The Gifted finale recap: 'eXtraction'/'X-roads' 

’s season 1 finale. One of them, apparently, is Dr. Roderick Campbell’s lifelong mission. Ever since he had to watch his brother die slowly of cystic fibrosis, Campbell has dedicated himself to protecting humankind from dangerous genetic mutations. Anyone familiar with the rhetoric of Adolf Hitler will know that metaphors about “unclean” genes and diseases are staples of fascist rhetoric, and Campbell completes the image by giving a rousing speech about how regular humans once banded together to wipe out their Neanderthal rivals, and they can do it again. As if that weren’t already going “full fascist,” Campbell is now on his way to a conference called Humanity Today, to speak to politicians and other well-connected attendees of the anti-mutant hate-fest.

Campbell should know, however, that he has a big target on his back. As he’s the main mind behind the Hound Program, the Cuckoos are determined not to let him get to D.C. So, they’re working together with the Mutant Underground to infiltrate the event’s security detail and grab Campbell when they get the chance. Esme and her sisters try again to sow division among the mutants by pointing out Blink used to have connections to the Brotherhood, but once Blink stops them from telepathically torturing a kidnapped anti-mutant official, that officially makes her “one of us” in Thunderbird’s eyes. As a bonus, that connection allows Blink and Thunderbird to cap off their season-long tension with a kiss.

Unfortunately, the plan to grab Campbell doesn’t go great. Thunderbird, Blink, and Eclipse all jump him when he comes out of an elevator at the convention’s hotel, but his Hound bodyguard gives them some trouble (you may remember him as the guy who induced a stroke in the nosy Department of Justice official a few weeks back). By the time Thunderbird finally takes him down along with the other guards, the mutants are hit with the unpleasant arrival of an elevator full of children. Campbell grabs one of the kids as his hostage and makes his escape, forcing the mutants to retreat with their tails between their legs. The mutants may scream themselves red arguing about not using violence against innocent people, but it’s clear that their enemies have no such compunctions, making for a rather uneven life-or-death struggle.

The Struckers aren’t part of the kidnapping team because they’re too busy protecting Reed’s mother. Determined to get all possible information on Otto Strucker’s X-gene research, Campbell is sending the Sentinels to round up everyone with any connection to Trask. Luckily the Struckers are able to smuggle their grandmother to safety in time, but not before revealing some big tensions between Andy and Lauren about how aggressively they should use their powers against their enemies. Lauren respects the values of the X-Men and wants to use her powers to protect people, but Andy has a more aggressive attitude. For now, the Mutant Underground remains an uneasy alliance.