TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews The Gifted Season 2 Episode 8: dreaM

What I love about The Gifted is the same thing that I love about DC’s Black Lightning, in that this is a show that can survive, and even thrive, even without the big superhero action. And while sometimes that’s a result of the budget, “dreaM” showed that sometimes the aftermath of something can be filled with life and details that are important to the characters.

This was very much the Polaris episode we’ve been waiting for. For here, we got to see more of her background, how she was raised, and how the lack of her real father, Magneto, affected her. Hilariously, the show wasn’t allowed to say the word “Magneto”, but they referenced him in every way that mattered. How he appeared on the television, what people thought about him, the gift he gave Lorna, and how far he went to protect his daughter. Her realizing that Magneto did all he could to protect her was actually a really great moment.

For while he is quite villainous at times, Magneto does know the value of life, especially mutant life, and nothing is more important to him than family. That’s why he always looked after Lorna even though he was never technically there for her. And her having to do the very same thing for Dawn was very powerful.

Just as powerful was the second reunion (the first being when Dawn was sick) with Marcos. His crushed state after he heard Lorna’s plan was devastating, and the flashbacks of them being together further cemented that their love story is very much a Shakespearean tragedy, albeit one that doesn’t have an ending just yet.

And while Polaris using the medallion to form her new headset may seem odd, it’s her way of honoring the father that had done what was necessary to save his daughter’s life, just like she did tonight.

Elsewhere, Reed found one of the people who helped his father experiment on him in the past to suppress his X-Gene. While it could’ve been another simple “I’m fighting to get rid of the X-Gene!” arc, there appears to be something much purer and deeper here. For they want to give options to mutants and their families, and there’s no doubt that they’ve done good work here. But…you can’t help but think there’s going to be a dark twist, especially since her brother is the head of the Purifiers.

Finally, while small, John and Blink’s mission to find Rebecca was another step in Thunderbird’s journey to try and find a rebirth for the Mutant Underground. They’ve been losing the fight ever since the beginning of the season, and like he said, if they don’t do something, the Underground is finished, and everyone will go to the Inner Circle, and that would be bad. But how much farther can John extend himself before he breaks? Guess we’ll find out.

In the end, “dreaM” was another thought-provoking episode that showed the many layers of many of these characters. While I do wish there was more progression on the main plot points of the season, I do appreciate these episodes a lot.