S02.E01: eMergence

[Bort]

Quote

Reeva Payge purges the Inner Circle of those who disagree with her, leaving her completely in charge. Then, fast-forward six months, when the Mutant Underground saves a girl, but not her family, from a Sentinel raid. Against the group's wishes, Eclipse and Caitlin meet with a criminal hacker to get info on the Inner Circle. Meanwhile, Polaris prepares for the birth of her baby, her contractions magnetizing anything metal and wreaking havoc. She also makes Andy promise to save the baby, no matter what.

Airdate: Tuesday, September 25, 2018

[SimoneS]

Good season premiere. I have come to love Lorna and Marcos as a couple. I hope that they aren't apart too much longer. I also love Lorna and Andy's mentor/mentee relationship.

I knew that it was just a matter of time before Reed's powers came back.

So John and Blink are together. They are a cute couple. I cracked up when she put on the seatbelt.

I like the new evil mutant played by the actress who played Anika from Empire. She looks gorgeous. Her clothes and make up are perfection. At least, Lorna is smart enough to be suspicious of her. I still hate the triplets. The CGI just looks dumb.

Edited September 26, 2018 by SimoneS

[stealinghome]

I tuned in about halfway through this one, so my comments are mostly superficial.

1) The show clearly figured out that Caitlin+Marcos are the money couple--I don't mean romantically, just in the sense of "the characters that are most interesting when teamed up together." Also I think they figured out that making Amy Acker play a housewife is a massive waste, and double also that Caitlin's more interesting than Reed, who even with super secret mutant powers that are coming back bores me to tears.

2) Andy's makeover cracked.me.up. Which I'm pretty sure is not the reaction I'm supposed to be having.

3) Glad they got rid of the government bad guy from last season--the character was really dragging the show down.

4) The new Bad Mutant Leader gives off such a shady vibe.

5) I wasn't a fan of the Marcos actor last year, but props to him when he lost his shit at the end, because I felt for him.

Yeah, that's all I got.

[Guest]

I found the premiere kind of painfully dull.  I'm not sure that I really remember what parts of season 1 I enjoyed enough to keep watching and tune in to season 2; but whatever they were I don't think they were present here.

Something about the combination of characters that are interacting, maybe.

4 minutes ago, stealinghome said:

2) Andy's makeover cracked.me.up. Which I'm pretty sure is not the reaction I'm supposed to be having.

There was something going on with that group that seemed to be trying to hard to be ripped from the comics.  Maybe showing their mutant powers through hair dye.  And the Underground is trying to blend in.

Also, did I mishear or did they refer to the Struckers like they were some legendary family and that recruiting teenager Strucker was some kind of coup because he is awesome by virtue of his familial ties.  How much have I forgotten about season 1?

Also did I hear them called the von Struckers twice?  Have they always been von Struckers?

[JasmineFlower]

9 minutes ago, ParadoxLost said:

Also, did I mishear or did they refer to the Struckers like they were some legendary family and that recruiting teenager Strucker was some kind of coup because he is awesome by virtue of his familial ties.  How much have I forgotten about season 1?

Also did I hear them called the von Struckers twice?  Have they always been von Struckers?

A significant amount I'd say. Yes, their familial ties are very important. Their father's mutant powers are suppressed (but clearly re-emerging), the grandfather was also a mutant with significant powers. But it was his father, so Lauren and Andy's great grandfather and the great grandfather's sister that were the powerful mutant terrorist duo that joined forces and wreaked havoc that Lauren and Andy are feared to become exactly like and the reason the doctor was doing extensive testing on them to figure out why their powers were so immense when joined.

Von Strucker is the family name from Germany I believe, so that's the great grandfather's name and I would assume, the one used in the comics. The main characters on the show just use the last name Struckers.

[Guest]

@JasmineFlower  I remember all of that.  I still find the way they were talking about the family odd.

But then again they were saying it during a pastel blue board meeting which started me off from a place of being irritated with the show.

Edited September 26, 2018 by ParadoxLost

[tennisgurl]

You can tell when a character has gone over to the dark side by whether or not they're wearing a black jacket! Or have bleached blond hair and are a guy! Its in the Bad Guys Manuel under Dress Code. 

I liked the season premiere, and am especially glad the special agent guy wasn't around. I feel like he could come back as some kind of anti-mutant extremest type, but for now, we dont have to deal with his self riotous ass anymore. I think having the Hellfire Club vs The B men with some anti mutant assholes showing up from time to time works just fine for awhile. 

