The Gifted: threat of eXtinction
November 21, 2017 10:17 AM - Season 1, Episode 8 - Subscribe

The group faces a threat when they discover a new refugee is a spy working for Sentinel Services; Reed visits his estranged father and learns secrets that could prove useful.
posted by homunculus (12 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
So they're finally bringing the von Struckers and Fenris into the show's lore. Neat.
posted by homunculus at 10:21 AM on November 21, 2017


Really liking this show, feels more x-men than any of the movies. Love the story they're setting up for the new-Fenris kids. And Esme!
posted by signal at 4:47 PM on November 21, 2017


this show is good but i think it's also making me more depressed
posted by numaner at 2:12 PM on November 22, 2017 [1 favorite]


I really waffle on this show. I always considered Stephen Moyer to be the weakest part of True Blood, and that is definitely being born out in the Gifted. I cringe pretty much every time he and his chest try to emote or deliver any line that calls for nuance, and his overblown importance to the underground (as what, the only adult?) means his limited skills are asked to do way too much to carry some of the story.

Amy Acker is better but a perfect example of how little the writers trust their material or the arc of the story they are trying to tell. Dreamer wasn't able to read their captive's mind because she was a moving target, but then they throw the plan to use her power out the window once the captive was restrained on the table, in favor of a nurse injecting some mystery red juice that effectively killed the person?

I know it's silly to overthink a show like this, but Legion has set the bar pretty high for the x-person universe. I want to keep watching but might need more.
posted by OHenryPacey at 4:01 PM on November 22, 2017 [1 favorite]


I really waffle on this show. I always considered Stephen Moyer to be the weakest part of True Blood, and that is definitely being born out in the Gifted. I cringe pretty much every time he and his chest try to emote or deliver any line that calls for nuance ...

Amy Acker is better


This is funny to me, because I've been reading other people praising Moyer while criticizing Acker.
posted by 2ht at 6:01 PM on November 22, 2017


As an X-Men fan from back when Kitty was still trying on 8 new costumes each month, this feels more x-men-y to me than anything else I've watched on screen. Is it great television? No. But it's the closest television (or film) has come to my favorite superhero soap opera.
posted by signal at 5:54 AM on November 23, 2017 [2 favorites]


Dreamer wasn't able to read their captive's mind because she was a moving target, but then they throw the plan to use her power out the window once the captive was restrained on the table, in favor of a nurse injecting some mystery red juice that effectively killed the person?

I thought Dreamer said that the speedster's accelerated metabolism would make her smoke ineffective because it would wear off too quickly.
posted by homunculus at 9:51 AM on November 23, 2017 [2 favorites]


She did say that. Also, the red juice wasn't what killed her, it was to wake her up for interrogation and to counter the effect of the drug. What killed her was basically withdrawal from such a powerful drug while also coming out of the mind control.

Moyer has always been effective at scene chewing, but he's doing it with better control here than in True Blood. But I don't even fault him for True Blood because the whole show is camp and knows it's camp, so they go full-mouth chewing on that show.

I thought Acker was weaker in this episode because of the dialog given. But I don't think either of them are doing badly. The only consistently weak performances are the kids, but... they'll get better.

I wanted the captured mutant to get healed and join them, but I guess that's a lot to ask for their special effects budget and the already large cast.
posted by numaner at 11:57 AM on November 23, 2017


The show's a little rough around the edges but I like it a lot more than I liked early Agents of SHIELD, if this finds its groove in the way AoS did it could be something amazing.

But more than that, damn I love that this kind of show is using the themes of the X-Men world to talk about the horrible things ICE and CBP do in reality - a comment in a recent episode about Sentinel picking up whole families outside of schools, churches protecting mutants in this episode and Sentinel crossing even that line, Thunderbird's comment that "you don't turn your back on desperate people just because one of them might be dangerous."

I want this show to find its groove not only to get an awesome show out of the deal, but also to get these kinds of stories to bigger audiences.
posted by jason_steakums at 7:52 PM on November 29, 2017 [2 favorites]


So just checking: was Otto a twincest baby? I have that vibe.
I feel sorry for Reed missing out on the option for powers.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:39 PM on December 30, 2017


jenfullmoon, I got that impression too, but his dad made some comment, about his mom, I think, that ruled it out.
posted by Pronoiac at 10:10 AM on December 31, 2017


Yeah, but was the mom comment about Reed's mom? I thought it was.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:12 AM on January 2, 2018


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