Last week on The Gifted, Sentinel Services went on the offense after losing custody of Reed and Polaris thanks to a daring prison break by the Mutant Underground. The graduated from just trying to help other mutants and staying below the radar to full on junior X-Men and taking the fight to Sentinel Services. In the aftermath, Director Turner started cracking down on any suspected mutant hideouts and managed to get the drop of Polaris and Eclipse. As prepared as Mace was, they managed to take him hostage and used Dreamer to try and find out some of his memories. However, Turner’s forces came to rescue him before his memories could get extracted, forcing Dreamer to remove one of his memories, the one that of his daughter’s death, forcing him to relive her loss once again.
This week’s flashback centers on John Proudstar before he was associated with the Mutant Underground. A former military veteran, John was trying to raise money for the victim (both human and non-human) of the 7/15 disaster. However, being a mutant, that rubs a few people the wrong way. After getting yelled at by a bystander, his powers alert him that a few anti-mutant vigilantes are coming to stir up some trouble. After they do a drive by and throw a pipe bomb to try and kill him and his friend, he manages to save everyone in the area by throwing the bomb forcing a nearby car to explode. It’s unknown if there was anyone in the car.
In the present day, the Mutant Underground has to try and figure out what’s going on at the Baton Rouge facility that seems to be turning mutants against their own kind, like it did for his best friend Pulse. John’s game plan is for Blink to teleport into that place so that they can investigate what’s going on under the radar. However, last week Blink found out that Dreamer changer her memory in order to focus her power, a violation of her memories. When she confronts John, she’s angry that even after he found out, he didn’t tell her out of fear that she would leave. So, of course, she leaves. This means that the easy way to get in no longer is available for them.
As they are trying to figure out a way to break in minus Blink, Andy volunteers to use his telekinesis powers as he could easily take the wall down. Caitlin doesn’t want her children getting involved in battles, she just wants them to be kids. She even tries to build a sense of normalcy by getting books for the children to read in their downtime. It is decided that Andy will accompany Marcos and his father on the dangerous trip, which Reed tells his wife that they will come home safely from.
Meanwhile, at the facility, Polaris is trying to train the young mutants. Her methods are somewhat eccentric. In order for them to be able to defend themselves using their powers, she uses her powers of magnetism to launch projectiles of metal at them. This rubs Caitlin the wrong way. Remember, she doesn’t want her children fighting. Polaris tells her that the children are mutants and will be fighting their whole lives. They better learn how to use their powers effectively.
Speaking of young mutants, Laura befriends a new young mutant named Wes. Wes has the power to cast illusions. Thanks to his flirting, he shows her an illusion of “Venice” which she appreciates. Something tells me that the two of them will soon enough become an item.
On the truck ride to Raton Rouge, Reed tries to bond with Andy. He realizes that he really doesn’t spend much time with his son, thanks to his job. He also notices the same Magneto-type of rage within his son and has to tell Andy not to hurt people for their mission. That gets put to the test when a police officer stops their truck and wants to look on the inside of it. Marcos uses her sun powers in a defensive manner. Instead of using his powers for aggression, he has the ability to suck all light out of the area, making the truck dark, allowing them to stay hidden. After the close scare with the cops, they proceed to the facility. Thanks to Andy, the wall is broken and they manage to break in a steal the necessary documents and hard drives to try and figure out what’s going on with Sentinel Services using mutants to hunt mutants.
Turner is now on a warpath against the Mutant Underground. Thanks to Doctor Campbell, he is reinstated back at Sentinel Services and continuing his crusade against the Mutant Underground. During a briefing he has with other Sentinel Services agents, he tells them to monitor all cell phone usage in the area. One agent tells him that they need a court order in order for that to happen. This falls on deaf ears and Turner then screams at the agent to get it done.
As Reed, Marcos, and Andy driving back, they get word that there will be a blockade to stop them by Sentinel Services. With literally nowhere to go, it looks like they will be caught. Polaris recruits Lauren and Wes to try and help them escape. Polaris comes up with a plan for them to use each of their powers to save them. Polaris uses her magnetism powers to stop any bullets being fired. Lauren uses her powers to create her invisible force fields to allow the truck to drive on air above the blockade full of spiked speed traps. Finally, Wes uses his powers of illusion to ensure that Sentinel Services cannot see where the truck is driving off to, instead following various mirages of the truck driving in many different directions. Once again, they manage to escape with sheer luck!
The episode ends back at the Mutant Underground headquarters with Marcos and Polaris in bed together. However, he receives a call from his former girlfriend Carmen, calling in the favor that he owes her. Looks like Marcos will have to once again tiptoe towards the dark side.
