The Gifted is the “gift” that keeps on giving. Each episode in its inaugural season has been dynamic. I’ve said it before, the X-Men universe seems to work on the small screen just as well as it does on the big screen, perhaps even better. Last week members of the Mutant Underground went on separate adventures. Blink learned how to control her powers with John’s guidance (and Dreamer giving her a false memory). Caitlin and the kids tried to get help from her brother, only to find out the hard way just how their lives are now different with them being mutants. Andy also used his powers to halfway defend his family, but also to express his inner dark side. Reed finally made a choice and opted not to betray the Mutant Underground, only to now have to face the full force of the Sentinel Services. With he and Lorna were now to be transferred to an even more secure facility. They need the Mutant Underground to save them.
This week begins with yet another flashback. It will actually be interesting if each episode begins with a flashback. After all, they have dropped us (the audience) right in the middle of a world that has been brewing for quite some time, and we have to play catch up. The flashback this week focuses on John as he and a few new Mutant Underground faces were trying to break into a facility to save some other mutants from a mutant relocation center. There we are introduced to his best friend Pulse, a mutant who has the ability to “disrupt” things. This comes in handy when armed guards have lights, GPS trackers, and sentry guns that are all electronic. Even though he is helpful in their escape, it fails and the Mutant Underground are forced to retreat. Pulse opts to stay behind to help everyone escape, only to be shot by the guards.
Back in the present day, everyone at the Mutant Underground is planning to save Reed and Lorna from the Sentinel Services custody. They all know that this will be a tall order. Remember, last time the tried to take on a facility, it was simply breaking into a relocation center. This time, they will have to storm the gates full of armed guards with trigger fingers. While the Mutant Underground is labeled a terrorist organization in the eyes of Sentinel Services, they try their hardest not to cause any bloodshed. They probably could take on Sentinel Services, but they want the path of least resistance. Caitlin finds a happy medium, instead of storming their facility (which would result in casualties), wait until they are transporting Reed and Lorna, reducing the risk of bloodshed. In order to rescue them, the Mutant Underground will need to know where the transport is going.
Lucky for them, Marcos has a cartel connection. Before he was a leader in the Mutant Underground, he was an enforcer within the Cartel, dating the boss daughter. Now he has to go back into the life that he left behind and beg his former woman (who now runs things) for her help in finding where the Sentinel Services will be. After doing a little bit of flirting with Carlos, his former girlfriend requires that he operate as her muscle. After all, he does have solar powers and can either blind or melt someone at will. After forced to interrogate a drug thief, he gets the information for the boss lady. It seems that he’s back in a dark place he’s been trying to avoid. Later on, when he returns back to the Mutant Underground HQ, he’s heavily praying. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out for him, did this bring out a darkness he’s tried to bury? Lorna better be worth it!
Now that they know where the Sentinel Services is going to be, it’s now time to plan how to go about rescuing Reed and Lorna. Andy and Lauren come up with the idea of using the powers together. He can use his telekinetic power to blow up the transport’s tire, but he has trouble focusing it. His sister can create force fields of air though. Why not the two use their powers together? She will hold the tire in place, and he can focus his power on the one tire and blow it up. This is the equivalent of Wolverine and Colossus’ “fastball special” from the X-mem comics. Meanwhile, Blink is still having visions of being with John. Although Dreamer implanted the thought in her head to help her focus and use her powers, she now is starting to develop feelings for him. John wants to fess up and tell her the truth, but Dreamer thinks the betrayal of trust would cause Blink to leave, and endanger the mission altogether. Blink still can’t sleep through the night without having a dream about her a John together.
On the big day, they all set to rescue Reed and Lorna. Reed spent most of the episode trying to get in good with Lorna. Last time they saw each other, he was threatening her and her unborn baby to turn on the Mutant Underground. So, of course, she wasn’t a big fan of him. He then told her about having two mutant children and now he’s 100% on their side and realized the error of his ways. Lorna is still not too forgiving, but the two agree that if they get a chance, they will try and escape together.
As the Mutant Underground tries to enact their plan, Andy is having a little performance anxiety and cannot activate his powers. Turns out, his power is still in the phase where it’s only triggered by anger. Lauren then taunts him to make him activate it. The delay causes the place for the truck to stop to be different than planned. Member of the Mutant Underground them spring into action, but the Sentinel Service is prepared. All of a sudden, no one is able to use their powers and get pinned down by gunfire. Turns out Pulse (John’s friend from the flashback) did not die, was captured, and is now working for the Sentinel Services. Pulse’s disrupting powers also extend to mutant abilities and they are all now normal. John then chases him down and beats him unconscious to ensure that everyone’s powers work again. Reed and Lorna tried to make their move, only for both of them to get beaten up by the guards. However, with Pulse unconscious, she is able to use her magnetic powers. She uses her power to take the pins out of Reed’s knee and uses it to escape, just like Magneto did in the movie X2. This allows everyone to escape. The Reeds are now a whole family again, as well as Lorna being back with her group. Agent Turner is pissed at the ambush and the loss of his prisoners and now vows to get medieval on the Mutant Underground.
Next week, it looks like we’ll see why Agent Turner is so mad at mutants as well as what happened during the “July 15th Attacks.”
