Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – T.R.A.C.K.S. Lead to T.A.H.I.T.I. and Many More Questions!

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Hello and welcome to this week’s recap of the revealing and intriguing two-part episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.!

In an exciting episode, Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) and his team attempt to recover mysterious Cybertech cargo from a rushing train, only to have Ian Quinn, (David Conrad), turn the tables on them when he shoots Skye, (Chloe Bennet) to the horror of all the fans of her character in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 

The team rushes to save her, uncovering horrifying details of how Coulson was brought back from the dead.

“T.R.A.C.K.S.” and “T.A.H.I.T.I.” feature great guest stars including legendary actor Bill Paxton as Agent John Garrett, B.J. Britt as Agent Antoine Triplett, Carlo Rota as Luca Russo, J. August Richards as Mike Peterson, and Stan Lee as Debonair Gentleman.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has hit its stride, ladies and gentlemen!

The show has come with a lot of waiting.  It garnered high expectations from a fanbase hoping for the TV version of The Avengers movies every week.

For a while looked somewhat alarming on the viewership as people adjusted to the slower unfolding of a story over weeks instead of hours.  We had to get to know the people – in truth, those first few weeks were going to be a catch-22.  

Some said the show was either going to be “too slow and focused on characters” or have “too much action and not enough human interest”.

However, I said in my first review to trust Joss Whedon – and really, can you do anything but?  

Between Joss, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is performing the balancing act we have been hoping for.  I am psyched for the remaining episodes of the season, because I think things are coalescing…and I sincerely hope I am not alone!

T.R.A.C.K.S. AND T.A.H.I.I.T.I

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD FOR PREVIOUS SHIELD EPISODES AND THOR: THE DARK WORLD! 

The Winter Olympics could not have come at a worse time for fans of the show.  With the episode ‘T.R.A.C.K.S.’ airing almost four weeks apart from ‘T.A.H.I.T.I.’, we were left hanging there as Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) sobbed in Leopold Fitz’s (Iain de Caestecker) arms, as Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) gently took Grant Ward’s (Brett Dalton) hand as he pounded his fist on a table, and as Phil Coulson quietly, hauntingly, sat vigil next to the frozen body of Skye, kept alive only by the science of the hyperbaric chamber.  

Though not titled as a two-parter, this wrenching cliff-hanger finally wrapped up last week thanks to a miracle drug found in a secret lab.  This lab only raised more questions than it answered, and that single image of the half-existing corpse sent a chill down the spines of many a viewer and fan alike.  

What was that thing?  Theories abound: Kree, Chitauri, even Atlantean.  No matter what it is, for now its blood and/or body fluids (wait…ew…) are running through both Skye and Coulson, linking them in a strange, alien way.

Skye and Coulson have already been linked since episode one of the series.  Coulson took a flier on Skye as the hacker genius from Rising Tide, (an antagonist that seems to have faded into the background for now), and he seems to be very open to giving her quite a bit of chances.  

While his shock at finding out her history was real, I still cannot help but think Coulson may know more about Skye than he is letting on, even with his new ‘no secrets’ policy.  

Coulson has still retained much of his lovable bouncy charm that made all of us adore him in the movies, but there is no question that he has become more vulnerable when it comes to secrets, Skye, and his team.  Having learned to what extent SHIELD is willing to go to preserve his own life (what guilt he must feel), and having learned his own personal breaking point, (a hard thing for anyone), Coulson now has to move forward in a world where it is likely that nothing seems certain and everything seems fragile.  

We can see this clearly in his grief at finding Skye.  On another level, his horror at the possibility of losing her seems to run deeper than just a member of his team.  Skye and Coulson have become linked, but to what extent and purpose?

Skye has grown quite a bit since her initial appearance – but that is the joy of character development.  I love that we do not yet know her last name, and she has matured graciously from a snarky rebel into a cool, driven, and still frighteningly reckless soldier.  She takes after May, in that respect, though Ward is doing his best as her SO.  Skye’s discoveries about her past have given her a new purpose in the show and a new drive within her own mind.  

No doubt she is horrified by what happened to the village that sought to protect her.  No doubt she feels guilty even though chances are it was not her own conscious fault.  No doubt she is out to prove herself even moreso than before.  Skye is powerful, almost as much as Coulson now, because of the things they have learned about themselves.  There is a lot the writers can do with her now, especially as she is keeping the ‘wild card’ status.

The writers of the show are also finding their stride in the mix of action and comedy (and some dramatic spice on the side).  Whereas much of the comedy from the earlier episodes came from Skye’s snark and Coulson’s blunt sense of humor, T.R.A.C.K.S. itself was a complete riot, from Skye’s absolutely horrible Scottish accent to Simmons’ staged hissy fit that drew the attention of an entire train car (and a nice scolding from The Man Stan Lee Himself).  

