S01.E04: eXit strategy

[Bort]

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When the mutants devise a plan to take down Sentinel Services, Eclipse seeks out an old friend from his dark past in order to obtain some useful information. Meanwhile, Lauren and Andy attempt to combine their powers in order to help the group.

[janeta]

Oh goodie.  I was hoping they'd get Polaris out. :)

[AimingforYoko]

That was pretty hardcore of Reed offering the pins in his leg. 

Mutant Relocation Center? What historical reference could they be making there?

[stealinghome]

The first half of this ep really dragged, but the second half--once they got around to trying to take out the convoy--was actually quite good. (Though I did like the planning scene, it tickled me.) I liked seeing everyone have to adjust on the fly without their powers--it was a nice way of showing that these people are reasonably competent even sans powers (go Caitlin, drugging the one guy and then stealing a car! Get your Root on!). And I did kind of "awwwwww" when Lorna/Marcos and Caitlin/Reed were reunited. I hope we still get lots of Caitlin-Marcos scenes though; those two bounce off each other well. In general, Caitlin-Johnny-Marcos continue to be the power trio and I hope bringing Reed and Lorna back doesn't disrupt that.

Forget Blink and her fear, Johnny needs to give Andy lessons on how to use his power without being furiously mad. There's like ten red flag warning signs around Andy every single episode. I have a feeling Lorna may end up being Andy's mentor though, not least because those two seem to be the most powerful so far and also the most murderous. I really liked the scene where Reed starting crying and Lorna told him to eff off--that was the first time since the pilot I've been even mildly interested in Reed. And I gotta give him badass points for telling Lorna to take the screws from his leg. That was hardcore. Although, weren't they in a...you know...metal bus?

Johnny/Dreamer/Blink is going to explode sooner rather than later. Much sooner.

I like this show, but having a huge ensemble cast is starting to become a negative. Just about everyone feels sketched in rather than fully fleshed out; the characters that do have more depth only have depth because the actors are giving really good performances and bringing a lot to what's on the page. Maybe this will get better now that they're all in the same location, but we'll see.

[janeta]

well wait—aren't surgical implants made of titanium and non-magnetic?

[SimoneS]

The rescue was very exciting. I thought it was all going to fall apart and that not only would Reed and Lorna remain in custody, but a couple of them would get taken.  I like Reed owning up to his shittiness, proving what I have been saying all along. However, Reed did come up big when he offered to give up the pins in his leg. I liked that. I knew Lorna would be able to overcome the collar eventually. That woman will be Magneto powerful in time. She and Andy do seem like the only class five mutants. Frankly, I thought Caitlin's role was manufactured to give her something to do. 

So they are brainwashing and controlling mutants. I hope that the Johnny, Marcos, et al. are able to save the other mutants, but they will have to watch their backs as Sentinel is on a murderous rampage. It is all out war now.

[tennisgurl]

They got them out! Reunions for Marcos/Polaris and Caitlin/Reed! The first half dragged a little bit, but the second half was very engaging, the fight scenes were awesome and it was a good mix of powers and more down to Earth fighting. It was cool seeing the mutants have to fight without powers, and to see Caitlin get into the action as well. I admit it, my heart was warmed when the couples were reunited. 

Great scenes between Reed and Polaris, and Reed asking Polaris to pull the metal pins out of his legs was hard core. Reed definitely earned some respect from me with that one. I hope they continue to interact, it would be interesting to see how they deal with each other while they're on the same side. 

The friend of Johns who was using his power against the mutants seemed rather out of it, maybe the "relocation camp" is a brainwashing building for powerful or rebellious mutants, where the government uses mutants for their powers? Now I am wondering if the creepy lobotomized psychic mutant from X2 is involved in all this. Of course, I am still not totally sure if he even exists in this universe. In the wise words of Deadpool, these time lines are confusing. 

I am really glad they have already rescued Reed and Polaris, and now the whole cast can be in the same place. I hope we get more interaction/development now. 

[SnoGirl]

Ugh. Out of all unrealistic things, the pins in the leg thing kills me. Would he even be able to walk?! Doesnt pins keep together the other parts of your leg?

I loved the actual action of the show. I'm here for mutants fighting back. 

Its kinda interesting because I feel like we're getting an origin story of the siblings. Whether its a Villian or Hero story is what is hanging me up. I think its awesome they can use their powers together, but I feel like that story is too easy. 

Also, isn't it too soon to see repeating powers? Didnt we get a mutant who could go invisible last episode? I want them to mix it up. Show me powers which hasnt been repeatedly done.  Loved the idea of the Disrupter. I hope they rescue him at the end of the season. 

[Lantern7]

Good episode. Usual angst, but we have a semblance of a happy ending. Of course, that's probably going to be drowned out in the next several episodes, but a win's a win, right?

Didn't know that pins might not be magnetic. All that was missing was Lorna shouting, "Did you see X2?!? Did you see what Magneto did to the poor bastard who got iron injected into him?!?" Having something pulled out without anesthesia must hurt like a motherfucker. That's balanced by Pulse and the comedy of mutants staring at their hands in disbelief, unable to comprehend that they can't make magic anymore.

Just so I'm clear: Andy can pull stuff apart, Lauren has a bubble thing that might be like pushing. Am I close?

[stealinghome]

27 minutes ago, SnoGirl said:

Ugh. Out of all unrealistic things, the pins in the leg thing kills me. Would he even be able to walk?! Doesnt pins keep together the other parts of your leg?

Not that I'm a medical professional, but I think it depends on what exactly the pin is doing. Was it ever specified what Reed's injury was? I tore my ACL a decade ago and have a screw and pin in my leg from the resulting surgery. But if they were torn out, I think I would still be able to walk (pain factor aside and assuming nothing else in the knee was damaged on the hardware's way out). You don't need your ACL to run in a straight line. So I'm guessing it all depends on the exact injury?

