The Gifted Review: the dreaM (Season 2 Episode 8)
Talk about being true to the comics while doing your own thing. The Gifted Season 2 Episode 8 “the dreaM” is where we see the true birth of Polaris. There’s a lot that happens on this episode that has nothing to do with Lorna, Marcos or their family but it isn’t quite as — magnetic.
This episode should have the tagline, everyone has daddy issues. Some hilarity to the episode that makes me cry multiple times while watching. For real though, if I have to give it a tagline it would be “the power of sacrifice”.
Rather than spending most of the episode dealing with the aftermath of Rebecca’s actions, The Gifted shows us multiple flashbacks. Half of them are of a scene between Marcos and Lorna while the others are Lorna growing up. We’ll get to the latter ones later.
I Want That
Esme and Lorna realize that there’s no way Dawn will be safe with the inner circle. I know I mentioned it back in the review for The Gifted Season 2 Episode 6, “iMprint,” but this is my favorite new dynamic. Skyler Samuels and Emma Dumont play off each other really well.
You see the doubts on Samuels’ face as they talk about the bank heist and the pain when she hears about the foster shelter. My gut is telling me this friendship is going to be pivotal going forward; my gut is rarely wrong when it comes to TV.
Lorna brings Dawn to Marcos to say goodbye. Yes, these are the scenes I cry at the most thanks for asking. We get their argument intercut with the aforementioned flashback.
Lorna: Just promise me we’ll never be like our parents okay?
Marcos: I promise.
Both Marcos and Lorna fight against the notion of becoming their fathers. They want to be good parents to Dawn because they love her so much. We get some truly heartbreaking acting from both Dumont and Sean Teale as they both tell their side of the argument.
They both have extremely valid points, but neither of them wins the argument. Because it’s not an argument that has a winning side. Yes, the Inner Circle set the world on fire, but Lorna knows she needs to do this. Lorna has always hated her father for not being there, but it’s when she’s faced with his own choice that she gets the moment of realization.
Lorna: I rather her grow up hating me than not grow up at all.
Teale’s entire demeanor changes as he realizes she is right but all he wants is to be with his daughter. He wants her to know she is special and wants to dance with her. He’s technically once before, which we covered in our review of The Gifted Season 2 Episode 3, “coMplications,” but he loves her more than words and you can see it in his eyes.
In a heartbreaking yet gorgeous moment, we get Marcos dancing with his daughter as Lorna looks on. Honestly, when all is said and done, this family deserves some happy time. And a vacation.
Marcos: Te amo, mi Aurora.
The Aurora Borealis is formed as they are united in their pain of having to give up their daughter.
It’s a gorgeous moment that shocks both of them and shows the audience their love is still there. The fact that they both break down, stellar work from Dumont and Teale, afterward is proof of that.
My Father’s Daughter
The flashbacks show us that throughout her life Lorna has been curious about her father. She can feel his influence but has never met the man. Lorna felt like a freak, she was the bipolar girl with green hair stuck in a middle of nowhere town, and she’s a mutant.
All she wanted growing up was to know her father beyond just a red metal disk helmet she got when she was 13. Dumont portrays the pain Lorna feels whenever her father is even mentioned. All she has to go on was what the television said.
Lorna: The world hates him, but I hate him more.
Lorna’s biggest beef with her father was the idea that his cause was more important than her. She didn’t get what it means, until now. She has her daughter in her arms and she knows that for her safety she has to give her up. It’s the biggest sacrifice Lorna has had to make.
She knows that for Dawn to grow up safe, she has to give her up, even if it kills her to do it.
One of my favorite scenes is when she shows up to her aunt’s apartment with Dawn. Because she’s not sending Dawn to Switzerland or anything of the sort. She’s taking Dawn home, to where she grew up, where Dawn will be loved, if Marcos and she can’t do it, she knows her aunt will love Dawn like she is her own.
Lorna: I get it now, you weren’t hiding me from him, you were hiding me for him.
It’s a heart-wrenching scene. Dumont kicks it out of the park, and there’s not a dry eye in the house. Then we get a shot of her looking at the empty crib and we feel this is it. This is the moment it all moves into place.
This has been building since we meet Lorna in the pilot episode. This is where the pain, the suffering, the love has brought her.
It’s the moment she puts on that helmet, made from the only gift her father ever gave her, that she truly becomes who she is always meant to be. She becomes the Polaris we know and love, one that is stronger than anyone. The helmet is a reminder of Dawn and everything she is doing for her. It’s her acceptance of her father’s legacy.
Sometimes you have to make sacrifices in order to continue the fight.Additional:
- First of all burning down a mutant foster home? Humanity is evil.
- John and Clarice’s argument is hard because neither of them is in the wrong. John knows that if they don’t respond they’re done, but Clarice is right in pointing out that they’re only 3 people. Like we mentioned in our review of The Gifted Season 2 Episode 7, “no Mercy,” there’s no good option for the mutants right now.
Clarice: The only thing worse than doing something stupid and dangerous is doing it alone.
- The doctor is shady and I’m proven right once again, but I’m sad for Lauren because she deserves to flirt with someone nice.
- So are we doing the mutant cure storyline? As long as it’s not a train wreck like it was in X-Men 3: The Last Stand it’s going to be a step up.
What did you think of this episode of The Gifted? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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The Gifted airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on Fox.
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Maii Trueba de Buen
Maii is a 28-year-old writer who can be slightly invested in characters and their stories. She tries to give credit where credit is due but isn’t afraid to be honest in her writing. It's probably best not to ask about Lucifer or A Song of Ice and Fire, because you'll never hear the end of it. She graduated in film and has a certificate/minor in Art History. She brings that into her writing because, well, she’s a nerd. The only thing that beats her love of writing is her love of Pandas.