Marvel/Fox's X-Men: The Gifted

I like that Dreamer has a power that is just absolutely terrifying, but they are not playing her as either an outright villain or as someone not using them at all, but far more utilitarian - She is not using them casually, but if it is important enough, she will scramble your brain like she is making an omelet. It makes her interesting.

I really, really like the writing on this show, it flows extremely well. One example is the first scene that we assume is set up to give John some trauma regarding rescue missions, but instead foreshadows them losing their powers at the worst possible moment. The screw was also mentioned in the pilot if memory serves, and only used right now.

I mean, it's not The Usual Suspects, it's not brilliant writing, but it is far more solid than what I'm used to in superhero shows, and even any show, period. Especially as some of the best SH series came from Netflix, and all of them suffer from rhythm issues due to their binge format, even the best ones.

Not to sound like a Broken Record, but the last time I watched a show flowing this efficiently was Person of Interest.

Yes, Bad Powers, Good People often likes to handwave the morality issues after a while, but it really does not look like it here.

edited 1st Nov '17 12:15:24 PM by Julep

Meh I don’t feel that bad for Jace. Sorry his daughter died, but he’s complicit in genocide and bringing potential harm to Polaris’s son or daughter by imprisioning her with people gunning for her.

So far I haven't seen any genocide. Mass imprisonment, yes, but not systematic extermination.

Well, we have the mass imprisonment, we have the evil medical experiments, and one of the main characters is Magneto's daughter, I think we are supposed to take the leap to the next stage of the regime's plan by ourselves.

The show continues to do neat interesting things with the mutant's powers, which I think is really cool.

Its a lot better than just having Eclipse blast stuff or having Lauren be limited to only using her fields as shields.

It was nice to see Andy finally get some attention. He'd pretty much been pushed to the side since the pilot, so it was good giving him some more to do. It's also great having Reed back and exploring their dynamic.

I was surprised that the blow back from Blink was to Thunderbird instead of Dreamer, but I guess it makes sense. Their conversation was painful in a way that was all too familiar, with him saying the exact wrong thing for the moment. Been there man!

I liked the pre-credits flashback scene, but I think this is the first one where it really didn't tie into the episode itself. I also feel like the directing wasn't quite as good as it often is for the show. There were a couple of times where the actors were giving a hollow performance that are usually a lot better, so I put that at the hands of the director.

In an odd way, this felt like a bit of a breather episode, which I think is really good to have. I'm far more interested in the characters than the plots. Give me more of Eclipse and Reed talking about fatherhood. Of Reed trying to essentially rewrite himself, his fears and prejudices as he starts to see more of what his son can do. Does every episode have to involve escaping Sentinel Services?

And Polaris is always so great.

Finally caught up on this. It really is very good.

The only question I have is whether or not Turner knows the full details of the Hound program. While he's currently in the middle of Jumping Off the Slippery Slope, he's been portrayed as a good man doing what he thinks is necessary. Slavery seems like it would be a step too far, and his conversation about Pulse seemed pretty innocent. "Well sorry some mutants refuse to join your terrorist cause, but he chose to work with us."

Another very solid episode. I definitely see some conflict between Jace and Campbell coming soon.

And the reveal about Reed's family is a really interesting development.

Given how many moving parts these episodes have, I can only imagine how much stuff doesn't make it from page to screen.

Something I really appreciated for the episode is that it didn't have some overblown climax like with last week. This was an episode that had a lot of smaller stories to tell and I think they were told well for the most part.

I still think it's a missed opportunity not delving into Dreamer more and the moral implications of her powers and how she uses them. I liked the Thunderbird / Blink plot the most. Their relationship is complicated by mutant powers, but also from keeping secrets which makes it still relatable. Probably next is the Jace story since there's so much neat stuff that can come out of it. It also gave a good look at the doctor, his unflinching determination. The Struckers were fine. Not bad, nothing special. Didn't care for the Eclipse plot, but hopefully something good comes out of it.

So I've concluded that the Struckers shouldn't be in this series. They are, by far, the weakest part of the show. Their family drama shit is bland and cheesy. That scene where the mom is telling the dad that Lauren needs him as a father? Holy shit, was that ever goddamn cheesy. That is the most generic TV Family Moment that can be done.

And the thing is, I would love to see more of the interpersonal relationships between the people in the Underground. I would love if Sage was constantly second-guessing Johnny. If Lorna and Dreamer went on a supply run. If we saw conflict among the refugees.

But nope, we need Generically Attractive White Girl crushing On Generically Attractive Boy, Generically.

This would be a stronger show without the Struckers. They drag the whole thing down, and it's such a shame, because there's so much potential, there's so much good stuff, but then we always have to cut away from it for standard TV family drama plots.

