We flash back to four years ago when Benedict Ryan hosts an unpopular talk radio program at a rundown radio station in Maryland. He receives a visit from Reeva, who offers the opportunist the chance to spread his message, clearly with some strings attached. She considers him a salesman, and she has something to sell. In the present they meet at the Capital (seems needlessly dangerous) where she gives him a job for the Purifiers. Reviewing the info he’s given Ryan says it’s a suicide run, and Reeva suggests Jace Turner, who she (correctly) guesses will jump at the opportunity.
Lauren lies on a bed with fever and convulsing as Reed tries to cleanse her of her mutant blood. Caitlin objects to dampening her powers but stops once Lauren starts speaking German, the language of her evil ancestors.
John (Thunderbird) chooses to be angry instead of sad about Clarice (Blink) leaving the Mutant Underground to join the Morlocks in the tunnels. He argues with Marcos (Eclipse) that at least Lorna (Polaris) didn’t run and joined the Inner Circle to bring about a new dawn for Mutants… as part of a group that murders innocent people. Strange argument long portrayed as being a pacifist, but I guess anger isn’t often rational.
Benedict Ryan persuades Jace to risk his life to eradicate the Morlocks because it’ll lead to him becoming the head of Sentinel Services, where he was fired from for being dangerously anti-mutant. Ryan offers no evidence to back up that claim, but Jace seems convinced by it.
Benedict persuades Jace to eradicate the Morlock because he’ll become leader of Sentinel Services. No evidence to back up that giant leap but okay.
Following a speech from Jace so badly written it sounds staged, Reed and Caitlin discuss their dilemma giving Lauren the serum that’s been treating his own mutant powers with something a line even more canned. Read says/explains thsat “If we give it to her we might put out the light inside of of her but if we don’t we could lose her forever.”
The Morlocks learn the Purifiers are raiding the tunnel and Blink calls Marcos (not John) for help. The two of them then call Reed and the Struckers agree to come despite the lack of any mutant abilities between the three of them.
The Inner Circle is informed Max, killed by Marcos with Lorna’s help last episode, is dead. Lorna keeps offering reasons he might not be dead, making herself stick out way more than necessary.
Clarice telepets the women and children out of the tunnels as the Morlocks hold the Purifiers back. She talks with John and they seem to make up.
Next Lorna decides to walk right up to Reeva and complain about being locked inside their headquarters, accusing her of not trusting them. Reeva makes a very good point that members of the Inner Circle should want to know why one of them was murdered.
When Lorna leaves the Frost Sisters inform Reeva found a spy. Turns out they suspect Sage, one of the newer members, whose password was used (by Polaris) to access security footage of Max the night he died. Apparently her mutant ability to have a mind function like a computer makes her mind impossible to impenetrate (“just 1’s and 0’s”) so the Frosts weren’t able to read her mind and determine her motives. This doesn’t explain why they didn’t read Lorna’s mind, who looks incredibly suspicious even without a sixth sense. Reeva uses her sonic scream to kill Sage.
On the car ride over to help the Morlocks, Reed says he has to stop taking the serum, too. They Struckers can’t keep hiding from their powers that turn them evil. After police cars surround them and Lauren can’t help with her powers dampened. The writers let Amy Acker be a badass again for the first time in half a season as she fires warning shots through the car’s windshield, giving them the chance to drive past them.
A crew of Morlocks walks up to dead bodies of Purifiers. Turning them over triggers gas grenades, knocking them down and giving the Purifiers the chance to spray bullets into all of them.
Erg wants the flood the tunnels in order to save the underground city. Even after Clarice tells him it’s too late to save their home he proceeds. Clarice continues to help get Morlocks out amidst the chaos. Before dying Erg manages to kill Jace’s child-killing friend, so there’s that.
Jace reaches Clarice as she’s still helping Morlocks escape through a portal. John watches in disbelief. The portal closes but you can still see her blood on the other side. Immediately after killing a protagonist of the show Jace picks up a teddy bear and seems to realizes what a homicidal nutjob he’s been. At this point, though, the writers need to realize he’s past the point of redemption.
This episode was, though at some points exciting, a big let down. The writing was very, very lazy. Even the chemistry between the Big 3 of the Mutant Underground felt fizzled, and in episode one where one of them says goodbye. It wasn’t a story problem, it was a script problem. I hope Episode 15’s is quite a bit better
