Spoilers lie ahead for the Season 2 premiere of The Gifted.
The Gifted finally returned to the small screen for its second season of X-action, and the premiere didn't hold back. Instead of dragging out Polaris' pregnancy for weeks and weeks to maximize drama, the show just went right ahead and pushed Polaris into labor in the first episode back. Surrounded by the Frosts, Andy, and newcomer Reeva after they took over the Inner Circle, Polaris gave birth to a baby girl, who she named Dawn after a vision courtesy of the Frost sisters. It wasn't a simple labor, however, and the episode built to the ultimate reveal of Dawn's significance.
For most of the hour, Polaris believed that Reeva would sacrifice the baby if it came down to the child's life or her own, and she begged Andy to make sure that the baby is born. She ultimately learned that Reeva was willing to fight for both mother and daughter to survive, and it had everything to do with the vision that showed a future where mutants are accepted, with Polaris at the center and her daughter at her side, having kicked off a new era for mutants. Thus, the name "Dawn."
Grace Byers, who plays Reeva on The Gifted, had this to say in a chat with EW about why Reeva, Polaris, and Dawn:
That look with the Frosts says, 'We did that, and this solidifies our strength as the Inner Circle.' Reeva could have easily been like, 'Forget the baby, save Polaris,' but that didn't happen. She sees Dawn as an addition to the mutant family. She's doing what she's doing for the generations to come, so this showed a bigger heart in Reeva and gave a little glimpse as to who she is as a person.
For a while in the premiere, it definitely looked like either Polaris or her baby was going to have to die. Pregnancy was wreaking havoc with Polaris' control over her powers, and an early contraction saw a lot of destruction. Reeva and the Frosts tried to build her a safe place to give birth in an old munitions building, but they didn't finish before Polaris went into labor. Although her body was ready to give birth to the child, Polaris herself wasn't. According to the doctor trying to deliver the baby, Polaris wasn't dilated because of a mental block.
Andy, with his new platinum blond hair, proved that he definitely was not the guy to trust with the fate of the baby when he suggested that Polaris just start pushing anyway, despite no dilation. Luckily, the adults in the room knew that was a terrible idea, and the Frosts used their powers to show Polaris the future of mutant acceptance and break down her mental block. Dawn was born without Polaris tearing down the building with her powers and without Andy freaking out on the Frosts and the doctor.
Tune in to Fox on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET to catch new episodes of The Gifted in the fall TV lineup. The stakes are higher than ever after the birth of Dawn, and it's difficult to say what's going to happen next.
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