I hope that Marco and Lorna get back together soon. It seemed like Lorna really wanted her baby daddy there, and that was the issue, but I guess visions of world domination did the trick for now. I am enjoying her mentor relationship with Andy, even if its not under great circumstances. And I love that they made a plastic box for her to give birth in, just like the one they used to hold her possible dad!

Caitlin is a real badass when she wants to be! Just a minor flesh wound, dont panic Marco! I really like the two of them together, they have good, friendly chemistry. 

 Boo Boo Kitty isnt messing around! Dont trust her! 

[bow]

Who’s this new chick, and what is it with this show and colored lipstick?

Bleach-blonde hair Andy. It looks good.

Now Amy Acker is a full-fledged nurse? Did I miss something? Where did all the hospital staff come from?

Headache? I don’t think so. I called it last season. Reed’s powers are definitely coming back.

I bet they gave Coby Bell her own acting coach. She doesn’t seem so over the top anymore, almost cute.

The news took over my tv channel because of a tornado warning. I missed the whole middle until Amy Acker pulled a gun on the computer guy.

I knew Reed’s powers were returning.

That has to be the most dramatic birth scene on tv ever, but it was cool.

 

 

Ok, I went back and watched FOX NOW on my Apple TV. That was one crazy dream that I missed. Also, Amy Acker is a badass! I guess I should start calling her by her character’s name because she’s not such a flat character now. Go Caitlin!

Edit: I liked the premiere. I thought it should mention that. We went right back into the action, with a new plot line.

Edited September 26, 2018 by bow

[Proteus]

I loved the premiere. First scene with the Frost sisters and Reeva was bad ass.

Finally, AA is being given something to do. I hope she doesn't remain all about Andy, but I love seeing Caitlin out of the base and kicking butt.

Polaris looked really beautiful this episode.

[Katsullivan]

I'm glad the Baby survived. I wasn't sure - babies can derail a show and some showrunners will opt out of having one. 

Reeva and the Triplets all approaching Polaris menacingly "We are going to fix the problem..."  ---- just to give her happy daydreams of Mutant New Order was the kind of over-the-top drama that I like.

I loved the premiere. I thought Andy's hair was ridiculous and I liked it. I think he is supposed to be a bit ridiculous but that doesn't make him any less menacing. 

The show is doing a better job of balancing their ensemble cast, at least if this premiere is any indication. It's no longer The Struckers show. They've finally clued in that they're the least compelling aspect of the show, and designated them to supporting the more interesting people.

It sounds crazy but I'm rooting for Marcos and Lorna. And time healing all wounds, I'm cool with John and Clarice. At least it doesn't feel that they're making out over Sonya's still warm corpse any more. But seriously, that romance moved waay too fast. It would have made so much sense if they had got together in this premiere, 6 months after the events of last season than what seemed like days after his first girlfriend's death. OK, apparently I'm not as over it as I thought.

[Sakura12]

I wasn't sure if they were going to keep the baby. I suppose they can always say one of the other mutants is watching the baby. I thought the baby's name was going to be Aurora since thats what her and Marco's talked about. I guess Dawn can be her name and depending on her powers her mutant name can be Aurora. Or they cant use it since theres a comic book Aurora. 

I'm wondering how many mutants will want to join the inner circles side being that they are being hunted and have to keep hiding. That's not a life. The inner circle is not going to hide and attempt to make a world where they don't have to. 

Caitlin is still annoying, because yeah Andy left if his own free will. I can see the appeal for a 15 year old. Polaris doesn't treat him like a kid and he's accepted for what he is and can do. 

Why is Thunderbird trying to make Blink look normal. That will probably bite him later. 

Still don't care about the Struker family. 

[sjohnson]

I think the main points were 1) the Hellfire Club has been replaced 2) the Inner Circle is evil, evil, evil, evil because a) Polaris is crazy, b) Reeva Payge is a black militant c) Andy sexually assaults his own sister* 3) Eclipse ditched his wife for political disagreement and now he is going crazy because he wants to kidnap the baby 4) for no reason, Reed is developing superpowers that for no reason he doesn’t want, even though he was already slated to be experiment on. On the non-development side, Blink has of course latched onto the guy she hit on after his wife’s funeral, John is still ineffective, Lauren is still a blank, and Caitlin still talks like a soccer mom but always breaks bad when it comes to a showdown.

As to whether it's good? Well, using a six month gap to wish away the obstacles and make the Mutant Underground effective non-violence is indeed a cheap shot. No, you can't finesse it by saying the government thinks they're dead. In particular, the government does not think anyone involved in the attack in Charlotte was killed in Atlanta. So that was flagrantly stupid. The idea that working "shelters" is good intelligence gathering would be bonkers, if it weren't obvious it was merely supposed to exalt Lauren. Whether it's homeless shelters, or battered wives shelters, is irrelevant. It's like Colleen Wing working a community center, it's a nobility marker. Last and least, I don't find Andy's new hair style particularly attractive either, but then, the care Marcos lavishes on keeping his stubble exactly the right length to just not quite be a *beard* looks equally foolish to me. So what do I know?