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That's balanced by Pulse and the comedy of mutants staring at their hands in disbelief, unable to comprehend that they can't make magic anymore.

I hope that after this mission, they all start being as smart as Marcos and all carry guns on all missions, just in case!

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Just so I'm clear: Andy can pull stuff apart, Lauren has a bubble thing that might be like pushing. Am I close?

Yeah, Andy seems to have a limited form of telekinesis that only involves destroying things. Lauren almost seems to be able to harden air into bubbles and then push those bubbles around.

[TrininisaScorp]

I enjoyed the show today a great deal!  I feel like the characters are starting to gel well for me.  

Like many of you, I'm loving Reed's hardcore call that was the catalyst for them getting out of the van.   As someone with pins in her ankle (car accident = broken ankle = ankle surgery), I can't imagine that the pins ripping through the ligaments and brand spanking new vascular system would be ideal.  But, I agree that it depends on what kind of injury.   I still thought it was super cool of Reed. 

It is so nice to see Zach Roerig (from The Vampire Diaries) as Pulse!   I loved all the "doh!" reactions to folks not having power.   I would like to get more backstory on Johnny.  I wonder if we get to see Pulse more b/c that's a pretty cool power.

I'm excited to see the reunions of the two couples.  I was genuinely happy they all reunited, but am curious how it all messes around with the dynamic in the underground.  I like Caitlin's interactions with the mutants, and I hope she doesn't get sidelined now that Reed is here.

Also.  Some of this cast is CW pretty!  Dang!  Gorgeous!

[Mysteris]

I loved the action part of this, and the way the mutants wiped the smug right off Sentinel Services' face. Their panic when they realized the mutants had their powers back was awesome.

Sentinel Services guy said he wants to shut down everyone who's ever helped them. I don't think he realizes that's going to put him in a war with Carmen and her cartel. But it should make for a hell of a fireworks show. Carmen might not like Eclipse or Polaris, but I think she'll protect him. If only to screw him over more her way. And to show that no one messes with her.

Yay for Polaris finally getting to be a badass! And I think after this Johnny's going to need to pin Dreamer down and make her undo what she did to Blink. Dreamer thinks she's totally justified is the problem. Anything for the cause.

[FiveByFive]

3 hours ago, stealinghome said:

Forget Blink and her fear, Johnny needs to give Andy lessons on how to use his power without being furiously mad. There's like ten red flag warning signs around Andy every single episode.

Exactly. Everytime I see Andy my first thought is, "well there's a nasty little super villain in the making!" This also lends itself to the realization that he, above all others, needs training in his powers. He's simply just too filled with rage to not be a threat to someone else even by accident.

Also huge props for the show taking another one of my favorite X-Men characters, Sage, who one of the twins called, "computer girl" and using her on the series. Although her origin in the comics probably won't work at all here at all now, it was great to see that they're utilizing what's left of the X-Universe when they can. They pulled the same stunt with "Beautiful Dreamer" and it's always appreciated when they can pull unused characters from the source material.

[piequinn35]

13 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

 

Just so I'm clear: Andy can pull stuff apart, Lauren has a bubble thing that might be like pushing. Am I close?

Andy's ability is telekinesis  while Lauren's force field ability contains the nasty destruction of Andy's uncontrollable telekinesis I hope he learns to control that ability it is very dangerous. I like Polaris she is very powerful like Magneto (her dad right?) Magneto is one of my favorites even if he was a villain.

Edited October 24, 2017 by piequinn35

[immortalfrieza]

5 hours ago, TrininisaScorp said:

It is so nice to see Zach Roerig (from The Vampire Diaries) as Pulse!

I laughed at that one. The guy who hates vampires now has superpowers... there's some irony there.

4 hours ago, Mysteris said:

I loved the action part of this, and the way the mutants wiped the smug right off Sentinel Services' face. Their panic when they realized the mutants had their powers back was awesome.

I love just having the mutants actually take the fight to Sentinel Services for once. The mutants on this show seem pathetic compared to just about every supehero team ever so it's nice to see them finally kicking some ass.

Speaking of which, they need to get some coms or at least some walkie talkies or SOMETHING the next time they go on mission, watching everybody stumble around aimlessly because nobody knew what was going on was painful.

3 hours ago, FiveByFive said:

Exactly. Everytime I see Andy my first thought is, "well there's a nasty little super villain in the making!"

I really REALLY hope the writers go for something like the "troubled kid with superpowers learns to use them responsibly" angle and not the "supervillain in the making" angle, because the last is way too predictable and it seems like a waste of the character to have him go MUHAHAHAHA evil at some point.

[Irishmaple]

I’m such a nerd. As soon as the mutant powers stopped working, I yelled out “there’s a Null”, and scared the cat. 

Well, that wasn’t the smoothest rescue I’ve ever seen but it worked! I’ll be at the table for one that likes Andy. He was relentlessly bullied so I’m not giving up on him yet. He’s afraid of the destructive force of his power too. Lauren is badass, goading her brother to get the job done. The show does need to do something to get the kids to look less hunched and constipated when they use their powers.

Blink and John are getting interesting. She’s drawn to him because of the fake memories, and because he’s hot. He looks like he’s attracted to her too so this is going to get messy. All of mutants proved resourceful without their powers and Caitlyn fit right in. It looks like Pulse has been turned by Garret Dillahunt’s division? Interesting that Coby Bell didn’t want anything to do with that but will use an asset. The only character I find uninteresting and dull is Marcos, and he’s paired with Polaris, my favourite character. Maybe, now that they’re reunited, she can make him more bearable.

I hope the Mutants keep fighting now. It sounds like Sentinel declared outright war on everyone allied with them so the stakes just got a lot higher.

[Lady Calypso]

3 hours ago, immortalfrieza said:

Speaking of which, they need to get some coms or at least some walkie talkies or SOMETHING the next time they go on mission, watching everybody stumble around aimlessly because nobody knew what was going on was painful.

