The Gifted season 2, episode 10 review: eneMy of My eneMy

The Gifted returned from winter break with another strong episode.

When Fox’s ensemble action drama The Gifted started its winter break about three weeks ago, “gaMe changer” shuffled the deck pretty thoroughly. This was the key takeaway from “eneMy of My eneMy,” which leads off the second half of the sophomore season.

Jace Turner (Coby Bell) and his group of Purifiers captured John Proudstar/Thunderbird (Blair Redford), who was growing increasingly reckless in his desperation to do something to feel useful.

In Inner Circle news, a mission led by Lorna Dane/Polaris (Emma Dumont) and Andy Strucker (Percy Hynes White) successfully deactivated the shock collars on imprisoned mutants nationwide, leading to mass jailbreaks across the country.

After he broke his girlfriend Rebecca Hoover/Twist (Anjelica Bette Fellini) out of Reeva Payge’s (Grace Byers) holding cell, Andy tried to stop Twist from killing the rest of the IC crew in revenge, accidentally killing her in the process.

Meanwhile, his parents and sister were in Charlotte, where they sort of brought about the destruction of a fancy lab run by an old family friend. Reed’s (Stephen Moyer) condition wasn’t cured completely, due to Lauren’s (Natalie Alyn Lind) refusal to take part in anything that might permanently deactivate mutants without their consent.

Just like the old days

The main narrative of this episode was a raid attempt on a Purifer compound to rescue Thunderbird. The primacy of this mission made it the thrust of the entire episode, so that there were barely two other threads.

Following much discussion with the rest of the Underground, and not feeling too thrilled about the prospect, Marcos Diaz/Eclipse (Sean Teale) decides to ask Lorna if she can help somehow. She’s inclined to turn him down, fearing Reeva’s wrath and given the raw feelings still exposed by hiding their daughter in Missouri.

But Andy convinces her that they ought to help their old teammates, and so they show up at the apartment to map out the strategy.

Outnumbered as always but with seamless teamwork, it’s a lot like old times before everything happened at the airport – if only it would be easier for everyone to stop thinking about how weird the reunion is.

Family reunion

Speaking of reunion, the Struckers finally got Andy back for a bit. They trade explication about the major happenings in each other’s lives, and Reed and Caitlin (Amy Acker) are convinced that he’ll return for good, though they marvel at his new driving skills (and new hair).

Lauren’s standoffish and distrustful, which is understandable, given her parents’ gushing over her brother’s return.  She can feel that he’s “hurt and sad inside, lost,” as she tells Caitlin before his return following another shared dream.

Eclipse’s reunion with Polaris was strained and awkward, Blink having to snap at them to pretend to tolerate one another on the mission to rescue Thunderbird.

The flashback opening scene was the three Underground leaders shooting pool in an Atlanta bar three years ago, just as Lorna and Marcos were starting to date. This added yet another layer to the family reunion dynamic, as they were all three working towards the same end once again.

Exes…can be complicated

Once they were paired up on the rescue mission, Eclaris found they never skipped a beat when it comes to saving their friends. Though they still professed to hate one another, this still happened…also, he admired the hairband she made in “the dreaM.”

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Andy and Lauren have a long talk, considering the gravity of the topic and the setting, about the Inner Circle’s mission and Rebecca’s part in it, as she figures out that’s where a large part of her brother’s “lostness” is coming from, though he still won’t or can’t talk about how Twist died.

Where things currently stand

During the interrogation sessions Turner and Thunderbird caught each other up on what they’ve had to sacrifice over the years, information the audience already knew. Turner repeatedly blasted his charge with a shotgun, though the raid was successful.

Several Purifiers were killed, and many more injured, while Lauren was shot while escaping. Andy then went very dark and gruesomely snapped both the guy’s legs in retaliation, leaving his parents horrified.

Lorna finally decided to leave the Inner Circle, rejoining the Underground. Clarice Fong/Blink (Jamie Chung) is taking care of the severely wounded Thunderbird.

Caitlin pulled out a secret pistol from the dresser, intent on eliminating Reeva and her group, as she sees it as the only way to get Andy back.

Thinking over Andy’s arguments, Lauren practices destroying stuff in a junkyard at the same time he’s training in the gym, their movements nearly perfectly in sync.

Mutant miscellany

• Before he was expelled from the military due to his X-gene, Thunderbird was part of something called the “Marine Mutant Corps.”
• “Is this roof taken, or should I find somewhere else to be anxious and miserable?” Blink asks Lauren.
• Reeva and the Frosts (Skyler Samuels) didn’t appear in this episode, though offscreen Lorna talked Sage (Hayley Lovitt) to help her find out the Purifiers’ whereabouts.
• The Purifier with the mustache was Ted, apparently – he died when a wall fell on him. Kyle is a different person, and the one whose legs were snapped.
• Thunderbird’s ability to stay calm and reasonable even when tortured is very impressive. Also, forcing anyone to listen to screamo/heavy metal, especially at high levels, is entirely diabolical.

The Gifted will return next week with episode 11, titled “meMento,” airing on Tuesday, Jan. 8 at 9 p.m. ET on Fox. From the trailer that aired over the credits, Polaris joins Reed, Caitlin and Blink as they plan to wage war against the Inner Circle, while Lauren’s powers go Strucker-crazy.