In The Gifted Roundtable 1X08 “threat of eXtinction,” we learn just how deep the (von) Strucker rabbit hole goes, and we are here for it!
As promised, Dr. Campbell (Garret Dillahunt) put his plan into place and planted one of his Hounds with a group of refugees at a church. When the MU gets word from the preacher, Thunderbird (Blair Redford), Blink (Jamie Chung), and Eclipse (Sean Teale) head off to pick them up. Once there, a telepath named Esme (Skyler Samuels) alerts them to the Hound, who injures multiple people before being subdued. When they get everyone back to headquarters, Chloe (Michelle Kim) is held behind bars while the rest try to figure out what to do about her. Eventually, they decide to interrogate her for answers when they realize she looks like she’s withdrawing from drugs. With help from Lauren (Natalie Alyn Lind) and Andy (Percy Hynes White), Kate (Amy Acker) first sedates and then treats their captive to convince her to cooperate.
RELATED | THE GIFTED 1X08 “threat of eXtinction” REVIEW
Meanwhile, Reed (Stephen Moyer) is determined to get answers of his own from his long estranged father Otto (Raymond J. Barry). Thunderbird accompanies him to Chattanooga, where they confront the elder Strucker about his involvement with Trask Industries. Once he hears of his grandchildren’s powers, Otto reveals a long held family secret. His parents, Andreas (Paul Cooper) and Andrea (Caitlin Mehner) von Strucker, were mutant terrorists. While he also inherited the X-gene, Otto hid his powers and joined Trask to stop the gene from being passed on. He gave the only working serum to Reed, who barely survived the “treatment.” He warns Reed to protect the kids and reveal their ability to become Fenris. Before any more information can be given, Dr. Campbell turns up with Pulse (Zach Roerig), and Otto sacrifices himself to save his son and Thunderbird.
The revelations were aplenty this week, and we were left with our mouths on the floor and our minds spinning. How did our roundtable fare? Let’s find out:
Lydia (@lydia_sharp) – Author, Editor, and Marvel addict
Carolyn (@CarolynsGeekOut) – Senior Writer at Marvel Report and contributor to Screenrant
Ander (@AnderWriter) – Co-host of Omni-Comics podcast and Aquaman super fan!
Scott (@Scareythoughts2) – Writer and Podcaster for the Pop Culture Café. Husband. Reverse Philanthropist. Watch far too much TV
Heather (@xoheatherkw) – Quality control scientist, dog mom, fangirl extraordinare
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1. After weeks of waiting for the von Strucker twins to make their appearance, we saw them this week. Was it everything you hoped for?
Lydia (@lydia_sharp): Yasss. This was one of my favorite flashbacks, second only to the Eclaris Aurora Borealis. Most of the flashback starters haven’t done much for me, but this one…I wanted it to just keep going. Like, let’s take a week off from the present-day struggles and have a whole episode of past mutant mayhem. Can we do that? I think we should do that.
Carolyn (@CarolynsGeekOut): I’m hoping for more flashbacks. The only mutants we’ve seen in earlier time periods were Charles and Eric. Take the Struckers all the way back to the stone age genetically and show me more but for the moment yes, it will do. I have high hopes to see just how the mutant community took them, and I’m wondering HONESTLY if Eric had some idea of who they were and perhaps might warn Polaris somehow?
Ander (@AnderWriter): I loved it! It was so cool to see the little history lesson we got from Reed’s father about his family. The way they’re tying X-Men canon into this show has been amazing so far. I have to say, this was easily my favorite episode so far!
Scott (@Scareythoughts2): I expected to meet them in a little more climatic surroundings I think, but this worked for the storyline and left a strong sense of foreboding for the future. These flashbacks are nice in that they can reference the X-Men and other characters in that past universe every now and then. One of the few series I’d be looking forward to having flashbacks in.
Heather (@xoheatherkw): I was hoping for a bit more with the flashbacks. I mean, we didn’t even *really* get to see what the von Strucker twins can do together. Maybe this is the first of a few flashbacks? I also wish we would have seen some of Otto’s abilities and what drove him to suppress the X-gene in his son. Plus I wonder just how far back the X-gene goes for the Strucker family.
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2. We had a chance to meet a few new mutant refugees this week, including one who turned out to be a counter agent. Whose story touched you the most and why?
Lydia: All of their stories are very touching. However, at the risk of sounding heartless, I feel like they are too similar. “Sentinel Services killed my/abducted my {insert family member here}.” The connection to a family member is strong, so that’s an easy way to give a character a powerful motivation. But giving the same basic motivation to everyone? Eh. It’s losing emotional impact at this point. I’m sure the amazing writers of this show can come up with something more creative and unexpected for the next newcomer.
