The Gifted premieres on Monday, October 2, but ahead of its premiere, FOX has released the first six minutes of the series online. The video introduces us to four of the show’s main characters. Each character is a mutant with different powers. Three of the mutants — Eclipse, Polaris, and Thunderbird — are working together to track and find Blink, a mutant who just escaped Sentinel custody. Let’s breakdown the video, including everyone’s mutant powers and where they’ll be when the series begins.
Blink and You’ll Miss Her
The first mutant we see is Blink. Blink’s full name is Clarice Fong. She’s played by actress Jamie Chung, whom you may recognize as Mulan from Once Upon a Time. In the beginning of the show, Blink has just escaped from a mutant holding facility. You can tell her powers are new because at first, they don’t quite work. She ends up surrounded by the police, but she’s able to teleport away. Her strongest gift is teleportation — specifically opening up portals or doorways to other places. You may recognize that skill set from the X-Men film Days of Future Past. Another version of Blink played a role in that film. Her ability to open and close portals was a valuable asset in protecting the X-Men. Looks like her skills will also come in handy too, on The Gifted.
I See Lightning, I Hear Thunder
Next, we see a mutant with his hands on the ground, feeling for and listening to any traces of Blink. This mutant is named John Proudstar, also known as Thunderbird. He is played by actor Blair Redford from Satisfaction. Thunderbird is an expert tracker. He has an extrasensory skill set that allows him to see and sense things beyond just his natural eyes and ears. In this advanced footage, he can sense all the way back to Blink’s near arrest and her current whereabouts, nearby. Thunderbird also has incredible strength, which he uses to break the lock on Blink’s door. Thunderbird is part of the Mutant Resistance on The Gifted.
Total Eclipse of the Sun
Thunderbird is joined by fellow mutant Eclipse. Eclipse’s full name is Marco Diaz. He is played by Sean Teale, who was most recently in SyFy’s Incorporated. Eclipse has amazing powers, as you can see. He is able to light up any room or blind any opposing force. At first, it looks like the light is coming from only his hands, but when he gets shot there’s light coming out of the bullet hole. Does that mean his entire body is made out of light?
Polar Opposites Attract
Eclipse and Thunderbird are also traveling with Polaris. Polaris is played by actress Emma Dumont. Dumont was previously in Aquarius and Bunheads. Polaris’ full name is Lorna Dane. When she, Thunderbird, and Eclipse find Blink, Polaris reveals her powers to Blink first. She has telekinesis and can move things with her mind. Her telekinesis is linked to metal, much like another X-Men character, Magneto. In the episode footage Polaris uses her powers to escape from the police, but when Eclipse is shot, she uses her powers to harm them. Eclipse and Polaris appear to be a couple and she allows herself to be captured so he can escape. It looks like she will be on a journey this season on when to use her powers for good or for vengeance.
That’s all we’re allowed to see until Monday. Of course, now that we’ve seen these mutants in action, all we want is more. It’s wonderful that we get mutants on television in The Gifted, especially mutants who seem to be working to protect one another. We’ll have to wait and see what happens to Polaris on Monday and if Eclipse survives that bullet wound.
The Gifted premieres Monday, October 2 at 9/8C on FOX.
