Complications

**coMplications** is the third episode of the second season of *The Gifted*. It is the sixteenth episode of the series overall.

## Synopsis

Polaris' baby begins to suffer from a deadly illness, leaving the Inner Circle unable to heal her, and prompting them to turn to an unexpected source for help. Meanwhile, Reed and Lauren take an excursion to deliver illegal meds, but Reed's powers complicate their plans. Then, Thunderbird and Blink meet the leader of the Morlocks - a shadowy group of mutants that live underground - who offers to help them find the Inner Circle, but the two factions may not have the same goals.

## Plot

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

Six years ago, Marcos arrives at a church just outside Bogota, Colombia. He's come to see his father, Sebastian, who is gravely ill and on his deathbed, though, his father isn't the slightest bit happy to see him, asking that he be left alone, but instead, Marcos grabs a seat. He made some calls to get his father into a cancer center in Bogota, where he can be treated by a specialist. Still, his father wants nothing to do with him, even referring to Marcos as a demon and claiming that this is Marcos' attempt to by his love with blood money. Still upset over past grievances, Marcos questions the man his father is. The same man that put him out and abandoned him. When Marcos' abilities manifested, Sebastian gave him a choice to either hide his powers or leave; it's the same choice Marcos' now deceased mother was forced to make.

Present day, at the Inner Circle's base of operations, it would seem that Dawn's condition has only worsened. So, Lorna wants to go to Marcos for help, but Esme, Sophie and Phoebe attempt to convince her otherwise, explaining that they have all the resources they could need and that bringing Marcos to headquarters could expose their entire operation. However, Dawn has been diagnosed with jaundice and normal light therapy isn't working. Given the nature of Marcos' powers, he could possibly be the solution. Reeva agrees with Lorna that they need Marcos' help, so she orders the Frost Sisters to retrieve him.

Marcos wakes up with a hangover from the night before. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, John and Clarice discuss the mutant separatist Erg, who lives in the sewers and can supposedly help them find Andy and Lorna. While Caitlin looks over the information they got from Evangeline Whedon, John and Clarice will head down town. Marcos wishes to join them, but John tells him to sit this one out, especially after the "light show" he put on for Lorna the night before, which is all over the news. Clarice jokingly remarks that the next time he drunk dials his ex, to leave the eastern seaboard out of it. As they head out, Clarice questions what's been going on with John ever since they got back from Philadelphia with Evangeline. She then notices the bruises on his hands, which John claims is a result of late night training. John explains that if he hits something hard enough, his skin breaks, however, Clarice is still concerned for his well-being. Nevertheless, John insists that nothing is wrong.

While in the bathroom, he recalls the manifestation of his powers, which resulted in the destruction of his wedding ring, a file cabinet and the brick wall of the Community of Mercy Clinic. He then sets out for Baltimore to meet with Shatter. However, before leaving, Caitlin apologizes for all she said the day before. Reed apologizes as well. Caitlin the reveals that she's worried about Lauren. Last night, Caitlin could sense that something was off between Lauren and Reed. And now, Lauren won't even talk to her at all. Despite knowing that Lauren was suffering from the aftermath in Atlanta, Reed claims that Lauren seems fine to him. Nonetheless, Caitlin would like for him to talk to her. She suggests that he bring Lauren along for the ride to Baltimore.

As Lorna looks over Dawn, who is inside a light therapy machine, she is joined by Andy, who came to check in on her after hearing that Marcos is coming. Lorna explains that Marcos is solely coming for Dawn, not her. Andy questions if Lorna wants to be there when Marcos arrives as it will only make it harder for herself. Lorna is very much aware of this. However, she would do anything to save her daughter. She can handle a few minute in the same room with Marcos. Andy then asks if Dawn is a mutant like them. While they won't know until she's old enough for her powers to manifest, Lorna knows that Dawn's a fighter at least.

