After a strong debut episode, with a 2.3 rating and 7.3 million viewers, can The Gifted‘s second episode, “rX” continue the momentum?
When we last left the Strucker family, they were in a pretty tight spot, with the government after teenagers Andy and Lauren. They, along with their mom Caitlin, were able to escape with the assistance of Clarice (aka Blink) and her portals, but Reed is left on the other side, separated from his family. Clearly with a title like “rX,” shorthand for prescription, medicine plays a role — is the role literal, figurative, or both. Read on to find out…
(Warning: spoilers contained herein.)
1. We find out more about the darker side of being a mutant.
If Andy and Lauren think being mutants is all cheating at bowling and getting extra snacks from hotel vending machines…time for a wake-up call. Blink’s efforts to save the family from Sentinel Services have left her weakened and very ill…and her portal opening abilities out of whack, leading to an truck crash that leaves her in even worse shape, and everyone from bystanders to the SWAT team spotting our mutants on the run through the portals. And as her condition gets worse, the mutant hideout becomes more exposed.
Marcos also enlightens the kids on life as a mutant — many like Blink cannot easily pass as human, so they live the life of refugees. Blink got on the government’s radar for stealing food from a supermarket. (Shades of Les Miserables, anyone?) Marcos was kicked out of his family when his mutant powers came to fruition in his teen years. It’s a warning to the kids (and Caitlin) that their life is going to change even more drastically than where it is right now.
2. But mutant powers are still really cool.
In spite of Blink’s illness, it’s great to see how mutant powers can combine, as Lauren uses her airbending to close the portals as they open. This shows excellent potential for not only Lauren in her rookie mutant stages (she managed to close nearly every portal she was thrown) but how effective the mutant powers can be when combined. I hope we see a nice large Mutant Powers Assemble moment before this first season is out.
3. Caitlin Strucker, Unlikely Mutant Hero
Just when you thought Caitlin Strucker was left to be the helicopter parent..she proved herself to be a very capable woman. She immediately diagnoses Blink’s illness (in spite of only one weeklong course in human-mutant medicine in her nursing training), manipulates the hospital admission system to get on the inside and get Marcos’ bullet wound from the previous fallout with police treated, and shows some quick reflexes of her own in getting the necessary medication, getting out of the hospital with said medication when confronted by police, and saving Blink’s life. If you thought she was going to just be Overprotective Mom of Mutant Teenagers…well, think again.
4. The Many Facets of Reed Strucker
Lawman doing his job. Father protecting his family. Reed’s in a pretty tough spot. He’s a man who believes in mutant rights even before his children become part of that group, but that doesn’t bring in the paychecks. He does his best to defuse a situation with another family and their mutant daughter at the bowling alley in a flashback to a year before mutant was part of their daily language, but you can tell in his eyes he is going to have to come back to that family and bring in that very scared preteen. Now that he has been charged with terrorism, and sees the government bringing every small action of his extended family under the microscope (Grandma Strucker protesting apartheid in South Africa in the 1980s is now classified as terrorism?!), which side will win out? And how will Reed use his connections in government to ensure that everyone gets what they want?
5. Polarizing Polaris
Lorna/Polaris is finding out very quickly Lakewood is not going to be like reruns of Orange is the New Black. The human prisoners don’t take well to mutants (going as far as beating her while she is carrying a child) and even the lone mutant in the prison wants nothing to do with her. If making friends in prison doesn’t work for Polaris, she’s going to have to resort to that opposite pole of not making nice to gain respect, and not just with idle threats. From the glimpses of the extent of her powers, those prison bullies are going to get a taste of their own medicine very soon.
