A lot of things have changed for the Strucker family on The Gifted. For starters, Reed (Stephen Moyer) has powers. He got help from his father’s old assistant, but she turned out to be working a serum that would end the X-gene for good. The Struckers are on their way back to DC after stealing the medication they need to suppress Reed’s powers. As for Andy (Percy Hynes White), he was upset by how Reeva (Grace Byers) was treating his new friend Rebecca (Anjelica Bette Fellini). He released Rebecca from her prison, but Rebecca decided to go after Reeva instead of running away with Andy. Andy stopped the attack, but killed Rebecca in the process.
After Lorna (Emma Dumont) gave birth to her baby, she decided the Inner Circle wasn’t strong enough to protect the child. So she took the baby to her aunt Dane. She let Marcos (Sean Teale) say goodbye to his daughter before leaving, causing Marcos to hate Lorna for taking the child away. Clarice (Jamie Chung) and John (Blair Redford) were having trust issues as well. Clarice was secretly giving information to the Morlocks leader. And John is obsessed with finding a way to take down the Inner Circle. John put all mutants at risk when he kidnapped an executive from Regimen Tech, the Inner Circle’s next target. Clarice left to clean up his mess.
Marcos and John found out that the Inner Circle planned to turn off all of the power dampening shock collars used in mutant hospitals and prisons. They tried to have the exec stop the Inner Circle from inside the system. The Inner Circle found out and sent Fade (Jeff Daniel Phillips) to kill the exec. At the same time, Jace Turner (Coby Bell) and the Purifiers got wind of mutant activity at one of the mutant clinics. They attacked the clinic and took John as a hostage.
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Finding John
Three years ago, John, Marcos, and Lorna are playing pool. John tells them that he knows they are in a relationship. He says he’s happy for them, but they can’t have any secrets from each other. Once they get the Mutant Underground started, it’s important that they always have each other’s back. Everyone agrees.
In the present, Lauren (Natalie Alyn Lind) and Andy share a dream. Andy needs to talk to Lauren, but she’s afraid of him. She reminds Andy that he attacked her the last time they saw each other. Lauren says Andy made a choice when he joined the Inner Circle. He says that’s not what’s bothering him, but Lauren says the only way to get his family back is to come home. She shuts the door on him and he blasts it open.
Lauren wakes up in the back of the car. She tells Reed and Caitlin (Amy Acker) about her dream. Caitlin says she will have to be stronger in the dreams, so that she doesn’t get hurt. Marcos calls to tell the Struckers that the Purifiers have John. When they get back to DC, the group discusses the best way to get John back. Marcos suggest calling for Lorna’s help. The group agrees, no one wants the Inner Circle involved, but they have resources and the group needs more fire power. It may be the best chance of getting John back.
A Helping Hand
Lorna and Andy are watching Benedict Ryan’s (Peter Gallagher) show as he tells lies about what mutants are capable of. Andy says the only way to deal with fake journalism is to force them to tell the truth. Lorna gets a call from Fade, but it’s really Marcos. He tells Lorna to meet him if she wants Fade back. And the Purifiers have John.
Marcos puts Fade in the trunk of his car. Clarice wants to go with him, basically because she blames herself for John’s capture. Marcos convinces her to stay, saying if something goes wrong, she will be John’s only help. Clarice agrees and tells him not to screw anything up. Marcos meets Lorna and asks for her help finding John. Lorna is sorry, but says there’s nothing she can do. Marcos reminds her of the promise they made to always help each other.
Prisoner of War
The Purifiers take John to a secret location. Turner greets him, saying he’s been after John for years now. John tries to break the chains tied around him, but the chains are too strong. He ask Turner what he plans to do with him. Turner plans on making John talk. There is a war going on and John is on the wrong side. Turner is determined to end the Mutant Underground so the killing stops. He thinks the Mutant Underground is responsible for the deaths at the bank. John insists that the MU did not do that, but Turner doesn’t believe him. Turner knows about John’s super hearing, so he puts on headphones with loud heave metal for John to enjoy.
Turner leaves the room and Officer Wilson (Tom O’Keefe) says John won’t talk. He wants to start using power tools to make him talk. Turner disagrees. He says he knows how to get answers from John. They go back into John’s room and ask him the same questions again. John tells them about the Inner Circle, but Turner doesn’t believe him. He says two of the mutants who attacked the bank fit the descriptions of Andy and Lorna. John doesn’t say anything so Turner puts the headphones back on.
Clarice goes to the roof to think and Lauren is there. Lauren is worried about joining forces with the Inner Circle, mainly because of Andy. She’s afraid they will never get Andy back. Clarice says the cause is worthy to work with them for a little while. After they get John back, they can go back to fighting with them.
eneMy of My eneMy
Lorna tells Andy about John and asks Sage (Hayley Lovitt) to track the most recent Purifier activity. Sage finds a compound in Virginia where the activity has just picked up. Andy wants to help the MU save John, but Lorna says Reeva won’t let them. He reminds her of how John helped his family escape Sentinel Services. And he didn’t stop until they broke Lorna out of jail. Now its their turn to be there for him.
Lorna and Andy go to the Strucker’s apartment. Andy is a little freaked out because of his shared dream with Lauren. Lorna says to stay on task and not to expect anything. Andy wants his parents to understand what the Inner Circle is doing. Lorna says she wanted Marcos to understand, but he doesn’t. They will never see eye to eye on this. Andy needs to keep that in mind so he doesn’t get his heart broken.
