One of our heroes might just be a supervillain.
This week’s episode of The Gifted rode on a theme of ‘doing stupid things for the ones you love’, as characters made decisions with long-lasting ramifications to protect their families, friends, and lovers. Beginning with a heart-touching scene in which Lorna/Polaris and Marcus/Eclipse fell in love and created an aurora borealis around themselves through the interaction of their abilities, the episode does a great job of showing us just how much the characters care for each other, and then, starting with Reed, just how far they can go to protect their love ones. Reed’s story continues from where it left off last episode, going into a deal with Sentinel Services officer Jace Turner to betray the entire mutant underground in exchange for his family’s safety. Although he reverses this decision later in the episode (something which earns him a place in an underground mutant detention centre), it’s clear just how much he would do. His wife Caitlin also makes her share of bad decisions, sneaking out of the Mutant Underground headquarters (with her wanted mutant kids, no less) to ask her brother for help. This, of course, also backfires, and it’s here we learn just how much of a mean streak Andy, mutant-named Destructor, actually has. First, he outright shows a deep desire to hurt every human in their way when the mutants discuss rescuing Reed. Then, he suggests to his own mother they rob a bank when they have no cash for a cab. And then, he goes ahead to rob two ticket posts, while she could only just watch. Talk about delinquent! If not for the timely intervention of Thunderbird and Eclipse, his uncle John's neighbors would definitely have been telling a different tale at the end of the episode. The question now is, how long will it take for Destructor to become a full-fledged mutant terrorist, and what will be the ultimate trigger? Because chances he doesn't right now are 1 to a 100.
The last stupid decision made was by Elena Satine's Dreamer, who implanted her memories of romance with Thunderbird into Clarice so she would be motivated to save him. Essentially, she gave up her love to another to save his life, and from the reactions of Thunderbird himself, this will not be the only consequence of that action.
The best part about The Gifted as a series is the real-ness of its story, and f the social consequences. Who is the villain here? Most likely, as we get to know more and more about the characters, that question will be harder and harder to answer.
Whose decisions excited or appalled you the most in this episode? Let’s know in the comments!
The Gifted continues on Fox next week Monday 23rd, October 2017, by 9pm ET/PT with 'eXit Strategy'.