I'm hoping that was the case because most of the other mutants bailed, but you'd think they would still want to be prepared.

I am glad they reunited Lorna and Reed with their loved ones so quickly. I expected at least another three episodes before that would happen.

Andy is certainly a dangerous mutant and the fact that everyone is so distracted by rescuing Lorna that his sister is the only one bothering to try to get him in  control of his powers feels like a ticking time bomb. Now that everyone's reunited, there better be a better training system with Andy. So far, everyone's stared and gaped at the use of his powers, but then moved on with their lives. Maybe Lorna and Andy will have scenes together. Both are dangerously powerful mutants who could have ended up a lot worse. 

I mean, I fully predicted that this Blink/John mess was going to end up with both developing genuine feelings. I'd like more with John, because I agree that he's kind of one note. They're using him just enough to keep him in a storyline, but not enough to get a feel of his character. I do get the feeling that reversing Dreamer's false memories in Blink is going to be more trouble than it's worth. If she agrees to it, it'll most likely be too late. And once Blink finds out about all of this, no way she'll be happy with John. 

It is nice to see Caitlin fit in with the mutants. She's the oddball out, and she's handling things like a champ. It's nice that this show can show that humans are useful even with mutants. Now, I do wonder where Lauren and Andy got their mutant gene from. I assume, if it wasn't one of their parents, then they had to have come from somebody else. I guess that'll be a dangling plot point until they want to deal with it. 

I think one of the reasons I like Lauren is that she's not involved in a romantic storyline yet. Typically, shows like this force the teenage girl into some love subplot, so it's nice to just get to know Lauren as a character before they inevitably do it. She also has a solid relationship with her brother, so that's also not as common to see. Also, she's basically been on her own as a mutant for three years. She's presumably not told anyone before that, and has had to get in control of her powers alone, so I'm amazed she isn't more bitter and angry about that. 

I liked the Lorna/Reed scene before their transport. Reed being honest about his kids having powers, and Lorna seeming to struggle with hating and sympathizing with Reed was interesting. I am glad she got to call him out, because he really did deserve it.

Marcos is an interesting character, but I've seen this whole drug smuggling family plot one too many times, so his storyline with his ex girlfriend doesn't interest me. It's nice seeing more into Marcos' background, but I'm simply not interested in it because I can see roughly where it's going.  

Hi Zach Roerig! I liked Pulse, even in the little we've seen. 

I liked the action scenes, but that fight with John and the Sentinel Service guy was so horribly bad. They might need a better stunt coordinator.

[SimoneS]

10 hours ago, TrininisaScorp said:

It is so nice to see Zach Roerig (from The Vampire Diaries) as Pulse!   I loved all the "doh!" reactions to folks not having power.   I would like to get more backstory on Johnny.  I wonder if we get to see Pulse more b/c that's a pretty cool power.

Yes, I remember Zach from As the World Turns. I hope that he has a regular role. He is a good actor.

[SimoneS]

1 hour ago, Irishmaple said:

I’ll be at the table for one that likes Andy. He was relentlessly bullied so I’m not giving up on him yet. He’s afraid of the destructive force of his power too. Lauren is badass, goading her brother to get the job done. The show does need to do something to get the kids to look less hunched and constipated when they use their powers.

I am at the head of the table with the Andy like. He is the character with the most potential to grow in all sorts of directions because of his anger about bullied and his family and the mutants being unjustly attacked and pursued as well as his trepidation about his power. As I pointed out before, Andy doesn't have to turn out to be "good" or "evil." He can be similar in character to Mystique and Logan who both have major anger issues and have occasionally made questionable choices, but haven't lost their souls. 

"Hunched and constipated." Bwah, so true.

 

1 hour ago, Irishmaple said:

Blink and John are getting interesting. She’s drawn to him because of the fake memories, and because he’s hot. He looks like he’s attracted to her too so this is going to get messy.

Yep, Blink and John would have probably eventually happened, but Dreamer has set it in motion so it is happening much sooner. Dreamer is going to end up with a broken heart.

Edited October 24, 2017 by SimoneS

[Irishmaple]

1 hour ago, SimoneS said:

I am at the head of the table with the Andy like. 

"Hunched and constipated." Bwah, so true.

I’m glad I’m not sitting alone :) I work with toddlers so I see that particular stance and expression several times a day; it never ends well for me.

35 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

I don't feel any sympathy for Reed, the lawyer.  He didn't give a damn about the mutants until he found out that his kids are mutants.  So, why should I give a shit what happens to him now?  He still would have been the same asshole if his kids weren't mutants.

That’s where I am too. He got detained so quickly I didn’t get to see him do anything to improve my view of him. Being detained isn’t enough to garner my sympathy given his responsibility for Lorna’s situation. And however many mutants crossed his path before her. Plus Stephen Moyer is further weighed down by the residual baggage that is my loathing of Vampire Bill. He’s got an uphill climb.

[SimoneS]

1 hour ago, icemiser69 said:

I don't feel any sympathy for Reed, the lawyer.  He didn't give a damn about the mutants until he found out that his kids are mutants.  So, why should I give a shit what happens to him now?  He still would have been the same asshole if his kids weren't mutants.

46 minutes ago, Irishmaple said:

That’s where I am too. He got detained so quickly I didn’t get to see him do anything to improve my view of him. Being detained isn’t enough to garner my sympathy given his responsibility for Lorna’s situation. And however many mutants crossed his path before her. Plus Stephen Moyer is further weighed down by the residual baggage that is my loathing of Vampire Bill. He’s got an uphill climb.

I have been saying this all along about Reed, but it does make him very much like lot of people. I don't feel sorry for him, but I did like the moment he yelled at the guard to stop hitting Lorna and then offered up the screws in his leg. BTW, I notice Reed being singled out, but Caitlin isn't any different in this regard. She didn't speak up and defend the mutant girl in the bowling alley either. Both Reed and Caitlin have always been about saving their family first and foremost. If their kids hadn't turned out to be mutants, they would be happily living their privileged lives, ignoring how unjustly the mutants were being treated.

