The Gifted: threat of eXtinction

Review by An Honest Fangirl

"Protect them, son. Protect the world from them."

I was wondering when the name "Strucker" would become important. With only two episodes left, it finally did.

I actually really liked this episode. It was a little too fractured, but it was exciting and pushed things in a new, interesting direction. It doesn't quite make up for the past few episodes, but we're getting there.

The Gifted finally pulled Fenris into the mix. There's been a lot of speculation as to what form these two characters would take on the show. I like that they were Andy and Lauren's... grandfather and grandaunt? (The way Reed's Dad explained it, he made it sound like there was some incest going on, but I'm fairly certain that I just misunderstood that.) It adds an interesting dynamic to Lauren and Andy. While I doubt that the show will have them completely follow in their family's footsteps, it makes their every interactions a little more tense. They are obviously protective of each other, and I can easily see that as being the spark that leads to something very, very destructive happening.

I did get a few X-Men: Last Stand flashbacks when all the talk about surpassing the mutant gene came up. I'm not sure how I feel about Reed being a "cured" mutant. It's an interesting idea, but I'm not sure that this is the right character to explore it with. I'm just not sure if it serves the character in any way. He had already changed his opinions about mutants and he already has a very personal stake in the fight.

And it's a fight that seemed poised to become even more intense. Dr. Campbell's plan of undercover assets really didn't turn out all that well. I actually didn't trust just how easily Chloe was captured. I thought for sure that Esme was another undercover mutant working to gain everyone's trust before turning on them. She's very cool though, so I'm glad that I was wrong.

Caitlin really stepped up this episode after having little to do these past few weeks. She's a very competent medic, and served as a nice counterbalance to Lorna and Marcus. They've been fighting for so long, I think that they sometimes forget that there are other solutions to problems. I doubt that they would have tired to help Chloe, and they would have never gotten the information that they needed from her.

What really brought this episode down for me was a lot of the interpersonal drama. I understand that Lorna was upset with Marcus, and he really didn't do a good job of defending himself, but still. Having actually seen Marcus' side of the story, her reaction feels a little childish. I was very happy when they made up at the end of the episode, even if it made me question why they had to be on bad terms to begin with.

The other thing that really bothered me was Clarice's... I guess you could call it a storyline. It didn't really have much meat to it. Her asking Dreamer to take away the little girl's memories just felt very hypocritical to me. I assume that they got permission, which is a key difference, but it still felt off to me. Maybe I'm just against the idea of completely forgetting traumatic memories.

Random Thoughts

You know that you've seen too much Supernatural when the quote at the top gives to flashbacks to Season 2.

I really want more Esme.

The Strucker family is special, and could resist Pulse's power. I wonder what other powers Lauren and Andy might be able to counteract.

I liked Papa Reed. Sure, he mainly served as a Fount of Exposition, but the actor was good.

The next episode is in 2 weeks.

Quotes:

Sage: At this rate, we might need to stop taking in refugees.
Johnny: No. You don't stop helping people just because some of them might be dangerous.
Nice bit of political commentary there.

Esme: I'm sorry, I didn't meant to pry.
Caitlin: It's fine. Just don't go looking at some of my college experimentations.

Andy: You're my sister. Nobody talks to you like that but me.

Definitely an improvement. We'll see if it carries over to the next episode. I really, really hope so.
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An Honest Fangirl loves superheroes, science fiction, fantasy, and really bad horror movies. 

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