The pieces are slowly coming together on The Gifted. The Inner Circle is robbing a bank and everyone knows their part. Reeva Payge (Grace Byers) has made it clear that she will not accept failure. She wasn’t always so strict. She used to be a community leader who wanted to work with the humans to coexist. A friend of hers started to change things when mutants were being denied housing in their neighborhood. The discrimination and violence against mutants became too much for them both. Reeva was forced to watch her friend die at the hands of a drunk human.
Reeva goes over the plan with Polaris (Emma Dumont), Andy (Percy Hynes-White), the Frost Sisters (Skyler Samuels) and newcomer Rebecca (Anjelica Bette Fellini). She tells them to use violence as a last resort. Rebecca is a little nervous. Her job is to flip the vault and she’s afraid she’s not strong enough to do it. Andy encourages her and says he believes in her.
Reed
Meanwhile, Reed (Stephen Moyer) has been unable to turn off his powers since the last episode. Lauren (Natalie Alyn Lind) helps him but shielding his powers from the things he touches. He tells Lauren and Caitlin (Amy Acker) that he can’t stay there. He’s afraid that he will burn everything up.
Caitlin takes the issue to John (Blair Redford), Clarice (Jamie Chung), and Marcos (Sean Teale). No matter where they move Reed, he will do some damage. Clarice suggests they take him to the Morlocks, but Caitlin says no. Caitlin says the clinic has been shut down since the Purifiers attacked it. It may the safest place because no one is there. John agrees and they prepare to move.
Marcos welds metal to the inside of an ambulance for Reed. While John is looking for scrap metal, Marcos asks Clarice about where her loyalties lie, with them or with the Morlocks. Clarice gets angry and reminds Marcos that he’s the one with side deal with the cartel. And his girlfriend ended up working for the enemy. She says the Underground isn’t doing so well. They could use some new allies.
Jace
Jace (Coby Bell) tries to call his wife, but her lawyer won’t let him talk to her. Officer Wilson (Tom O’Keefe) comes in and Jace hangs up the phone. Wilson says taking down the mutant station in Baltimore turned some heads. One of the top level leaders wants to meet Jace but first, he has to be tested for the X gene.
Wilson takes Jace to meet Benedict Ryan (Peter Gallagher), TV personality. Ryan commends Jace for his job at Baltimore. He says he has a plan to take back America. He wants Jace to be on his show and denounce Sentinel Services. Jace says he has his issues with Sentinel Services but there are still good people who work there. Ryan says the need someone to sell the message that now is the time for real change. Jace says he’s not their guy.
They leave and Wilson gets angry with Jace for turning Ryan down. Jace says he won’t sell out his friends. Wilson asks where his friends are now. Where were they after Atlanta? If he wants to show his wife that he’s not a broken down agent then he has to change the future.
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Quinn
Reeva has dinner with a man she’s been dating named Quinn (Sharif Atkins). However, Quinn works for Creed Financial. Quinn believes Reeva has saved him after his wife died. He even says his kids are happy that he’s smiling again. They leave dinner and the Frosts show up to take Quinn. The Inner Circle is going to use Quinn to turn off the mutant detection system at Creed bank. They take him back to HQ to prep him on his duties.
Reeva explains to Quinn that he has no choice but to help them. She threatens the safety of his kids if he doesn’t comply. Quinn doesn’t quite understand, so Reeva explains that Creed finances mutant hate group. She is a mutant and must do everything to protect her people. To Quinn, the bank is just a job. He doesn’t hate mutants. He begs her not to hurt his kids and she agrees. But was their romance real? Reeva wishes it were.
Game Time
Polaris pulls Esme aside and asks her to stay behind. She needs Esme to watch over Dawn in case something bad happens. Of course Esme agrees. At the same time, Reeva retrieves Quinn and gives him a flash drive that will link the Inner Circle to the bank. He tries to appeal to her softer side to let him go. He says she cared about him and she has a good heart. She says that is why he will go home safely to his family when it’s all over. She’s not a monster unless she needs to be. The rest of the team assembles, including a still nervous Rebecca. Esme tells Polaris not to worry.
Things go smoothly at the bank. Quinn goes to his office and hooks up the flash drive. Sage (Hayley Lovitt) is watching from HQ. As soon as the mutant detection system is offline, the team moves in. Polaris knocks out the power. Security steps up and starts shooting, but Polaris is able to stop the bullets. Reeva disables everyone with her voice and Polaris retrieves the guns.
They put the bank staff in a room together. The manager says the vault is made of antiantium and they will never get in. He tells Reeva to let them go. She says she will after he tells the truth about Creed. The Frost sisters make him speak about how Creed persecuted mutants as they record him on a phone.
While they are making the video, Rebecca, Polaris and Andy make their way to the vault. Rebecca questions the reasons for letting the bank staff go just because they’re human. Andy reminds her that his mom is human, but she says it’s not the same thing. Polaris tells Rebecca to stick to the plan. Rebecca doesn’t like it, but she agrees and they continue towards the vault.
Stick Together
Reed gets upset looking at a photo of his family. Lauren comes in to let him know they are ready to go. Reed doesn’t want to put her in more danger and asks her not to ride with them. Lauren is determined to keep him safe. She says their family is in this together and it’s time they start acting like it. They can’t keep running from what they are. Clarice interrupts to tell them it’s time to go.