I didn't like Bill on True Blood either, but I do think that Moyer who I have seen in other roles is a good actor.

Edited October 24, 2017 by SimoneS

[TiffanyNichelle]

It's funny. Usually I'm one of those annoying X-men comic hardcore fans who can't take big changes when the comics became movies (I have so many issues with all the X-Men movies) but I am digging this show. I think this was my favorite episode (despite the side trip to the drug cartel) because the mutants got a win in a way and got to kick ass. Polaris having her big moment at the end that showed her might and how dangerous she is. Sentinel Services, even if you do have a power dampening mutant around and have a collar on Polaris, maybe don't still keep metal guns and bullets around? Just in case? But I loved seeing her let loose and I loved her going off on Reed. He needed to hear that and have him shoved in his face a few times.

I liked Nurse Mom doing her thing and taking out the guard with her mutant skill aka medical knowledge, lol. And for once I did not hate the teenage son. So good for him!

Dreamer really screwed the pooch with implanting that memory to Blink but I like all the messed implications waiting to fall out. Will Blink start to have feelings for John based on her dreams? What does that do for John and Dreamer? Ah messed up relationships, it's just like the comics!

[shrewd.buddha]

4 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

I don't feel any sympathy for Reed, the lawyer.  He didn't give a damn about the mutants until he found out that his kids are mutants. 

..But to be fair, there is a lot of hypocrisy going around.  All the young mutants most likely didn't give a damn about mutants until they became one.   I'm sure any of these mutants could have been the name-calling bad humans until they transformed and became outcasts.
And the human-hating by mutants is also flawed thinking - - because where do mutants come from? Humans. 
And how can the humans be sure they themselves,  or someone they care about, will not become mutants? Or maybe they just have the x-gene and will get targeted by the evil government agency anyway. 

I am glad Lorna and Reed are out of prison so we can move on to other things. I feel the show would move along better if they focused on fewer characters and plots per episode. With a big cast of characters and multiple sub-plots for many of them, it starts to feel repetitive to remind the audience  of each story line and move it slightly forward each week.  (It feels as if Dreamer has explained the dream-thing with Blink many, many times.) 

Blink could definitely take some time off. How many times can she repeat "it's not working!" whenever her magical get-away powers go on the fritz because of plot reasons.?  Lorna has similar issues. Her abilities are too powerful - so they will have to create a lot of reasons for her not to be able save the day easily.  Also, I'd like a break from Blink's slow moving love-triangle sub-plot. 

The actor who leads the Sentinel Services is good, but I hope his character does not show up in every single episode. Otherwise he becomes Wile E. Coyote and the mutants become Road Runner - and we have the repeated loop of chase, capture, escape. There was another show, Tomorrow People, that ran that concept into the ground. 
I'm hoping The Gifted can rise above most of the standard tropes. 

Edited October 24, 2017 by shrewd.buddha

[stealinghome]

51 minutes ago, SimoneS said:

BTW, I notice Reed being singled out, but Caitlin isn't any different in this regard. She didn't speak up and defend the mutant girl in the bowling alley either. Both Reed and Caitlin have always been about saving their family first and foremost. If their kids hadn't turned out to be mutants, they would be happily living their privileged lives, ignoring how unjustly the mutants were being treated.

I get what you're saying and agree that Caitlin was complicit in the general population's willingness to look the other way, but imo there is a difference between being a nurse who is willing to look the other way and a prosecutor who is actively hunting mutants even when you know deep down you're wrong for doing it (as seems to be the show's take on Reed). Yes, both are guilty, but there's degrees of guilt, and Reed was actively contributing to the government's persecution of mutants. He was part of the system. Caitlin may have been willfully ignorant about the system, but Reed was part of it even after observing--and feeling--its injustices. That does make him more culpable in my book--which is not to let Caitlin of the hook for her willful blindness.

Also, I think the show has just done more to make Caitlin sympathetic and make me buy her journey toward enlightenment more. Unlike Reed, who saw all the injustices in the system and still worked as part of it, they've made Caitlin out to be someone who was genuinely (if willfully) naive--she seems to have truly thought the mutant protection laws were working and only "Bad Mutants" were being hunted and yeah, there's always some anti-mutant racists who make parties uncomfortable and show up with shotguns in camo, and they suck, but in general the societal situation is fine! Great! The system is working for the protection of everybody! Really! (That was sarcasm, just to be clear.) If Reed had to learn some mix of empathy and the courage of his convictions over the first four episodes, what Caitlin had to learn was something more like the true, real, boots-on-the-ground situation. But once she understood the rose-colored glasses she'd been wearing, she pretty much went all in with the mutant side. IDK, the quickness with which he has come over to the mutant side has endeared her to me, because I don't think it's all just about Andy and Lauren. 1x02 was really nice for illustrating that. She's always had the empathy and courage, she just needed a reality check. A character who has the moral fiber to begin with is always more appealing than one who has to learn it.

I am interested to see where the show goes with Reed and Caitlin now that they're reunited. I think I said this in a previous episode thread, but I wonder if Reed is going to be like "my family needs out, you get us out now" and it will be Caitlin who insists they stay and fight. That would be true to the characters as they've been presented so far.

24 minutes ago, shrewd.buddha said:

But to be fair, there is a lot of hypocrisy going around.  All the young mutants most likely didn't give a damn about mutants until they became one.   I'm sure any of these mutants could have been the name-calling bad humans until they transformed and became outcasts.
...

I am glad Lorna and Reed are out of prison so we can move on to other things. I feel the show would move along better if they focused on fewer characters and plots per episode. With a big cast of characters and multiple sub-plots for many of them, it starts to feel repetitive to remind the audience  of each story line and move it slightly forward each week.  (It feels as if Dreamer has explained the dream-thing with Blink many, many times.) 

