‘The Gifted 1×03: eXodus’ Review
When I watched the first episode of The Gifted, one of the things I worried about was the lack of focus on family. Now that we are into the third episode though, thankfully, family is where it is finding its strength. Most importantly it is what is giving the story the much-needed heart.
In an attempt to reunite with his family, Reed Strucker (Stephen Moyer) makes a deal with Sentinel Services. Meanwhile his wife Kate (Amy Acker) takes Lauren (Natalie Alyn Lind) and Andy (Percy Hynes White) away from the compound looking to her family for help.
This week the theme of family is the focus, not only the Strucker family, but also for other characters. When Reed makes a deal with the Sentinel Services he not only puts his own family in danger, but also other innocent families that put their trust in him.
It is in the scenes where we are introduced to mutant families in hiding that we finally see what makes Reed show his true heart. His actions are done for the good of his own family, but in being faced with the repercussions of his actions, he sacrifices his needs for the good of the people who need his help. It is something of a wakeup call to him and really defines the character that he’ll be from this point on.
The actions of Kate are predictable and something we see way too often in shows like The Gifted. The reason we see these actions so often though is that they are believable. In visiting family in an attempt to get help, she puts her children’s safety at risk, and also the people she looked to for help. It is all part of a learning process though, and one she seems to take notice of.
What we also see is that the group of mutants that are helping them are also a family. Whether it be Eclipse/Marcos (Sean Teale) and his fight to try to free Polaris/Lorna (Emma Dumont) or the relationship between Thunderbird/John (Blair Redford) and Dreamer (Elena Satine). We are constantly reminded that people will do anything to help the ones they love
The relationship between Thunderbird and Dreamer is particularly of interest because we see their past used to help Blink/Clarice (Jamie Chung) tap into her abilities again. The fact that Dreamer shared a past memory to make Blink fall in love with Thunderbird to build up an emotional connection is one that is going to come back to haunt them. What we are seeing though is the creation of a bond between the characters which helps the audience to empathise with them.
While The Gifted is somewhat of a slow burner when it comes to storytelling, we are seeing the revelation that Andy (and of course Lauren) are something special. When he shows his power, it is always explosive and violent, and we’ll no doubt see him grow even more stronger. With the interest from Dr. Campbell (Garret Dillahunt) we also know that the hunt for them is going to intensify.
To connect with the audience, The Gifted has to provide characters that the audience cares about, and that is exactly what it is doing. Now as more layers of story are being added, it will be interesting to see exactly where this first season is heading. In only a few episodes, it has already shown a lot of promise. Now for The Gifted to actually deliver on it.
****½ 4.5/5
The Gifted is shown in the UK on Fox TV on Sundays at 9pm.