The Gifted Review: teMpted (Season 2 Episode 13)
In this week’s episode of The Gifted things are moving again. The Gifted Season 2, Episode 13 “teMpted” gives us characters who shine and relationships that get repaired. Sure the Underground is still mostly doomed, but at least things happen. Here is an episode where both the Strucker parents get to shine in very different ways.
Addicting Power
Reed is a wonderful soul that sometimes deserves a better family. It still feels weird to feel so defensive over Reed when I couldn’t care less about him in season 1. I guess that’s just Stephen Moyer’s talent for you, he makes you care about Reed without even realizing it.
Here we see a Reed who is very worried about Lauren. Lauren seems like she doesn’t care; she’s too consumed by the music box. She runs away and we see Reed and John go after her.
Lauren Strucker: It feels as though I can make everything wrong with the world right again
You can see on Reed’s face that he knows exactly what she means. He’s afraid to tell her until John convinces him.
Then we get Lauren transformed from a moody teenager to a terrified one. Natalie Alyn Lind and Stephen Moyer are incredible in this scene. All Reed wants is to protect his little girl. It’s a relationship that has been building up since The Gifted Season 2, Episode 3 “coMplications,” and has been one of the strongest parts of the season.
M on my Face
We get a bit of backstory on Erg and we find out more about what happened. Remember how he mentioned in The Gifted Season 2, Episode 12 “hoMe,” that he was betrayed? Well turns out he was in a relationship with that human.
Erg: The others warned me not to trust a human. Never again! Get out of my sight.
It’s no wonder that Erg gave up on humans. It makes sense that he wouldn’t trust humans. He’s been there before and was badly betrayed.
Of course, the choice is taken out of his hands when Glow is hurt and no one except Caitlin can save her. Erg isn’t happy about having a human around, specifically when they have to go to the clinic to get things to save Glow.
Caitlin doesn’t care what he thinks, all she cares about is saving her patient. Amy Acker truly shines in this episode. It makes me mad that they just focus her character on a brat like Andy when Caitlin could do so much more.
Caitlin Strucker: I might not have an M on my face but I can take care of myself.
It is at the clinic though that she proves her worth. She gives it to Erg straight, the clinic was where humans risked prison to help mutant. Not everyone is against them. Being cautious is fine but sometimes a leap of faith is necessary. Then she goes on to protect them by shooting a purifier.
They get back just in time and Glow gets to live for another day. Which leads to a truly touching scene where Erg paints an M on Caitlin’s forehead. His way of apologizing and letting her know that she’s welcome. It’s absolutely beautiful.
No More Government?
Lorna is still undercover at the Inner Circle and it’s getting more dangerous by the minute. I feel like both Marcos and I are just forever on edge. We’re just permanently worried about Lorna at this point.
By doing some sleuthing Lorna figures out that the US Government is the next target. Which is probably not good, or well, it depends on how you feel about the government. Anyway, Lorna is a better person than I would be because she wants to protect them.
Marcos Diaz: No more plans involving stabbing yourself okay?
Lorna Dayne: I’ll do my best.
Things get a bit dicier when Lorna realizes that Max knows someone was in his room. Emma Dumont is wonderful at showing how deeply terrified she is. Honestly, I would have already left as Marcos suggests, but Lorna is the bravest of all and wants to figure out Reeva’s plan.
Lorna doesn’t want innocents getting hurt, it’s part of what makes her a hero. She has a confrontation with Max in which she reminds him of who her dad is. I love it when Lorna uses this to her advantage. She has it she might as well use it. He’d be proud either way.
She and Marcos decide that he might need to intervene with Max. But as this is The Gifted it doesn’t go according to plan. Marcos gets shot and the car blows up. I think Max is inside, but I’m not entirely sure, either way, this spells trouble.
Stray Thoughts:
- Honestly, Andy is the worst and I don’t think there’s any coming back from this.
- Clarice misses her puppy and that’s the biggest mood.
- I love Glow so I’m glad she’s still alive, the friendship between her and Clarice is very cute.
- John seems to repeat the same mistakes over and over.
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 9/8c 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.