100% agreed on the second point. I understand why they've been trying to juggle the large ensemble, but they need to learn it's okay to let some characters fade into the background for an episode to feature others. Hopefully they will be able to do this now that Lorna and Reed have been rescued and the urgency isn't there every episode. Let the characters breathe, show!

For the first, I really hope the show explores Lauren's experience as a "closeted mutant" for 2-3 years pre-show more. I find her to be far more interesting than little Magneto In Training, and seeing her realize she's a mutant and not be able to tell anyone and learn how to control her powers without telling anyone is a compelling idea. Show us what it's like to live in the mutant closet and have to live every day with that huge secret even while your friends, even family, are bigoted. Plus, I think the actress is one of the better performers on the show, so let's give her a chance to spread her wings.

Edited October 24, 2017 by stealinghome

[Chris24601]

I can see the point on Reed not deserving much sympathy... but at the same time I think he could end up being a much more powerful advocate for the problems with the system having BEEN a part of it. He knows the mindset inside the system and if he can turn around then anyone could.

Let's also not forget Marcos' story... throwing your own kid out on the street because they're a mutant is not a rare occurrence in this world. This is a setting where basic human empathy towards one's own children is not a given if they turn out to be mutants.

Also, I think the story needs the multiple viewpoints... Caitlyn who's gone all in on helping the mutants, the Sentinel Services who see them as criminals just for existing and Reed, who cares about mutants to the degree it involves his own kids and is regretting what he's done, but somehow I doubt he regrets it enough to put his family second.

The thing that horrified me in the episode was that a big part of Reed's calculus was the mandatory 10 year sentencing for mutants. It doesn't matter that Lauren literally only used her power in the gym to keep herself and others from being squashed... she goes to prison for a decade just for being in proximity. It doesn't matter that Andy's powers (or the girl at the bowling alley) literally erupted outside of his own conscious control... they go away for a decade of hard time.

The people in charge are idiots. Powerful in the moment. But utter short-sighted idiots.

They've literally created a system that makes the best option for a mutant to hide their power rather than learn to control it so it won't hurt anyone AND if their hiding it slips, pushes them right into a life of crime and opposition to the people in charge. Either they learn to become hardened criminals by successfully evading the authorities and hitting back if they're about to be caught -or- they send teenagers into a decade long induction into the criminal lifestyle in a maximum security system where they're further abused and mistreated.

I have no problem in saying that, in the universe presented in The Gifted... Magneto was Right and the mutants would be 100% justified in overthrowing the government as currently constituted before the government decides ovens are the solution to the "mutant problem" (if it hasn't already and we haven't learned that yet).

Finally, Lauren and Andy have a bit of a Reverse Fenris going on... the characters they were based on only had destructive powers they could use when they were in contact with each other. Here Lauren can use her powers to focus and limit the destruction Andy causes. Kinda neat.

Edited October 24, 2017 by Chris24601

[CooperTV]

The time the show spent on the teleportation lady being fake-in love with Johnny and having weird sex dreams about him should have been spent on developing Johnny and his captured mutant friend's backstory. It's not CW, guys, I think we can handle an episode without fake romantic tension scenes. I thought the TL stuff and Marcos's drug dealer ex stuff just dragged. I don't want to watch this Marcos is changed. OR IS HE??? BS ever again. It's not like the show has 20+ episodes to make a filler nonsense such as this!

The Strukers and Lorna were the saving graces of the episode, particularly everything about Reed and Lorna in prison. So much good acting, great character work all around. The action scenes were also badass.

1 hour ago, Chris24601 said:

Let's also not forget Marcos' story... throwing your own kid out on the street because they're a mutant is not a rare occurrence in this world. This is a setting where basic human empathy towards one's own children is not a given if they turn out to be mutants.

It was his backstory in the earlier episode. In this episode apparently he was a part of a huge drug cartel and was supposed to marry the "king"'s daughter and become the king himself. The pure little angel Marcos was not.

Edited October 24, 2017 by CooperTV

[stealinghome]

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I thought the TL stuff and Marcos's drug dealer ex stuff just dragged. I don't want to watch this Marcos is changed. OR IS HE??? BS ever again. It's not like the show has 20+ episodes to make a filler nonsense such as this!

Plus, Marcos as a character just isn't interesting enough (and the actor isn't strong enough) to carry that kind of storyline off. Marcos works when he's bouncing off Proudstar/Dreamer, Caitlin, or Polaris. He's a solid second-tier main. But he gets exposed (eXposed?) when they try to make him something more.

[CooperTV]

6 minutes ago, stealinghome said:

Plus, Marcos as a character just isn't interesting enough (and the actor isn't strong enough) to carry that kind of storyline off.

He got his looks on his side (mostly by being a discount/younger version of Oscar Isaac), and yeah, he also has chemistry with Caitlin. None of the young actors all that good, but the guy who play Marcos and the Johnny guy are just underwear model-level bad.

[athelyna]

Yay, forward movement.  I was really afraid the rescue was going to end with Polaris and Reed still in custody, or they would have gotten out and 2 different characters would be captured.  Although if Dreamer got captured I wouldn't care, she seems useless and I hate her messing with someone's mind without permission.  Also, if you have no offensive powers, why wouldn't you carry a weapon? I had no idea how Dreamer being there was going to help get the others out of the prison bus.  

