With John captured by the Purifiers, the Underground are forced to turn to the unlikeliest of allies to try to save him. But is either side of this fragile alliance really ready for what they will see?

Last time out, we saw big things go down as the Mutant/Human war seemed about ready to kick off in a massive way. This episode, things are a little more focused.

John has been captured by the Purifiers, allowing the other remaining members of the Underground to escape. This means that their first order of business is getting him back, but the only problem is with their now severely depleted resources, neither they nor any of their contacts has any idea where he is. What they do have is one of the Inner Circle’s own – Fade – with whom to bargain for help from the last people they want to turn to.

This really drives to the heart of what the X-Men has always been about as a franchise – it recognises that there are no easy answers, no clear black and white demarcations in this sort of conflict, and it plays with that idea to its fullest extent. Only in a show that’s balanced this subject matter this well so far could you get away with this – an instalment where the two mutant factions (or at least elements thereof) join forces to face a common enemy, but with the explicit understanding on all sides that once this particular problem has been faced, nothing fundamental will have changed.

Watching the tensions as these two factions attempt to work alongside one another is truly fascinating. On one hand you have a clear-eyed cynical survivor who goes into this with eyes wide open and still finds themselves taken off guard. On the other you have a more idealistic individual who quickly finds themselves disabused of any notion that their cause can be successfully explained to the other side. Crucially, even when people are doing bad things – and they do – it’s for understandable reasons. There’s nuance and intelligence on display here in the writing that really does give me hope for what the medium can do when it really commits to its subject matter.

And while the members of the uneasy alliance are busy bickering and working together as best they can, John is confronted with Jace and his Purifier sidekick interrogating him. True to his nature, John isn’t about to give up his friends, but his exchanges with Jace are fascinating, even as it becomes obvious how things are going to go. We see flashes here of the man Jace really is, beneath all the rage and bitterness, but we also see, in full effect, the man he has become as a result of both. I recall back in the opening episodes of the first season thinking that Turner was the weak link in the show, a two-dimensional antagonist in a show that was doing so much elsewhere. Now, it’s possible to start seeing just how much groundwork was being put in by both the writers and Coby Bell on the character. The gradual progress of Turner from by-the-book government agent through to loose cannon and now full on paid up member of an anti-mutant hate group has been quite the thing to witness, and I’m almost nervous to see where it goes next.

Among the drama there’s some epic action scenes, with mutants working together against what should be overwhelming numbers to win the day, and it’s nice to see once again that the budget of the show doesn’t hold it back from delivering on this score, equally as much as it’s nice to see it in general not having to rely on flashy explosions and such.

Compared to the sheer epic scale and breadth of the mid season finale, it can’t help but feel a little smaller and quieter, but for me that works. The Gifted has always been a show that leaned heavily into character and narrative theme, focusing on the individual stories and struggles within the wider conflict. Had it just morphed into some mass war story here, that essence would have been lost, and this was a far more immediately interesting story to tell.

Verdict: Challenging, thought-provoking and emotional as ever. It might lack the sense of scale and grandeur of the mid season finale, but it makes up for it in commitment to themes and character. 9/10

Greg D. Smith