‘The Gifted 1×09: outfoX’ Review
Now that we know about the origins of the Strucker family powers, The Gifted provides us with an interesting question. If Andy (Percy Hynes White) and Lauren (Natalie Alyn Lind) have the ability to wield hugely destructive power, should they use it?
With the Struckers dealing with the news about Andy and Lauren, the rest of the mutants look to Trask Industries. With Esme (Skyler Samuels) the new mutant with psychic powers apparently manipulating the situation, is she all she seems?
If there is one thing that the Mutant Underground has handled so far, it is not to overstretch themselves and get into trouble. This week though as time is running out, the need to act slowly worms its way into the group. The audience gets to see that Esme is doing a good job at pushing this too, raising the potential that she may be a mole in the group. Hopefully her story is much more interesting than that. We do see hints that her intentions aren’t bad at the end of the episode, but I’m sure we’ll learn more about her story soon.
The story of Andy and Lauren is turning into an interesting one, though at times I do find the reactions of parents Reed (Stephen Moyer) and Kate (Amy Acker) to be a little annoying. The fact is though they are looking out for their kids, and the end of the episode does show just why they were right to be worried.
The powers they possess are handled well in this episode, instead of just rushing straight in and showing just how dangerous they are, the brother and sister actually hold back. The fact they work in a mature way shows that even though Sentinel Services and Trask think they are dangerous and will do harm, these two are different than their ancestors and aren’t rushing to destroy buildings and take lives.
One problem this week is Jace (Coby Bell) and the actions he takes. With Dr. Campbell (Garret Dillahunt) out of action this week it is up to him to play the evil human who will take out the mutants at all costs. The strength of the episode though is with the mutants, and there is little to care about with Jace, even when he calls home there isn’t really any emotional impact. He is just another bad guy looking to take out all mutants.
The real strength of The Gifted is that there is an understanding that fans want to see plenty of action, but also have an emotional connection to the characters. In this episode the audience have that with Andy and Lauren as they wrestle with the fact they could be a real danger, not just to humans but their mutant friends too. Another unanswered question is, will Reed show some of his own powers to save his kids, or was his father successful in suppressing them? I for one hope we see him pushed to an emotional limit that causes them to come out.
****½ 4.5/5
The Gifted is shown in the UK on Fox TV on Sundays at 9pm.
