Spoilers The Gifted - Season 1
- Thread starter jmc247
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Good observation - I actually DID think of Heroes crossed with Tomorrow People, but considering I only watched 6 episodes of the latter, I didn't want to make the blanket statement lol.
God, I hope not. I guess I can see some similarities in the premise, but man, that was a dumb show.
Although The Gifted is already smarter in some respects. One of the lamest aspects of TTP is that the superpowered people hid their existence from the world, which gave the bad-guy agency free rein to hunt and murder them. It's the same flaw as a lot of series where the paranormal phenomena are kept secret arbitrarily so that audiences can pretend this is all secretly happening in the real world. Generally, people like that would be safer if they went public, if they got good lawyers and PR people and let the world know that they were being persecuted and murdered. But in the case of The Gifted, mutants are public knowledge, and the hunters are a government agency that was authorized as a response to public fear in the wake of a catastrophic event involving mutants. And as far as we know at this point, the captured mutants are just being imprisoned, not executed or subjected to sadistic experiments (though we might learn otherwise later on). So it doesn't have the same logic holes, even if it ended up in much the same place.
So far so good. It's very derivative - seems a lot like Heroes, in particular - but it's derivative of other stuff I like, and well executed.
In particular I like the family dynamics and the quick pacing.
In particular I like the family dynamics and the quick pacing.
What gives you that idea, I really don't see any similarities there at all.
I just looked through all of the actresses Wikipedia says played version of Janet Van Dyne both live action and animated, and none of them are involved with this or New Mutants.
No it doesn't. They've already hinted at a possible appearance by the robot sentinels, and we even possibly got a bit of set up for that with the spiderbots.
You do realize the mutant characters in this are the good guys, right?
She will later. She has her green hair in all of the posters, and we saw her with green hair in the "this season on..." promo at the end.
America in this story is allegorically mid 1930s Nazi Germany. Pulling down their government, before the concentration camps are built, is a good thing. Unless you are human, then just enjoy the party.
Okay, maybe not God loves, Man kills. I just thought that Stryker = Strucker for some reason, despite the lack of blunt religious iconography.
The girl playing Polaris is from Bunheads. I miss Bunheads.
The Wasp thing is a nudge nudge, wink wink, nothing real. 2 years ago, the bloke who played Reed Richards was on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and nothing came of it, when they could have had such fun.
Okay, maybe not God loves, Man kills. I just thought that Stryker = Strucker for some reason, despite the lack of blunt religious iconography.
The girl playing Polaris is from Bunheads. I miss Bunheads.
The Wasp thing is a nudge nudge, wink wink, nothing real. 2 years ago, the bloke who played Reed Richards was on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and nothing came of it, when they could have had such fun.
Hayley Lovitt, who was the suit actress for Janet/the Wasp in the movie Ant-Man, is playing Sage in The Gifted. She was seen briefly in the pilot speaking to Blink, though she was not yet identified as Sage.
I agree they had two hours worth of story to work with to let things breath some. They are definitely going for a family message and seem to be starting off the season with a focus on mothers.
Well we are upon the second episode in two hours. The first episode was TV-PG, this one is TV-14 L, V and looks to be darker in areas.
How well they balance the scenes from the various vantage points may be key how this episode does.
Pretty good second episode. They put a lot of focus on Amy Acker, which is never a bad idea. We got to see Caitlin and the kids bonding with the Underground, and they all got to contribute some heroics (though I have a hard time buying that Lauren's power to push stuff with hardened air would work on rifts in the fabric of space). Cutting the father off from the rest of the family allowed the latter to shine. It also ended up taking Reed in a different direction from the rest of them -- he's decided to betray the Underground for the sake of his family, but his family has decided to fight with the Underground. This is what happens when you miss a family meeting.
The nice, agreeable guy working for Sentinel Services was an interesting touch. He seems to really think he's one of the good guys doing what he has to do for the safety of humanity, but he's still participating in some pretty nasty things.
When I saw the advance photos from this episode with a fully green-haired Polaris in prison, I figured the black hair had to be dyed and she'd wash it away, and I was right. They came up with an effective way to show that the green was her real color. And man, does she look great that way. (I do wonder if this was the plan all along, or if they originally intended her to just have black hair with green highlights and then changed their minds after shooting the pilot.) Come to think of it, she looks kind of like Five from Dark Matter, only hotter.
The nice, agreeable guy working for Sentinel Services was an interesting touch. He seems to really think he's one of the good guys doing what he has to do for the safety of humanity, but he's still participating in some pretty nasty things.
When I saw the advance photos from this episode with a fully green-haired Polaris in prison, I figured the black hair had to be dyed and she'd wash it away, and I was right. They came up with an effective way to show that the green was her real color. And man, does she look great that way. (I do wonder if this was the plan all along, or if they originally intended her to just have black hair with green highlights and then changed their minds after shooting the pilot.) Come to think of it, she looks kind of like Five from Dark Matter, only hotter.
Any idea on the significance of the mutant twins and the Rio incident?
Just speculation:
The kids are loosely based on the twin children of Baron von Strucker, who are known collectively as Fenris and have an energy projection power that they can only use when they're touching (kinda like the speedster twins Mas y Menos from the Teen Titans animated series). I'm thinking maybe it'll turn out that Andy and Lauren's powers combine into something far more powerful when they use them together, and maybe the Rio incident is another example of mutant twins whose powers increased in tandem, letting Garrett Dillahunt's character know what the Strucker twins are potentially capable of and giving him a reason to pursue them.
Enjoyable episode, but it had its share of eye-rolling moments (mostly at the prison).