The MU knows Lorna is coming, but they are happily surprised to see Andy, especially Caitlin. Reed and Caitlin comment on how much Andy has grown. Andy is happy to see them as well. Marcos asks Lorna if they found John. Lorna tells her about the compound in Virginia. Marcos says he doesn’t want Reeva and the triplets involved. Lorna says they won’t be involved. Andy and Lorna brought vehicles with weapons and bulletproof vests. They all leave together for Virginia.
Awkward Silence
There is a lot of tension between Lorna and Marcos, causing them to bicker. Clarice asks them to cool it until after the retrieve John. As for the Struckers, Reed tells Andy about his powers. He says the powers are out of control though. Caitlin says they have medication to keep the powers suppressed. Reed says he finally understands what Andy was going through. Caitlin asks Andy to come home. Andy doesn’t want to talk about it and asks her not to ask.
Turner takes off the headphones and John has a loud ringing in his ears. Turner says to give him the information he wants or he will let Wilson torture John with the power tools. John doesn’t say anything, so Turner keeps talking. He tells John that they are a lot alike, but John says he didn’t trade anything for hate. Turner asks why John is letting people die. If the MU isn’t behind the attacks, why were Andy Strucker and Lorna Dane at the Creed Financial bank? He asks if they left the MU and John’s reaction tells him yes. John says they made their choice to join the Inner Circle. John is trying to stop them. Turner asks why they left and John says it’s because he wasn’t strong enough to make them believe.
The mutants arrive at the compound. The place is heavily guarded with people, guns, land mines and an electric fence. They have to create a distraction at the back of the building, so the others go in the front door. Lorna and Marcos volunteer to go to the back. Lauren and Andy agree to go with Clarice to retrieve John. And Caitlin and Reed will keep the cars running to get away quickly.
Andy and Lauren get into position and Andy asks Lauren why she’s acting weird. She says it’s weird having him there. He talks to their parents like the Inner Circle is great, but she knows he’s having doubts. Andy defends the Inner Circle saying they are building something good. Lauren asks if Rebecca was going something good when she killed those people in the bank. Andy gets upset, saying she doesn’t know Rebecca’s story. The Inner Circle is fighting the people who broke her so no more like her have to die. Lauren is sad to hear that Rebecca died. Clarice comes back, giving the signal to start that attack.
Attack
Lorna and Marcos begin their attack by opening the gate and shooting lasers at the landmines. The Purifiers move to the back of the compound to defend the building. Turner hears the commotion and check the cameras. The security guys describe the mutants as Lorna Dane and Marcos Diaz. Turner gets angry and grabs a shotgun. He goes into John’s room, accusing him of lying to him. He shoots John in the chest and the bullet explodes, but doesn’t penetrate the skin. Turner starts yelling at John, blaming him for everything he has lost. He shoots John again. Meanwhile, Andy, Lauren, and Clarice enter the compound, deflecting bullets as they make their way through the building.
Wilson goes to John’s room and tells Turner that they need to go. Turner shoots John again and vows to hunt down all of John’s friends and kill them. He shoots him one more time, this time the bullet fragments break the skin. He tries to shoot one more time, but he’s out of bullets. Wilson pushes Turner out of the room, telling him to run. Andy forces the door open, catching Wilson as the door flies to the other side of the room. Clarice and Lauren unchain John and the leave the building.
As they are walking through the front yard, a man runs up and shoots at Lauren. Andy turns around and starts attacking the man, breaking his legs. He starts torturing the guy, breaking more bones, and he’s having fun doing it. Lauren stops him from killing the man and the run through a portal to get away. Reed and Caitlin watched Andy attack the man and they are shocked. Andy is proud of himself until he see the look on their faces. Everyone gets in the vehicles and they leave.
No Going Back
Turner returns to the room to find Wilson. He removes the door and Turner is hurt pretty bad. Another man comes in to report that they only had two people die, but many more wounded. He says Turner doesn’t want to see what they did to guy in the front yard. Turner says it won’t be anything compared to what he has planned for their counterattack.
The mutants stop long enough for Clarice to tend to John’s wounds. The Struckers try to talk to Andy, asking him to come home. Andy says he’s staying with the Inner Circle. He saw how his parents looked at him after he attacked that man. He says he Purifiers are monsters who will only breed more. The only way to deal with people like that is to wipe them out. Lauren asks if he really believes that. Andy says he’s doing what needs to be done. He walks away as Caitlin tells Lauren that the only way they are going to get him back is if they destroy the Inner Circle. Lauren agrees. And Lorna and Marcos say goodbye again, giving each other permission to hate each other. She walks away, but stops to give Marcos a kiss.
After everything calms down, everyone returns to their homes. Caitlin gives Reed his power suppressing medication. She puts the medicine away and pulls out a gun. Lorna and Marcos think about each other while Clarice sits with John. And the next morning, Lauren goes to a salvage yard and Andy goes to the training room. They practice their powers as if they can see the other in front of them.
Thoughts
I think we are headed for a major catastrophe…like a major death. Lauren’s silence was kind of dark. She knows she has to take down the Inner Circle and it’s going to have a powerful effect on her. I thought for a moment, that Andy could be redeemed. Maybe he was having doubts about the mission of the Inner Circle and wanted to go home. But then we see that he’s change for the worse. He truly believes the best way for mutants to be safe is to get rid of the humans. With both Lauren and Andy going down a dark path, I hope they can save each other.
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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