The Inner Circle is making moves on The Gifted. Reeva Payge (Grace Byers) has plans to build a better future for mutants but it will come at a cost. The Mutant Underground has been investigating the Inner Circle and find they are much more dangerous. It doesn’t’ help that Marcos (Sean Teale) is angry and wants to strike back at the Inner Circle.
Marcos got to meet his daughter when she came down with Jaundice. He was the only person who could help her. Reeva and the Frost sisters (Skyler Samuels) immediately separated Marcos from Dawn and Polaris (Emma Dumont), leaving Marcos in an emotional state.
Lauren (Natalie Alyn Lind) witnessed Reed’s (Stephen Moyer) powers emerge and urges him to tell Caitlin (Amy Acker). Caitlin is so determined to get Andy (Percy Haynes White) back that she hasn’t realized how their behavior has affected Lauren. Sounds like they need to have a family meeting about a few things.
Clarice (Jamie Chung) and John (Blair Redford) found Erg (Michael Luwoye), but he’d only talk to Clarice. They made a deal, Erg will provide Clarice with information and she would be his eyes above ground.
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outMatched

Caitlin has been so worried about Andy, as any mother would be in this situation. What we don’t know is that when Caitlin was pregnant with Andy, there was a complication that threatened her life. The only advice the doctor gave her was to terminate the pregnancy to save her life. Caitlin refused. She was confident that she and Andy would be fine. So essentially, Caitlin has been fighting for Andy since before he was born.
However, she also needs to pay attention to her daughter Lauren. Caitlin and Reed apologize to Lauren for not realizing Lauren’s needs when it comes to Andy. Reed also tells her that he is telling John about his powers. Lauren assures them that she’s okay. She also tells them that her dreams aren’t nightmares. It’s a sign that she’s the only person who can bring her brother home.
The Struckers meet with John, Marcos and Clarice about their next move. Marcos tells everyone what went down when he was in the Inner Circle’s headquarters. He says Andy and Polaris are believers in Reeva’s vision. Caitlin wants to know what the Inner Circle is up to. Marcos suggests the seek help from Wire to find out why the Frosts were installing cable under the health department. Clarice thinks its a bad idea, but no one has any other ideas.
John, Marcos, and Clarice leave to find Wire. Reed stops John and tells him about his powers manifesting. John suggests that Reed train to control the powers, but Reed wants to suppress the powers for good. John explains that he can’t stop the powers because they are a part of him. Reed asks if there are medications he can take to keep them at bay, but John says Reed doesn’t want to go down that path. They have to talk when John returns.
Network Down

The trio arrives at Wire’s place as Clarice continues to complain about the bad idea. John says unless she can come up with a better plan, this is it. Marcos is determined to get his Polaris and his daughter back so they have to try. Marcos tries to open the door, but it’s locked. John can hear someone on the other side so they try to knock. The person on the other side starts shooting at them, hitting John. John can take the hit, but it knocks him back. He is able to smash open the door and finds one man inside. John tries to talk to the man, but gets shot again. When the man reloads the gun, Marcos comes in and blinds him with his bright lit hands. John grabs the gun and knocks out the guy. The police are coming so they take the man with them.
Jace Turner (Coby Bell) is still in DC. He starts to text his wife, but she won’t answer him so he stops. The phone rings from an unknown number. One of the cops from the DC precinct, Wilson calls Turner. He says he wants to talk about the mutant situation. Turner agrees to meet him later.
Jace tries to call Paula (Frances Turner) again and she actually answers. Paula tells Jace to stop calling her. He says he’s making progress. He’s doing this for their daughter Gracie. Paula reminds him that Grace is dead and it’s time for them to move on. Jace promises when the job is done, he will be with her. Paula says the job will never be done and she needs to move on. Paula tells Jace to stop calling her and hangs up.
Negotiations

