The Gifted: Ranking season 2 episodes so far

THE GIFTED: L-R: Stephen Moyer, Amy Acker, Blair Redford, Jamie Chung, Natalie Alyn Lind and Sean Teale in the “eMergence” Season Two premiere episode of THE GIFTED airing Tuesday, Sept. 25 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. ©2018 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Eliza Morse/FOX.

5 – “eMergence” (2.01)

The second season picked up with a flashback taking place in DC immediately following the Atlanta airport mishap, as the Inner Circle permanently dispatched the Hellfire Club, with the main action taking place six months later. We’re introduced to the new dynamics of a stepsibling relationship between Andy and Lorna Dane/Polaris (Emma Dumont), the evilness of Reeva Payge (Grace Byers), and the dysfunction of what’s left of the Atlanta chapter of the Mutant Underground.

“eMergence” started the season off on a strong note, even though it did feature a lot of Strucker squabbling.

4 –  “afterMath” (2.05)

The fallout from the Bethesda mental hospital breakout in “outMatched” plays out, logically enough, in “afterMath.”

Turner reluctantly joins the Purifiers, who are impressed by his former cop mindset and Sentinel Services knowledge. Thunderbird tried to be a nurse and received encouragement from a fellow Marine, who was also kicked out for being a mutant, and Eclipse received encouragement from an optimist while leading a group of refugees into the Morlocks’ hideout in the sewers. Andy and Rebecca Hoover/Twist (Anjelica Bette Fellini) go on a date, and she agrees to join the IC team on their upcoming robbery.

I couldn’t help but compare Andy and Rebecca’s date in this episode with Lauren’s short-lived relationship with Wes last season; this felt like a natural progression of his character, unlike Lauren’s side plot last year, where it seemed a little as though the writers awkwardly saddled the teenage girl with a love interest because they weren’t sure what else to do with her.