In “the dreaM” we get a pause from the Inner Circle’s master plan, but it’s not a break from the action. The fallout of Rebecca’s actions looms large, but we also have a chance to delve into Lorna’s past. A possible alternative title for the eighth episode of The Gifted’s second season is “Sins of the Father.” This week, we watch Lorna, Reed, and Marcos, deal with different aspects of their family history.
This review contains spoilers.
While I’m on the subject of spoilers: If you hate them, avoid the coming attractions at all costs! They are consistently spoilerific.
1. Finally, a reason to empathize with Marcos.
Marcos has been a bit of a jerk the past few episodes, especially toward Clarice. While we’ve known he’s struggling with the loss of Lorna and his daughter, he’s been tough to deal with. In “the dreaM” we get a reminder of what he’s been through, and he finally shows a little backbone.
It feels like it’s been years since we saw a flash of Marcos’ past and his tragic relationship with father. So, seeing him and Lorna talk about their broken families, and how they won’t be the same, was as revealing as it was poignant. Marcos wants to give Dawn the father he never had, and he won’t get the chance.
When Lorna visits Marcos with Dawn, he confronts her in what’s the best scene in the episode, if not the season. He folded like a piece of cheap bad origami in “coMplications,” but was having none of Lorna’s guff this time. Marcos didn’t convince her to let him keep Dawn. He also never asked her to stay. But, he did persuade her against taking the baby to Switzerland. More about that below.
2. The Strucker curse continues.
The Struckers can’t buy a break. Caitlin’s idea to head to a Charlotte State University turns out to be correct. The doctor she found there worked with Reed’s father. The professor has continued the elder Strucker’s research and can provide a temporary cure. She offers to work with Lauren’s genome to develop a permanent one. The Struckers are ecstatic, and Caitlin and Reed are getting along for the first time in months.
So, of course, there’s a catch. The doctor is trying to reshape Otto Von Strucker’s findings into a “cure” for mutants. Even though she takes the family into her home and presents them with a gift from Otto, she doesn’t share her goal. She knows what their reaction will be, and is using them. Lauren only finds out because the professor’s assistant has a crush on her.
Does she tell her parents and ruin the first bit of peace they’ve had since Andy left?
3. Blink and Thunderbird on the hunt.
John decides that the Resistance has to respond to the Inner Circle’s actions at the bank. The other cells are “losing faith,” and they have to act. He heads out into the streets with Clarice to find them. As plot points go, it’s a bit thin. They don’t know that Rebecca is out there and there’s no reason not to think that the Inner Circle returned to their luxury tower. Marcos saw it back in “coMplications,” so even though they don’t know where it is, they know the Inner Circle doesn’t live on the streets.
But it gives us a chance to see Clarice and John work together. They find Rebecca and face off with her in a rather odd and inconclusive encounter. When they return home, we get more questions about their relationship. I hate to say it, but the friction between John and Clarice is getting a little bit CW for my tastes.
4. Rebecca is in deep kimchi.
Rebecca is on the run, and while they don’t have a master tracker like Thunderbird on their team, the Inner Circle has a few telepaths and an invisible guy. So, they capture her.
She’s in a lot of trouble. What’s Reeva going to do?
5. Polaris!
As far as I’m concerned, “the dreaM” was about Lorna. We finally got to see a bit of her childhood and what her relationship was with The-Mutant-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. As far we know, that relationship was “non-existent.”
In a great piece of casting, Kathryn Erbe plays an unnamed (as far as I can tell) aunt that raised Lorna after her adopted parents were killed. The flashback scenes are well-written, and the casting for young Lorna is spot-on. We go back to her 14th birthday when Magneto (I’m not afraid to say his name) left a gift for her on the front steps of her home. The look of disappointment on young Lorna’s face when he doesn’t materialize speaks volumes.
Continued belowIn the present, Lorna has decided that having Dawn anywhere near Rebecca is unacceptable. It’s an understandable reaction after what happened at the bank, but going along with Lorna’s actions means ignoring two things. First, Rebecca already left. Second, even if she comes back, who’s to say Reeva will let her stay? (Or remain alive?)
Esme decides to help Lorna get Dawn out of there and finds a school in Switzerland. But, after her confrontation with Marcos, Lorna takes the baby to her aunt. While she’s there, she realizes that her father stayed away for her protection, not because he didn’t care about her. This is played as a big emotional reveal, but a cynical read is that it was also a way for her to justify her actions.
In the end, Lorna takes the gift her father left her and reshapes it into the famous Polaris headpiece. What part of her father’s legacy is she embracing?
We’re halfway through season 2 of The Gifted! A lot has happened since we first met the Inner Circle and Lorna had Dawn. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