Marcos sits in a diner, holding the rattle he welded for his child when he begins to hear whispers of his name being said repeatedly. He then receives brief flashes of a black SUV just outside the diner. The whispers continue as Marcos heads out the back of the diner. Just as the image that flashed in his head, Marcos sees the black truck. He slowly approaches, ready for trouble should it arise. As Marcos reaches the truck, the Frost Sisters approach him from behind. Marcos threatens to take them out, though as Esme, Sophie and Phoebe explain, they didn't come for a fight. Quite the opposite in fact. They need his help. Marcos immediately lowers his guard as they reveals the baby is in trouble.

After retrieving Marcos, Esme, Sophie and Phoebe drive back to headquarters. While in route, they hand Marcos a black bag to cover his face, for security purposes. Marcos wants to know what's wrong with his child, but the Frost don't answer, only replying that he'll find out when he gets there. In reading Marcos' mind, they discover that he blames himself for his family falling apart. If he wishes to redeem himself as a father, they tell him to do as he's told.

Reeva enters Andy's room to find him playing games. She questions this given the severity of their dilemma. Andy explains that after learning that Marcos was coming, he thought it would be best to hold up in his room until after he left. However, Reeva has other plans in mind. She wants Andy by her side for his visit. Andy is hesitant as he and Marcos were friends, which is precisely Reeva's reasoning for choosing him. Anyone can stand up against an enemy, but she needs people who can stand up to their friends, and she hopes that can be Andy.

As John and Clarice arrive at their destination, Clarice begins to suspect if maybe Evangeline was screwing with John by directing him to Erg. However, John's willing to take whatever chance they have. With that being said, they head into the sewers, where John proceeds to use his tracking abilities. He is able to determine that people came through there recently and that they're on the right track. As they head further in, Clarice grows tired of traveling the sewers, suggesting that Erg purchase a phone or meet them at a more convenient location, such as a Starbucks. John notes that someone's trying to get them lost down there. He looks over to the wall, which turns out not to be a wall at all, but an illusion, which they walk straight through.

Jace arrives at the metropolitan police department. He calls Paula from his car though she ignores his calls after he decided to continue his pursuit of the Mutant Underground. He leaves a message on her phone, telling her that it'll all be worth it in the end and that he loves her. He then enters the precinct, where he is turned away at the front desk. Jace requests to speak with the on-duty sergeant as he has information pertaining to mutant fugitives in the area and the light incident from the prior night. When asked who he is with, Jace states that he's just a concerned citizen. Although, he's not just a random guy off the street. Jace explains that he used to be on the job. He lost his daughter during 7/15, but he's not new to any of this. And promise to deliver useful information.

While on their way back from Baltimore, Lauren admits that she regrets saying what she said, however, Reed is glad that she told him because he wanted to know what is going on with her. Reed then gets a call from Caitlin, who is looking for the files they have on the Inner Circle. They're usually in the back of the clinic in the filing cabinet, the same one Reed disintegrated, unbeknownst to Caitlin. Reed lies and tells her that the cabinet is broken, so he's replacing it. Caitlin then notices the crack in the wall, also caused by Reed, who begins to become unsettled as Caitlin suspects that something strange is going on. Reed hangs up in a panic. When he does, his powers begin to manifest before Lauren's very eyes. In fact, the steering wheel crumbles in Reed's hand, forcing him to slam on the brake, though not in time to prevent them from slamming into the back of a parked truck.

Lauren's fine, but Reed is bleeding after cracking his head on the windshield. Lauren is in disbelief after witnessing his powers, but they don't have time to address Reed's sudden powers as nearby civilians are aware of the crash and are quickly approaching. Reed and Lauren escape through a fence and hideout behind behind a wall of an abandoned building, where Reed apologizes for not pulling over sooner. Lauren questions how long he was going to hide his powers. Reed claims that it's not that simple. Before he can continue, they are forced to move as police sirens approach.