*The blonde woman whose hair slo-mo blows in a wind from nowhere while lit in a golden haze is such a cliche for sexy that it’s been used as a visual joke. Thus when Andy clenches her hand and won’t let it go, visually it is rape. Rape adjacent at least. Given that Lauren magically knows what Andy looks like now, it is obvious this is supposed to be a true thing about the character. Lauren doesn’t seem to want Andy, but then, apparently Natalie Alyn Lind has been directed to keep facial expressions from distracting attention from her breasts.

Edited September 26, 2018 by sjohnson

[blackwing]

14 hours ago, bow said:

I bet they gave Coby Bell her own acting coach. She doesn’t seem so over the top anymore, almost cute.

Not sure who you are referring to... Coby Bell is a man, he plays the government agent Jace Turner.  I didn't see him in last night's episode, which is just as well, because I think he is a terrible actor.  If he's gone from the show I'd be happy.  If not, I hope he took acting lessons.  All he does on this show is get angry.  It's tiresome.

If you're referring to Jamie Chung, who I thought has always been a terrible actress in whatever she appears in, I do agree that she was slightly more acceptable but that's because I feel like they've toned down her character a ton.  She wasn't whiny and neurotic and accusing.  I still think she's a bad actress though.

And I still cannot stand Caitlin.  So sanctimonious and hysterical about everything.

I am loving the new character Reeva Payge and I like her sonic powers.  At first glance I thought that the actress who plays Teegan Price on "How to Get Away with Murder" was doing double duty, because the hair, the clothes, the look, and the attitude are very similar.

[BooBear]

22 hours ago, ParadoxLost said:

I found the premiere kind of painfully dull.  I'm not sure that I really remember what parts of season 1 I enjoyed enough to keep watching and tune in to season 2; but whatever they were I don't think they were present here.

I didn't like it. It seemed to follow the annoying pattern from last year where some of the characters are imprisoned missing etc. and the others have to find them. With the teams driving around the streets looking for them.

Lorna can't deliver because of a "mental block" - come on it doesn't work like that. It was beyond laughable the way seeing the DNA banners unfurl made her deliver her baby. 

Ok, stop with the slow mo sexy hair with the wonder twins. It is creeping me out. 

I ship Catlin and Marco. If this show had any brains and gall it would have Catlin and Marco have an affair. 

I would be interested in Reeds powers but it looks like the writers don't have a clue and are stalling. 

I suspect that Blink has contacts this year because the actress is getting sick of the contacts to make her look like blink. 

Sonic powers AGAIN? DC lives on this power. 

I hate the way the inner circle was so blatantly bad - shooting a whole bunch of people.  More complex baddies are generally better. 

[sjohnson]

on the one hand, Polaris ended the Hound program by assassinating Campbell...Justice done the only way it could be in my opinion. I'm actually skeptical that the necessary information plus all the surviving Hound program graduates wouldn't have been started up again without him (and Montez.) But both parties and the episode apparently resolve all the implausibilities with a six month closing of the eyes. But then, like the Frosts saving Blink and Lauren from Trask, resisting government officials is deplorable when it leads to the deaths of authority figures. (This is official, Lauren was as much or more upset about the guards' deaths, not Sonya's.) Thus this is evil, and Polaris is evil. 

on the other hand, Polaris gets misty eyed thinking about her man, and is willing to sacrifice herself in giving birth. This is a resounding affirmation of marriage (not legally, yes, but still) and motherhood. So this is good, and Polaris is good. It's true that Marcos ditched her for being evil, but suffering is redemptive. Is Polaris scheduled to return to the good side?

[Lantern7]

I didn't know this was back. I'm scrolling AV Club on Monday night, there's a review of the episode, I thought they were reviewing preview copies . . . and nope. I screwed up.

Nice to see the subtlety being paper thin. I mean, Polaris did blow up a plane, but it feels like The Gifted is keeping the lights on before Black Lightning comes back. Also: Andy's new look, and we get an incesty power-up nightmare.

Was that Paterson Joseph in the first scene? At least he's got the Timeless finale movie. Hellfire Club lady is impressive. Still liking the Cuckoos. Is it weird I find her/them hot? I mean, not obsessive about it. It's just how I feel.

Seriously . . . Andy. SAD.

