The Gifted is a FOX TV series, not a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, about mutants struggling to survive in a world in which the government treats most mutants as if they are terrorists or worst. If you don’t hear those comic book pages flip, there is no guarantee of quality. It is an ensemble cast, but Stephen Moyer of True Blood fame (he played Bill) is probably the most famous cast member.
I was drawn to The Gifted because no matter how dreadful the movies get, I still watch them because I’m a completist, and I like the idea of human mutant relations as a metaphor for racism. The TV series expands on that issue to encompass the treatment of immigrants, refugees, the LGBTQ community by an indifferent to gleefully complicit majority, an increasingly fascist government working hand in hand with an unethical corporation. Usually such politically germane sci-fi is delightful, but before a TV series can be imbued with such meaning, it has to have interesting characters and a riveting storyline. Without it, the message feels laid on with a trowel, detracts from the momentum of the plot and becomes repetitive.
The Gifted’s first season consisted of thirteen episodes and will return on September 25, 2018. I’m not a fan of storylines in which a group that I haven’t had time to become invested in gets split up, and I’m supposed to be rooting for them to get reunited. I don’t know you, and I don’t care. Show me what a normal day is like for them and let me get to know them before making everything go to hell. For me, I didn’t begin to get interested in the overall plot of the show until Episode 5 though I began to care about some of the characters in Episode 3. What is it about the third episode of first season shows? Do that in the pilot please. Until Episode 8, the show’s momentum seems doomed to be the following: the mutants are doing something, Sentinel Services or a lynch mob tries to stop them, they get away by using their powers, rinse and repeat. Yawn. It also helps when the show starts with a flashback.
Also The Gifted does not trust its audiences to relate to mutant characters so it makes the human characters the focal point of the show, which Alphas also mistakenly did, but I don’t watch the X-Men for the human characters. The series is hitting the #notallhumans note way harder than necessary and is really heavy handed in a way that echoes the sentiment that there are very fine people on both sides. In its effort to create sympathy and not alienate Presidon’t supporters as if there is still hope for them because look at these good people who could change that we created out of thin air and don’t actually exist, but were also complicit, it detracts from the real draw of the show: people with powers.
The Gifted has potential, but the majority of the cast is not filled with thespians. For example, remember the actor who played Mulan on Once Upon A Time. On one hand, I wanted to root for her because there are not enough Asian actors getting work, but after you see her work, I realized that I needed to be more explicit and request more good Asian actors. She is better than she was on OUAT, but still fairly wooden. You don’t need to be a household name to grab the camera’s attention. A complete unknown should be able to project multiple, conflicting emotions on his or her face, but most of these actors are one note—sufficient, photogenic, but not outstanding.
The Gifted was smart to cast Amy Acker, whom I will always think of as Fred, but more importantly as Illyria from Angel. She is probably one of a handful of actors who brings more to the screen than is on the page and brings a hint of danger and determination to a role that could have been a boring, thankless role, particularly at the end of Episode 3. Garret Dillahunt, as always, makes an excellent villain. Poor guy must go to parties, and people shun him because he gives off evil vibes effortlessly just by saying the most innocuous word. Skyler Samuels is a great eleventh hour surprise that managed to steal every scene from the minute that she appears in Episode 7. Who knew that Scream Queens was a great training ground for young talent! I’m on the fence about Coby Bell. Bell plays the lead Sentinel agent and has to walk a thin line of having the audience’s sympathy while clearly doing bad things. He is able to do that, but how does such a character develop in future seasons without becoming boring? So far, he has avoided that because his past and current home life helps to keep him interesting, and I’m not sure if that will keep working.
I actually think that John’s storyline has the potential to be the most interesting, but right now, he has to share space with 8,000 other characters, particularly Lorna and Marcos, who act as foils to Reed’s family with mixed results. I’m also not sure if Blair Redford is more than a pretty face. Is it just me or is the way that the whole Fenris thing shot and written a little incesty, especially since the brother is always messing with his sister’s dates early in the show? Or have I been watching too much Game of Thrones? Who is Otto’s mother?
The references to the X-Men franchise are spotty or veiled. I don’t mind, but just the fact that no one just comes out and says Magneto’s name suggests that the writers are walking some invisible tightrope. I did adore the special effects on the baby Sentinel. Talking about the X-Men as if they are a myth is fine, but does get annoying if we never find out what actually happened to them. Better not to mention them at all. The Hellfire Club appears to be way more intriguing so I’m hoping that future episodes set up an equally riveting benefactor in the shadows as a counterbalance for the Mutant Underground. The Mutant Underground needs at least one magnetic (not you, Lorna) black man so why not—sorry, Shatter and Fade, but clearly you’re one line guys. Or maybe The Gifted needs a black woman other than the housewife, the prosecutor that you would miss if you blinked at the right times in the first episode or the legion of lynchy inmates.
I’ll be back for season two either way. The Gifted could go either way. There is a lot of room for improvement, but it was never dreadful and could be fun when it didn’t feel self-conscious like an After School special. Maybe the threat to the mutants should have been lower because it is going to be a higher bar to beat in subsequent episodes. Still getting invested in a sci fi show on FOX seems like a high-risk venture, but times are changing, and comic book heroes equals serious bank.