Season two of The Gifted continues with an episode filled with compelling character moments and an exciting confrontation between mutant factions. Let’s get right into it.
1. Reed is not completely over his denial.
After nearly killing his daughter and then coming clean with his family about the return of his mutants powers, what’s Reed’s next step? Trying to suppress his ability and forget that he’s a mutant! He goes to John and asks for help suppressing his tendency to destroy things when he’s stressed. John, being the head of the Mutant Underground, is having none of that and explains that what Reed needs is training before he kills someone. John’s advice falls on deaf ears. Later, Reed comes within inches of killing Caitlin.
As plot developments go, I found this one silly. Reed has never been the sharpest tool in the shed, but of all the people to go to for help pretending you’re not a mutant, Thunderbird’s gotta be the worst choice. I guess it’s a good thing Magneto or Mystique weren’t around. They might have given him the answer he deserved.
2. Do not mess with Caitlin Strucker
“OutMatched” opened with a flashback to Caitlin’s pregnancy with Andy. We learn it was difficult and that Caitlin risked her own welfare to carry him to term. The scene goes a long way to explaining the tension between Reed and Caitlin since Andy left. It also explains Caitlin’s intensity since the beginning of season two.
Showing us this bit of family history helps sets the tone for later in the episode. Caitlin crosses the line, actually several lines, to aid in the effort to get Andy back from the Inner Circle. She takes the kinds of measures that will have consequences down the line.
We’re bound to see more tension between the Struckers in the future. Reed, in an uncharacteristic burst of insight, told Caitlin “Nobody made Andy do anything,” when she accused the Inner Circle of controlling her son. We’re sure to see more squabbling next episode.
3. Jace doth protest too much, methinks.
For the second episode in a row, we’re shown Paula’s refusal to talk to Jace instead of told. This time, it’s a string of unanswered text messages on Jace’s phone. As we watch, Jace starts to send an angry message, thinks better of it, and deletes. It’s a humanizing moment for a character I’ve been having a hard time connecting with.
Jace meets with someone from the Purifiers and vigorously rejects an offer to join them. He’s into chasing and locking up mutants, but not when it comes with overt bigotry and Klan-like outfits. If you believed him, I’ve got a bridge I want to sell you. It only takes a news report about the attack on Lynwood Hospital to get him to pick up the phone. He’s a Purifier now.
4. Reeva plays the media.
The centerpiece of this episode is a siege on Lynwood Mental Hospital by the Inner Circle. The “hospital” was a prison, and the government committed mutants there under false pretenses for internment and experimentation. Lorna spent some time there, and it’s likely that her psychological problems originate from her stay.
The Inner Circle attack Lynwood to free a mysterious mutant. But they didn’t simply storm the building, release their friend, and leave. Reeva is smarter than that and knows how to take advantage of an opportunity for a little free PR. After the raid, Lynwood’s staff, undoubtedly with the “help” of the Frosts, confess to what they’ve been doing to their patients. This makes the raid look like the work of mutant rights activists. There’s even a hashtag for it: #mutantuprising!
Will this result in a new crackdown on the Underground? Will it attract more mutants to the Inner Circle?
5. An interesting storytelling decision.
Except for a brief scene at the very end of the episode, all the scenes in “outMatched” are presented from the Underground’s POV. Even that final scene is less than a minute long and is only there to tease the mystery mutant.
The decision to only show us the raid on Lynwood from the Underground’s POV heightens the tension. The hospital is already creepy enough — it reminded me of the sets in Legion. Since we had no idea where Lorna and Andy were, or who was with them, the scene took on the horror/thriller feel of Fox’s other mutant show.
Continued belowWhen we finally see Lorna, she’s inscrutable. She doesn’t say a word in response to John and Clarice and leaves them in a dangerous situation that guarantees they can’t follow. Later, when Lauren and Marcos stop the Inner Circles’ SUV, Lorna stays in the vehicle.
We also had some build up before we saw the Inner Circle through the Underground’s eyes. Graph told a story about how the Cuckoos made Wire kill himself. Even though the writers threw in a sly reference to the Suicide Girls, it was a chilling tale. Then he brought up photos of the Hellfire Club members that Reeva slaughtered, showing the bodies dumped in various locations. “OutMatched” was a good reminder that the Inner Circle is the Big Bad, not the loyal opposition.
That’s a wrap for the fourth episode of season two of The Gifted. What did you think? Let us know in the comments!
