Marvel

‘The Gifted’ Season 1 Episode 8: “threat of eXtinction” Recap With Spoilers

Flashback to London in 1952. Music plays on a record player. There are reports of fugitive mutant […]

Flashback to London in 1952. Music plays on a record player. There are reports of fugitive mutant terrorists in the news. Andrea and his sister, Andreas, are those terrorists. They’re found and as the authorities storm the apartment the twins hold hands and there’s a flash of light.

In the present day, Reed reveals to his family that Trask Industries is involved with the hounds. He also reveals that he knows where his father, who had supposedly disappeared. He says his father was a difficult man, but that he may need to contact him now for the first time in years.

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Polaris is still angry at Eclipse over what he did for the cartel and how much he seemed to enjoy it. Polaris wonders if its a good idea for them to bring a child into the world when there’s a war brewing between humans and mutants.

Thunderbird is trying to coordinate how the Mutant Underground network can handle the influx of refugees. Reed tells Thunderbird that he needs ot go to Chattanooga to see his father. Thunderbird says they’ll leave when he gets back. He leaves with Eclipse and Blink on a mission. Blink, meanwhile, is still angry at Dreamer.

The three of them meet with a preacher who has been sheltering mutants. He says that the authorities have been snooping around and so he turns his current guests over to Thunderbird for care. One girl, in particular, is scared, but Blink invites her along personally. One of the refugees, Esme, reveals that she’s picking up bad thoughts from one of the other refugees. Thunderbird grabs the other refugee and sees the Hound tattoo on her arm. The Hound uses super speed to fight him off. Eclipse, Blink, and Thunderbird use a combo move to trap the speedster mutant hound and allow Thunderbird to knock her out.

Act II

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The Mutant Underground puts the Hound in a prison. The Hound had a tracking beacon on it that could have brought Sentinel Services right to their headquarters. One already hit another Mutant Underground cell. Thunderbird and Reed prepare to leave for Chattanooga.

Caitlin says that she should be going with him, but he tells her to stay, that he’ll manage despite how nervous he is about talking to his father again.

Blink talks to the young mutant girl, Nora, who is still shell-shocked from her experience. Blink gives her a blanket.

Caitlin is giving the new refugees some medical treatment. Lauren and Andy are helping her out. Caitlin moves on to helping Esme with the wound on her arm. Esme demonstrates her telepathic gifts to Caitlin, revealing that Caitlin is concerned she and her children may end up on the opposite sides of the coming war between mutants and humans.

Lorna tries to intimidate the Hound into giving them information. Eclipse stops her, but Polaris becomes agitated by Eclipses hypocrisy when it comes to what they do for the Underground and what he does for the Cartel.

Thunderbird and Reed find Reed’s father running an antique shop in Chattanooga.

Act III

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Polaris and Eclipse continue to argue over how to interrogate the Hound. Eclipse says one of the reason he joined the Mutant Underground was so that he wouldn’t have to continue doing the things he did for the cartel.

Eclipse examines the Hound’s behavior and comes up with the theory that she may be a drug addict.
They discuss it with Caitlin, who believes its possible the Hound is addicted to a mutant drug called Kick.

Blink talks to Nora some more. She asks how Nora ended up at the church. Nora was at the foster home that Blink used to live at. Nora was there when Sentinel Services stormed to home. She sees the men every time she goes to bed.

Reed’s father says they shouldn’t have wasted their time coming there. He says he was already visited by Sentinel Services. Reed’s father doesn’t seem particularly sympathetic to Reed’s plight. He told Sentinel Services the truth, that he had never met his grandchildren and hadn’t spoken to his son in years. Reed asks his father about his work at Trask. His father refuses to divulge the classified work he was doing. Reed reveals that Trask Industries has come back and that they’re experimenting on mutants and that he doesn’t believe his father’s research and his children being mutants is an accident. Reed’s father invites him upstairs. They leave Thunderbird in the shop.

Reed’s father, Otto, asks about Reed’s mother, who is still in Atlanta. Reed gives his father a picture of the family. Otto insists that everything he did was for Reed. He asks about Andy and Lauren’s powers. After hearing what those powers are, Otto says he failed and that “it came back.”

Act IV

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Dr. Roderick Campbell is not happy to hear the report about his Hound being captured.

Meanwhile, those still at the Mutant Underground headquarters knock out the Hound so that they can restrain her and give her a dose of Kick, hoping she’ll be willing to talk to them after she’s had her fix.

Otto shows Reed pictures of his own father and aunt, Andrea and Andreas, mutant terrorists. When they were apart, Andrea and Andreas had the same powers as Andy and Lauren. Together, they were called Fenris, “the wolf,” and they were incredibly powered. Otto is also a mutant, but he ran away and hid his powers from everyone, including Reed’s mother. His work at Trask Industries was a research project to eliminate the X-Gene. He failed at creating a serum for all mutants, but did succeed at creating one that worked on Reed alone. The serum caused a painful reaction in Reed that nearly killed him, which is why Otto left home. Now he realizes that it was all for nothing since Reed was apparently still an X-Gene carrier.

Act V

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Some of the other refugees from the church are angry that the Mutant Underground mutants let the Hound of her cell. They get heated, but Andy stares them down and they back off.

Sage uncovers some information on the Hound. She was a mother named Chloe whose kid got sick. When the doctor refused to treat mutants, Chloe destroyed the clinic. Chloe wakes up. She seems like she’s trying to talk, but can’t. It could be physical, or it could be a mental block. Caitlin thinks of the telepath, Esme.

Reed is still baffled at what Otto kept from him. Otto felt he was justified. Otto says that all Reed’s mother knew was that Otto had secrets, and those secrets destroyed his relationship with his wife and child. Otto wants to know if the children have held hands since they began using their powers.

Thunderbird comes in to tell them that Sentinel Services is outside. Specifically its Campbell, who gives Pulse a shot of Kick.

Otto apologizes to Reed and tells him to protect the children and to protect the world from the children.

Act VI

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Roderick Campbell introduces himself to Otto as a “big fan,’ saying his own work was built on what he dug up from Otto’s. Campbell asks about Otto’s son. Otto isn’t giving him up, but Campbell is going to search the place.

Otto uses his mutant power. Pulse tries to shut it down, but Otto fights it off. A Sentinels Services agent shoots Otto twice, but Otto still manages to send off an explosive blast.

Thunderbird and Reed find Otto dead downstairs. Thunderbird also finds Pulse, who has snapped out of the trance Campbell had him under. Thunderbird vows to make Sentinel Services pay before Pulse dies.

Esme reads Chloe’s mind. She senses “need” and “pain” and says its awful. Esme sees the event where they killed Chloe’s husband and took her baby. She sees the Trask Industries lab where the Hounds were kept. Caitlin promises to find the people who did this to her just before Chloe dies.

Blink finds Dreamer tending to the garden. She asks Dreamer for a favor. She wants Dreamer to take away the memories Nora has of seeing her foster parents die. Dreamer agrees.

Thunderbird and Reed bury Pulse and Otto. Reed leaves behind the photo of his family.

Polaris and Eclipse reconcile.

Reed returns home to his family. He lets them know about Otto. Lauren and Andy hold hands.