I'm not a Reed fan, but I am willing to see where his redemption arc goes.  I thought they laid out his mindset pretty clearly - he was a lawful neutral type, believing in law, the justice system and the government.  The mutants brought to him for prosecution had broken laws, and if they tried to give excuses why they didn't deserve to be locked up they were like any other criminal who claims they were innocent or that their actions were misinterpreted.  He does seem to have had some recognition that not all mutants are bad - if he was a truly evil anti-mutant bigot he would have the girl in the bowling alley arrested instead of just telling her dad to take her home.  Now that it's his kids he's opening up to the idea that maybe the laws are being applied to people who don't deserve it.  As far as we've seen his daughter has had powers for years and hadn't hurt anyone, and still hasn't hurt anyone.  His son accidentally caused destruction but only because he was being tortured by bullies.  Seeing the mutant underground up close will give him a chance to see how other mutants have been abused and mistreated, and now he'll realize the system is actually broken and needs to be reformed.

 I think the show does need to spend some time explaining exactly how the laws are set up and what other options were considered.  I assume the laws as written were supposed to be a middle ground between just letting super-powerful mutants run around hurting "normal" humans, and rounding up all mutants and jailing/killing them.  It's supposed to just be the mutants actively using their powers to commit crimes and hurt others that are arrested, and that's who Reed assumed was being brought to him to be prosecuted.  Lorna and the mutant underground know that really the Sentinel Services are willing to arrest anyone who's a mutant, even someone like the mom from last week who's power was just to take away pain, the opposite of hurting people.  I'm sure there are plenty of full on bigots willing to say some mutant looked at them funny and thus needs to be locked up.  But until they go into the full backstory of why the laws were written and what sort of debate existed at that time it's impossible to say for certain.

[HunterHunted]

10 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

Now, I do wonder where Lauren and Andy got their mutant gene from. I assume, if it wasn't one of their parents, then they had to have come from somebody else. I guess that'll be a dangling plot point until they want to deal with it. 

The mutant gene is recessive. Lauren and Andy got one copy from each parent. The chances that any child of Reed and Caitlin would be a mutant is 25%. Because it's recessive, the mutant gene can be passed down for generations without anyone knowing. Additionally if either Lauren and Andy have a kid with a person with a single copy of the mutant gene, then there is a 50/50 chance that the kid would be a mutant.

[tennisgurl]

Didn't Reeds mom say that his dad was living off the grid somewhere? Maybe he`s a mutant, and he and the mom never told Reed or the rest of the family. 

I know that Andy is a super angry kid who seems to be heading down the super villain path, but I am not so sure. This is all super tough for him, obviously, and he gets super angry at people treating him and his family badly, but he isn't one of the mutants whos been rejected by everyone around him (his human parents and even his extended family didn't shun him for being a mutant and are still trying to help him) and he still seems to be basically a good kid, so maybe theres hope for him. I think if he can learn to channel his powers through a less negative emotion, and learns to control them, he could be alright, and this could be the origin of a hero, albeit probably a darker hero. Maybe Lorna can become a role model or mentor or something? 

I find Reeds story to be really interesting. He was a guy who believed that the system was for the best, and when it actually hit him in the face how awful it actually is, he started to learn a lesson. He has a long way to go to redeem himself, but I think he is on the right path. Really, most corrupt institutions and governments probably have plenty of people who arent really evil or hate filled, but they continue to work for the corrupt evil system because they really think its for the best, because it doesn't affected them personally, or they dont want to rock the status quo. I find that to be an interesting character arc to follow. 

Edited October 25, 2017 by tennisgurl

[blackwing]

I like the action scenes and I liked that we got introduced to more mutants this episode (Invisible Guy, Pulse, Sage).  I love that this show isn't afraid to spend money and budget on powers and that alone makes this show 100 times better than the mess that is the Inhumans.  

I'd be perfectly happy if this show was all about Polaris.  My main complaint... too much angst.  Why must there be angst in every show?  I couldn't give a rat's ass about Blink and her false memory and the morality of Dreamer playing with other people's emotions and John threatening to tell and zzzzzzzzz.  I just DON'T CARE.   The whole time I was yelling at the TV that she put the memory in there, she could easily just delete it just the same way.  Easy peasy, just stop clutching pearls about it, Thundy!

I also don't care about Marcos and Carmen and oh the angst!  The angst!  He felt like he was betraying Lorna by talking to Carmen and OMG she's making him do things that he doesn't do anymore like threatening to torture zzzzzzzzz.  Don't care.  

I don't like Andy.  Mainly because 1) he looks like a goober, which doesn't jibe with the fact that his sister is hot and his parents are both good looking, and most of all 2) that face and that stupid thing he does with his hands when he uses his powers.  I get that he's new at using his powers, but still.  I don't think his power is exactly telekinesis.  Telekinesis is the ability to move things with the mind.  He can't move anything.  It's more just like he sends out a wave of destructive force.  The way he shook the building when he was in the locker room in the first episode, I thought he had some kind of seismic power like Rictor or Quake.

Why didn't they just have Lauren throw out a force field to stop the bus?  They already established that she can use her force field to divert a car or to push a bowling pin over.  In that sense she has some form of limited telekinesis as well.  Maybe Reed is a latent full blown telekinetic.

Why did Dreamer go into the fight?  Her power seems pretty useless in a battle, especially if Thundy is going to consistently lecture her about the ethics of wiping or adding to someone's memory.

[thuganomics85]

Hey, Carmen is played by Michelle Veintimilla a.k.a. Bridget/Firefly from Gotham!  Basically, this show really is on a quest to have a) all the Burn Notice cast show up here and b) all of the recurring Gotham actors pop in as well.  I can't wait for Nathan Darrow a.k.a. Freeze to show up!  Or James Frain as another baddie (like he would be anything else!)  Or better yet, there has to be some kind of mutant that Anthony Carrigan a.k.a. Victor Zsasz can play!

Surprised that they actually ended up saving Reed and Polaris.  Granted, it was still a major cock-up in a lot of ways, but hey, results!  I do hope other mutant dude survives that gunshot wound though.  Curious to see how this is going to change things.  While I do think Reed is sincere with his guilt, I actually think the Mutant Underground should still be more pissed at him compared to the rest of the family, since he had actually been a legit threat to them (as opposed Caitlin being more of a "turn the other way" kind of person, which is still bad, but not as openly hostile.)  And, again, there is always going to be the point that the only reason he is finally fighting is because his children ended up being mutants.  I'm not saying either one of them is irredeemable, but even now, they are far from noble.

