Review by An Honest Fangirl
This was a surprisingly good episode with only one thing that held it back from actually being great. But if this is the quality of episodes that The Gifted has for the rest of the season, then I really need to stop watching them almost a week later.
A lot of major things happened this episode. Almost too many, which would be my one complaint. The episode felt a little fractured. I could have done without Lauren and Caitlin going to see the psychologist about Rebecca. I understand that it's information that needs to be given to our heroes, but it still felt superfluous to the viewer. We already knew that Rebecca could turn things inside out and that she was probably a little unstable in terms of basic morality.
There was one thing that I gained as a viewer from watching those scenes: Lauren is a bit more ruthless now than she has been, especially when she realized that the doctor was calling for help. She did not hesitate before intimidating her into giving information. It was an interesting moment, and I'm curious to see if it develops in the future, if at all.
Another thing that I'm curious about is the dreams between Lauren and Andy. It seems more like astral projection now instead of a shared dream space since Lauren can physically get hurt in there. I'm not quite sure where this idea will eventually go. Will the Frost Sisters realize what's going on and invade the dreams? I would have thought that would be certain to happen, but now I'm not sure.
Esme is slowly but surely moving further and further away from her sisters. First it was the burn on her arm, and then with the sleeping position at the end, she's being marked as different. Separate. What happens to a clone when it stops being the same as its counterparts?
We got a lot of backstory on the sisters this episode, which I enjoyed immensely. I already knew that they were clones thanks to a comics background, but I was very surprised when we learned that there were originally five of them. No wonder Esme was so determined to get her sisters back last season; she had already gone through the pain of losing two. Quite literally too.
It was interesting to see Esme try to navigate the balance between doing what she's always done and doing what she feels is right. I don't think that she was lying when she told Lorna that she's always on her side. That felt true to me, and I could see why that would be enough to convince Lorna to stick around for at least a little while longer. Which is good because I really want to see that assault on the bank.
The other major plot line this episode involved the continue build up of the Purifiers as a threat, and they did this really, really well. Under Jace, the Purifiers are organized and smart, and are far more effective than Sentinel Services ever was. The worst (best?) part is how clearly Jace is trying to hold back the bloodthirsty ruthlessness present in the group. He can do all the PR he wants, but they are still a hate group. It probably won't be long until some of the more enthusiastic members decide to stop listening.
But now Jace has killed someone, a mutant. The show made it very clear that Jace was the one who pulled the trigger. He seemed understandable upset afterwards, but was that due to the death of Shatter or the death of the Purifier? (Side note: did Shatter really have to go that far? That felt excessive, though it was cool to see his powers in action.) Regardless, Shatter's death did a lot to raise the stakes and make the Purifiers feel credible. At this moment, they almost feel more of a Big Bad than the Inner Circle. I wonder if that's intentional or not.
The other side of that was Reed trying to learn how to control his powers. I'm not quite sure how much patience I have for this storyline due to my general disinterest in the character, but I really appreciated how John wouldn't let Reed get away with his "woe is me" routine. It can be really difficult to adjust to drastic changes, especially as an adult, but it only gets better if you actively try and work to adjust and learn. I'll be curious to see how long it takes for him to do that.
Random Thoughts
Rest in peace, Shatter. I get the feeling you won't be the only casualty this season.
Okay, it was really weird how Jace kept and was holding that piece of black rock at the end. Didn't that use to be a body part?
I did really like how Shatter "bled" rocks. That was clever.
Reeva seems to be seeing someone romantically. Is this why she's been so "busy?"
This one was a lot of fun and did a lot of good establishment for the future. I'm excited.
---
An Honest Fangirl loves superheroes, science fiction, fantasy, and really bad horror movies.
No comments:
Post a Comment
We love comments! We moderate because of spam and trolls, but don't let that stop you! It’s never too late to comment on an old show, but please don’t spoil future episodes for newbies.