreamer and Polaris discuss their findings. Blink will be unable to get them in there, but Sage may have found a backdoor in. Esme steps up again, a little too enthusiastic about the mission. It appears as though she might become a problem later on.

 

The Struckers are not done discussing the consequences and complexities of incomprehensible power. Andy is overzealous as usual, while Lauren is demonstrably more reserved. After a quick tiff with their parents, Lauren chases after Andy and admits that she’s not ashamed of her abilities, but instead ashamed of how good it feels to know she could cause such destruction. Together they recollect on the events that transpired during the skateboard lesson we were shown at the beginning of the episode.

 

Even in his interactions with his wife, Jace Turner is difficult to humanize. As he hangs up the phone from her after promising to come home safe, one of his subordinates approaches him with information on their next strike against the mutants. If they fail or get caught, they could be imprisoned. In case we’ve forgotten, this is an arms race. While Jace prepares for his next attack, the mutants work out the final details of their infiltration mission. The Struckers will monitor while the rest of the mutants work as working pieces. At the center of the action: Lauren and Andy.

 

It’s game time.

 

Polaris, Marcos, Esme, and John arrive at their location and start getting their supplies ready to go. Esme almost drops a detonator, but Polaris stops it in mid-air and lectures Esme on the harsh realities of the battle they’re about to fight. Esme reads her mind, witnessing the struggles the other woman has endured. Polaris is unaware of this mental intrusion, and Esme uses it to form some type of bond with Polaris. They talk about saving the people they love…but can Esme be trusted? We’ll find out.

 

Marcos and John scan the perimeter and call in their status. Blink is driving Dreamer and the Strucker family to their own stopping point. Our avengers assemble and send the go-ahead to Sage, who stops the firewall and sets up a loop on the security cameras. The family hugs and the mutants jump through one of Blink’s portals. Both opposing teams are continuing to simultaneously work against one another – an intricate and violent game of chess. Jace figures out where the hole in Sentinel Service’s and Trask’s defenses are, and make their way to the access point. It didn’t take long for them to figure out that a certain security guard was compromised.

 

Dreamer, Blink, Lauren, and Andy have made it inside. Kate and Reed operate as Team Overwatch, steering them clear of immediate danger…but they can’t stop it all. They’re found out by a pedestrian security guard. Dreamer takes point uses her charms on him. He quickly discards his gun and radio and moves past them without another word. Outside at Trask HQ, John, accompanied by Marcos and Esme discuss the need for backup. Esme assures the men that the prisoners inside will want to help them should things go sour.

 

Jace and his team are in position and ready for the mutants’ attack. Even though he’s only half a step ahead of them, he’s still ahead, and tensions are high. He receives a report that mutants have been detected within, and the cavalry rolls out. He releases his favorite weapons, those pesky robotic arachnids – and one of them is hot on Dreamer’s tail. Kate spots it on camera and sends an emergency transmission to the team on the inside. Sentinel Services has robots and troops sweeping the halls of the building. The mutants break off into a run, but Blink is too misdirected to open a successful portal. As she gets her bearings, a robot finds them. Andy tries to blow it up but it evades his energy blast. It captures Blink before they can act. The rest run off trying to escape the same fate.

 

From the outside, John and his unit watch the chaos outside of Trask. The operation at the substation has been blown, and they abort the mission, but to Esme’s dismay.

 

Dreamer and the kids make their way through a tight corridor, but troops are right behind them. Dreamer surrenders herself to them in hopes of granting the Struckers safe passage – her most selfless act to date. They have no choice now. The only way to escape is to use their joint powers. Lauren and Andy hold hands and prepare for the eruption, but Andy lets go. He can’t, in good conscience, destroy the building and risk killing their team. As they separate, Jace approaches them with his gun drawn. They’re powerless in their unwillingness to kill. Jace forces them onto their knees so his men can cuff them.

 

The Strucker children are now prisoners of war.