John has the bullets removed. He’s not completely bulletproof, but he says it still hurts. Clarice nags him saying that’s what he gets for listening to Marcos. John reminds her that they all have taken risks to get information. She talked to Erg for example. Clarice says she just doesn’t want anyone who’s not bulletproof to get hurt.
The man who was at Wire’s hideout is his brother Graph (Adam David Thompson). He says the Frost sisters made Graph kill himself. Graph has abilities as well, similar to Wire…hacking. Reed offers to pay him to help them find out what the Inner Circle is up to. Graph declines. He shows them what Reeva Payge does to people who cross her and he wants no part of it. Reed tries to appeal to him saying the Inner Circle has his son, but he doesn’t care.
Marcos threatens to melt Graph’s eyes out if he doesn’t help, but he can’t hack if he can’t see. Caitlin leaves the room to get something. Lauren asks her what’s going on. Caitlin explains that Graph is an addict. She knows how to deal with him. She grabs a couple of bottles of medicine and a syringe. Caitlin goes back in and threatens to give him a treatment for addiction. The treatment will put him in withdrawal within minutes. He doesn’t want it, but Marcos has tied Graph to the chair so Caitlin injects him. She yells at him to help her find her son.
Questionable Tactics

Reed and Caitlin sit with Graph while he hacks the Inner Circle. He found out that Reeva is looking at a mental facility called Lynwood. John knows the place. It’s a hospital that specializes in treating mutants. A judge will rule that the mutant is a danger to themselves and society so they are locked up against their will. Polaris was in one when she was a child. Graph begs them to let him stop and he’s getting sick. Caitlin says it will stop when he finds what they want.
Graph keeps looking and finds that someone created an emergency door in the back. The alarms are going off now and the hospital is on lockdown. Reed sends John, Clarice and Marcos to get Polaris and Andy. Lauren tells her parents that she has to go to. Reed disagrees, but Lauren says she’s the only person who can get through to Andy. So Caitlin tells her to go.
Graphic starts getting sick, but Caitlin wants him back at work. She offers him the pharmaceutical version of the drug he’s on. Reed is surprised by her tactics. She justifies what she is doing, saying she’s fighting for Andy. Graph accepts Caitlin’s offer. Caitlin injects Graph and he’s immediately okay. They are able to get into the security camera feed. They see the Frost sisters and Polaris walking through the halls.
Lynwood

John’s team arrives at Lynwood. Reed is on the walkie informing them of what they see on the security cameras. The Inner Circle is already there. John says there is one way in and out. He and Clarice will go into the hospital to find Andy and Polaris. Lauren and Marcos will stay at the entrance to stop them if they try to leave.
When John and Clarice get inside the hospital, they find patients locked in their room. There are signs of a struggle and blood on the walls. John tells Clarice about Polaris’ experience in the hospital. She got out because her biological father made a call to get her out. Clarice is afraid the place will trigger Polaris.
John tracks Polaris and sees that she took prisoners. Clarice asks when they are going to accept that Polaris and Andy are the bad guys now. John doesn’t think so. Polaris started the Mutant Underground with him, and Clarice points out that now she’s with the Inner Circle. They start arguing about the possibility of having to kill Polaris and Andy.
My Brother’s Keeper

Marcos tries to prepare Lauren for Andy’s new attitude. Lauren doesn’t think Andy would ever hurt her. Marcos tells her about how Andy stood by and watched Reeva attack him. She tells Marcos about the night that Andy’s powers manifested. He was really scared, but when he saw her, he was okay. She knows she can get through to him.
Jace meets Officer Wilson at a coffee shop. Wilson says ‘they’ could use more guys like Jace. He knows what the mutants did to his family. They need people who know what the mutants are capable of. Jace asks who “they” are. Wilson shows him a tattoo. He’s with the Purifiers. Jace says he’s not interested in joining a secret society. Wilson tries to reassure him but saying the news has them all wrong. The Purifiers are regular people who love humanity, their country, and their families. Jace declines his offer, but Wilson gives him a phone number…in case Jace changes his mind.
Mutant Chaos

There is a blast at the hospital. Lauren feels Andy nearby so they believe Andy is the cause. Marcos asks Reed what they are seeing on the cameras. Reed says the blast came from the basement. He remembers when he was a mutant prosecutor that they would send the more power mutants to the basement for holding. He thinks the Inner Circle is trying to free someone. Graph loses the feed. Sage (Hayley Lovitt) is blocking him.
Reed sends John and Clarice to the basement while Caitlin works with Graph to get back online. She offers him more drugs to fight off Sage. In fact, she offers him the entire supply of that drug if he can get their son back. He agrees and she injects him with more. The feed comes back online and they see Andy smiling.
John and Clarice catch up with Andy and Polaris. They have a mutant with them covered with a blanket. John calls out to Polaris to stop her. She turns around and looks at them. John asks her to talk to them, but she pulls the metal locks off of the patient rooms. Mutants escape their rooms and start attacking each other. John and Clarice have to chose to go after Polaris or help the mutants. They chose to help the mutants.
Face Off

