The Gifted Season 1 Episode 11: 3×1 Recap

The end is near! This the last episode before the two part season finale, so much of the time is spent getting all of the pieces in place for the big showdowns of the season. We’re given a proper introduction to the telepathic Frost Sisters, Esme, Sophie and Phoebe, who dress identically in the most adorable little tailored outfits and move in sync whenever possible. The Struckers decide to abandon ship, yet again, and, as always, destruction and Sentinel Services follow them. Campbell introduces us to the first fruits of his research using the information he gathered from Lauren and Andy, a huge manacle that mixes the blood of the two mutants who wear it, and brings their powers to an intensely destructive level.

The episode begins with a flashback from two years ago, when Clarice was on a movie date with a human guy. He convinced her that it would be okay to go out in public, but when they come out of the movie and into the parking lot, a mob wearing tshirts with giant crosses is waiting for them. They’re members of the antimutant group the Purifiers. They set Clarice’s car on fire and tell her to run, as her boyfriend quickly backs away, making sure everyone knows he’s human. That’s the end of that relationship. Hope she at least made him pay for the movie.

The Frost Sisters are debriefed on the Trask Labs rescue operation by another mutant named William, who’s been charged with rebuilding the Hellfire Club along with them. They are in his richly appointed home office, as he complains that Esme and her sisters’ splashy, violent antics are too obvious, and make his financial work for the mutants more difficult to keep under the radar. They reply that he can complain when he starts risking his life.

The sisters explain that they parted ways with the Mutant Underground after the rescue. There was enough bad blood between the groups that they wanted to give the Underground some space. But the Hound program still needs to be taken down, and the Underground is the only resource with enough mutant fire power to help. William squeezes the piece of graphite he’s been playing with in his hand into a diamond, to help with the Frost Sisters’ expenses.

The community has two funerals this week. The mutants attend Sonja/Dreamer’s funeral, while Jace Turner says the eulogy for Agent Weeks, his FBI partner who shot himself on Esme’s command. Turner vows to avenge Weeks and all of the other fallen agents killed by evil mutants. The mutants remember Sonja with love and gratitude, reaffirming their humanity and desire for peace and justice.

Johnny breaks down outside of HQ after the funeral. Clarice comforts him, telling him Sonja really loved him. Johnny says that the Underground is divided and he doesn’t want to lose any more friends. The goal right now is to stay focused and take down the Hound program.

The Frost Sisters pay a visit to HQ to discuss cooperating to take down the Hound program. They’re met with mixed feelings. Sentinel Services knows what the Frosts look like, so they can’t take down Campbell on their own, but they do have information and resources to share. The Underground has muscle. The sisters leave the Underground to discuss it amongst themselves. There’s still a lot of anger and feelings of betrayal in the room over the way the lab rescue went.

Campbell finds Jace after the funeral. He tells Jace that he admires the way Jace tried to do something good by taking the mutants out of his inhumane lab program. But the time for mercy is over. Campbell’s research is moving forward, and he wants Turner’s support.

Reed and Caitlin tell the kids that they’ve decided that it’s time to leave the Underground and go to Mexico. The kids disagree about whether they should stay or go.

Sage informs John and Clarice of what she’s discovered about the Frost Sisters. Meanwhile, arguments about the sisters and the fate of the Underground break out all over HQ.

Lorna thinks they should side with the Frosts. They got the job done, and it’s the only way to survive. Marcos feels the opposite way. He wants to continue on as they have been, seeking a peaceful solution.

Marcos discovers that the Struckers are preparing to leave HQ. He tries to talk them out of it, telling them that he values all of the work they’ve done for the cause, and they’re still needed. Reed and Caitlin won’t be swayed, so he helps them pack their car. Marcos is having a bad day.

Clarice says goodbye to Lauren, counseling her that, “Hate feeds on fear, and if you run, hate wins.”

Campbell brings Jace back to his lab, and shows him a pair of mutants who separately have limited powers. He’s used what he’s learned from the Strucker siblings to enhance their powers when combined. He wants to do a field test to show Jace what they can do. Jace has a lead they can follow up on.

The Struckers arrive at the small Fairburn mutant way station for the night. Lauren’s ex-boyfriend Wes is there, helping with security. Late that night, Esme finds Andy for a chat. She tries to beef up his confidence and pride in being a Von Strucker, telling him he needs to insist that his parents take him seriously, and that the mutants need him.

Another Frost sister visits Lorna with a similar message. She tells Lorna that her biological father was an important member of the Hellfire Club. Lorna should join with the Frosts to protect her own child. It doesn’t matter what the Underground thinks of them. It’s a war, and survival is what matters, not popularity.