John puts metal down in the hidden room for Reed. Marcos finds him crying and asks what’s up. John tells him about the soldier who died in there. He is feeling responsible for the soldier’s death, the fall of Atlanta and everything bad that has happened to the Underground. He thinks everyone is losing faith because of the mutant uprising. Marcos understands and feels that loss of faith is closer than they think. He says there is something between Clarice and the Morlocks. John gets upset at the suggestion, but Marcos tells him to ask her.
The Vault
Rebecca has a hard time flipping the vault. Andy tells her to remember how she was treated in the hospital. He says to use her anger and fear to make her stronger. Rebecca uses his suggestion and is finally able to flip the vault door open. Reeva takes Quinn to the vault. He tries to talk her out of her mission again, saying she will destroy many lives. She compares it to the many mutant lives that have been lost.
Quinn is amazed that they got into the vault. He logs into the system and they begin transferring money to the Inner Circle. About the same time, the Frost finish up their video. The bank manager calls them monster, so the Frost uses their powers to make everyone relax and be quiet. Reeva checks in with HQ and everything is going according to plan. All that’s left is their escape. Quinn asks what happens to him and the bank staff. Reeva insists they will remain safe. She tells Quinn that he will be a hero in the mutant uprising.
von Strucker
Caitlin goes through Otto Strucker’s notes to find a way to help Reed. She tells Lauren about his grad assistant who helped with his X gene research. She thinks she found the assistant in North Carolina. Caitlin wants to track her down to see if she can help them.
Reed fell asleep, but jerks around a bit. Caitlin is upset that he’s been suffering for months and she didn’t see it. Lauren says their family is cursed. Reed wakes up and listens to their conversation. Lauren thinks they are cursed because of what Andrea and Andreas von Strucker did to hurt people. She says when she and Andy combined her powers, she knew people were dying. But it made her feel powerful. Caitlin says they were helping people, not maliciously hurting them.
Reed sits up and says he feels better. He thinks his powers have subsided. Caitlin shows him what she found in Otto’s notes. He likes that she is trying to find a way to help, but thinks it’s too risky to try and find the assistant. Caitlin points out that Reed is getting worse. The real risk is doing nothing. She holds his hands, even though he pulls away from her. He stares at her and agrees.
Turning Point
Clarice continues to complain about how they don’t have a plan to deal with Reed. Marcos leaves to get more supplies so John can talk to her. John asks her what’s going on with the Morlocks. At first Clarice asks what they are supposed to be doing? They aren’t saving mutants, or fighting the Inner Circle; they’re not even fighting racists. She says the Morlocks are helping mutants better than the Underground is.
Clarice admits to helping Erg by giving him information and stealing food. John gets angry that she kept that from him. She says he doesn’t get it because he’s falling apart. Clarice made a deal with Erg for John. He blames himself for Atlanta. He needs help and that was the only way to help him.
Jace goes to the TV station and agrees to do the interview with Ryan. He has one condition. He will not badmouth anyone. Ryan says he doesn’t have to. They crafted the interview in a way that shows people it’s time to take matters into their own hands. A production assistant brings Ryan a tablet and tells him there’s been an attack. They all look at the tablet. Ryan says they need Jace now more than ever.
The police are headed to the bank. Reeva puts Quinn in the room with the staff and closes the door. As she does, the bank manager yells at them saying they should be wiped off the face of the Earth. The things he says upsets Rebecca. She questions why Reeva is letting him get away with saying those things. Everyone tells her to let it go and stick to the plan. Rebecca disobeys and uses her power to kill everyone in that room.
Andy and Polaris are angry. The Frosts are shocked and Reeva is rattled. Rebecca turns around to look at them and smiles proudly at what she has just done. The Frosts tell everyone that they need to leave. Reeva cries as everyone runs out the door.
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There are so many levels of hate, but writing team is doing a great job of distributing that hate across the board. They are giving humans back their humanity having Jace lead the Purifiers. He instills the idea that they can take back their world without violence. A message that Reeva is trying to convey, but that one rogue mutant always messing things up. That could have easily been a human. The sides are interchangeable. It will be interesting to see the Inner Circle face off with the Purifiers.
Why is it that the kids are calmer and wiser than their parents these days? Lauren has always promoted unity and communication with her parents and Andy. Reed and Caitlin are finally listening. Which is good because I was getting sick of Caitlin’s obsession. She still believes Andy was taken, but she’s not so consumed with him.
Lauren is interesting to watch. I can see her struggle with which side she wants to be on. She knows the Underground is doing some good and wants to coexist with humans. But then there’s the intoxicating power that she feels when she uses her abilities. She doesn’t want to hurt anyone, unless she has to. And I think Andy felt the same way. He just gave in to that temptation that Lauren could so easily turn to if it weren’t for her parents. Who knows. Maybe they will be the reason she turns.
News Editor, Senior Contributor, and Press Editor. Coordinate breaking news, trailers and press releases. I also contribute reviews, recaps and interviews. Creator of the Indigenerd Wire, a column dedicated to the Indigenous creatives in pop culture.
GGA's resident Indigenerd, a little bit rez, a little bit classy...with a love for all things Star Wars, zombies, science fiction, and Indigenous. My ultimate goal is to start my own podcast.
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