Welcome back Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fans!
In this episode we learn a quite a bit more about Fitz’s (Iain De Caestecker) brain damage, Coulson’s (Clark Gregg) past history episodes, Hunter’s (Nick Blood) character, Talbot’s (Adrian Pasdar) relationship with SHIELD. And just where in the heck is Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge)?!
Hartley (Lucy Lawless) and Idaho (Wilmer Calderon) have been killed. Lance Hunter is captured by the Army thanks to Talbot, who is now a general. Hunter, it seems, is picking up the lead male sidekick role, replacing Grant Ward (Brett Dalton).
Poor Fitz is a shadow of his former self, talking to Simmons, who is not really there. We do not learn where she is in this episode, but I am sure everyone is wondering. It makes little sense that Simmons would disappear when the person she is closest to needs her the most.
Coulson admits to having run out of supplies from the SHIELD store. In fact, he and his merry band of misfits do not even have a pot to pi$$ in. Not that there are very many SHIELD agents left. We are reminded that SHIELD is no more and Coulson’s people are more like vigilantes rather than sanctioned government agents. However, they still have some pretty cool tech.
Talbot is the typical anti-hero to Coulsons hero. He is still fundamentally good, but does not have the relentless optimism of a classical hero. Generally no worse than neutral in morality, this anti-hero takes a big-picture view of his role, and if something or someone needs to be sacrificed for the greater good, so be it.
Talbot will not kill indiscriminately though: anyone who dies at his hand either had it coming, or had to be killed in order to achieve the higher goal. Talbot is equally as likely to become a bad guy by the end of the series as he is to stand side by side with Coulson. In other words, Talbot falls under the category of, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. Both he and Coulson despise Hydra, the real villain of the series.
Talbot, is as likely to get in the way of the good guys of SHIELD, as he is to be of help, thus he becomes the road block at times, and the asset w
hen it works for him. Coulson recognises the type and plays to his interest by telling him that SHIELD will do the work and Talbot will get the promotions.
The biggest moment of this episode, though, was the arrival of Skye’s (Chloe Bennet) father, played by Kyle MacLachlan. Despite the many fan-theories, it now seems doubtful that he is playing an existing Marvel Universe character.
He does not appear to resemble any of the current Marvel characters. Either they are burying his identity until they are ready to reveal it, or he is a completely new creation in the Marvel Universe.
I also like the addition of Mack (Henry Simmons). His relationship with Simmons seemed more genuine than other relationships in this show.
There are lots of ideas flying around, and lots of relationships being tested to find out where the fun interactions are. The mix of characters has improved and the production values are much better. Even the reliable bus looks much more high-tech. It is a pity that Coulson’s group are not in a position to use it for most of the episode.
Then there is this guy (Simon Kassianides) who is working as the mouthpiece for Whitehall who appears to be the top dog for Hydra. He seems unconcerned with Creel’s problems, telling Creel (Brian Patrick Wade) that he would not have been chosen if he could not do the job.
Part of what makes Coulson such a popular character is his genial nature, and his earnest desire to do the right thing. Coulson is now having trouble reconciling his past company man persona with the image of SHIELD Director. He is trying to strike the perfect balance between “team leader” and “organization leader,” and he has not gotten there yet.
With all the changes to the series, it looks to me as if the producers have hit the reset button. This usually happens when the show runners realize their series has either just hit a wall, or is very close to that very unwelcome sound of crushed forward momentum.
In this episode, under the category of mistake, oversight, or an uncaring attitude, the writers/producers make the following errors:
- The SUV crashes into the bad guy and flips over. On this busy street, oddly, there is no traffic.
- May chases after the bad guy on a motorcycle. She is not wearing a helmet. According to motorcycle helmet laws in Virginia, all motorcycle operators and passengers must wear a helmet that is securely fastened to the head by either a neck or chin strap.This is not the way to be a super hero role model for young viewers. The writers needed to come up with a way for May (Ming-Na Wen) to wear a helmet.
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ArcticGoddess1 (Patricia)