Wait, is Clarice's new look for keeps? Dang, and I got this sketch of her a few months ago . . . and now it's outdated. Oh, and Jamie was as nice as I had expected. Normally, I wouldn't hit up folks at shows, but she's in that comic geek/reality geek sweet spot.

Wasn't there an "M" at the very end of last season? I did like the Cuckoo fantasy that Lorna got. Nice DNA flag design.

[thuganomics85]

Man, if Anika had those kind of powers on Empire, things would have gone down way differently for pretty much everyone on that show!

Andy's new look had me dying.  It is either a desperate attempt by him to make himself look "cool" or he's trying to make himself look more like Lauren, which is hilarious in its own way. 

Speaking of which, anytime Reed seemed to play devil's advocate about finding Andy, I just chose to believe that he wasn't trying to be realistic, but he just really didn't want to see his brat of a son again.  It would make him a horrible father, but I wouldn't blame him at this rate.

What's the over/under over them eventually killing two of the Frost sisters, so they don't have to keep wasting the budget on three of them?

Not a bad premiere, but it basically feels like this season will be The Gifted: Civil War and will eventually end with Lauren and Andy duking it out.  Maybe Marcos vs. Lorna too.

[Raja]

8 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

 

. Hellfire Club lady is impressive. Still liking the Cuckoos. Is it weird I find her/them hot? I mean, not obsessive about it. It's just how I feel.

.

While YMMV are there many female characters on TV who are not over the top hot.  Given their power set I guess we could be shown that they actually look like The man Trap alien from the original Star Trek  or are really another of the many blue mutants.

[sjohnson]

I'm getting a little shocked that so many people thought Andy's first season hairstyle was better. To my eyes the bleach job doesn't make him look so pallid. I thought first season was a lot like Jaime Murray on Dexter, except none of the other characters notice his Canadian tan. The dude matches Polaris pretty well, and I think she's getting chalked in makeup. I don't know if Natalie Alyn Lind is a natural blonde still, but her complexion is noticeably darker than Percy Hynes White or Amy Acker, to my eyes at least. Of course the best thing would have been short hair the actor had in the two movies released recently. If anything, the do in season one was a ridiculous attempt to make him look more juvenile, as unlike a lot of child actors, he's not particularly short.

The show hates Andy, so we're supposed to hate Andy. But I'm feeling a little resistant, because at this point the show has actually ended up endorsing those guys who were attacking Andy: They knew what a nasty little shit he really is, and did what any decent person would do. Like True Blood, the actual story contradicts the verbiage from characters (and producers/actors too.) Worse, that's an unpleasant attitude. Even if you tell yourself Andy=Carrie, Carrie is still a monster, whose death is the happy ending, especially as a scapegoat for our guilty displaced wishes to kill all those HS assholes. Aside from the one-note evil, Andy is not really characterized. Formally he's a major character. And even more he's formally lined up to be a major part of the Lauren story. But he's not really a major character. We have a fifteen year old runaway hanging with supervillains. Does his cover include school? Is he driving a hot new car? Is he drinking at adult parties? Does he smoke pot, or experiment with drugs? The first episode established he is unattractive to women, so does he rent? Basically he's a placeholder, a mere foil for Lauren, and doesn't really exist off screen. The thing is, having a black cardboard cutout opposite Lauren doesn't give the actress anything to work with. Reeva Paige supposedly wants powerful mutants to build a mutant homeland. Obviously since the Strucker mutations are dominant, she wants Andy to breed new soldiers, no? But no minor character is going to be so important to the long term plot.

The vision tells us he wants to rape his sister, which is pretty evil, but, forget for a moment whether it's really believable for what little we know about "Andy." Lauren is naturally terrified by Andy's sexual assault. That's why she screamed so loudly. It's not like the dream was about the temptation to be Fenris powerful. The real thing is, why didn't she talk to her parents?

Edited September 28, 2018 by sjohnson

[bow]

On 9/26/2018 at 2:19 PM, blackwing said:

Not sure who you are referring to... Coby Bell is a man, he plays the government agent Jace Turner.  I didn't see him in last night's episode, which is just as well, because I think he is a terrible actor.  If he's gone from the show I'd be happy.  If not, I hope he took acting lessons.  All he does on this show is get angry.  It's tiresome.

If you're referring to Jamie Chung, who I thought has always been a terrible actress in whatever she appears in, I do agree that she was slightly more acceptable but that's because I feel like they've toned down her character a ton.  She wasn't whiny and neurotic and accusing.  I still think she's a bad actress though.

And I still cannot stand Caitlin.  So sanctimonious and hysterical about everything.