John and Clarice continue their search for Erg, which is taking longer than they anticipated. Clarice starts to suspects that they're going in circles. Her suspicions are proven to be correct after passing the same clump of green goop on the wall. Clarice wants to abort the mission once John realizes that there's something interfering with his tracking. However, John explodes at her, telling Clarice that they're not giving up. With that being said, Clarice has an idea. She can see energy fields that she uses to portal. So, she can try and look past what they want are intended to see. Clarice proceeds to open a portal a couple hundred feet ahead. As soon as they travel through the portal, they are met by several individuals armed with guns.

Jace shares his files on the Mutant Underground with Sergeant Lopez. If they combine their resources, they can round up the entire group. Jace deduces that the green light in the sky from the night before was Marcos as he can absorb and emit light. Jace then reveals that he worked for Sentinel Services before quitting. So long as he keeps it between them, Sergeant Lopez is willing to share what they have, unfortunately for Jace, it isn't much. Jace then overhears dispatch's distress call of a mutant related accident.

Marcos is taken to the Inner Circle's lair. They sit him down and remove the hood from over his head. When they do, Marcos finds himself face-to-face with Reeva, and surrounded by Esme, Sophie, Phoebe, Andy and Bulk. Reeva reveals that his child has been diagnosed with a severe case of jaundice. Normally, this is easily treatable, but this case has been stubborn. Reeva reminds him that he is in fact a guest, though Marcos doesn't wish to hear her out. Nevertheless, Reeva continues, also telling Marcos that when he sees Lorna, their own discussion is to be about the child. Marcos can't believe what he's hearing, looking to Andy for confirmation. However, Andy has chosen his side. He tells Marcos to just be grateful that he's there. Lastly, Reeva tells him to help the baby and leave.

Lorna wants to wake Dawn, but her system is overwhelmed. Marcos then enters the room and Lorna lets out a sigh of relief. When Marcos tries to explain that they've been looking for her, Lorna asks him to stop making it harder than it has to be. He's only there for the child, who Lorna named Dawn, much to his surprise. As Marcos points out, Dawn translate to Aurora in Spanish, which they had previously agreed to name their child should it be a girl.(see:boXed in) Marcos holds Dawn for the very first time. He is overwhelmed with emotion. Lorna smiles, while also maintaining her distance and keeping her composure. While the doctor had trouble figuring out the right frequency for the light therapy, Marcos seems to know precisely what he has to do, curing Dawn almost immediately.

As Clarice and John are being guided throughout the tunnels by this mysterious new group, Clarice wonders why John hasn't stopped them yet, pointing out that he's bullet proof. However, as John reminds her, they're up against five people and Clarice isn't bulletproof. Before long, they are greeted by the one they've been searching for, Erg. He asks why they've come. John explains that Evangeline Whedon, who worked for the X-Men and the Underground sent them. Erg agrees to talk, but only to Clarice. John initially refuses to allow Clarice to leave with Erg, but she conceives him otherwise. Clarice explains that two of their friends were taken by the Inner Circle and they are hoping that Erg has information that can help figure out what the Inner Circle is planning. Erg explains that normally he would dump John and Clarice on the surface and hide that entrance to the tunnels. But as it happens, he could use someone like Clarice, who can portal. Erg proceeds to push her hair back as it was hiding her pointed ears. Whether she knows it or not, as a visible mutant, Clarice has a link to them, those who stay down in the tunnels and choose not to hide their nature. Clarice isn't interested in joining him. She simply has a job to do in helping mutant.

Back at the site of the crash, Jace speaks with a couple of workers who were nearby when the crash occurred. Unfortunately, they didn't see anything. Jace then spots blood on the fence that Lauren and Reed escaped through. Meanwhile, Lauren plays look out as Reed hot-wires a getaway car. Once he does, Lauren drive off with him in the passenger seat and unbeknownst to them, Jace in their rear view mirror.

