Crackerjack action, big questions, and bad dialogue power a brisk episode of The Gifted
One story prompt that has yet to be fully explored in the
X-Men movies (and must have come up in the comics, but I’m not nearly as
well-versed there) is the question of dedication to the cause as related to
mutant abilities. That is, if these characters were suddenly denied their
mutant powers, how willing would they be to charge into battle? X-Men: The Last
Stand attempted a storyline about a “cure” for the mutant gene, clumsily
adapting a better story from Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men run (I did read
that one; I just didn’t last once Whedon and John Cassaday left and the action moved into space). The Wolverine explores a relatively de-powered version of its
character – and so does Logan, for that matter, with the latter coming close to
posing the question of whether an established fighter has it in him to keep
going after his superhuman specialness starts to diminish. But for the most
part, depowering the mutants is more of a story device than a question unto
itself.
The Gifted doesn’t exactly turn that device into a
full-fledged hour of wartime philosophy. This is still a poppy Fox show about
mutants doing cool shit, after all, and the late-in-episode addition of a
mutant show can function as a sort of human power-dampener is very much a
complication to the vaguely heist-y plot of “eXit Strategy.” But it does prompt
the question pretty directly: How willing is the Mutant Underground to keep on
fighting even when they can’t shoot lasers or weird plasticky things, or create
portals, or use their awesome tracking skills?
The occasion for this heist gone semi-wrong is more prisoner
transport. Reed Strucker and Polaris are both about to be transferred to
another secret/isolated facility (I know where they are now probably
technically isn’t secret, but when they’re moved from mostly-isolated cell to
mostly-isolated cell, it’s hard for that difference to really land). The Mutant
Underground (especially Eclipse) wants desperately to rescue Polaris before
that happens; the Strucker family wants desperately to rescue Reed before,
yeah, ditto. And Reed, unsure if help is on the way, is trying to make nice
with Polaris, especially if they’re both on their way to a terribly new prison (and
double-especially since they were semi-inexplicably placed in adjacent cells
where they have plenty of time/space to talk) (maybe this will turn out to be
an J. Lo-at-the-end-of-Out Of Sight-style subversion but I kinda doubt it)
Reed’s attempt at forming an alliance retreads some material
from earlier in the series, but the chilly reception Polaris has for him better-positions
him as a frustrating white dude than almost anything else so far: Like a lot of
well-meaning but essentially self-centered guys faced with social crisis, Reed
wants a fair amount of handholding and help just for figuring out, as Polaris
puts it, that he was one of the bad guys at one point. At the same time,
Stephen Moyer’s relative stoicism in these scenes is about as he’s good on this
show so far, and Emma Dumont remains one of the most immediately interesting
performers in the ensemble. In this episode, she has a little moment of
hesitation amidst her no-bullshit insistence that Jace call her by her
superhero name that drives home the fear beneath her bravado better than most
dialogue could.
Which is a relief, because goddamn, The Gifted is doing
itself no favors in the dialogue department. I could do a whole other Stray
Observations of bad lines; suffice to say that the show’s quip machine still
needs fine-tuning. Polaris sarcastically asking “what is it, my birthday?” upon
learning she’s a de facto cell-mate of Reed is about on par with “what do you
want, a cookie?” in the clumsy, overused sarcastic phrases hall of fame. Later
in the show, wouldn’t it be better to rely on Dumont’s performance to convey her
realization about the return of her powers, rather than just have her say “I
can feel my powers… they’re back.” I know this is a network TV show based on a
comic book, but good lord. Let your actors act.
There’s better news in Eclipse’s subplot, which is very much
in keeping with the logistical challenge in the show’s final 15 minutes – and
if I’m going to play the “well, it’s just a network TV show” card, I ought to
give credit where it’s due: that heist/hijack sequence at the end is pretty
crackerjack stuff. I really appreciate The Gifted’s knack for creating action
sequences that consistently exceed my expectations in terms of excitement,
special effects craft, and lack of shameless cliffhanging. I thought for sure
the episode would end either before we get to the proverbial fireworks factory,
or mid-scene to extend the action into next week. But no, “eXit Strategy”
delivers what it promises, and the action is well-directed by TV vet Karen
Gaviola.
Before we get there, Eclipse has to find out where and when
exactly to intercept the convoy (it’s always a convoy to it, isn’t it?), which
means going to his ex-girlfriend Carmen (Michelle Veintimilla), now running the
drug cartel that she used to wish her father would give up. This material has
plenty of spoken clichés, too, but Veintimilla gives a fun enough performance
that I hope we see more of her; the way she pronounces the “stupid” in the
phrase “stupid in love with them” elevates the line rather than laying its
weaknesses bare. Also: I’m not sure if I’ve ever heard a movie club owner, even
one who uses her club to launder money, make reference to not liking the music
they have to play – an odd but nice touch. It’s revealed that Eclipse used to
work as muscle for this cartel, and is willing to briefly resume that gig if it
means saving Polaris – another seedy corner of the mutant life we haven’t seen
before.
It’s Eclipse who really insists on fighting on, even after
the mutant Pulse (seen in the nicely brief cold open, appearing to get killed
while busting some mutants out of a “relocation” facility) saps everyone’s
powers. He’s willing to draw fire to help Shatter (Jermaine Rivers) and doesn’t
want to run without Polaris when the mission goes haywire. Of course, everyone’s
powers come back when Pulse gets knocked out of the picture. But they’re out
long enough for Eclipse’s intense dedication to register. The dude is clearly
ready for a fight, and I have a feeling that won’t go away just because he’s
been reunited with Polaris. I wouldn’t go so far as to call The Gifted a vital piece of art about the mechanics of a resistance/uprising, but it’s been weaving individual character dilemmas into its action with a lot of deftness, even when it sounds like crap.
Stray observations:
- Decent Strucker Kids business this week, even though I didn’t
mention it in the review: both realizing their powers can complement each
other, and seeing Lauren goad Andy into action by bullying him. Truly, that is
a power siblings are uniquely prepared to utilize. - “Really? You’re going to use my own words against me?” Oh,
man, Amy Acker, I am sorry you have to deal with some of these lines. - One more bad line: “This isn’t corn muffins.” I admit that
out of context, that sounds like it could be funny; too bad Natalie Alyn Lind
has to say it with utmost gravity. - When the Mutant Underground asks for a show of hands regarding who’s “in” for a
Sentinel Services attack/breakout, they make a big deal of only a few people
(read: only the main characters) joining the fight. But they’re mostly just
asking to see if Blink will help them, right? I mean, I know X-Men and
pseudo-X-Men are all about teamwork but Blink’s portal-making seems like the
lynchpin of almost any Mutant Underground operation. It’s basically the
Animated Batman’s grappling hook of this show. - Now imagine if Robin and Batgirl played some dangerous
mindgames with Batman’s grappling hook. That’s what’s going on with poor Blink
right now. (Sorry, Blink, I don’t mean to dehumanize you. Your power is the
coolest. And for that matter, Jamie Chung seems to have the best handle on
giving her lines an offhand reading that doesn’t overemphasize the drama,
intensity, sarcasm, etc.) - Do you think Sage’s probability powers (a.) get
super-insufferable and (b.) ever lead to any of the other mutants checking her
math? - Pulse! Sacrificed early on for gravitas, only to be revived
later on, seemingly different than his original self! He’s sort of the Morph of
this show, huh?