THE GIFTED “eXtreme measures” Review

THE GIFTED: L-R: Blair Redford and Emma Dumont in “eXtreme measures”
Co. Cr: Eliza Morse/FOX

THE GIFTED “EXTREME MEASURES” REVIEW

BY EMMA CROW

Last week I said that episode 6 was all about shifting from the last major plot point (episode 4’s battle) to the next big plot point. I’m still waiting for that next big plot point. This week’s installment has many different little storylines highlighting individual character struggles, but no real buildup for any kind of large confrontation or ensemble cast team up, which I found disappointing. 

The episode begins with a flashback (this show LOVES beginning episodes with flashbacks) from 3 years ago in which John/Thunderbird and Polaris/Lorna attempt to recruit Eclipse/Marcos to the Mutant Underground. The scene depicts Marcos’ growth and potential to backslide now that Carmen has returned to his life. Back in the present, Marcos begrudgingly agrees to fulfill the promise he made and avail his mutant services to Carmen’s drug cartel.

Then there is a Mutant Underground team meeting in which Eclipse volunteers to “go get supplies,” but we know what he’s really up to. John says he is leaving to go get Clarice/Blink (!!!) which is a plan that Dreamer/Sonia is, predictably, not into. John claims that because Clarice knows the location of the Mutant Underground, she’s a liability if she gets caught by Sentinel Services. Yeah, OK, buddy. Reed Strucker and mutant computer girl attempt to decrypt the Sentinel Services files they stole in Baton Rouge last episode. This meeting basically introduces all of the episode’s plot points in one neat bundle: John and Blink solo adventure, Eclipse’s solo adventure, and Strucker family drama.

That Strucker family drama begins with a romantic moment between Lauren and Wes, who we met last episode. They almost kiss, but, alas, little brother Andy interrupts. While decrypting files, Reed Strucker discovers a criminal file of a boy who looks a lot like Wes (there is only a rough sketch). Reed goes into full papa bear mode and is ready to fight this Wes kid, but Caitlin Strucker is like, you need to chill out. So they attempt to calmly confront Lauren which goes about as well as you’d expect. She doesn’t want to believe that her new loverboy lied, but when she confronts him, he confesses that in order to survive, he fell in with some bad kids and used his powers to help them commit crimes. Lauren feels betrayed.

Meanwhile, John finds Clarice, who is high key struggling (but my girl would never admit it and that is why I love her). She delivers a lot of sass to John (which he deserves), but eventually she begrudgingly allows him to help her find the road that she kept portaling to during her seizures in an earlier episode. She doesn’t remember the road’s significance exactly, but knows that it must be important. John suggests that the seizure portals were a defense mechanism trying to bring her to a place where she felt safe and loved. This idea brings them to a foster home for mutants where Clarice lived for a time during her adolescence. Unfortunately, Sentinel Services beat them there. The home is now a crime scene and the former inhabitants are dead. John and Clarice share a tender moment as Clarice cries and John comforts her with a big manly hug. The romantic tension is strong even in the midst of tragedy. The tragedy sparks a renewed sense of purpose in Clarice and she agrees to go back to the Underground in order to get revenge on Sentinel Services.

During the John/Clarice venture, Marcos goes with Carmen and cartel to use his abilities to burn a rival Russian gang’s drug shipment. While he’s gone, Polaris realizes he lied about his whereabouts after she calls to check on him. She figures out pretty quickly who he is with and enlists Sonia to go confront Marcos at the drug cartel headquarters. They make quick work of the guards and discover Marcos and Carmen’s location. They arrive in time to see Carmen kiss Marcos’ cheek as a fire rages behind him. Polaris, no longer concerned for his safety, leaves with Sonia.

When Marcos does make it back to the Underground, he has no idea that Polaris knows and continues with his lie until she enlightens him. He tries to explain that he did it for her and the baby, but Polaris isn’t buying it.

Reed has a little chat with Wes and is really nice and understanding. I thought that this whole thing was going to force Reed to deal with his past sins, and apologize to his daughter for scaring her into hiding her gifts, but instead this storyline is just another chance to show Reed as a good guy. He tells Wes that he won’t rat him out as a criminal to the underground; the decision to tell them or not is up to him. Later, Wes interrupts a Strucker family dinner to announce that he confessed his sins to the Underground hierarchy and was forgiven, but he is still leaving on a mission with some others. Lauren is sad, but she manages to finally make out with him before he leaves, so it’s all good.

During all of this, Agent Turner and his crazy doctor pal are up to shenanigans, like fighting a woman from the DOJ, but they are able to continue with their anti-mutant crusade for now.

The episode ends with the mutants discovering that the mutant experimentation is not government funded, but funded by a private military contract; the bigger twist is that apparently Reed’s father worked at the private company for 35 years. So next week’s promo is focused on Reed visiting his father who warns that the Strucker children are a danger to society. I’m frankly not thrilled for a Strucker focused episode, but I’m very into the Eclipse/Polaris angst and the Blink/John slow burn, so I’ll see y’all next week!