I continue to love the interactions between Andy and Lauren.  The actors really sell the sibling relationship here.

Of course, Clarissa is totally having dreams about John, thanks to Dreamer's little spell.  This is going to end badly for someone, and I'm putting my money on the one who isn't a regular (sorry, Elena Satine!)

I was waiting for Jace to launch to just start cribbing from Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive, when he began barking out orders at the end.

So, I guess this stuff with the Pulse character is hinting that the Sentinel Service is actually mind-controlling mutants, somehow?

Despite its flaws, this is easily still my favorite new show so far, which granted might not be hard to do this season (oh, Inhumans!), but I'll take it for now.
 

[wayne67]

This episode makes me really curious as to what will happen next episode. Now that the captured loved ones have been freed, will the family continue to stay with the Underground, will Andy and his sister get some training from any of the older more experienced mutants ? Will Reed be reprimanded for his attempt to sell out the Mutant Underground for leniency for his family? 

I found the flashbacks and the cartel storyline kind of weak and annoying.

I liked that the mutants actually showed off a little of what they can do, even though I found it irritating that Strong Guy didn't bother to carry off Pulse in order to save him/take him out of the enemy's hand. 

It's probably bad that the only names on this show I remember is Dreamer, Polaris, Andy and Reed. 

[slf]

17 hours ago, shrewd.buddha said:

..But to be fair, there is a lot of hypocrisy going around.  All the young mutants most likely didn't give a damn about mutants until they became one.   I'm sure any of these mutants could have been the name-calling bad humans until they transformed and became outcasts.
And the human-hating by mutants is also flawed thinking - - because where do mutants come from? Humans.

Dreamer is being a hypocrite but none of the rest, as far as I remember. Hypocrisy is basically "do as I say, not as I do"; like that anti-abortion Republican politician whose mistress outed him for trying to get her to have an abortion. Your feelings evolving w/r/t something isn't hypocrisy- if it were everyone would be a hypocrite.

The mutants aren't engaged in 'human-hating'. It's perfectly reasonable to be angry toward the people persecuting you.

[TiffanyNichelle]

9 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

  And, again, there is always going to be the point that the only reason he is finally fighting is because his children ended up being mutants.  I'm not saying either one of them is irredeemable, but even now, they are far from noble.

This reminds me. I would like to see some baseline humans who aren't connected to mutants in any personal way ("my sister/cousin/bf/uncle is a mutant!") be a part of the Mutant Underground. Because it seems right now that they only reason anyone wants to help mutants is if they are personally effected by the hunt. There has to be someone out there who wants to help because they can see that the laws are just wrong. According to this show everyone is cool with the anti-mutant laws until it hits home.

[piequinn35]

15 hours ago, wayne67 said:

I liked that the mutants actually showed off a little of what they can do, even though I found it irritating that Strong Guy didn't bother to carry off Pulse in order to save him/take him out of the enemy's hand. 

Maybe because Pulse has a tracker in him, they don't want to risk revealing their location so they left him.

But Reed still have a tracker???

[Finis Terre]

20 hours ago, blackwing said:

I'd be perfectly happy if this show was all about Polaris.  

I wouldn't because even though I like her very much, her powers are not enough to make the show interesting. I'm very curious how they're going to develop that character. 

 

20 hours ago, blackwing said:

Why must there be angst in every show?  I couldn't give a rat's ass about Blink and her false memory and the morality of Dreamer playing with other people's emotions and John threatening to tell and zzzzzzzzz.

I don't mind angst at all, especially in a show about mutants, but I completely agree that the execution of that story line was mindnumbingly boring. LOL Honestly, the first part of this episode was terribly paced/directed. I couldn't wait for the cartel segment to end. I'm not feeling the chemistry between Blink and John either. Heck, there's more chemistry between John the mentor and Lauren, and Caitlin and Marcos are effortlessly BFFs. I also like the scenes in which the mom and the daughter, you know, discuss things and listen to each other and respect each other's arguments.   

I have high hopes for the next few episodes: I want those characters to be fleshed out, to truly interact with one another. I want Lorna to teach Andy a few lessons, and maybe get some medical advice from the nurse and start taking some iron supplements. :)

My guess is that the mutants will want to expel Reed. 

[RachelKM]

I'm glad Blink was working to suss out the what was real in her head and wasn't just assuming the memories were accurate.  But that story is making me like John less and less.  I can totally see wanting Dreamer to tell Blink herself.  But watching John watch Blink struggle with the things in her head, things he knows all about and why they're there.  If this is supposed to lead people to shipping Blink with John, er... no. That's just f'd up. 

Edited October 26, 2017 by RachelKM

[egc3]

I was liking them as a potential couple. I think they do have sweet chemistry, but not telling Blink about the mind altering is sucky. I think John does have some king of growing feelings for her. I'm just so glad they both have more going on than this f'ed-up not-romance. John is trying to lead very volatile people through a terrible situation AND he has angsy past with BFF AND he was a marine! Love it. Blink we don't know much about but there is a story for that portal to that road she keeps opening up. So I'm glad the writers have given them more.

[Impish Dragon]

8 hours ago, RachelKM said:

I'm glad Blink was working to suss out the what was real in her head and wasn't just assuming the memories were accurate.  But that story is making me like John less and less.  I can totally see wanting Dreamer to tell Blink herself.  But watching John watch Blink struggle with the things in her head, things he knows all about and why they're there.  If this is supposed to lead people to shipping Blink with John, er... no. That's just f'd up. 

