We begin with a flashback to seven months ago, a blissful moment of the Lorna and Marcos rejoicing in their pregnancy, although, discussing parenthood and their own families, turns the conversation into slightly different waters. For the first time, we see Lorna refusing to talk about her biological father; Magneto. They make promises to each other that they will never be like their parents. Pretty words considering the direction that Lorna and Marcos lives have taken in recent months.
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We then shoot to the immediate after reaction from the rest of the Inner Circle to Rebecca’s massacre of the humans inside the bank. It becomes very clear that Rebecca doesn’t share the same mentality or beliefs as the rest of the people in the car; Lorna, Reeva and Andy. After Andy attempts to partly defend her, saying she just lost control, Lorna claims that she doesn’t belong with them. Rebecca agrees and says goodbye to Andy before transporting herself out of the car and breaks into a run.
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Manifestations of X gene – genetically tailoring treatments for all patients. This is where the episode took a particularly interesting turn for me, as a viewer and reviewer. The concept that all mutant abilities were beneficial and somewhat controllable was quite simplistic and idealistic. Here we have the exploration of those who are suffering because their power is more of a disability, one that hinders and tortures their life, uncontrollably. The help they’re given creates an ability to control their body and their X gene. Here we’re seeing scientists and doctors who aren’t looking to eradiate the X gene, simply making it less volatile. We’re introduced to all this, when Reed and his family (minus Andy) travel to meet the doctor (Dr. Madeline Risban) who worked with his father and was involved in the trials and treatments that eradicated (or so he thought) Reed’s own X gene when he was young. With regards to this doctor, I feel like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop… Like there’s some kind of nefarious underling between the work that she’s doing and a potential underbelly… a somewhat dubious feeling of she seems ‘too good to be true’.
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We jump to another flashback, which shows us that Lorna spent her entire life growing up feeling alienated, and alone. Regardless of her aunt’s kindness and love, she felt ostracized by the kids in her school, the people in her town, everyone.
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We see that someone sent her a small box, which is the first telling sign of who she really is…. This is followed by jumping back to the previous flashback of Lorna and Marcos, talking about families. Specifically, her paternal one. She tells him that all she has of him, is this little present, the red metal disk. The only thing she ever received from her father was this tiny thing on her thirteenth birthday. She explains her further anger toward her father, how the world saw him as a monster and hated him, but she hated him more.
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We witness an honest conversation between Lorna and Esme, who discuss Dawn’s safety. Lorna doesn’t feel like her daughter is safe with the Inner Circle anymore, Esme regretfully agrees with her. They discuss a school for mutants in another country, which Lorna initially dislikes, but comes to agree that it would keep her safe. This entire episode is pretty much a further exploration of Lorna’s life, her history, what experiences made her who she is. Along with some sharp and painful realizations about the world and her adolescent life that might be a difficult (metaphorical) pill to swallow.
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We see something that we have been waiting for, a final re-joining of the family. Lorna and Marcos find their way back to each other. But its bittersweet, as she tells him that she wants to send their child to a protected school in Switzerland. He makes an incredibly poignant point when he says to her: “You, Reeva and all your new friends set the world on FIRE. And now you’re worried that your daughter might get burned.” This scene is probably one of the most heart-wrenching that the entire second series has contained.
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Watching Marco be asked to say goodbye to his child when he doesn’t even know her since he wasn’t given any opportunity to be near her, spend time with her. We witness a torturous expression on his face, and we the audience feel it and feel for him. His rights as a father have been non-existent from the minute his daughter was born.
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Whilst following Clarice and John who are searching for the Inner Circle member who went rogue and left their cars after the break-in and massacre at the bank, they eventually catch up to Rebecca. She hesitantly tells them the little she knows about what they were looking for in the bank: REGIMEN. This is what the Inner Circle was searching for in the bank that they attack, or at least, information about this mysterious Regimen*. When Clarice and John finally track down Rebecca, she tells them this information. – John later discovers that they are a tech company – right here, with offices in DC.
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Lorna, instead of sending Hope to the school in Switzerland, brings her to the woman, that raised Lorna herself. Her aunt, who Lorna struggled against. This episode is pretty much entirely surrounding Polaris, we see her transformation about understanding what her own father did for her. the hate that she was filled with for so many years, turns to understand when she herself is placed in a very similar situation with her own daughter.
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Aaaaaaaaand …. As predicted here we go.. The underbelly of the lovely Doctor’s work….. her work with Lauren and her father Reed, will make it possible to suppress the X gene in everyone. Even more damning evidence…. Her brother was Matthew Brisbane – who founded the Purifiers. We find this out from the lab tech named Noah, who was assisting Dr. Risbane and taking Lauren’s blood in order to synthesize a solution to the mutant issue as a whole.
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Lastly… and as an afterthought, we see the moment that Lauren is giving blood, and getting a needle pierced into her skin to draw said blood, Andy reacts in heightened pain and confused as to what’s happening. This is interesting and because their connection seems to be growing, initially, it was just their powers that were able to be combined. Then in the second series, as he’s moving further and further away from him, their dreams become intertwined and they can speak to each other within them. Now they potentially beginning to physically feel what the other goes through, this is quite a step up from being able to use their powers together, something is revving up. Is this their powers changing and allowing them to connect further, is it possible their physical selves resisting the physical space between them, wanting to reunite them and its manifesting in dreams and bodily experiences? We also see Rebecca get threatened by a mutant which we’ll have to wait to see any result of.
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