The Gifted season 2, episode 11 recap: meMento has a satisfying reunion

The Gifted gives us another look at the Von Strucker family.

Caitlin has had an interesting arc this season, however, “meMento” has her go down a pretty dark path. The Gifted has her sink to a new level throughout this episode. It’s interesting to see how her dedication was such an asset in the first season but now is her biggest weakness. The episode opens up with a flashback of Andreas Von Strucker retrieving a music box. In the present day, Lauren has become obsessed with it as she sits in the dark studying.

Reed, being the voice of reason, expresses his concern for her mental state. He thinks their encounter with Andy has taken a huge toll on her since all she’s done is train. Caitlin brushes it off because Lauren needs to be at the top of her game to beat the Inner Circle. She’s made a lot of questionable parenting choices this season when it comes to Andy. It seems pretty clear from a viewer’s perspective that destroying the Inner Circle will only push Andy away. In the process, Lauren is the one who’s paying the price.

Nevertheless, the Struckers brush it off because they need to meet with Clarice. Caitlin begs the group to take action against the Inner Circle. However, Marcos and Clarice point out they don’t have the firepower to make a move against them. Not only is John still recovering, but the Frost Sisters could sense them coming and prepare Reeva. Eventually though, the group concedes to at least try to rally some troops.

THE GIFTED: L-R: Amy Acker, Natalie Alyn Lind and Stephen Moyer in the “meMento” episode of THE GIFTED airing Tuesday, Jan. 8 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. ©2018 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Annette Brown/FOX.

light. Read. The Gifted season 2 midseason premiere recap: eneMy of My eneMy

More from FOX

It couldn’t come at a better time because The Gifted has added a trio of powerful mutants to the Inner Circle. The new group is a gang with a lot of experience and are happy to show off for Reeva. She quickly gets the three confident mutants on her side through some casual threats though. Reeva has a new problem to deal with since Lorna isn’t down to be working with any new members. Especially three who murdered a boat load of people. Despite Andy’s troubling remarks last week, it doesn’t seem like Lorna will be joining his side.

Lauren is definitely struggling as well with a new set of dreams. The music box plays a tune which dredges up some memories of the Von Struckers. While she’s sleeping, Lauren gets to witness the night Andrea dies right before activating her Fenris power alongside Andreas. The tragedy causes Lauren’s powers to manifest which are more destructive than usual. Reed and Caitlin wake her up, with the former even mentioning the odd power switch. It looks like her powers might be more offensive than we initially thought.

The Purifiers are also beginning to ramps up their search for mutants. Benedict Ryan is back and encouraging Jace to get more boots on the ground. He follows because what else does he have going on now? Blinded by his hatred for the Underground and the divorce papers from his wife, he’s more than willing to hunt down more mutants. However, this might be a big problem for the Struckers, who are drawing the attention of their neighbors and landlords due to all their late night accidents.

At least The Gifted finally throws the Underground a bone in their fight against the Inner Circle. Marcos has all but given up hope about finding new recruits when Lorna takes control of his car. In an abandoned alley, she begs for help trying to stop Reeva. She knows the new recruits have killed thousands of innocent families and Reeva doesn’t seem to care. While she knows Marcos isn’t going to forgive her about their relationship, she does know he’ll help stop the Inner Circle.

Clarice also gets to give Marcos some grief in “meMento” which does give the two some much-needed bonding time. He asks for her help to get in touch with the Morlocks to move against the Inner Circle. She immediately calls him out for being a hypocrite and not even apologizing. He does give in and say sorry before they finally reunite with the Morlocks. Also, the Morlock who he once bonded with is there to greet him and we can’t help but wonder if he’s moving forward in the romance department. He even goes to kiss her before pulling away at the last moment.

Is Caitlin losing it? Reed sits her down for a proper discussion regarding Lauren’s personality change. He points out the music box plays a tune which was about a child getting brainwashed and the parents not noticing. You’d think she would finally get the message and stop trying to keep her daughter on this dark path. Especially when Reed also reminds her that Andy went through a similar process before he switched sides.

She doesn’t take his warning though and instead encourages Lauren to continue getting stronger. When the police show up, Reed quickly intercepts them while his wife and daughter hide. Some quick thinking by Lauren actually saves them when she uses her new slicing technique to draw focus across the street. While we’re thankful the Struckers weren’t busted, it’s a little alarming that Caitlin encouraged her daughter to do anything possible to get them out. Would she have stood by while Lauren attacked two cops?

The Gifted also forces Jace to face the fact that he joined a hate group. For the past few episodes he’s tried to claim that they’re “misunderstood people doing good”. However, in “meMento” he brings his army to a shelter where they interrogate two teenage boys. Neither knows anything despite Jace saying anyone who runs is hiding something. However, the African-American boy he’s talking to says he ran just because Jace is a Purifier. He points out his grandfather didn’t need a reason to run from the KKK, the same way Jace’s didn’t either. It stings and Jace is momentarily speechless.

Things are made even worse when his Purifier buddy, Ted, shoots the other teen out of fear just because the kid raised his hands. Jace is furious because of the blood on the back of the kid’s chair which shows he had been sitting down. Nevertheless, Jace decides to shed his morals and cover for Ted. We can’t imagine The Gifted is going to give him a redemption arc anytime soon. At least Jace has enough of a moral compass to realize he can’t get back together with his wife after doing something so terrible.

At least Lorna is well on her way to rejoining the Underground again. She heads to the apartment where Marcos relays the tip they received from the Morlocks about a train station. His Morlock friend also encouraged him to forgive Lorna. This comes pretty easily when Lorna breaks down regarding the way their relationship fell apart. She apologizes for the way she’s treated him and the two of them finally reunite. We’re one step closer to seeing the Dane-Diaz family getting back together!

Caitlin also puts her foot down and tells Reed they won’t be holding Lauren back. Her daughter reassures him that she’ll be able to handle it. By the end of the episode, it seems like she officially begins to move to the dark side. She finds locks of the Von Strucker’s hairs and a letter to carry on the family legacy. Could she do Fenris on her own now that she has the hair? In the comics, the sword seen at the beginning of the episode actually had a piece of Andrea’s skin on it. It seems like Andreas could use Fenris on his own so this could be possible. Nevertheless, she ends this episode threatening the landlord who called the cops on her family.

Meanwhile, the Reeva is working with Benedict Ryan? In hindsight, this isn’t all that surprising. She’s using his fear mongering and sway with the Purifiers to help scare mutants into joining her cause. However, it’s also helped Evangeline realize it’s time for the Underground to return. She calls John and Clarice to notify them of a meeting.

Next. The Gifted NYCC recap: X-Men series gets a ton of love from fans. dark

The Gifted returns next week with the Inner Circle ramping up their recruitment tactics. In the promo footage at the end of “meMento”, we get to see Lauren fighting Andy. It appears as she wins and the Frost Sisters have set their sight on a new Strucker sibling. Lorna is worried because the Inner Circle recruitment speech seems to be “join or die”.

What did you think of this episode? Be sure to tell us your thoughts in the comment section below!

Home/FOX