Carolyn: Chloe – I need to say something about Chloe ‘cause the first honest to goodness well developed Asian mutant we’ve seen so far was Jamie Chung’s Blink, but Chloe was a powerful POWERFUL character. She did something I’ve never seen a speedster do before and use what looked like martial arts. Most speedsters are brawlers. The story of a mother losing her child and then becoming addicted – I keep coming back to Turner. He knows this is coming, he knows what’s happened and he chose to do it anyway. There might be no way he can end up out of the fire. Bye bye redemption arc without a death…
Ander: I’d say Chloe’s was the more interesting one while also being the saddest one. It’s easy to think that the Hounds are evil, but then you see what happened with Chloe and Pulse and you realize that they were tortured and brainwashed. They weren’t evil nor have anything against the Mutant Underground, and that’s what makes their stories so powerful and so heartbreaking.
Scott: All of them were pretty well done and you could relate to each of their stories depending on your background. Loss of loved ones, issues fitting in due to physical mutations. etc. This show pulled at the heart strings by putting problems that we homosapiens face everyday on the back of a mutant storyline. Oh, and the big bastard has some potential too. Killing them off also gave it an extra special punch in the gut. People die in wars. That should be acknowledged in episodes like these.
Heather: I’m going with Chloe. We all know SS/Dr. Campbell will stop at nothing to achieve their agenda of wiping out mutants, so to see the effect that had on Chloe and her family was really heartbreaking! And even though she was in pain from the withdrawal symptoms, she still wanted to help the MU (and possibly her family and others that the SS may have taken). Although I really liked Esme too, she’s quite determined and knows what’s necessary to fight against SS and what’s at stake.
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3. Blink and Dreamer took the first step to mending fences this week, but they share one very attractive person in common. What do you think will happen in the long run?
Lydia: My hope is that Blink and Dreamer end up together.
Carolyn: I’ve been jossed before on this so I’m gonna wait and see but I’d be fine if they BOTH left Thunderbird – what would we call that, Dlink? (forgive me, the only thing that would make this show more perfect would be some solid LGBT representation) – as it is I hope Thunderbird ends up with Blink. They’re cute and she’s got this great Yoda and Luke Skywalker thing going on (he’s Yoda, she’s Luke) and I love the dynamic.
Ander: It’s cool to see Blink and Dreamer starting to mend fences, no matter how they might feel about each other, they’re on the same side here. I do hope Blink and Thunderbird become a thing, I like the dynamic between the two of them.
Scott: I’m glad they tied this storyline up. It didn’t seem like it had any purpose other than to swoon over Proudstar. There can be more interesting interpersonal conflict found elsewhere. In the long run? I hope Dreamer mists us all, and takes away the memory of that subplot.
Heather: Blink definitely put her feelings aside to rely on Dreamer and her abilities to help out the girl. It’s nice to see them start to patch things up, although I wonder how the Thunderbird situation will pan out. I am definitely hoping for Thunderblink in the long run! I think they work well together, and there’s great chemistry there. I’m curious as to what happened between Thunder and Dreamer to break things off in the first place – maybe a flashback?
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4. Lauren and Andy switched roles this week, with the latter playing protector. Do you think this could be the first step towards fulfilling their family’s legacy?
Lydia: They are sibling goals, for sure. I could see them putting each other’s welfare over literally everyone else, if pushed to an extreme. And when that happens, the whole world is basically screwed. I’m eager to watch how it all goes down—but from an assured safe distance. Like, the moon.
Carolyn: If it is, I hope they can use it for good. That’s my thing. Can we poll each other on new nicknames for them so they don’t inherit the family title? Inherited legacies mess people up something fierce, man. It was nice to see less of Andy’s angst tho. I’ll say that much.
Ander: Definitely! It was a nice change to see Andy stepping up to protect his sister this time. It’s going to be very interesting seeing whether or not this will lead towards them fulfilling their family legacy. I could definitely see it happening!
Scott: I don’t. I think this is the beginning of a split similar to Xavier and Magneto. The lad has a terrible temper and he reminds me a bit of Jean Grey in the vein of not really having control of his powers and being susceptible to outside influence. I can see them on opposite sides of the fight or flight ideology down the road.
Heather: It was interesting to see them switch roles in that aspect. I think it’s a step in the direction of them figuring out their powers together, and I really really hope they don’t go to the dark side with their powers. They’re both such sweet kids, so I’m hoping that they’re able to control their powers, or otherwise not give into the temptation of using them for their own gain. Considering the last scene of the Strucker family has them holding hands, I guess we’ll find out soon!
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5. We now know how Dr. Campbell is controlling his Hounds. How do you feel about its parallel to the drug war and minorities in America?
Lydia: One thing I love about this show is that it hasn’t held back from making these parallels to the dark side of our modern-day world. Nothing is sugarcoated, and this was no exception. I’m very pleased with this aspect of the show and hope it will open the door to serious discussions that bring about change.
