The Gifted – Threat of Extinction

By starrymag | November 27, 2017

By: Maggie Stankiewicz

 

Way back in 1952, a young man by the name of Andreas (Paul Cooper) writes a letter detailing his safe passage to the bustling city. The phone rings. A familiar woman (Caitlin Mehner) approaches his, concern etched on her face. As Andreas answers the telephone, his face falls. They’ve found us sister. The door of their apartment bursts open and three armed men enter their domicile. The siblings are clearly under arrest – but for what? We quickly find out. The siblings join hands. Their union generates a brilliant light that intensifies before blowing up the police who were apprehending them, and perhaps themselves. This trip back in time is proof enough that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

 

Present Day; Mutant HQ is currently a little less action-packed as usual. Reed (Stephen Moyer) has joined with Kate (Amy Acker), Lauren (Natalie Alyn Lind), and Andy (Percy Hynes White) to divulge a secret, their family’s connection to Sentinel Services partner in (hate) crime, Trask Industries. Reed’s father Otto worked for Trask Industries for many years, and might have some intel on what they’re currently up to. In order to get this information, he’ll have to meet with his father who lives in Chattanooga, just a few hours away. The reunion will be difficult and will break the decades long silence that had fallen between the two men. Kate agrees that this is the only way to stay the course of escape.

 

Marcos (Sean Teale) is no closer to escaping the doghouse than he was last episode. Polaris (Emma Dumont) is using her powers to menacingly make a knife dance in the air, the mechanical noises grating on Marcos’ nerves. He boldly approaches her, a move that she quickly counters with crossed arms and a sharp tongue. He will not be forgiven so easily. Before he can continue making his case, Lorna turns off the light and rolls over on the couch that she’s been sleeping on.

 

Reed takes his idea to John (Blair Redford), who is getting packed up and ready to embark on a rescue mission for an underground location that has fallen at the hands of Sentinel Services. Marcos runs to John as well, letting him know that Blink (Jamie Chung) will be coming along in lieu of Polaris. With most hands on deck, they part ways and find themselves at Eternal Grace Church. A kind man of the cloth guides them through the church grounds to a dumpster. He pushes the dumpster aside to reveal a closed shed. Inside the shed are over a dozen scared mutants of all ages. Of all the refugees, only a young girl remains inside. Blink catches a glimpse of her and coaxes her out. They share a common bond of wearing their mutant genes on their sleeves, with their unique genetic markers altering their physical appearance.

 

A young blonde mutant named Esme rushes to find John. Esme (Skyler Samuels) is a telepath, and has been reading the worrisome thoughts of another mutant who was hiding in the shed. She identifies the mutant in question. John approaches her, and spots the same tattoo that the brainwashed Pulse had been branded with. Before he can react, the turncoat mutant attacks John, Esme, and a few others. She is faster than John, and strong enough to knock him down. Marcos turns up the heat, but she easily evades his hot hands. While she distracted John grabs and incapacitates her.

 

John and the gang have managed to bring the enemy mutant back to the underground where she is locked in a cell for observation and light interrogation. Sage, Polaris, Marcos, Reed and John surround the cell, discussing their next move and the fate of their refugees – but it’s cut short. In the interim, Marcos and Polaris have been tasked with extracting information. Reed needs to get on the road. He leaves the others to say goodbye to his family.

 

Elsewhere, Blink finds Norah (Liza Fagin), the young mutant she had met earlier. Norah is still visibly terrified and perhaps a little detached. Blink offers who some comfort and gives her some space. Kate and Lauren are tending to some of the injured refugees. Kate sets a little mutant’s broken arm, while Lauren helps him fight through the pain. Andy and Shatter observe them before Kate puts them to work retrieving slings. Moving on, Kate meets up with Esme, who has a laceration deep enough to require stitches. Kate asks Esme to read her thoughts. Esme reveals to Kate what she already knows: she doesn’t want her and Reed to end up on opposite sides as their children. The mutant underground is now bustling with activity while Polaris is busy threatening the incarcerated mutant with flying daggers. Marcos catches her and makes her stop, but this does very little to help his case.

 

Instead, Polaris asks Marcos to use his powers to extract information. He declines, despite using them for Carmen. He insists that he joined the underground so he wouldn’t have to be reduced to that kind of behavior. They continue to bicker until it’s time for Kate to examine the captive mutant. It appears as though the mutant is withdrawing, perhaps from Kick (a mutant drug) that boosts their powers. This might explain her ability to fight John and Marcos at the same time. The mutants engage in yet another squabble on how to address the situation before Kate reminds them that if they can’t get along, their vision of a world where humans and mutants cn cohabitate is lost.

