The second-to-last episode of The Gifted, "Monsters," is mostly about moving chess pieces around the board. That is to say, all of the characters need to be in the correct spots before the finale. The result is kind of boring to watch, and there are a few scenes that get wrapped up in ways that don't quite make sense. Lauren and Caitlin are on the run from the cops, but their escape ends up being surprisingly simple in the end, thanks to Marcos and Reed's help. Reed is finally using his mutant powers, and it's going surprisingly well... so well that he has discovered he enjoys using them to kill people (RIP Wilson, Jace's boyfriend). Jace Turner still can't manage to get on the right side of history, but Esmee Cuckoo sure seems like she's about to. And of course, Lorna and Andy finally leave the Hellfire Club in this episode, a decision that was long overdue since Reeva's plans for world domination have become downright evil.

Next episode: "oMens," The Gifted

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Multiple major characters die in "calaMity," the third-to-last episode of The Gifted's final season, except wait, we shouldn't call Sage a major character, should we? It's a damn shame what this show has done to her, and we can't believe how anti-climactic her death scene turns out to be. Sage takes the fall for Lorna's bad spycraft within the Hellfire Club, even though the reasons for her being the scapegoat don't make a lot of sense. The rest of "calaMity" is a thrill ride that builds up to Jace leading the Purifiers in The Gifted's version of the Morlock Massacre, in which a surprisingly high number of Morlocks survive, thanks to Blink calling Marcos (and not her ex-boyfriend John) to bring in all the ex-Mutant Underground folks with some getaway cars. Unfortunately, despite everyone's best efforts, it's Blink who doesn't make it out of this situation alive. But isn't she supposed to be alive at the end of this show? Hmmm...

Next episode: "Monsters," The Gifted

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With only a few more episode to go before its cancellation, The Gifted is still chugging along, ramping up the stakes of the Inner Circle's motivations. In "teMpted," Lorna engages in some bad spycraft and learns that the Inner Circle's most dangerous new recruits intend to bomb the Pentagon and the White House. She loops Marcos in on the plan, which leads to a climactic murder at the end of the episode (not of Marcos, at least we hope not). Before we get to that, though, Marcos spends this episode underground trying to help save the life of Glow, who gets shot by police in the process of stealing food for her fellow Morlocks. With the help of Marcos, Blink, and the controversially human Caitlin, Glow survives, and even Erg has to admit that Caitlin helped in the end. Meanwhile, Andy is working with the Cuckoos to brainwash Lauren into joining the Inner Circle, and it just might've worked, if not for Reed stepping in and flourishing the ol' anti-mutant serum.

Next episode: "calaMity," The Gifted

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"hoMe" may not be a five-star episode of The Gifted, but with so many bangers in season 2, we can forgive it. We learn that Evangeline co-founded the Mutant Underground with Erg, the leader of the Morlocks, but then screwed him over. Despite that, she still blackmails him into joining her (along with the rest of our Mutant Underground hold-outs) for a "last stand," although it's not entirely clear that that entails. We'll never get to find out, because it fails, but in the process, Erg and John have a "last stand" of their own and it leads to Blink finally dumping John (long overdue) and joining the Morlocks (also long overdue). Meanwhile, Reed Strucker becomes fascinated by the music box that has his daughter hypnotized, and his daughter and wife go fight some cops and possibly get Uncle Danny killed. Remember Uncle Danny, the lawyer? He's back for some reason.

Next episode: "teMpted," The Gifted

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"meMento" is not only an all-time great episode of The Gifted, it's one of Maddy and Ryan's all-time favorite episodes of TV, period. Every single character's storyline comes to a head in some way. Lauren Strucker gets enchanted by the music box that's passed down through her family for generations, and it seems to be kicking off her villain era. Meanwhile, Lorna is questioning the Inner Circle's true motivations now that Reeva Payne has enlisted a trio of serial killers to perform a mysterious mission. And when Lorna reaches out to Marcos, their relationship naturally gets rekindled. With John bedridden and wounded once again, Blink is questioning whether she can stay with someone so self-destructive. Most striking of all is Jace Turner's storyline, in which he decides to stand up for his Purifier cop friend who shoots an innocent mutant child. Jace's mental health takes a real dive after that one.

Next episode: "hoMe," The Gifted

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Maddy and Ryan are in full form for this week's episode of the Mutant Ages, so we hope you're ready for an ADHD roller coaster. Regardless, this week's episode of The Gifted was not exactly an A+ but it wasn't bad by any means. John has been kidnapped by the Purifiers, which means the remaining Mutant Underground members have to get Lorna and Andy's help because they need some serious firepower to overtake a human militia with an organized compound full of guns. Reed and Caitlin are thrilled to have their son back... until they see what he's become, and what Lauren has been warning them about for *months* now.

Next episode: "meMento," The Gifted

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Maddy and Ryan open the listener mailbag to answer questions about The Gifted and Lauren's coming-out story, various video games featuring the X-Men, and more. The second half of this episode is The Mutant Ages: The Comic Book episode in which the team visits the Land of Cloakys, and that's why you're really here, you just don't know it yet.

Next episode: "eneMy of My eneMy," The Gifted

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Justice for Twist! Ryan and Maddy review "gaMe changer," yet another great episode for The Gifted's second season. The Hellfire Club has apprehended Rebecca and locked her up in a spinning cube, but when Andy tries to rescue her, it doesn't end well. The rest of the Strucker family figures out that the kindly doctor helping them actually has Moira/Dr. Sasaki vibes, which is never a good thing. Clarice and John are still arguing over what's left of the Mutant Underground, and Marcos is the depressed third wheel, although the three of them still manage to figure out the Hellfire Club's next move even if they don't manage to stop it. And what is that next move? Taking out the power source for every mutant collar in America. A very poorly guarded power source.

Next episode: Listener mail!!

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Magneto is the most important part of "the dreaM," despite that he never actually shows up in person on The Gifted. This is another amazing episode and this time it's focused on Lorna and her personal journey towards accepting that she's her father's daughter, and that her own daughter Dawn is not going to be safe as Lorna and the rest of the Hellfire Club continue with their violent uprising against a bigoted human supremacist government. Rebecca, AKA Twist, runs away from the Hellfire Club and leaves a trail of destruction in her wake, although when John and Clarice find her, Rebecca actually does decide to help them, suggesting that she's not all bad. Reed Strucker, meanwhile, has decided to work with a woman who bears a striking similarity to Moira MacTaggert, and we all know that's not a good thing.

Next episode: "gaMe changer," The Gifted

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In "no Mercy," the Hellfire Club is ready to perform their bank heist, but it wouldn't be a heist episode if something didn't go wrong. Maddy and Ryan feel like Lorna could have opened this safe herself, but it's Rebecca's job, and Rebecca doesn't just want to steal money from Creed Financial. She wants to steal... human lives. Meanwhile, Reed Strucker is still suffering from mutant denialism, and Jace Turner makes the tough decision to go on TV with a not-quite-William Stryker type character and become the face of the Purifiers.

Next episode: "the dreaM," The Gifted

E-mail us your feedback at [email protected] or follow us on social media at TheMutantAges, MIDImyers and RyanPagella. If you like what you hear, please consider supporting us via patreon.com/themutantages. Thanks!