The Gifted - Season 1 Review
This review of Season 1 of The Gifted is spoiler-free!
I'm sure for many they're growing tired of Fox's feeble attempts to create something worth watching, whether it be on TV or film. Legion was the first true hit for Fox on television (Logan was a killer in theaters). Coming off the back of Legion's success is The Gifted, the newest mutant series on TV and finding its place on Fox. For me, when I first heard about The Gifted I was terrified by what could simply be a cash grab to capitalize on Mutants and fit some sort of terribly managed cinematic universe form Fox. Before I really get into the in-depth discussion of this show though, I will say that it is by no means a bad show. Sure there are some aspects that we will discuss that bring it down, but it still manages to do a lot right for Mutants and the general idea of X-Men as a whole. Enough stalling, let's jump right into The Gifted!
The Gifted is a unique show, it attempts to do something many other superhero shows don't: use a slew of characters that chew on screen time. Agents of Shield is the only thing I can think of that puts this much emphasis on so many characters. The Gifted is all about two different groups: The Mutant Underground (in a sense the successor to the missing X-Men), and the Strucker family. After discovering their two children are mutants, they are sent on the run and pushed into this Underground. From there they are working with this group of Mutants to try to save them and get the upper hand on Sentinel Services. That's the general premise of the show, but as the season moves along there are some new aspects introduced, and one specifically in penultimate episode that holds a major impact on whats to come. I'd be lying if I said I felt satisfied with the overall story of The Gifted. This season felt more like a setup for the great things to come, but there were some stellar moments that were not passed up. All-in-all, an OK start to the story.
Truthfully, there's a lot of characters I enjoy on this show. Without question, my favorite characters come from the Underground in Johnny (Blair Redford) and Marcos (Sean Teale), the leaders of this organization. Sure they're not the main characters of the show (which I will discuss shortly), but they're the two people who are thinking the most clearly through each episode and have a charisma that is unmatched by anyone else on the cast. They both face challenges throughout the season that were enjoyable and the actors nailed these two characters. Johnny's role as a leader of these young mutants is stellar and I found myself just as convinced by him as the characters were, while Marcos is a pillar for what the Mutants are, someone who may have done bad things but just want to do what's right for his friends and family.
Outside of the Mutant Underground though there are four main characters in the entire Strucker family. For me, the two good parts of this family are Stephen Mover's Reed Strucker and Natalie Alyn Lind's Lauren Strucker. Stephen Moyer is an actor for the show and many of the major plot points revolve around him and I can say that he handles this large role well. Sure some of his arcs are repetitive and never feel resolved, but he does the best with what he is given. Lind's Lauren is the much better of the siblings in the overall story. She thinks smartly and makes logical choices where her brother Andy (Percy Hynes) feels more like the necessary angsty and angry brother. He felt forced and didn't really fit for me besides a forced story. Along with this, the mother (Amy Acker) also feels to be an attempt to pull emotion. She is constantly just used as a means to say no to the children and it grew tiresome as she repeatedly did this through the season. This leads to my major complaint about the first season of The Gifted which I want to discuss now.
This show has one huge problem: it's repetitive. I spent a good two hours today before writing this trying to think of what happened in the middle episodes of the season. The truth of the matter is that the show follows this formula: something happens to require the mutants infiltrate somewhere. Following this infiltration Sentinel Services comes to stop them and conflict ensues with the mutants barely getting out and learning one critical piece of information. For me, this just grew so tiring and it took me awhile to come back to the series because of this repetition. The only thing that really kept me coming back in those middle episodes was the characters because some of the stories were just unnecessary and felt like pulling teeth to get through. For The Gifted to succeed moving forward I truly believe they need to clarify an overall story arc and follow it throughout the season instead of the holding pattern that was received in Season 1.
Truthfully, even though I had a few major complaints with the show, there still was a lot to enjoy in The Gifted's premiere season. Excellent visuals and some great characters elevate a rather bland show that doesn't truly go anywhere until the very end of the season. For those of us who prefer our superhero stories to be impactful and have deep narratives, the first season of The Gifted can be passed on. I would encourage those though who do pass to return for season 2, as it has some promising pieces that mirror great comic book stories which I only hope means good for it's future. Otherwise, for those who want another show where people use cool powers to save others, take some time to check out The Gifted. Just don't expect a masterpiece.