I did enjoy the dire situation of Clarice being, pardon the pun, on the blink after being injured. I'm guessing the hole she kept opening to was perhaps her hometown and she opened it subconsciously due to her emotional connection to it (for better or for worse). I also liked the Marcos/Caitlin team-up as it helped Caitlin open her eyes to both the mutant situation and how she's been perceiving it (from afar before and now only caring because of her children). I like to think that she proved to Marcos (and to herself) that she does care about other mutants when she leaped into danger with the medicine to help Blink.
However, I'm already tired of the same old shit of steamrolling peoples rights "for the greater good" shtick. I get the thematic elements of it, but the way Agent Turner bullied Reed was tired and cliché, and there are better ways of presenting that theme. Same for the doctor who automatically assumed a mutant was abusing a non-mutant and the teenagers laughing at the mutant girl at the bowling alley. There are good ideas on this show, but right now the execution sucks.
Which leads to a fundamental problem I have with this show that I forgot to mention after the first episode. It bothers me that this yet another show cast full of "pretty people," for the lack of better words. It's "amazing" how Lorna has perfect make-up while in prison and I won't be surprised if that continues to be the case after her assault. I had the same issue with LOST (and I loved that show).
I did enjoy the dire situation of Clarice being, pardon the pun, on the blink after being injured. I'm guessing the hole she kept opening to was perhaps her hometown and she opened it subconsciously due to her emotional connection to it (for better or for worse). I also liked the Marcos/Caitlin team-up as it helped Caitlin open her eyes to both the mutant situation and how she's been perceiving it (from afar before and now only caring because of her children). I like to think that she proved to Marcos (and to herself) that she does care about other mutants when she leaped into danger with the medicine to help Blink.
However, I'm already tired of the same old shit of steamrolling peoples rights "for the greater good" shtick. I get the thematic elements of it, but the way Agent Turner bullied Reed was tired and cliché, and there are better ways of presenting that theme. Same for the doctor who automatically assumed a mutant was abusing a non-mutant and the teenagers laughing at the mutant girl at the bowling alley. There are good ideas on this show, but right now the execution sucks.
Which leads to a fundamental problem I have with this show that I forgot to mention after the first episode. It bothers me that this yet another show cast full of "pretty people," for the lack of better words. It's "amazing" how Lorna has perfect make-up while in prison and I won't be surprised if that continues to be the case after her assault. I had the same issue with LOST (and I loved that show).
Ah, that's interesting speculation. Thank you for the insight. I figured it was a lame case of referencing the Maximoff twins (especially since neither are blond).
Yeah, after Polaris, I was thinking maybe of her half siblings, but the "wonder twins power" aspect of it is a bit interesting. More powerful together... hmm. Do they even have the rights to Van Stuckers and related stuff? Isn't that MCU/Hydra?
The twins themselves actually first appeared during Chris Claremont's X-Men run. They were background jerks for a couple of issues harassing Ororo in Africa and then were were revealed as being Struker twins in X-Men 200. And, yes, they are mutants.
Well, Fenris in the comics consists of Andreas and Andrea von Strucker, and the kids here are Andy and Lauren Strucker. So they're clearly a version of those characters, but radically altered (not twins, not villains, etc.).
I'm enjoying it. It's darker than I expected, but that's okay. And I like the pacing. Events are happening quickly, but I feel like I'm getting to know the characters at the same time. The characters and their interactions feel real, and yay for seeing Fred again.
Even if she's no longer the Smurf Goddess. Oh well.
Even if she's no longer the Smurf Goddess. Oh well.
The characters and their interactions feel real, and yay for seeing Fred again.
Even if she's no longer the Smurf Goddess. Oh well.
I've gotten used to thinking of her as Root from Person of Interest. And before that she was Dr. Saunders on Dollhouse, Kelly Peyton on Alias, Huntress on Justice League Unlimited, etc.
Good episode, I think this is a show I'm going to like for the long haul. I'm enjoying all of the characters so far, and this is a world I'm very happy to watch on a weekly basis.
Though when she first stepped up to help, I thought she was going to simply put an air wall up so no one could come through the portal. That would've worked for the story and made a bit more sense "power"-wise.
Similar for Coby Bell's Sentinel Services character. We're definitely not cheering for him, but when he said his daughter was killed by a mutant, it gives us a quick and easy idea into what's going on in this character's head.
Coby Bell played a prominent part in the later seasons of Matt Nix's previous show Burn Notice. The Struckers and friends better hope he's not like that character, or they're going to be in some big trouble, because he played a pretty clever government spy who was quite adept at turning the tables in his favor. Though he was still a nice agreeable guy on that show too.
Yeah, I'm not quite buying that, but if that's what they needed to tell the story of the show, then that's what they needed.
Though when she first stepped up to help, I thought she was going to simply put an air wall up so no one could come through the portal. That would've worked for the story and made a bit more sense "power"-wise.
Let's just say that I enjoy every single scene that she's in.
I appreciated the fact that Thunderbird asked her if she knew why she kept opening the portal to the same place. Makes him look smart enough to ask important questions, and gives the viewer something to think about.
Let's not forget that this show is airing on Fox. This is not just a show for folks who've read 500 issues of X-Men comics. It must be accessible to brand new viewers too, even folks who know nothing of the X-Men. And the first thing you have to drive home for those folks is that in this world, mutants are feared and hated. They are not treated well. In my opinion, this show is doing a good job of showing the general public attitude towards mutants. You have to keep it simple and clear, and I think they're doing that.
Similar for Coby Bell's Sentinel Services character. We're definitely not cheering for him, but when he said his daughter was killed by a mutant, it gives us a quick and easy idea into what's going on in this character's head.
I will never ever complain about how perfect Lorna looks while in prison. (Though yes, I noticed it too. But I sure as heck am not complaining.)
Yeah, I get all of that, but I think the writing for presenting those ideas was poorly executed.
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