I'm giving Johnny a bit of a pass for the moment.  He wants Dreamer to do the right thing and own up to what she did.  Also, there really was no good time to tell her that wouldn't have her distracted when she needed to be focused.  Distracted or over emotional could have gotten her or any of them injured or killed.  That being said, since it doesn't appear as though Dreamer is going to fess up anytime soon, if John doesn't come clean, especially before anything happens between them, then I'll be agreeing it's f'd up. 

[benteen]

Really enjoyed that episode and the last 20 minutes were excellent.  Offering up the pin in his leg was pretty hardcore.  I'm not a fan of the Blink storyline.  The stuff with Pulse reminds me of the stuff with Morph on X-Men The Animated Series.

[TV Anonymous]

Aarrghh... It is like watching Dumb and Dumberer To. 

1. Armed Keystone Kops got dropped twice. Once by a housewife, once by unarmed someone with no ability. Might as well go with G4S than those.
2. "We need to move the prisoners." First thing Keystone Kop does of course is to remove the dampening collar after his partner said, "It's fine, just take it off."
3. "It's all plastic, everything metal is outside." while sitting on a metal floor surrounded by metal walls in a metal bus with Keystone Kops armed with metal weapons nearby.
4. I like it when Caitlin goes, "I want you all to sacrifice your lives and limbs to rescue my husband, but don't you ever dare asking my children to lift their fingers to help safe their father!"

[TiffanyNichelle]

It wouldn't be an X-Men adaptation if it didn't have soap opera-y relationships that include memories being messed with in some way.

[Hanahope]

19 minutes ago, benteen said:

Offering up the pin in his leg was pretty hardcore.

Agreed.  but when your choice is some (hopefully brief) pain, or who knows how long in a secret prison, I'd choose the pain.

 

19 minutes ago, TV Anonymous said:

"It's all plastic, everything metal is outside." while sitting on a metal floor surrounded by metal walls in a metal bus with Keystone Kops armed with metal weapons nearby

I didn't see for sure, but it looked like they were in a plastic box inside the metal bus, and she couldn't penetrate the plastic.  Apparently skin, muscle, bone, is no barrier.

I do have to keep track as to which universe I'm in, between Gifted and Inhuman.

I'm glad the mutants are re-united.  Hopefully they will try and figure out more info about the relocation center that appears to be brainwashing or brainmushing mutants, get others out and reverse it.

[TV Anonymous]

4 minutes ago, Hanahope said:

I didn't see for sure, but it looked like they were in a plastic box inside the metal bus, and she couldn't penetrate the plastic.  Apparently skin, muscle, bone, is no barrier.

Look at the wall / bulkhead behind Lorna. You can see clearly rivets there, which are typically used for joining metal sheets. Well, and the fact that rivets are made of metal.

[Finis Terre]

20 hours ago, TV Anonymous said:

Aarrghh... It is like watching Dumb and Dumberer To. 

1. Armed Keystone Kops got dropped twice. Once by a housewife, once by unarmed someone with no ability. Might as well go with G4S than those.

This is absurd but then the premise of most superhero/mutant shows is absurd, but necessary to justify the drama. For example, if we accept the idea that Polaris can kill everyone all the time, there is no show.

 

Quote

"We need to move the prisoners." First thing Keystone Kop does of course is to remove the dampening collar after his partner said, "It's fine, just take it off."

They were sure that the mutants' powers were disabled for good.

Quote

"It's all plastic, everything metal is outside." while sitting on a metal floor surrounded by metal walls in a metal bus with Keystone Kops armed with metal weapons nearby.

Can't argue with this. LOL

Quote

I like it when Caitlin goes, "I want you all to sacrifice your lives and limbs to rescue my husband, but don't you ever dare asking my children to lift their fingers to help safe their father!"

No fair picking on the mom for doing what she should be doing, i.e. trying to protect her kids. Had she encouraged the team to use the kids as much as possible, people would have called her out on being a bad mom. Ultimately, she and the kids proved instrumental to the success of the mission. Team work! :)

[RachelKM]

5 hours ago, Finis Terre said:

No fair picking on the mom for doing what she should be doing, i.e. trying to protect her kids. Had she encouraged the team to use the kids as much as possible, people would have called her out on being a bad mom. Ultimately, she and the kids proved instrumental to the success of the mission. Team work! :)

I agree. Plus, she was 100% prepared to participate herself.  And it's not like TeamMutant was motivated by her requesting they help Reed; they were in it to save Polaris. 

[Finis Terre]

32 minutes ago, RachelKM said:

I agree. Plus, she was 100% prepared to participate herself.  And it's not like TeamMutant was motivated by her requesting they help Reed; they were in it to save Polaris. 

Good points. 

So far I like the show's characters because their choices may be messy, even irritating, but they're very much in character and are usually made under heavy pressure and for good reasons.  

Edited October 27, 2017 by Finis Terre

[stealinghome]

7 hours ago, RachelKM said:

I agree. Plus, she was 100% prepared to participate herself.  And it's not like TeamMutant was motivated by her requesting they help Reed; they were in it to save Polaris. 

Yeah, I have to say that I was impressed all the way around with the way the writers had the adult members of the team handle Andy and Lauren, insofar as all the adults were pretty united in wanting to keep Andy and Lauren as away from the action as possible. On another show, you just know that at least one of the adults--probably Marcos because he's most invested in the rescue--would've been like "I don't care how young they are, we are using their powers for all they are worth and throwing the kids right into the line of fire!!!" And he would've really gone toe-to-toe with Caitlin over it. Here, everyone acknowledged that Andy and Lauren's powers were necessary to stop the bus, but a) the other adults still deferred to Caitlin as to whether Andy and Lauren would be in on the raid and b) were clearly with Caitlin on the "Andy and Lauren do their part AND THEN GO and get the hell away from the fighting" plan. I really appreciated that all the adults were painted as decent, empathetic human beings in that regard. It makes me want to root for them, and also helps me invest in the mentorship stuff.