'The Gifted' Season 1, Episode 10 'eXploited' Fall Finale Recap: An Unreliable Telepath and More Bloodshed [SPOILERS]

Fans of “The Gifted,” are in for a long wait because the fall finale ended with a shocking turn of events. The tensions rise when everyone is at each other’s throats about last week’s suicide mission. Season 1, episode 10, titled “eXploited,” has Reed (Stephen Moyer) and Caitlin (Amy Acker) split from the Mutant Underground’s plans taking matters into their own hands because another attack will only lead to more blood on their hands. The Strucker Siblings (Natalie Alyn Lind and Percy Hynes-White), Blink (Jamie Chung), and Dreamer (Elena Satine) are trying to survive their capture, especially when Agent Jace Turner (Coby Bell) is sending them over to Dr. Roderick Campbell (Garret Dillahunt).

Esme dividing the Struckers and the Mutants

The new mutant, Esme (Skyler Samuels), is hard to read and quite a suspicious character. Esme acts as the catalyst to these rising tensions. She takes advantage of the fact the Mutant Underground and the Struckers cannot see eye to eye on a possible escape plan. Polaris (Emma Dumont) wants to attack Trask Industries while the Struckers wish to talk to a Justice official for compensation. But Thunderbird (Blair Redford) is not having any of their ideas. Despite both groups’ desire to save the people they love, their emotions are getting the better of them.

Esme uses her telepathic powers to gain the upper hand and trust of her fellow mutants. She eavesdrops on Reed and Caitlin to find out if there’s any memory she can use against them. The concerned parents are trying to figure out who can help them Esme walks in to plant an idea in their heads. After reading Reed’s mind, she discovers they know Sentinel Services agent Jace Turner. She tells them they can try to win over Jace about saving their children. But it won’t be much of an escape plan. Jace might get their children out of Trask but will put them directly in prison. Esme convinces Reed and Caitlin prison is a whole lot better than being tortured by drugs. The Struckers then escape the Mutant Underground without a word.
But for some reason, Esme—who planted the idea in their heads—snitches on them. She tells Thunderbird, Eclipse (Sean Teale), and Polaris about what she “read” from the Strucker’s minds. She informs them they will go to Jace for help, perhaps persuade a change of heart. Esme twists the story as if Reed and Caitlin came up with it themselves. She was able to convince everyone in the Mutant Underground the Struckers betrayed their trust. In the dark about Esme’s double-crossing, the Struckers have a gun in hand and ready to talk to Jace about alternate courses of action.

Dr. Cambell Gets the mutants he wants

Jace tries to get information about the location of the Mutant Underground again from the captured mutants, Blink and Dreamer. But the two girls refuse to talk. Frustrated, he hands them along with the Strucker siblings over to Campbell. The deal was for Jace to get the Strucker Siblings and the location of the Mutant Underground. But it does look like Jace is reluctant to give the Struckers. Jace’s blind cause clouds his moral judgment. Now in the hands of Trask, Lauren and Andy are forced by Campbell to use their powers and places them in an adamantium room strong enough to withstand their abilities. Lauren tells Campbell they refuse to do anything he says. Their hearts weren’t ready for what Campbell had to change their minds.

He brings along Blink and Dreamer as emotional extortion. Either Lauren and Andy show their powers or Campbell shoots one of their friends. Not knowing what to do, Dreamer tells them not to follow anything Campbell says, resulted in Cambell shooting Dreamer. Afraid they’d do the same to Blink, Lauren and Andy join hands. We see their combined powers in full force this time. The siblings aim their ability at the sensors, and their combined power reaches the equipment’s upper limits. The adamantium wall has warped. But everything left Blink angry. She feels like Dreamer died for nothing since Andy and Lauren followed Campbell.

The Fun is just starting on ‘The Gifted’

Reed and Caitlin have a sit down with Jace and his wife. Reed gets frustrated so Caitlin takes over. She puts away her gun and tries to appeal to them in a different matter away from politics.  Caitlin tells them about one of the mutants from Trask, Chloe. She tells them about the drugs Trask gives mutants torturing them to wanting more. The mental conditioning they are put through to kill their own loved ones. She tells them it’s a fate worse than death. They leave before the Turners can give the last say.
Jace was about to call Sentinel Services on them but his wife stops him. His wife is upset and questions what Jace was doing for their daughter’s name. Persuaded, Jace goes to Trask and takes the mutants back. Word reaches Thunderbird about Sentinel Services transporting prisoners. It’s their cue to push through with a plan. The Mutant Underground hatches a plan that involves Esme getting close enough to read a guard’s mind, but everything started to go haywire.

Esme comes up behind Eclipse and tasers him. She then uses her power to get one of the Sentinel Services officers to turn off the prisoner collars. She has the bus driver shoot the guards on the bus and then himself. She did the same to Jace’s right-hand man, shooting Jace in the shoulder and then shooting himself. With her mind, she orchestrated a massacre. In the middle of the chaos, two women—who look exactly like Esme—join her side. She was able to save the mutants, but whatever the Esme Triplets have in mind is yet to be revealed.
“The Gifted” returns Tuesday, January 1, 2018, with “quick fiX” at 9/8c on FOX.