The next day, Lauren helps Wes with meals. He comforts her over Sonja’s death, and tells her he’s happy they got to see each other again.

Lorna slams the vault door closed with her powers, and realizes that the pregnancy is causing her powers to grow stronger. She tells Marcos that she feels amazing. He asks her if she’s sure she’s not having a manic episode, and she says no, she knows what a bipolar episode feels like, and this isn’t it. She’s changing inside, and everything is changing around them.

Clarice, John, Marcos and Lorna meet to discuss working with the Frost Sisters to eliminate the Hound program. Lorna and Clarice are in favor of fighting with them, because they agree that it’s already a war. Marcos is adamant that they can’t compromise their principles and should stay away from the Frosts. Johnny just listens. Sage interrupts to say that she heard over the radio that Sentinel Services is planning a raid on the way station that the Struckers went to, because of course they are. Campbell’s got the four of them chipped, or something.

The Struckers are standing in front of a large window, arguing some more about whether to leave or not, when Sentinel Services strikes. They’ve apparently driven up, unloaded, and set up teams without the mutants noticing. The new mutant sibling Hounds are wearing a giant manacle/cuff that turns their minor powers into major firepower. Their opening shot is to suck the large porch window Andy is standing in front of off of the house. It’s a cool effect for a TV show. Jace is impressed, too.

The Hounds continue with equally destructive shots, quickly destroying one side of the house. Andy jumps up to try to fight back, but Lauren doesn’t join him, because she and Marcos have both forgotten how to fight in the last couple of weeks, so Andy gets knocked unconscious. Wes uses his visual mirage powers to hide them until John, Clarice, Lorna and Marcos can get there.

The rescue team arrives, and Clarice portals them into the building. Sentinel Services captures almost everyone at the way station, but all of the named characters get out, thanks to Clarice’s portals. The Underground’s car is discovered by the SS, so the Frosts commandeer a couple of Sentinel Services vehicles and everyone escapes safely in those.

Campbell and Jace take the Hound program research to Jace’s superior, Director Wolcott, to request more funding for a national, possibly international, program. Wolcott asks them to prepare a full presentation to take to Washington.

The Struckers are back at the Underground HQ, along with Wes. He’s passed out after over doing it to keep his mirage up for so long. Andy has a concussion.

Having seen the new double hounds in action, the Underground agrees to work with the Frost Sisters. When they meet with William again, he chastises the sisters for tipping off SS to the location of the way station, risking the Struckers’ lives. The Frosts knew everything would be fine, and that this would motivate the Underground. The Hellfire Club is upset with the sisters, but the girls say, “No risk, no reward.”

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The Frost Sisters frequently change aliases. One of the recent ones was the last name Cuckoo, which is straight out of the comics. They have a hive mind and are capable of limited psychic control if they’re close and the target is taken unawares. They’re politically connected. Half of the Underground hates them, and half think they’re the only ones who can save the mutants from Campbell and Sentinel Services. They speak in sync or in sequence, with each saying part of a sentence. They’re very confident in their powers and judgement.

The Hellfire Club has been restarted by a group of elderly people with money, and William has been charged to make them even more money. That shouldn’t be a problem, since he can make diamonds, but he uses conventional methods as well. Esme is the recruiter, scouting out new talent with a special focus on legacies, the children and grandchildren of original members. They’re looking for members who are willing to fight and otherwise take action against antimutant forces.

I don’t understand how any of the mutants think a peaceful solution is possible from their end at this point. They’ve already been hunted almost to the point of extinction and the Xmen, the most powerful mutants, have disappeared. There’s nothing they can do to prove their good intentions and humanity that hasn’t already been done.

It’s wishful thinking to believe that being nice will suddenly work and the human population will suddenly be okay with their existence. All they have left is the fight to survive, to carve out a space for themselves and defend it. They should still work with human allies, but decent people won’t begrudge them killing enemies who are murdering them and their children during a war.

Lauren and Marcos were both scrappy fighters who used their powers confidently when we met them, and they’ve gradually lost that over the course of the season. She’s contrasted with Andy, and he’s contrasted with Lorna, who are each reckless about jumping into fights. The show should have been able to show the differences between the two pairs while still letting Marcos and Lauren remain the bad*ss fighters that they were when we met them. The way Marcos refuses to use his powers and argues for peace at all costs is reaching the point of insanity.

The Purifiers are a violent antimutant religious extremist group from the comics. They believe that it’s the will of God that they purge all mutants from existence. So, they should be a fun addition to the show. Sounds an awful lot like the Watchdogs on Agents of SHIELD.