The Gifted season 2, episode 7 recap: no Mercy shows us Reeva's origin

The Gifted shows us who Reeva Payge used to be before the Inner Circle.

In order to have a compelling antagonist, you need to have someone who the audience can empathize with. We might not agree with Reeva’s methods, but The Gifted shows us her backstory and how she became the leader of the Inner Circle. It’s important for us to see how she was once a pacifist like the Mutant Underground and even shared their ideals before finding a new path.

Flashing back in time, Reeva is a part of a community center full of angry mutants. They’re being pushed out of their buildings and neighborhoods because of their genetics. Her friend, who’s also the leader, wants to start an aggressive campaign to get traction for mutant rights. While Reeva begs for a more peaceful solution, she gets up front and personal with some Purifiers. The men stab her friend and leave the two alone but it’s too late.

“no Mercy” jumps forward to the present day where Reeva is running through the plan with the Inner Circle. Their bank heist is nearly complete now that the team is prepared. She still cautions the group to only use violence when necessary. Everyone agrees, but we’re not sure about Rebecca following those rules. She admits to Andy her fears about not being able to break the vault and looking like a fool. Andy jokingly promises to kill anyone who judges her but we’re pretty sure Rebecca sees it as a real promise.

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The Gifted also introduces us to Reeva’s mysterious boyfriend, Quinn, from the last episode. He seems like a genuinely nice guy, a single father, and a widow. Unfortunately, it’s clear Reeva is using him for some plan with the Inner Circle. She’s clearly feeling bad about playing him but it doesn’t stop her from following through. The Frost Sisters walk up to casually take ahold of his mind and hopefully erase the worst date in history from his memories. You have to be cold-hearted to hear the guy show the picture his son drew because “daddy’s smiling again” and still follow through with destroying his life.

Quinn doesn’t want to shut down the mutant scanner at Creed Financial because it would destroy his life. Reeva isn’t playing around though and she quickly threatens his kids. However, Quinn accurately points out that he’s not responsible for Creed Financial. He isn’t a mutant hater and this fight has nothing to do with him. Unfortunately, he is forced to agree in order to protect his kids. Reeva admits she does have feelings for him so that’s something at least.

Reed is still struggling with his powers in “no Mercy” and burning holes throughout the bedroom. It’s getting worse, and he thinks the girls should drop him off at a hospital before they draw any more attention to the Underground. The group sits down for a discussion about what to do which leads to a bit of a debate. Clarice thinks the Morlocks would be the safest place for him, however, Caitlin points out as his human wife this isn’t an option.

However, Marcos is beginning to doubt where Clarice’s loyalties lie. She’s extremely defensive but points out the Underground needs more allies. While Marcos doesn’t appreciate having his own mistakes thrown in his face, it’s clear he’s not on board with the Morlocks. He goes to John with his suspicions about Clarice and encourages him to speak to her.

Jace is getting some new allies of his own in this week’s episode of The Gifted. After passing a mutant gene scan, he’s introduced to a very high member of the Purifiers. The whole meeting is very cloak and dagger until he meets one of the head honchos. It’s Peter Gallagher’s Benedict Ryan, the anchorman from the mutant-hating news show. He sees some potential in Jace, and the soon-to-be-divorced former Sentinel Services agent suddenly finds himself with some new options.

Like Reeva, Benedict Ryan knows exactly how to manipulate the people he needs to work for him. Unfortunately, Jace isn’t prepared to go on Ryan’s show and badmouth his old employees. Some of his friends still work there and he isn’t going to sell them out. Clearly, it’s not the answer the Purifiers were hoping for.

This episode has quite a few touching moments throughout the hour. When Reed looks at a photo of his family, his powers activate and the frame shatters. Lauren interrupts him to announce the ambulance has arrived to take him to the Morlocks. He tells her not join him because he’s worried about getting into another accident. But Lauren consoles him by saying she’ll protect him no matter what she will protect him. The Struckers are in this together and any doubts Lauren seemed to have about the Underground have dissipated.

THE GIFTED: L-R: Percy Hynes, Emma Dumont and guest star Anjelica Bette Fellini in the “no Mercy” episode of THE GIFTED airing Tuesday, Nov. 13 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. ©2018 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Annette BrownFOX.

While the Underground deals with their crisis, the Inner Circle heads to Creed Financial. Esme stays behind because Lorna asked her to babysit Dawn while everyone else suits up. It’s an awesome moment to see the group confidently walk up to the building before easily taking down security.

At the bank, one half of the Inner Circle rounds up the employees. They have the man in charge record a video about all the terrible things Creed Financial has funded thanks to some encouragement from the Frost Sisters. Underground, Andy, Lorna, and Rebecca head to the vault. However, the latter thinks they should kill all of the employees since they’re just “human”. If anyone was having any doubts about her love for violence, it seems like “no Mercy” squashed it here.

Rebecca has some difficulty with the vault but Andy stokes the anger inside of her. It’s an effective tactic since she easily succeeds after that. She jumps on him in celebration but Lorna is ready to get back to work. In the elevator, Quinn tries to convince Reeva to stop the heist. She’s not swayed by his pleas though, and she forces him to login to the accounts for Lorna. Sage is able to scan the data and confirm the money went through while Esme gets Dawn to sleep. It’s safe to say everyone in the Inner Circle achieves something positive this week.

It’s not a great week for the remaining Struckers as Reed listens in on his daughter share her frustrations with Caitlin. Lauren is convinced the Von Struckers are cursed because of her great-grandparents’ actions. She isn’t sure if they’ll ever be able to touch her dad again. Caitlin consoles her by saying she’s not a murderer but Lauren angrily retorts that she killed people in Atlanta. Using the Fenris powers made her feel powerful, and that feeling terrifies her. Reed wakes up before the conversation can get any more heated.

Caitlin and Lauren want to take him to the mysterious Madeline Risman from last season. He’s too worried but ultimately the girls convince him. Caitlin even manages to hold his hand, which brings him a moment of happiness and relief.

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Naturally, the confrontation between Clarice and John comes to a head by the end of “no Mercy”. She admits she lied about working with Erg but it’s clear her loyalties are beginning to shift. Especially because Blink points out the Underground doesn’t even have a clear set goal now. Are they taking down the Inner Circle, saving mutants, or stopping Purifiers? It’s an accurate point because The Gifted has had the Underground stretched thin on resources.

By the end of the episode, Jace has decided to give a speech about Sentinel Services on Benedict Ryan’s show. They get the news of the latest attack as Jace is heading in for his interview. Unfortunately, Rebecca shows her true colors and destroys any chance of the Inner Circle of looking like heroes. She murders the room of employees, including Quinn, much to Reeva’s devastation. Looks like the Inner Circle might take her love of violence a little more seriously now.

What did you think of this episode of The Gifted? Be sure to comment below!

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