Carolyn: Oh man! there’s a LOT to be said about using drugs to control the lower classes by making their lives so stressful that they have to cope and just-It made me want to read more about it and learn more if you follow me. Pulse’s end was tragic as hell, especially how he was just like “I’m sorry.” He knew as he was dying what he’d done and how many people acknowledge that? A lot of people who suffer from addiction. Campbell needs to come out looking ugly as sin. Like Phantom of the Opera levels of ugly.
Ander: I can definitely see the parallels of Dr. Campbell’s methods and the drug war which makes this show (and the X-Men in general) even more relevant to our times. It’s sad to see what happened with Pulse but at least he and Thunderbird got to have one genuine farewell.
Scott: That point was made pretty bluntly this episode hmm? I think it’s just a wee bit of a generalization, but it did make for a logical explanation of how they are controlling the Hounds in the field and did show a ruthlessness on the part of Sentinel Services that was not there before. It also conveyed their belief that mutant are considered less them human and tools to be used and put away.
Heather: There is not a word for how shady Dr. Campbell is. To find out that he’s been controlling the mutants by keeping them drugged is just a whole new level of appalling. It’s heartbreaking to see that paralleled with addiction in our society. Just heartbreaking.
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6. Otto dropped major truth bombs on his son this week. If you had to pick one word to describe your reaction, what would it be?
Lydia: Dead.
Carolyn: SHOCK.
Ander: CRAZY. I wasn’t expecting any of those truth bombs at all. It certainly makes things a lot more interesting for Reed though! Things just keep getting more and more interesting with this show.
Scott: Well my first reaction was “Wow, they killed 3 guests this week…am I watching The Walking Dead?” To sum it up into one word though would be – Legacy (shameless Marvel plug). Legacy of the sins of the father and grandfather being visited upon the son. I liked those flashbacks. They added another interesting layer to relatively complex show. I hope this more of them over time.
Heather: SHOOK! (with a side of WTF?!)
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7. Let’s play the “what if” game. If Otto could overcome Pulse’s suppression and the family’s powers are vast, do we really think Reed’s X-gene is gone forever?
Lydia: I’m hoping not! Maybe his “treatment” as a child made his powers dormant instead of eradicating them, and the incident with Pulse somehow reawakened them. If Otto could use his powers despite Pulse’s influence, I think anything is possible. No matter what happens from here, I’m just glad that Reed’s conflict has finally been leveled up a notch or twelve. I’d been waiting for that to happen, and this episode did not disappoint. In fact, it far exceeded my expectations. And thanks to The Gifted team, by the way, for dropping all of this right before the two-week hiatus. Guh. Y’all are terrible (wonderful) and I hate you (love you).
Carolyn: God I hope not. His life is so SET. That’s part of what I hoped for from a different Marvel TV show about people with powers (that shall remain nameless). The idea that one accident, one mistake, one thing could change a person’s life and having him overcome it. It also explores the X-Gene more. Could multiple adults just get enraged and level mountains? Yes please!
Ander: No way. I don’t think it’s gone for good. It might take more time to manifest itself but I think there’s a good chance we’ll see his powers…
Scott: I think it’s just dormant and could be a nice cliffhanger for the end of ONE of the seasons. Doesn’t need to be this one. They could play it a few ways . Hero to save the day…or villain to end this fight once and for all. There’s still a prosecutor in there somewhere.
Heather: Ooh, intriguing! My first thought when Otto could use his powers in Pulse’s presence was “I wonder if that extends to Andy and Lauren?” I guess I’ll never find out the answer to my question though… But to think that the Strucker genes are particularly resilient, maybe his powers aren’t gone forever.
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Final Verdict: The Gifted 1X08 “threat of eXtinction” has turned our world upside down and blurred the lines between good and evil once more
While only shown in the first few minutes of the episode, Andreas and Andrea von Strucker still managed to cause trouble for their future relatives. Despising his own parentage, Otto ended up working for the enemy so he could save his only son, Reed, from the same fate. This episode really asks us to think about how much we let our pasts dictate our futures, and how the decisions we make impact us in unexpected ways. What if Reed had been allowed to remain a mutant? Just how powerful could he have been? Would he truly have ended up bad if Otto had been truthful with him?
With as much build up as we have had over the appearance of Fenris, it was definitely a little disappointing to see only a flashback of them. Granted, they are long dead by now, but it would have been pretty awesome to see more of their lives, especially from Otto’s perspective. We’re also a little disappointed that Reed’s father died so soon after their reunion, especially since we wonder if Reed’s X-gene is truly suppressed/destroyed.
We definitely had our minds blown this week, between the Strucker family secrets and Chloe’s revelations. We mourn the loss of Otto and of Pulse, but death is inevitable in times of war. Plus, you know you were a little terrified seeing Andy and Lauren clasp hands at the end (it’s okay, so were we!). It looks like the MU is bringing the fight to Trask Industries next episode, so we can’t wait for the next two weeks to end!