Fox’s The Gifted recap: The line between good and bad begins to blur

On the latest episode of Fox’s The Gifted, the Struckers face uncomfortable truths about themselves and the Inner Circle come closer to a victory. What dangers await the world if the Inner Circle succeed?

Atlanta, Georgia. 16 years ago. Kate Strucker (Amy Acker) and Reed Strucker (Stephen Moyer) receive a bad prognosis from their doctor – Kate’s pregnancy isn’t viable. She and the baby could both die. But Kate refuses to terminate the pregnancy. She believes their son will be strong and “amazing, just like our daughter”. She’s about to be in for a rude awakening in Fox’s The Gifted, currently streaming on Hulu.

Present day. The Struckers seem to have finally made up following Reed’s revelations about his powers and Lauren Strucker (Natalie Alyn Lind)’s admission of what her and her brother’s Fenris powers did in season one of The Gifted. Lauren tells her parents that she has been scared of the dreams she has been having of Andy (Percy Hynes White), but now thinks that they mean that she is supposed to be the one to bring Andy home.

After learning that the Stepford Cuckoos (Skyler Samuels) are after data cables under the Health Centre, Marcos (Sean Teale), suggests meeting with Wire, who helped the Mutant Underground get information about the Inner Circle earlier this season. Of course, he had also tried to kill Marcos and Kate, but Wire is their only lead now.

Before John Proudstar, aka Thunderbird (Blair Redford), Clarice, aka Blink (Jamie Chung) and Marcos head out to meet Wire, Reed speaks to John about his powers emerging. John suggests training but Reed is too impatient. He wants control now. John mentions that Reed’s emotional state could affect his powers. That’s all Reed needs to know even though John says pharmaceutically controlling one’s emotions is a bad idea.

Clarice isn’t happy with the plan to meet Wire. She has every right to worry. They get shot at – John more than the others. As indestructible as he is, three shotgun blasts to the chest still hurt. The shooter is Wire’s brother, Graph (Adam David Thompson). Wire has been murdered by the Cuckoos and Graph is terrified. He’s also high on the mutant drug, Kick. Marcos blasts Graph with his powers and takes him with them. They need a hacker.

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Jace Turner (Coby Bell) is researching marriage counselors – his wife is giving him the silent treatment since he ran off to DC to investigate mutant activity. He is interrupted by the kindly policeman he’d met in the previous episode of The Gifted. Officer Wilson (Tom O’Keefe) wants to talk to Jace about the “mutant situation”.

Turns out Graph has the same powers as his brother, and is just as reluctant to help. Marcos tries to threaten him into helping but Kate has a better idea. She has a drug that sends Graph into immediate withdrawal, a deeply unpleasant experience. To stave off the pain Graph helps the team and discovers that the Inner Circle is looking into a mental facility in Bethesda, Lynwood Hospital. And somebody has just shut down the communications inside the hospital.

John and Clarice know of places like Lynwood where they declare mutants criminally insane and lock them up. Marcos adds that Lorna Dane (Emma Dumont), aka Polaris had been in one of them as a teenager. It gave her nightmares for years. How will being in such a place affect Lorna?

Lauren joins John, Clarice, and Marcos to go to the hospital  — Andy will be there and this is her chance to get him back. In the meantime, Kate is finding more creative ways to get information about Andy — she gives Graph a pharmaceutical version of Kick, and then some more when he becomes uncooperative. She will do anything to find her son but how far will she go?

After a difficult conversation with his wife Paula (Frances Turner), Jace meets with Officer Wilson. He isn’t just sympathetic to Jace’s cause, he is a Purifier, tattoo and all. Wilson gives him the usual spiel — they’re not a hate group, they just want to save their species and their country. Jace wants nothing to do with the Purifiers, but Wilson leaves his number nonetheless.

At Lynwood, the Frosts, Lorna and Andy are wreaking havoc. When Clarice and John enter the facility, there’s blood everywhere. Reed and Kate direct them from back at their clinic. Lorna and Andy are headed down to the Maximum Security section in the basement. Clarice and John follow.

If Clarice was worried about Lorna being triggered, she needn’t have. Lorna looks fine, especially when she uses her powers to unlock the doors of the inmates in the basement, who immediately start killing each. Clarice and John are forced to rescue the inmates instead of going after Lorna and Andy.

Marcos and Lauren guard the perimeter. Whereas Marcos is ready for a fight, Lauren is certain that Andy will leave with her. “He is my brother. I can get through to him.” That is put to the test when the Inner Circle’s car comes their way. Lauren and Andy face off and, though they both acknowledge their shared dreams, Andy is extremely reluctant to go with his sister. They end up fighting and Andy knocks both Lauren and Marcos out.

Unsurprisingly, Graph overdoses and has a heart-attack from all the drugs Kate has given him. They manage to resuscitate him but Reed is appalled by the extremes Kate went to to get Andy back. As Reed points out, Andy looked perfectly happy to be with the Inner Circle. He has made his choice.

Meanwhile, on the news, the hospital staff are seen being forced to admit that they were treating the mutants in their care badly. The Inner Circle are making it look like a mutants’ rights issue but the Mutant Underground know better. The news is enough to send Jace into the arms of the Purifiers, though.

The Cuckoos, Lorna and Andy are driving back with the mutant they captured from the hospital. A figure covered completely in a blanket gets up from a gurney. All we glimpse is a pale face.

Hulu is streaming season two of Fox’s The Gifted from September 25, 2018. For more on The Gifted and everything Hulu related, follow us on the Hulu Watcher Twitter Page @HuluWatcherFS or on the Hulu Watcher Facebook Page.