PILOT REVIEW: The Gifted

THE GIFTED

Starring: Stephen Moyer, Amy Acker, Sean Teale, Natalie Alyn Lind, Percy Hynes White, Coby Bell, Jamie Chung, Blair Redford, Emma Dumont

Based on the Marvel Comics Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Created by Matt Nix
Written by Matt Nix, Directed by Bryan Singer

THE PREMISE
The Gifted is another new Marvel show, this one set in the X-Men Universe, but it has a less comic-book driven premise. Reed Strucker (Stephen Moyer) is a district attorney specializing in prosecuting mutants. He lives with his wife, Caitlin (Amy Acker) and children Lauren and Andy (Natalie Alyn Lind and Percy Hynes White). His whole world is upended when his children turn out to be mutants. They try to flee with the help of Marcos Diaz/Eclipse (Sean Teale) who is in charge of a mutant underground in exchange for Reed's help with jailed mutant Lorna Dane/Polaris (Emma Dumont).


THE REVIEW
As I've mentioned before, I gave some serious thought to ending the blog this summer. One reason was how unenthusiastic I was about the fall crop of new shows and the glut of military and sci-fi dramas, two genres that I'm generally uninterested in. Most of the fall shows have matched my low expectations but I would say The Gifted is the first to pleasantly surprise me. I don't know if I will stick with it as it delves further into the X-Men world, but I was intrigued by the concept in general and I thought the pilot was well executed.

What I liked about it was I didn't feel like I had to be "in the know" as I have felt with other comic book shows. I felt like coming in as someone who has never seen an X-Men film, I could still appreciate this show and follow the story well because they grounded it with the story of the two new mutant teenagers. I thought the cast was strong though it was a little odd to see Amy Acker in the suburban housewife role after he dark turn in Person of Interest. And although the show got a little heavy handed at time (Reed saying he would do anything for his family), the performances were pretty grounded in reality even in a fantastical world.

What I want to know and am curious to see is what this show will look like on a weekly basis. The previews at the end of the episode seems like its heading in more of a sci-fi direction. I'd imagine that's promising and encouraging for many, but it makes me less enthusiastic about this show. I would rather see a family on the run and trying to deal with their mutant children because I was pretty meh on any scene that had to do with the mutant underground. But I realize what this show is going to be and the audience it's intended for.

WILL I WATCH IT AGAIN?
Yes. I will definitely watch episode two but we'll see after that. Unlike Inhumans, I think this is a good Marvel show. I'm just not sure it's for me.