Erg takes Clarice to his base, which he refers to as the real Underground. He introduces her to his people, the Morlocks. Mutants who live in the open and unafraid. Those of them who can pass in the world above, they brand themselves, leaving a mark on their face. They choose not to look like them and prefer freedom. Clarice explains that the Underground is fighting for freedom too. Just like the X-Men. Erg informs her that the X-Men fought for tolerance. "You know what people tolerate? The things they hate.", Erg says. He goes onto point Mara, a Morlock who lived in Fairfield and went to school. Her family wanted her to grow up normal, but Mara wasn't normal. She used sound to get around, like a bat. But one day, some Purifiers heard her, decided her clicks might be dangerous. So, they beat her, then they cut out her voice box. Erg's mission is solely to protect his people. If Clarice wants his help, then she has to help him. In exchange for the information he's gathered on the Inner Circle, he wants Clarice to act as his eyes on the world above,essentially a spy.

On their way back to the clinic, Reed asks Lauren to keep his powers secret from Caitlin. Lauren is in disbelief that he wants to keep secrets. Lying is the reason that their family is in shambles, Lauren says. Lauren recalls Sophomore year of high school, where Reed picked her up from a party at her friend's house, where a group of mutants supposedly came by and broke out all the windows. Lauren was terrified, but not for the reason that Reed remembers. She actually broke those windows with her powers. Some boy was trying to grab her. He backed off as soon as stuff started breaking. But, Lauren was so freaked out that she could barely dial the phone to call her father. She was going to tell him, but when she got in the car, he told her not to worry because his job was prosecuting mutants and to protect her from them. Tears run down Lauren's face as she relives this moment. After that, she never said anything because she didn't want to hurt their family. But she can't help wonder if she had. Maybe things would be different with her. With Andy. Maybe none of this would have ever happened.

Clarice returns to John after her chat with John. She reminds John of the green goop they saw on the wall. Apparently, there's a mutant down in the tunnels who watches places through it.
He said that the Frosts were in a utility tunnel with some city workers. They were tapping into a data cable, under the Health Department, but that's all they know.

Marcos speaks to Dawn in his native language of Spanish. He tells her that he will always be her father and will always be there for her. Unfortunately for Marcos, his time is up with Dawn as she is doing better and they no longer have a use for him. Lorna tries not to notice the pain Marcos is enduring, having to give up Dawn, but she does thank him. Marcos then give Lorna the rattle that he made for Dawn. When Lorna left in Nashville, Marcos didn't want to see anyone get hurt, so he let her leave, but he now knows that was a mistake. He tries to convince Lorna to come with him. While they still love each other, Lorna states that their daughter needs more than love. The Inner Circle is building something bigger, something for Dawn. In that case, Marcos wishes to stay, but both he and Lorna know that would never work. To Marcos, that doesn't matter because real men don't abandon their family. Lorna assure Marcos that he's not his father, but their discussion is cut off there as Esme, Sophie and Phoebe force him to leave.

The Frost Sisters proceed to escort Marcos out. Handing him the black hood to put over his head in order to ensure that their location remain secret. As Marcos prepares to put the hood on, he begins to have flashes of his time spent with Lorna. It seems to be causing him some kind of physical strain, as he fights the Frosts control. Esme, Sophie and Phoebe increase their reach on Marcos, but he continues to resist, telling Lorna that they're lying to her and that they're in her head. Marcos then breaks their control, knocking Phoebe and Sophie to the floor before burning Esme on her upper right arm. As he progresses towards Reeva and attempts to burn her, she lets out one of her powerful screams, which not only blocks Marcos' attack, but turns his own abilities on him. As Marcos falls to the ground, Reeva orders Andy to escort him out.

Jace returns to inform Sergeant Lopez that he spotted two of the mutants he was tracking in the area. There was an accident in Landover.The vehicle was abandoned, but Jace checked the block and he saw Reed and Lauren Strucker, and so they need to move quickly. However, after making some calls, Sergeant Lopez asks Jace to leave. He knows about what went down in Atlanta, including Jace getting fired from Sentinel Services. However, Jace actually quit because they were trying to blame him. Nonetheless, Lopez was given the rundown on Jace. The unprofessional behavior. The frivolous reports about dead mutant fugitives. Jace exclaims that they're not dead but Sergeant Lopez doesn't want to hear it.