There were also a number of physical humor moments.  Coulson and Ward were frozen in silly positions after the timebomb went off, Ward attempting to manipulate the holotable, and Coulson liquefying the specs of the device were just three of those.  Then, of course, there was the sex talk.  

Coulson’s not too pleased with the good-looking Ward ‘distracting’ the Cavalry, but I am pretty sure May can end anything without help from anyone.  Ward’s awkwardness with the word ‘sex’ as well has a double meaning.  One: He was feeling weird about bringing up the whole thing.  Two: He actually has feelings for May, thus making him subconsciously want to use ‘better’ words.  The writers could go any direction with these two, but I admit whatever they are doing does not feel like there is much emotion behind it.  Hopefully that is the nature of the relationship.

These two episodes had some charming FitzSimmons moments as well.  Aside from the heartbreaking scene at the end of T.R.A.C.K.S., the psychic (seemingly) scientists got some great humor and big drama!  Simmons has actually started coming out of her shell a bit as well as she and Fitz have been forced into the field more and more.  Simmons’ tendency to over-prepare, she points out to Coulson, is her compensation for her lack of improvisation (hilariously seen when she panicked and punched out a superior officer in the Hub).  

While not an actress (what fun that must have been, to act as someone acting), Simmons’ dedication to everything she does comes out in everything she does – and she does not do things halfway.  

It was a massive insight into her character when she took the grenade shot, an action reminiscent of Steve Rogers’ (Chris Evans) heroic dive in Captain America.  

Simmons has a selfless and self-sacrificing aspect to her character (this is the second time she has almost committed suicide to save those around her), an intensity of purpose and certainty that makes her very solid.  

By the same token, Leopold Fitz has shown himself to shore up remarkably under pressure, taking on new roles and combat missions with a steely eye,  He has a fairly stout constitution even in combat situations, having grown from the first couple episodes.  He seems to be a big believer and support of ‘if you can do something, you have the responsibility to do something’ – an attractive character quality that can get him in a lot of trouble.

He also has shown a bit of a cold side, shooting a man twice at point-blank range in revenge for Simmons, (making fans of FitzSimmons squeal in joy.  Not me.  Ahem.  I was just…in the room with one…right).  

T.A.H.I.T.I. continued to both horrify and impress us.  I will not lie, watching May whale on Ian Quinn provided some great satisfaction, and the red-tape-navigation by Coulson and John Garrett (played by Bill Paxton and who, by the way, is tied with good old Loki [Tom Hiddleston] as the fan favorite for the identity of the Clairvoyant) was fun to watch.  

Now that Coulson’s secret is ‘out’ so to speak, so many things are coming out of the woodwork.  With Nick Fury keeping silent and the Clairvoyant unable to see how Coulson survived, Garrett is heading up the mission to get all of Coulson’s memories unlocked and exposed.

Never mind that Garrett’s men are dying – the Clairvoyant seems to think people are expendable (which could also bode ill for the achingly sexy girl in the flower dress).  While that fits Loki’s M.O. our favorite Asgardian is currently hanging out on Asgard, pretending to be Odin.  I am not sure he cares about petty Earthlings at the moment…but it is Loki, so who knows.  Anyway, I seem to have digressed.

Family became almost a buzzword in T.A.H.I.T.I., with Phil Coulson summing up the episode is one single sentence: “We’re her family.”  It is a true statement; after Skye’s history was discovered, she learned not only that she was an 0-8-4, but possibly literally alone in this world.  The SHIELD she has seen as enemies for so long have become friends, family, and the only people who know and (at least tried to) understand her.  On the opposite side of the coin, even ice-cold Melinda May has accepted Skye as a team member (even giving her a boost to save Coulson by helping ‘free’ her).  

The extent to which everyone goes to save Skye shows the impressive relationship that has been forged over the series so far, as well as the bonds that are becoming stronger by the week.  

The somewhat awkward team we saw in the pilot is coalescing, and they are protecting their own.  It is a beautiful thing to watch happen from the beginning, sadly not something we got with Alphas (a show about another team of somewhat awkward heroes that I maintain should still be on the air).

With hopefully very little in its way in terms of programming, SHIELD has us on the rise for the roller coaster ride of the remainder of the season.  I am thrilled to see the show blooming as it has been and hope this trend continues.  

There are a number of storylines that could be pursued with the setup here, and the creative minds behind are ones we have loved for decades.  

Coming up this week in my analysis of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., we are adding a new element into the series: the lady Lorelei, (Elena Satine), a dangerous (and dangerously beautiful) Asgardian set to go after one of our own.  

On top of that, everyone get ready for an exciting appearance by the fierce and beautiful Lady Sif, a role immortalized (in my opinion), by grey-eyed talent Jaimie Alexander!  It is going to be a fun week!

Keep watching.  Trust Joss Whedon!

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Nayari09 (Pam)