Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – A Hen in the Wolfhouse or The Dinner Date From Hell!

Welcome back Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fans!

HYDRA is at it again! More to the point, Dr. Whitehall (Reed Diamond) is behind a seemingly random but completely terrifying wedding poisoning.

To add insult to serious injury, the perpetrators report to Whitehall that, although there are several dead and injured, they did not get everybody.  

Do you not just hate that? You set out to destroy innocent lives, but you fail. If Whitehall were a James Bond villain, not only would he kill every minion who failed him, he would also have a big fluffy white cat to bestow his love upon.

At SHIELD HQ, the gang approach Coulson (Clarke Gregg) to get an update. Coulson has been decorating the top of his desk with relevant graffiti. 

Apparently, no one is available to give answers and the other people involved are classified.

Even worse, Coulson is not in the mood to put up with any questioning about the entire incident!

It seems that being evil is just part time.  Sky’s father (Kyle MacLachlan) has a day job of removing bullets from bad guys.  He also has Raina (Ruth Negga) under his control. She seems to have gone through the same negative experience as Grant Ward (Brett Dalton) – childhood imprinting on an evil pseudo-parent.

The plot thickens. There are two psychopaths instead of just one. Raina spends her last breaths trying to get Skye’s dad to calm down so that he does not choke her to death. At this point, Skye’s dad is more like a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

He will not give Raina the Obelisk, however, which means her life has become much shorter. Before she departs, Raina says, “I really wanted to bring you Skye (Chloe Bennet).”

Dad replies, “That’s not her name”. Was it just me, or did this exchange seem a little like a soap opera? The scene works quite well as we see Dad working in the lab on one of the victims!

Just when you are minding your own business at work, the boss calls you upstairs and insists you sign paperwork that you have not bothered to read thoroughly. Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) is confronted by Whitehall. Can the alien obelisk be weaponized, he asks?

Sure, Simmons replies.  Worried, she confides in her supervisor that this could kill millions of people. Supervisor (Adam Kulbersh) thinks that would be great. Simmons has not been getting all her memos.

 

There is one slight psychological problem in this episode. Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Simmons both are watching Mac (Henry Simmons) as he is working on some machinery in a muscle shirt. Imaginary Simmons admires his physique. 

So, at the same time that Fitz is admitting Simmons is not really there, he is also showing interest in the appearance of another man. Is this a clue to a new direction for this character or a red herring?  We should also be pleased that Fitz is acknowledging that Simmons is a delusion. Perhaps his health is returning.

Skye continues to spend most of the episodes this season either confiding in Hunter (Nick Blood) or confronting Grant Ward (Brett Dalton). Yes, he is still lurking in his cell in the basement. Ward admits to her that the knowledge he has about her father came from Raina.

Next up, Skye wants to know about the strange carvings made by Coulson. Ward hints that the real Coulson is gone, replaced by something worse. The markings Coulson is making drove Garret (Bill Paxton) crazy, so Coulson is probably next. Interestingly, Skye, who also had contact with the writings was not affected. Coulson assumes it is because she, herself, is alien. Maybe she is one of Thor’s  people.

I do love some of the tech they show off on this show. The pad that writes as you talk is just awesome.

Meanwhile, Raina observes Simmons leaving Hydra and follows her to a park where she sees  Simmons leave a contact message. She then calls Coulson to arrange a meeting. Why do all the bad guys seem to have Shield’s phone number?

Back at Hydra, they have discovered there is a mole in their midst. After searching the lab for incriminating evidence, somehow, that evidence ends up in the possession of Simmons’ supervisor. This must have been difficult for Simmons. It is as if she has just lost her innocence.

At a fancy restaurant, Raina (Ruth Negga) meets Coulson. After a bit of banter, she drops the bombshell. She has an  incriminating photo of Simmons. She asks Coulson, “what would happen if this (photo) falls into the wrong hands”. Coulson asks the obvious question, “what do you want?” Why, Skye, of course, so she can meet her dad. Coulson’s answer – “No deal”.

Coulson has a plan. As Simmons runs from Hydra, once she has been found out, she runs into Bobbi Morse (Adrianne Palicki), Security boss. Morse completely floors Simmons by helping her out.

Since Raina is still stuck between a rock and a hard place, she makes the only choice she has left. She asks Coulson for help. They let Raina leave, but have decided to keep an eye on her. As well, Skye has disappeared. With Skye’s insubordination, she would normally be fired. Lucky for her, Coulson needs all hands on deck.

You have to admit that it takes guts to jump off a building when you are not sure if there is anything to break your fall. That is what Simmons and Morse do… right onto a Shield plane.

Coulson and team catch up to Skye at an abandoned warehouse. It looks recently abandoned. Skye discovers an old photo of her dad and her as a baby.  Unknown to them, her father is watching them through a small camera. May has also found something. The patient and his two friends who Skye’s father was helping at the beginning of the episode, are all dead. As dad watches, Skye calls him a monster.

Back at Shield, Fitz and Simmons reunion is not quite the big hug event we expected. That is reserved for Morse and Mac, who seem to have a previous relationship. It turns out that Morse is Hunter’s ex-wife. Yep, soap opera.

Coulson has a discussion with Skye later on. She points out that dear old dad still has the obelisk. I have a feeling that she will end up confronting her father and probably going after the obelisk in the next episodes. The writers are definitely setting something up here.

Coulson also opens up to Skye by letting her know about his scratches in the wall behind the video screen. He has no idea what it is. However Skye does. She tells him it is a map.

Skye’s dad has found his way to Whitehall’s place. He has brought the obelisk. Whitehall naturally wants to know why dad is being so accommodating. Because they have a common enemy – Phil Coulson. They both want him dead, along with everyone else.

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ArcticGoddess1 (Patricia)