If they can figure out what the Inner Circle got from the health department, then maybe they can do something with the information gotten from the Morlocks. John inquires about Clarice's time with Erg. She claims that he showed her around, during which time she talked him into helping them. Clarice is still worried about John, who has become extremely desperate for answers. John reminds her that they've already talked about this and just as he said before, he fine. But Clarice knows this not to be true. She's worried that the problem is them. However, it's not. John reveals that when he went to see Evangeline, she told him that he failed and that Lorna and Andy are never going to get out of the Inner Circle. And that they're probably going to have to kill Lorna and Andy. If it's true, John doesn't know if he can do that. He then senses that someone is coming. Just then, Marcos falls in through the door and John catches him. Marcos tells them that they came for him and took him to the baby. Against John's wishes, Marcos doesn't want to rest, he wants to hit the Inner Circle back.

Once Reed and Lauren arrive at the clinic, Reed informs Caitlin that he has powers. His father thought that he had suppressed his powers permanently, turns out he was wrong. Reed can't control it. He even destroyed the filing cabinet and his wedding ring. When Caitlin asks how long this has been occurring, Reed says he's been getting the headaches since Andy left six months ago. Caitlin's upset that he didn't tell her sooner. Reed reasoned that he thought he would be able to get them under control. He had similar headaches when he was a kid, so he started reading his father's researching, hoping that he could stop them. Reed apologizes for not coming to Caitlin earlier as he doesn't know what's happening to him or how to control it. Lauren watches from outside the office as they hug.

Back at the Inner Circle's headquarters, Lorna holds a much healthier Dawn while rattling the rattle Marcos created for her. Just outside, Esme tells Reeva that Marcos is stubborn and won't give up, which Reeva is very much aware of, but she still wonders how he broke free of their control. Esme explains that while they can put thoughts into people's minds, it's hard to overcome powerful feelings. Esme thinks it would've been easier had they just finished Marcos off. While this is true, Reeva reminds Esme, Sophie and Phoebe that their plans are bigger than Marcos and any of them. They are creating something special.

## Cast

* Amy Acker as Caitlin Strucker
* Sean Teale as Eclipse/Marcos Diaz
* Natalie Alyn Lind as Lauren Strucker
* Percy Hynes White as Andy Strucker
* Coby Bell as Jace Turner
* Jamie Chung as Blink/Clarice Fong aka Clarice Ferguson
* Blair Redford as Thunderbird/John Proudstar
* Emma Dumont as Polaris/Lorna Dane
* Skyler Samuels as Frost Sisters/Esme, Sophie and Phoebe
* Grace Byers as Reeva Payge
* Frances Turner as Paula Turner (voice only)
* Kamar de los Reyes as Sebastian Diaz
* Tom O'keefe as Officer Wilson
* Robert G. McKay as Sergeant Lopez

Co-Starring* Rose Bianco as Nun
* Paden Fallis as Doctor
* Jennifer A. Martin as Worker #1
* Adam Murray as Worker #2
* Sofia Pavone as Mara
* Renes Rivera as Bulk
* Clark Sarullo as Waitress
* Diane Villegas as Nurse

## Multimedia

* Promotional
* Screencaps
* Behind the Scenes
* Videos

### Videos

Preview It's Time To Go Season 2 Ep. 3 THE GIFTEDEclipse Meets His Newborn Daughter Season 2 Ep. 3 THE GIFTEDReed's Powers Show Themselves In Front Of Lauren Season 2 Ep. 3 THE GIFTEDMarcos Visits His Dying Father In Bogota Season 2 Ep. 3 THE GIFTEDLorna Tells The Frost Sisters The Baby Needs Marcos Season 2 Ep. 3 THE GIFTEDReeva Asks Andy To Protect Her From Marcos Season 2 Ep. 3 THE GIFTED

## References

1. ↑ American Music Awards, ‘This is Us,’ everything else unchanged: Tuesday final ratings
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Gifted - Episode 2.03 - coMplications - Press Release - SpoilerTV