Meh, I disagree (and honestly its kind of offensive to describe Ramirez and Lind or their characters that way): not only do the Struckers kind of ground the rest of the show in slightly more relatable circumstances, but 'outsider who suddenly develops powers and has to join a world they don't fully understand but become important to and vice versa' is a staple of X-verse characters going all the way back to 1963.

Man, this show is so cool. Interestingly enough, Turner is the character that keeps me hooked the most. I'm really curious how far he is willing to go. Will he eventually pull back?

I see where you're coming from and I partly agree. I really like Reed and the potential he brings. A character that worked for the bad guy until it hit his own family. Now he's forced to confront his own prejudice to protect those he loves. There's an arc there. I don't dislike that we have Struckers, but I think having an entire family might have been a bit too much. I'd have gone one parent and one child. That way we've still got our point of view character, but the characters get more focus.

I really disliked Reed this episode. Getting on a kid's case about some shoplifting when the Mutant Underground has the generosity to allow him to stay despite the fact that he's responsible for the imprisonment of dozens or even hundreds of mutants, and indirectly responsible for the brainwashing of some of those?

What a self-righteous load of crap. There's probably no one in the whole Mutant Underground who's done anything near as bad as what he has.

edited 14th Nov '17 6:17:14 PM by Galadriel

Wow, interesting revelations regarding Reed's family this week.

I really like Skylar Samuels, who plays Esme. I imagine we'll see more of her. And I liked the mention of 'kick' as well.

So Reed's grandfather and his sister were Fenris. Reed was also born a mutant but was given a cure from his father.

Damn. The old man's got some juice.

Poor Pulse :/ And Chloe too off course. Roderick Campbell is SO a candidate for Complete Monster, I can tell.

edited 21st Nov '17 11:54:17 AM by Forenperser

When your role is pretty much "Sci-Fi Josef Mengele", it's par for the course to be a Complete Monster.

The little issue I have with this show is that it's moving a bit too fast at times, without leaving time to build up the tension. Even though I am not a fan of "Mole plots", it went in one episode from "we are going to plant moles in the Underground" to "the mutants know the plan and where the moles are".

I also think Esme is going to bit it pretty soon, because Telepathy is typically that power that is too complicated to work around, even if there are restrictions - also why they shot Pulse down, because it would have been hard to explain how the heroes could do anything with him around. Which is a shame as I like her, but with an expanding cast, you need dwindlings from time to time.

Still super solid. The mutants really are the coolest supers.

edited 23rd Nov '17 12:37:39 PM by Julep

They were less moles and more brainwashed "suicide bombers". Sentinel Services were pretty clear from the start that they were being used to attack the Mutant Underground, not stay undercover and gather intel.

All caught up. This is a fantastic show so far. The focus on mutant politics has never been stronger in any life action adaptation. It helps that there's more room to explore the concept with a serial tv show.

I like the entire Strucker family because I feel like each brings something to the table. With Reed, you have a mutant prosecutor turned mutant freedom fighter, and all the guilt and atonement that leads to. Caitlin is a much needed human ally to the mutants, someone without powers that can support the cause while seeing life from a new perspective. The kids Lauren and Andy are classic new mutants who are brought into the heroic mutant team to act as surrogates for the audience, before they develop into heroes themselves.

The Mutant underground isn't any short on cool and fun characters either. Thunderbird is a good leader with a firm grasp on his priorities. Polaris is an emotional treat with a realist take on the mutant situation. Eclipse was the most surprising member to me because of his connection to the cartel, and Dreamer is interesting because of the lines she's wiling to cross for personal goods.

Trask Industries and Sentinel Services have made for good antagonists as well. Jace Turner is a good foil to Reed in particular, and Roderick Campbell is a villain I can tell is gonna be fun to hate.

I've been loving this series so far! I like the fact that it focuses a lot on the characters and I also like the fact that the Strucker family are the main characters of this series and help the audience understand the severity of the mutant situation. I also like the relationships shared between the characters, especially the Strucker family themselves as it shows that they remain strong as a family no matter what obstacle is thrown at them!

That was a nice little flashback. Sweet to see Andy and Lauren get along without a trace of bickering every once in a while.

These past two episodes have really warmed me up to the Struckers. The visual for their connection was a cool effect and the family backstory and how they each dealt with it was nice.

I'm sure they're setting Esme up for something, but I can't tell whether it's to be morally gray, villainous, or what. Like I'd totally thought they were planning something more with Dreamer, but I was reading too far into that one. I half-way thought Esme might be herding everyone into a trap, but I guess at the very least her motives are pure. In any case, I'm totally on board for more Cuckoos.

We got the first mention of the Hellfire Club, so I wonder if a version of them will turn up at some point. As screwy as the X-men movie continuity is, it did get me wondering if at the very least First Class happened as presented for the show. I kind of doubt it since the show is pretty vague about details like that.