Title: The Gifted: “got your siX”
Network: FOX
Air Date: November 6, 2017
Genre: Science Fiction, Action, Thriller, Adventure
The Mutant Underground’s luck continued to shine down upon them in this week’s episode of The Gifted as Eclipse, Reed, and Andy underwent a mission to Baton Rouge, LA to uncover some essential information for their fight against the Sentinal Services. Meanwhile, at HQ, Kate and Polaris argued over the kid’s roles in the waging war between mutant and human. The question of how much the kids should do to fight for the mutants was the most important one asked in “got your siX”, and it helped push the episode above its predecessors.
I enjoyed the consistent tone of the episode. It presented you with an inside look at the importance of good judgment, especially that of a teenage mutant. Polaris wanted to get the kids ready for war by beginning training, but Kate disagreed with her. The teens needed to be ready to fight, Polaris argued, but Kate maintained that war was no place for children. But, later in the episode, you saw that the only thing holding these angsty teens from making a huge impact in the mutants’ fight with the Sentinal Services was the fact that they could potentially make bad decisions. That was the real lesson for them in this episode of The Gifted: when to fight and how to fight. It was a theme maintained smoothly throughout the entirety of the episode.
There were some interesting developments in “got your siX”. Jace Turner completely lost it after Dreamer messed with his head in last week’s episode, to the point where protocols didn’t matter anymore. You got to see more into Thunderbird’s past, and how his temper may be a problem to look out for in the future. Reed and Andy’s rocky relationship was strengthened on the trip to Baton Rouge, as Andy learned what it meant to be responsible with his powers. Reed was reminded of his past with the Sentinal Services. Lauren met one of the new refugees, an illusionist she came to like. Blink ran away after confronting Thunderbird about Dreamer’s meddling in her head. And Eclipse received a call from the Cartel. All of these developments were important for the show and its future. I liked Reed’s especially, because it did well to humanize the Sentinal Services in a way (if Jace’s story hasn’t already for some of you).
There was only one problem for me in this episode: the conflict at the end of the episode with the Sentinal Services. Every episode at this point in the series has ended with some sort of conflict with the Sentinal Services with no real repercussions for the Underground, which has made it feel redundant. I can go into an episode expecting the Sentinal Services to intercept the Underground’s plans, but the mutants still find a way to escape with nothing happening. Even with Blink gone, they barely had trouble escaping in this week’s episode. I like the action and the thrilling nature of these sequences, but they haven’t changed much over the course of the six episodes.
Yet, I understand that the Mutant Underground is at war with the Sentinal Services, so these encounters are going to happen. There’s a reason behind each move the Underground makes, but it all feels like redundant conflict. Kids from a distance using their powers on trucks. That kind of thing. Either way, these interactions between the two groups are a necessary aspect of the show because they have pushed the characters and the plot forward. For example, they showed that the Underground is a cohesive group, enough so that they were able to formulate a plan instantaneously to help save Reed and friends from the Sentinal Services. I just wish that there’d be bigger consequences for the Underground making these risky moves against their powerful enemy. After six episodes of The Gifted, though, they don’t appear to be so powerful at all.
Verdict: The consistent tone set up in “got your siX” provided viewers with an appropriately placed theme to think about in regards to The Gifted universe while doing well to develop characters, relationships, and situations further. Although these aspects were done effectively this week, the redundant nature of how the conflicts between the Mutant Underground and the Sentinal Services turn out is showing me that there have been no real consequences for the risky moves the mutants have made against their enemies. The Sentinal Services appear to be a lot less powerful than originally let on.
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