The Gifted Recap: “eXit Strategy”

X-Men fans who were still skeptical of The Gifted had to have been excited watching “eXit Strategy.”

Taking a break from the previous episodes’ focus on mutant hatred and building up the world, this week is all about the action. After cautious planning, the mutant underground is finally ready to execute their plan to save Lorna and Reed. The outcome is a high-stakes battle which changes the game for all of the characters with the introduction of a comic book team that is an exciting new development.

The break out doesn’t start until halfway through “eXit Strategy,” which leaves plenty of time to nail down the details. Turns out most mutants aren’t willing to risk their lives for Lorna after one of the members announced the chances of saving them was less than twenty percent. Marcos is annoyed that only six people (including Caitlin) would step up for someone who has saved them all but  he isn’t able to sit around moping. He is forced into making a deal with devil, or an ex-girlfriend from the drug cartel he used to work for. The girl, Carmen, is now in charge and only willing to help if he comes back to work for them as muscle. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Marcos ends up torturing a man to please Carmen and gets the information he needs to save Lorna. The act of violence doesn’t sit well with him, and it’s clear that he’s gotten himself stuck in a dangerous position.

John is just as worried in “eXit Strategy,” because of all the different variables starting with Blink. She’s not getting any sleep now that she’s constantly plagued by a dream of the two kissing. While he wants to tell her the truth, Dreamer points out that it could prevent Blink from successfully forming portals to get inside Lorna’s prison transport. What Dreamer did might have been morally wrong, but she points out that this is a war and morals tend to go out the window. With a guilty conscience, John agrees but he doesn’t seem all that happy to continue keeping secrets. Not to mention, the murder of his friend Pulse (The Vampire Diaries‘ Zach Roerig) on the last prison breakout the group tried.

Things go wrong on the breakout, because plans can never run perfectly in the world of television and the group is forced to work on their feet. Andy and Lauren are needed to stop the bus carrying their dad as well as Lorna, but a last-minute freak out by the former delays the process. While Lauren is able to get him angry enough to use his powers, it puts the bus in the wrong position. With Blink unable to see the vehicle to make a portal and Sentinel Services on the defensive, the entire group is considering fleeing.

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Caitlin puts her kids in a car and sends them away immediately while Eclispe takes out a handgun (really?) to go up against a bunch of armed guards. However, when everyone loses their powers in “eXit Strategy,” is when the real fun begins. Turns out John’s buddy, Pulse, wasn’t killed but actually captured and is now working for Sentinel Services to take out all mutant powers within a two block radius.

For comic book fans, this revelation is exhilarating because it all but confirms that the “Hounds,” exist in this universe. Roderick Campbell, the scientist seen contacting Sentinel Services in the last episode, forced mutants in the comics to become “mutant hunters” called “Hounds” which would explain his existence in the show. The most famous “Hound,” in the comic book universe is Jean Grey’s and Cyclop’s daughter, Rachel Summers which could mean the powerful telepath could make her way onto The Gifted. For now, the series has an equally strong daughter of the X-Men franchise with Polaris finally getting to show off her abilities with the prison escape. With a little help from the pins in Reed’s knee, she’s able to break them out of the van and get into Caitlin’s car for a getaway.

While The Gifted is only four episodes in, “eXit Strategy” still feels like an earned win for the group. With the full force of Sentinel Services raining down on the underground now, it will be interesting to see who sticks around.

Next: The Gifted Recap: “eXodus”

Next week it looks like they’re finally going to show what event started the anti-mutant laws to start being made after remaining a mystery in the beginning of the series. Hopefully, this means the show will give a concrete answer as to where the X-Men and the Brotherhood disappeared to in this universe.