Since its premiere in October, the strengths of Fox's The Gifted have been in its setting -- a rich world immediately recognizable to anyone who's watched an X-Men film -- and in the young mutant siblings at the heart of the drama. Any time the series veers too far from those elements, to focus on the humdrum members of the Mutant Underground or on the Sentinel Services agent pursuing them, it begins to falter. Needless to say, The Gifted faltered frequently in its first season, stumbling from a surprisingly boring love triangle into an equally mundane side story involving a crime family and, rather bewilderingly, a flashback featuring X-Men fundamentalist foes the Purifiers. There's a sense that the writing team is throwing the scraps of the mythology available to them at a wall to see what sticks.

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Some of it, like the Strucker family's connection to the mutant terrorists Fenris, does. Other elements, like Trask Industries' not-so-mysterious Hound Program, fall flat. Yet, that frayed story thread is nevertheless responsible for the debut of The Gifted's most compelling character(s) to date: the Stepford Cuckoos.

Played by Skyler Samuels (Scream Queens), the blonde-haired telepath Esme was introduced in Episode 8 as one of a group of refugees fleeing a crackdown by Sentinel Services. She immediately made herself invaluable, tipping off the Mutant Underground to one of Roderick Campbell's Hounds, who intended to infiltrate the group's ranks and destroy it from within. Esme was a sympathetic character, offering to do whatever she could to help, because Sentinel Services had her family in custody. However, we soon learned she wasn't as nearly as wide-eyed, or as altruistic, as she pretended: Using her telepathic abilities, Esme manipulated members of the Mutant Underground at every turn, positioning the group -- and herself -- for an attack on the high-security Trask Industries site. Once there, she turned Sentinel Services agents against each other, triggering a bloodbath the ended with the release of not only the Strucker children but also her triplet sisters Phoebe and Sophie.

Stepford Cuckoos on The Gifted

“Time to go, boys and girls,” the smiling Cuckoos said in unison. “The fun’s just starting.”

The flippant dialogue, and the needlessly violent actions, combined for a perfect introduction to the Stepford Cuckoos, who in Marvel's X-Men comics are the cloned daughters of Emma Frost, the villain turned hero also known as the White Queen. They're cold, calculating and, when combined, immensely powerful, and immediately more interesting than all of the members of the Mutant Underground combined. So much so that they should be a primary focus on The Gifted's recently announced second season.

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Despite feeble attempts at tension within the group -- between lovers Eclipse and Polaris, or between Blink and Dreamer -- the Mutant Underground is so good, so fully devoted to a common cause, that it's bland. Its members are hunted, persecuted and even killed, but there's little sense of desperation or a willingness to do whatever it takes to fight back, and protect what's theirs. Young Andy Strucker (Percy Hynes White) wrestled with those feelings early in the season before giving in to the ennui that infects the others.

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The Cuckoos, however, aren't bound by sentiment, or morality. They know what they want -- whether that's freedom, revenge or to further the mysterious plans of the resurgent Hellfire Club -- and will do whatever is required, without apology, to accomplish their goal. Whether that's killing a dozen Sentinel Services agents, or returning to the Mutant Underground after alienating its members. "We did what we had to do," they rationalize, in unison of course. "I saved your children. Did I mislead you? Yes, so you would do what had to be done."

Stepford Cuckoos on The Gifted

They're pragmatic and live in a world of grays, which is particularly refreshing on a superhero show, where everything is neatly compartmentalized into "good" and "bad." The Cuckoos represent chaos and uncertainty, both welcome elements on The Gifted, which finds repeated comfort in a formula (Plot A: Mutant Underground mission; Plot B: Strucker family learns more about past/powers).

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Just as importantly, they open a door to further expansion of The Gifted's fictional world. As agents of this new incarnation of the Hellfire Club, they're connected to the past -- the organization had links to Fenris -- the present and, perhaps, the future. And the confirmation in last week's episode that the trio's last name is Frost raises the possibility that Emma Frost, erstwhile White Queen of the Hellfire Club, is lurking in the shadows, pulling the strings of the Inner Circle and manipulating the actions of her daughters. If Polaris' father Magneto can be standing just off-stage, then so too can Emma Frost. (Heaven knows Fox's X-Men franchise hasn't done anything with her since January Jones' performance in 2011's First Class.)

The aims of the Hellfire Club, which for now align with those of The Gifted's protagonists, are intriguing enough to fuel half a season's worth of stories. The same can't be said of the Mutant Underground, whose value is primarily in providing a place for the lives of disparate characters to intersect. Sort of like the Mos Eisley Cantina, or Cheers.

A shift in focus to the morally ambiguous Cuckoos, and their shadowy masters at the Hellfire Club, wouldn't come at the expense of the Strucker family (who, come on, were ready to ditch the Mutant Underground anyway). Instead, it would place mutants in the driver's seat, calling the shots rather than merely reacting to Sentinel Services and Trask Industries. The Hellfire Club's history with Fenris, and interest in young Lauren and Andy Strucker, make them an obvious (if wholly untrustworthy) ally for the family, guaranteeing endless drama as Reed and Caitlin slowly come to they've made a deal with the devil.

Maybe then in that scenario that Mutant Underground would find a more compelling purpose, in trying to wrest the Struckers from the grip of the Inner Circle. At least that would get them out of that rickety old bank.


Airing Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Fox, The Gifted stars Stephen Moyer as Reed Strucker, Amy Acker as Caitlin Strucker, Sean Teale as Eclipse/Marcos Diaz, Jamie Chung as Blink/Clarice Fong, Coby Bell as Jace Turner, Emma Dumont as Polaris/Lorna Dane, Blair Redford as Thunderbird/John Proudstar, Natalie Alyn Lind as Lauren Strucker, and Percy Hynes White as Andy Strucker.