Reed and Caitlin see Andy leaving in a silver Hummer. They warn the team and Graph overdoses, cutting off the feed. Marcos calls to John, but he has his hands full. It’s up to Lauren and Marcos to stop the hummer. Lauren wants to do it alone. She believes Andy will listen to her. The hummer approaches and Lauren stops it. Andy gets out to face Lauren.
Andy tells Lauren to get out of the way, but she refuses. She notices his hair is the same as in her dreams. Lauren realizes that Andy has the dreams too. She says the dreams mean that they belong together and Andy should come home with her. Andy tells her to move. She refuses. She wants to take him home. Andy looks back at the hummer.
Lauren tries to say he’s scared, but Andy yells that he’s not scared anymore. He tells her to move again, but she says no. Andy apologizes and gets ready to power up. Marcos tries to make him stop and Lauren gets ready to push back. Andy is stronger and pushes Lauren and Marcos back. Lauren hits her head and is knocked unconscious. Andy is concerned, but he get back in the hummer and they leave.
The Cost

Graph had a heart attack, but Caitlin is able to stabilize him. Reed doesn’t like what she did to get the information they needed. He says they are no different than the people who took Andy. Caitlin tries to justify her actions by implying that the Inner Circle made Andy act that way. Reed says no one is making Andy do anything. Caitlin leaves to get saline for Graph.
She sees a news report about the attack at the hospital. A hospital official admits to the unlawful imprisonment of mutants. Caitlin is amazed that people will believe the attack was about mutant rights. The doctor says it’s all over social media. They are using the hashtag #MutantUprising
John calls Reed to let him know they have more mutants coming with them. They ask if Andy is with him, but he’s not. John gives them more bad news. Lauren took a bad hit and is unconscious. They hang up and Reed tries to console Reed. His power manifest so he has to let go. He grabs a bottle of pills and it disintegrates in his hands. The pills fall on the floor and Reed is able to get one. Caitlin watches with fear in her face.
Jace sees the news about the attack at Lynwood. He pulls out Wilson’s number and calls him.
Andy, Polaris and the Frosts head back to the Inner Circle headquarters, with their new guest.
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Thoughts
It must be hard to create a villain out of people who are all working for the same cause. At least in the first season, it was clear that Sentinel Services was the bad guy from the start. This season, we’ve only seen Reeva Payge as the villian because of how ruthless she is to get what she wants. But she is good to Andy and Polaris. Until I see her do something unspeakable to the family, I can’t see the Inner Circle as a villain.
Letting go is hard, but Caitlin and Marcos need to accept that Andy and Polaris left on their own accord. Parents will do anything to protect their children. And the situation before Andy’s birth explains why Caitlin is such a helicopter mom. Andy didn’t get the guidance he needed to understand why he’s different and why humans hate mutants. If he had a mentor, maybe he would have stayed with the MU.
And letting Marcos hold his daughter then rip her from his arms didn’t help the situation. If the roles were reversed, Polaris would do anything to get Marcos and their daughter back. So for the Inner Circle to expect Marcos to just go away is unrealistic.
What I don’t like about this episode is the lack of coverage on Andy and Polaris. We saw them at the Inner Circle headquarters catering to Reeva’s desires. But we have yet to see what they think and how they really feel about everything. When did they become B characters?
Seeing Andy hurt Lauren was sad. He has to be concerned, but he can’t show it. The show really needs to focus on his struggle of leaving his family and trying to be a part of the Inner Circle. I think he believes he can make an impact with the Inner Circle, but I don’t think he realizes what the cost could be.
This episode had the action that we’re used to, but not the storytelling to move the show forward. Clarice was annoying, John trusts too much, Marcos and Caitlin are way to emotional, Lauren’s faith got her hurt, and Reed is the only one who is truly seeing things for what they are. He has hope, but he is also preparing for the worst.
Let’s hope the next episode moves the characters forward to the next step of grief…acceptance.
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