We’re back with “unMoored,” episode two of the second season of The Gifted. This week action took a backseat to character development, as we examined the cast’s different motivations and relationships. We got some interesting insights into the players, and one major character made his return.
So, let’s dive in!
1. Thunderbird is hard on himself.
We see a lot of John Proudstar in this episode. I’ve enjoyed Blair Redford’s performance so far, and he didn’t disappoint with the spotlight turned on him again this week. The show opens with a flashback to how Thunderbird was recruited to run the Mutant Underground, in a scene that is similar to how we first meet Wolverine in the movies. John’s been fighting for money.
Thunderbird was hand-picked by mutants-rights lawyer Evangeline Whedon to run the Mutant Underground. She’s familiar with his past, including his military background, and thinks he the right man for the job. We cut back to the present, and he tells Clarice that he wants to go to Evangeline for help finding the Inner Circle.
John’s feelings about the events in Atlanta last season drive his actions in “unMoored.” It’s the reason he goes to see Evangeline and, more important, why eventually convinces her to help after she initially turns him down. It’s another example of what sets The Gifted apart from other live-action superhero shows and movies: The Gifted is character-driven.
2. Andy struggles with being away from home.
Last week Lauren had a dream about seeing her brother again. This week, they share a similar version of the dream, and the experience has a profound effect on Andy. We spend time with him and get a feel for what life looks like with the Inner Circle. In “eMergence” he appeared to be all-in with Reeva and her vision of a mutant homeland. Now, we see his resolve start to crack as he misses his family and worries about what he saw in his dream.
Andy is only 15 (we’re reminded of this in “unMoored,”) so a little homesickness makes sense. He was too “gung-ho” for me in the season premiere when Lorna had her moment of doubt, so this sequence made me feel better. It also served as a way for us to learn about Reeva.
3. Reeva is not (entirely) heartless.
Reeva comes within seconds of giving up on Andy when his homesickness leads to problems with his training. We learn, by way of this, that for Reeva “giving up” on a teammate means killing them. But she relents, not when Andy swears loyalty, but when he admits to breaking the rules. We know that he’s not going to be killed, at least not this early in the season — but the writers managed to use the confrontation to reveal something about Reeva.
4. The Cuckoos are not always a unified team.
The fact that Esme was one of three identical triplets (or quintuplets — we don’t know yet) was a dramatic reveal last season. It established the Cuckoos as a powerful and merciless force of nature when they dismantled a Sentinel Services security team in a few seconds. The scene also glossed over a significant difference between the three telepaths. During the time Esme was a double agent with the Underground, Phoebe and Sophie were prisoners of Sentinel Services and had who-knows-what done to them.
The rift shows itself this week when Reeva gives an order and Esme briefly resists. One of her sisters calls her “soft” and refers to her time with the Underground. The prodding goads Esme into going along with the order and demonstrating how “hard” she can be when they carry the order out.
But who argues Andy’s case to Reeva later on? You guessed it.
5. Jace Turner returns.
Jace is back but in a new role. He’s no longer just an agent of Sentinel that’s obsessed with tracking down mutants. He’s a former agent of Sentinel that’s obsessed with tracking down mutants. While we’re shown a tiny flash of humanity in Reeva, Jace resurfaces and comes across as one-dimensional. He’s not satisfied with the story that Reeva had planted about the power outages the Lorna caused, and even when a former coworker at Sentinel tells him it was nothing and to go back to his civilian life. Jace promises his wife he’ll let things go, and it’s a mystery why she believes him.
Jace feels like the weak link in The Gifted’s cast of characters. He has a convincing reason for hating mutants, but he also struggled with how Sentinel carries out its mission from the beginning. When his wife confronted him about what he’s been doing in their daughter’s name, it felt like it should have been a character-defining moment. Instead, it was forgotten almost immediately. I don’t understand why he’s back and what he wants.
That wraps up five thoughts on “unMoored.” The episode ended on a cliffhanger, and what seemed like a spoiler-filled teaser. What did you think? let us know in the comments.