I am loving the new character Reeva Payge and I like her sonic powers.  At first glance I thought that the actress who plays Teegan Price on "How to Get Away with Murder" was doing double duty, because the hair, the clothes, the look, and the attitude are very similar.

Yes, Jamie Chung. Sorry about that, copy and paste from a previous entry.

[CooperTV]

I gotta say, so far I'm finding Reed developing his mutation and the evil lady with awesome hairstyles to be the most compelling of the entire premiere. The bar is not high because this show is cheap and dull af but still.

[Jlina]

On 9/28/2018 at 11:21 AM, sjohnson said:

 

The vision tells us he wants to rape his sister, which is pretty evil,

Hmmmm...that's a lot of reading into/analysis of a not quite a character. But then, none of them are.  Maybe Polaris.

However, the second hand holding power merge seemed nowhere near as sexual as the first, and (Ozcam's razorish)....I think he wanted to channel her powers for evil and she didn't want to.  I sure as hell didn't see anything like rape going on.  In fact since her power is to repel and/or push I was surprised he didn't fly off the rooftop.  Bet it plays out differently in real life.

[joanne3482]

On 9/26/2018 at 7:23 PM, BooBear said:

Lorna can't deliver because of a "mental block" - come on it doesn't work like that.

Especially given that he also said she wasn't dilated.  So she's pushing but not dilated no wonder she can't give birth.  She gets a relaxing little image into her head and she magically dilates to the requisite level? They acted like a C-section wasn't even an option. (Maybe it wasn't. I feel like maybe the baby protected Lorna in an episode last season?) 

[sjohnson]

Do have to interject: C-section in an unfinished glass cage seems like not-an-option to me. But maybe I'm just a coward.

Edited October 3, 2018 by sjohnson

[sjohnson]

8 hours ago, Jlina said:

Hmmmm...that's a lot of reading into/analysis of a not quite a character. But then, none of them are.  Maybe Polaris.

However, the second hand holding power merge seemed nowhere near as sexual as the first, and (Ozcam's razorish)....I think he wanted to channel her powers for evil and she didn't want to.  I sure as hell didn't see anything like rape going on.  In fact since her power is to repel and/or push I was surprised he didn't fly off the rooftop.  Bet it plays out differently in real life.

Can't see this as right. Also, the first hand holding scene in the flashback is the precedent. For better or for worse, it's the show that has sexualized the Fenris visuals.

Most of all, as to this scene, a disagreement over politics doesn't make Lauren scream in terror when she wakes up. That was not, oh noes I'm tempted by the dark side! That was, my own brother EEEEEEEE!

Also, team red state is pure, while team blue state is eeeeevil. 

[Jlina]

7 hours ago, sjohnson said:

scene, a disagreement over politics doesn't make Lauren scream

I complete disagree.  Being able to break your own power free would certainly make me scream like that, as would joining the dark side. YMMV but no way is Fox going to even allude to rape much less incest  in a 7 pm kid centered show.  It does make me go ewwww, and I'm 60.  I still say a scream is just a scream.  

Reeds going to be the most powerful of ALL I'm betting.

[TimetoShine]

55 minutes ago, Jlina said:

Reeds going to be the most powerful of ALL I'm betting.

Probably. His powers were suppressed for so long so they're now going to be amplified.

Right now, I'm fast forwarding all things Reed.

[slf]

The dialogue is atrocious, truly. Especially Caitlin's.

Quote

On the non-development side, Blink has of course latched onto the guy she hit on after his wife’s funeral, John is still ineffective, Lauren is still a blank, and Caitlin still talks like a soccer mom but always breaks bad when it comes to a showdown.

@sjohnson I don't think John was ever married to Dreamer. They'd been involved and he broke it off claiming he didn't think they should be because they worked together then they hooked back up? IIRC.

Edited October 5, 2018 by slf

[sjohnson]

slf John and Sonya were effectively married. It's hard to get legally married when you have legal hazard walking into a courthouse. 

It's true that John officially claimed not to be with Sonya. The commanding officer is not supposed to sleep with his subordinates. Between dialogue saying they weren't a couple and what I saw on screen, I go with what I saw. (For this show that appears to be a minority viewpoint.) 

[jhlipton]

On 10/3/2018 at 6:58 AM, joanne3482 said:

They acted like a C-section wasn't even an option. (Maybe it wasn't. I feel like maybe the baby protected Lorna in an episode last season?) 

How exactly do you take a METAL scalpel into that room, much less cut Polaris with it???

[Shaynaa]

4 hours ago, jhlipton said:

How exactly do you take a METAL scalpel into that room, much less cut Polaris with it???

You get a scalpel that is made of some other material.  Like this