 

Blink’s dog has found Norah, and so Blink stumbled upon the young girl once again. She sits with the girl this time and promises that they’re special. The may look different, but it makes them a special kind of mutant. And it’s true. Their experiences as mutants are even more polarizing than those of their peers, who appear “normal”. Blink feels a connection to Norah and we quickly find out that it’s because Norah is from the foster home that cared for Blink. Nora was a witness to the unspeakable terror that occurred in the home, and the images haunt her each night. The memories are too much.

 

John and Reed have finally located Reed’s father (Raymond J. Barry). The air is thick with tension, but John lets Reed take the lead. Otto questions them, and John introduces himself as Thunderbird. They discuss the underground’s reputation as a terrorist organization before diving into the interrogation Reed’s father endured at the hands of Sentinel Services. Otto declines having any involvement in the project, as it was supposed to have closed years ago. Reed’s dad seems unsettled by this information, and is prompted to reveal some deep and dark family secrets. John keeps lookout while Reed goes upstairs for story time. They waste no time in discussing the children.

 

Reed tries to appeal to his Otto’s paternal instincts by insisting that while he never meant much to his father, his grandchildren should. His father snaps, telling him that his life was dedicated to protecting Reed. This causes a cluster of confusion, but time is running out. Reed tells his father about his children’s abilities; and the news doesn’t sound promising. His father drops a proverbial bomb on Reed:

 

I failed. It came back.

 

Dr. Campbell (Garret Dillahunt) and his crew is on the move with one of his agents. They’re seeking their “asset”, or the strung-out mutant that they had planted with the refugees. And speaking off…Kate and crew have figured out a way to control and restrain her while they work through her withdrawals. Kate believes that she may be dying, but will do what she can to help both parties.

 

Reed’s father reveals that Andreas, the mutant we had med earlier, was a mutant. Andreas and his sister Andrea Von Strucker were Reed’s grandfather and great aunt, who shared the same powers as Andy and Lauren. Together they were more powerful than anything Reed could conceive of. Through this revelation, Reed learns that the mutant gene was inherited from him. Otto tried to hide his powers from everyone which brought him to Trask Industries. He was responsible for creating a serum that was supposed to work on all mutants. While he failed, he made one for Reed – to squash his powers before they could manifest. The serum almost killed him.

 

Sage (Hayley Lovitt) has gotten some information on the captive mutant, Chloe (Michelle Kim). Chloe had a sick son, but no physician would treat a mutant. This caused her to destroy the medical office – ultimately leading to her capture by Sentinel Services. Chloe finally awakens, but is unable to verbally communicate. Kate runs of to find Esme, who may be able to help give Chloe a voice.

 

Reed is still rallying from the discovery of his own mutant heritage. His father kept it secret from both himself and his mother, which destroyed their relationships. Otto asks if Lauren and Andy have held hands since discovering their powers. Reed isn’t sure – but if the earlier flashback is any indication…the sibling union could be catastrophic for their enemies. John runs upstairs to alert the Strucker men of a visitor. Sentinel Services is right outside. Pulse (Zach Roerig), Dr. Campbell and a caravan of men barge into the building. John can feel Pulse’s power suppression. Reed’s father offers himself up, declaring that their family is different. He may be able to do more than even John can. In a tender moment, Reed and his father lock eyes and embrace. It is only spoiled by his father’s request – protect the world from his children.

 

The eldest Strucker man goes downstairs to meet Dr. Campbell, who is visibly looking for Reed. Dr. Campbell insists on searching the building for Reed, but Otto demands they leave. When they refuse, Otto activates his own powers, which appear to be impervious to Pulse’s. The energy radiating from Otto shakes the building. In their terror, Sentinel Services shoots Otto. As he falls, his chest expands and a hot, yellow light shoots out. The downstairs area explodes. Dr. Campbell is wounded, as are some others. When they flee, John and Reed run downstairs. Otto is dead. Through the entrance, Pulse lays dying on the asphalt. “I’m sorry.” He stutters. John holds his hand before he slips away.

 

Back at the underground Esme helps Kate uncover Chloe’s past. Sentinel Services killed her husband and took her child before taking her to a lab. With a majority of the gang working on Chloe, Blink slips away to find Dreamer. Blink comes to Dreamer with a request – to take away Nora’s pain. Blink can’t take away the memories of watching her family die, but Dreamer can put her powers to good use for once (at least in Blink’s eyes). Dreamer agrees and works her magic on the young girl, relieve the pain in her young soul.

 

John and Reed bury their fallen family in the woods while Marcos and Polaris bury the hatchet on their fight. The night has taken too much from them. They all need each other.

 

Reed returns home, but his family can tell there’s something wrong. Reed is unable to say the words out loud, but he doesn’t need to. Kate takes him into her arms. Lauren and Andy holds hands.

 

Does the world need to be protected from them or do they need to be protected from the rest of the world?