Fox and Marvel’s latest venture, The Gifted series, enters a well-trodden genre: tales of burgeoning mutant powers intertwined with family drama. This is territory that has seen peaks (the initial season of Heroes) and valleys (its subsequent seasons), often settling into mediocrity (ABC’s No Ordinary Family), yet it remains a consistently explored theme across both television and film.
The strategic brilliance of Fox’s scheduling, positioning The Gifted premiere just after ABC’s Marvel-adjacent Marvel’s Inhumans, is noteworthy. Having viewed the pilot episode of The Gifted, the sole installment available for critics, multiple times, each viewing has followed an episode of Marvel’s Inhumans. This context is crucial; while definitive judgment on The Gifted‘s overall quality remains premature, it undeniably possesses a certain heart and humor that grants it a significant advantage, especially when juxtaposed. Comparisons to FX’s Legion, however, are less pertinent. Legion operates on a different plane of aesthetic and conceptual complexity, making a direct comparison almost trivial. Fox’s astute timing, airing The Gifted‘s inaugural season between seasons of Legion, is undeniably a smart move.
Family First: The Strucker Dynamic
Created by Matt Nix (Burn Notice) and set within the X-Men cinematic universe, The Gifted series centers on the Strucker family. Reed (Stephen Moyer), the father, is a lawyer prosecuting individuals with mutant abilities, while Caitlin (Amy Acker), the mother, is a nurse. Their lives are upended when a high school bullying incident ignites their son Andy’s (Percy Hynes White) mutant powers – a form of telekinesis – and simultaneously exposes their daughter Lauren’s (Natalie Alyn Lind) previously concealed abilities, elemental manipulation, primarily involving air.
This revelation thrusts the Struckers into conflict with Reed’s employers and the Sentinel Services, an anti-mutant task force operating with minimal governmental oversight. They are drawn into the orbit of the Mutant Underground, a collective of strikingly attractive young mutants (and a dog) dedicated to safeguarding mutants and facilitating their escape to safety. The Mutant Underground features familiar X-Men characters: Emma Dumont as Lorna Dane (Polaris), wielding magnetism; Jamie Chung as Clarice Fong (Blink), capable of teleportation; and Blair Redford as John Proudstar (Thunderbird). Sean Teale portrays Marcos Diaz, whose powers are less explicitly defined initially.
The cornerstone strength of The Gifted lies in the believability of the Struckers as a cohesive family unit. Despite Moyer’s occasionally wavering American accent, he delivers a solid performance as the patriarch and shares compelling chemistry with Acker. Acker, though somewhat underutilized in the pilot, infuses her character with subtle resilience and wit. The Strucker children exhibit relatable teenage characteristics, realistic in the short term but potentially prone to becoming grating if the narrative resorts to contrived teenage drama. Lind and White establish an authentic brother-sister rapport from the outset.
Mutant Metaphors and On-the-Nose Themes
Nix and pilot director Bryan Singer adopt the mutant-trait-as-metaphor approach inherent in the original comics and Singer’s early X-Men films, a concept even Inhumans touches upon superficially. It’s a predictable, almost obligatory element of the genre. Andy, the ostracized teenager targeted by school bullies, finds his emerging powers amplifying his self-consciousness. Lauren guides him towards embracing his identity, offering the well-worn but still resonant reassurance, “It gets better.” While thematically straightforward, it lacks the emotional depth and symbolic richness of Singer’s previous mutant “coming out” sequences. The extended narrative arc of a 10-episode season offers the potential to enrich and deepen this metaphor, though The Gifted appears to move past it relatively quickly in the pilot.
The Mutant Underground itself presents fertile ground for metaphorical exploration. The group’s name evokes the Underground Railroad, and the irony of seeking refuge and freedom for mutants in Mexico adds a layer of social commentary. This aspect is subtly introduced in the pilot, and with Redford and Teale making somewhat indistinct initial impressions, it’s currently the least compelling facet of the premiere. Dumont, however, effectively conveys her character’s strength and resolve through physicality and attitude, despite Polaris’s powers being visually represented by somewhat generic glowing hands and CG effects. She emerges as a highlight of this storyline.
Balancing Action and Family Dynamics
The Gifted earns points for incorporating recognizable X-Men characters and acknowledging its place within the broader franchise. However, this connection also raises expectations, particularly given Singer’s skillful direction with a pilot episode budget unlikely to be sustained throughout the series. The pilot features three or four notable effects-driven action sequences, culminating in a tense encounter with Sentinel robots, which effectively counterbalance the domestic family moments. Sustaining this equilibrium in subsequent episodes remains a significant challenge, but the pilot’s compelling blend of elements makes it worth watching to discover if The Gifted can maintain its initial promise – a sentiment that stands in stark contrast to the less engaging Marvel’s Inhumans. Ultimately, it’s all a matter of context and comparative quality within the superhero TV landscape.
Cast: Stephen Moyer, Amy Acker, Sean Teale, Jamie Chung, Coby Bell, Emma Dumont, Blair Redford, Natalie Alyn Lind, Percy Hynes White
Creator: Matt Nix
Pilot director: Bryan Singer
Premieres: Monday, 9 p.m. ET/PT (Fox)
