Quick Summary: As the Struckers' lives turn as upside down as the gym that dance was held in, they band together with the Mutant Underground as Sentinel Services are tracking them down.
So Are You Gifted?
I have to admit I am not a huge superhero fanatic. I love origin stories but then get bogged down in the "if they are so powerful why can't they end this" etc. So I went into The Gifted as an Amy Acker fan first and foremost. What I found was a story that can appeal to all groups of people. Action/Adventure fan? This show has you covered. Looking for love stories? You can check that off. Into a bit of horror? You can find that here. It can be hard to fit into so many categories and still be a quality product but The Gifted does it with ease. The pilot has a movie tone (of course it is directed by Bryan Singer) but the seeds for an episodic t.v. series are planted here.
Gifted Isn't Just For Mutants:
One of the major wow components of this show is the talent of the actors. They only have a short time to get the audience to feel for their characters and to find out what happens next. I already told you I am a card carrying member of the Amy Acker fan club so I know how talented she is. Her Caitlin Strucker is one of her more "normal" characters but Acker makes her just as important and gripping to watch. Acker also has the hard task of making a character not resemble any of her other characters she has played or herself, an actual mother and sweetheart of a person. She allows her face to register ten or more emotions at once as she learns her children have the mutant gene. When Agent Turner and his merry band of mutant haulers are at the door, Acker shows how Caitlin starts off trying to stay calm but then goes into full no-way-in-hell mode. It is always a performance worth noting.
Emma Dumont almost reminds one of Root as her character is literally locked up and does put a little hurt on Stephen Moyer's Reed with pleasure. Like Acker did for POI, Dumont immediately makes her Lorna engaging and the audience wanting to see more of her. Watch for her to be quite the scene stealer.
The Strucker kids played by Natalie Alyn Lind and Percy Hynes White have a realistic sibling chemistry and were already amazing in their performances. To be young and already be so good...well we will be watching them for along time.
Sean Teale has already star quality as leader and intense Marcos. The quiet moment he learns he is going to be a dad registers so well on his face and his anguish at losing Lorna...come on you shed a few tears. You can admit it, we are all friends here. Jamie Chung gets to play some adorable comedy with the mutant's dog and also show poor Blink's fear and unloved feeling. She hits the nail on the head for each performance. Kudos also to Chung for making the portal making be a fearful thing for Blink with what could go wrong with it (and also having to pretend like that). Blair Redford only has a short time on the screen but he made John already distinguishable as the level headed, quieter counterbalance to Lorna and Marcos. Coby Bell is always the performer you belove in his past roles so having him play the villain is brilliant. Not only is Agent Turner not a cardboard cutout cliche of a villain but you can't help wanting to see what Bell will be able to offer in the future episodes. Stephen Moyer has to make you feel for the guy that is prosecuting the mutants. Moyer wisely slips in slight smiles and efforts to show that Reed is a good guy just not wanting to admit to what was happening might be wrong.
The New Family:
Family is the real definition of this show. The Struckers are the regular, nuclear family with some heightened teenage angst. The love for their children out weighs anything else even if it means going against the law. Meanwhile the mutants have their own new family- people pushed off from regular society because of being different. The symbolism of their underground headquarters being in a ruined bank is not lost on the viewer. There are great parallels between the two families. The scene between dads Marcos and Reed is perfect showing that neither man will back down when it comes to protecting their families even if it means going against what they believe in. Reed turning against the system he once worked for and Marcos hiding his intentions from John. The mothers are not similar but they do act the same. There is Caitlin who can maintain composure until she lashes out enough to ram her mini van at whatever is behind her in an effort to escape with her children. Lorna is calm until she discovers she's pregnant then she screams breaking the glass. Family will protect family. Andy is trying to learn about his powers and they are awesome but scary. Blink is trying to maintain her portals which are amazing but can be scary, too. Lauren is level headed, so is John. See, parallels. Love when writers do that.
Making You Think:
The show, created by Matt Nix who has a prestige of writing strong women and dynamic villain characters, isn't just entertainment. It raises a lot of thoughts or questions which always makes me enjoy something more (sorry studied literature in college). We love Andy but it is understandable why someone could fear his major powers that he hasn't harnessed yet. Although he didn't mean to he could have hurt a lot of kids in that gym and not just the bullies that deserved to be stopped. Sentinel Services are protecting people they say but inhumanly holding kids and chasing down families with straight out of a horror film spider things -not the best way.
Questions:
Will there be a LGBTQ character eventually? It would have made sense if one of the Strucker kids were given the way the parents easily accepted the mutantism. How did the Sentinel Services actually find Marcos and the Struckers? This seems like it will be a big plot reveal later. Do any of the mutants have jobs? They need a way to pay for food etc. could be interesting to see.
Final Thoughts:
The writing, directing and acting are top notch. Big props to hair and makeup and all the behind scenes crew who put the pilot together. Pilots have to explore a new world in a short time and The Gifted does so with ease. It is a fun ride with depth and the themes of family, love and hopefully finding acceptance.
No comments:
Post a Comment