They say that the devil you know is better than the one you don’t… but is that true in this week’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.? As things kick off it seems like deals are being made with the devils right and left. At the same time, other devils are being fought. To say there is a lot going on would be an understatement.
RECAP
The episode begins in an apartment where two Inhumans are visited by another one that is more familiar to S.H.I.E.L.D. viewers. The visitor is Alisha, the duplicating Inhuman from last season. What apparently was supposed to be a simple recruiting mission goes horribly wrong when Lash also arrives. He appears right after Alisha is told about an email they received that said they were getting the Inhumans family back together… an email Alisha didn’t send or receive. Lash arrives and kills everything in sight. It turns out this isn’t quite accurate though as Alisha had sent in a duplicate. The real Alisha is back on the plane with Coulson and not reacting well to the attack.
Back on the ground Daisy and Mac arrive to find the carnage left behind by Lash. As they pursue him, they ask Coulson for backup. Up in the apartment Fitz and Bobbi are investigating the attack and nab some clues, including a computer because of the email information received from Alisha. Shortly after, Coulson does arrive with backup in the form of the ATCU and Rosalind… something that Daisy isn’t so pleased about.
Coulson and Rosalind are soon back in the apartment and Coulson asks where the captured Inhumans are being taken by the ATCU. Rosalind declines to answer. She soon realizes that this couple hadn’t been transformed recently and Coulson was also holding back information… The trust issues go both ways.
Back at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, Daisy has been digging into the computer and the mysterious email. She discovered the email had a virus that wreaked havoc on the computer and also allowed Lash to track the recipients. She also discovered the origin of the email. Finally, the other discovery from the clues is that Lash is an Inhuman (big surprise). Coulson instructs Daisy to share the information with the ATCU. Daisy shares her objections which are overruled and she is sent to go share the information and presumably go and collect Lash.
In a parking lot May and Hunter discuss the mission. May is concerned that Hunter is too emotionally connected to the mission and isn’t being smart. He doesn’t know the details of the mission that Hydra is pulling him into and worries that it may be a trap. Basically, she is worried that Captain Ahab has to get his whale and that the whale may end up winning. It appears that May is correct.
Simmons is undergoing a therapy session with Andrew. It clearly isn’t going very far. She knows what Andrew is doing and is countering every move. He just can’t get her to open up about anything. The one thing that is for certain: Simmons is not ready to be returned to the field.
Andrew meets with Coulson who asks how Simmons is doing. Andrew makes it clear that she is not ready to return to the field and that the process can’t be rushed. The conversation would probably continue on but May returns.
May and Coulson talk about Hunter’s mission along with her concerns for his recklessness. She also let’s Coulson know that backup will be needed. The conversation takes a turn more personal and Coulson asks what happened with Andrew going as far as saying he would dismiss Andrew if it meant her return. May actually admits that Andrew left her and that it wasn’t because of S.H.I.E.L.D. in a surprisingly candid and close moment between the two.
Moments later May is talking with Andrew about what went wrong. He tries to apologize but it doesn’t go well. He says he is sorry for leaving but May counters with she left him before so now they are even… and leaves.
These aren’t the only relational challenges happening on the base though. Fitz accidentally stumbles on the research that Simmons has been doing regarding the monolith… he’s completely confused.
In Baltimore Coulson, Daisy, and Mac arrive at Dwight Fry’s apartment and meet up with Rosalind and the ATCU. After entering, they find Fry who it turns out isn’t Lash. Instead he is an Inhuman who is struggling with his condition… getting rashes because of it. His condition gets even worse when around other Inhumans. He has been working for Lash and doing the computer work so that Lash can go and kill his targets. The ATCU takes him into custody in the rear of a truck. Daisy and Mac are allowed by Rosalind to accompany him and the ATCU team to their facility.
On the way to the facility the truck is attacked by Lash. Daisy fights him and the van ends up on its side. Lash pulls Fry out of the truck and kills him. As Lash walks away Daisy regains consciousness and sees his shadow transform from his monstrous shape to that of a human.
Hunter finds his meeting with Hydra agents to be incredibly late and when they do show up… he gets to ride in the trunk, or boot as he called it. After quite the drive the car arrives in the building that has become quite recognizable as Ward’s Hydra base. As he is escorted from the car and through the building, Hunter learns that Ward has adopted the title “director.” There is also a map on the wall with targets that Hydra will be hitting. As Hunter looks at the maps, the director arrives and Hunter recognizes his voice. Within moments Hunter has grabbed a gun and is in the midst of a battle. Just when it seems that he is completely outgunned, May arrives to save the day.
Knowing that the tide of the battle has turned, Ward plays his hand…. he slides a phone out between May and Hunter showing that he his men have Andrew. Ward demands they stand down or Andrew will die. Hunter tries to convince May that Ward is lying but May just can’t give Andrew up and is about to give in. Rather than let that happen, Hunter charges in and attacks Ward. Somehow, his recklessness doesn’t end up with Hunter dead but instead with Ward barely escaping. In the process Hunter does shoot him in the shoulder from behind as Ward jumps through a window to a waiting truck below.
The scene switches to a convenience store where Andrew is shopping. He notices that he is being watched, or filmed, and moments later Werner von Strucker appears. Around the shop another goon carries gasoline. Moments later blood can be seen on the ground as can gas and a flame. Werner von Strucker races out of the store just before a massive explosion obliterates it… and presumably Andrew. Strucker is shaking and appearing to almost hyperventilate as he leans against a car across the street from the destruction.
Finally the episode ends with Fitz confronting Simmons about her research notes. Clearly things aren’t as they should be. Simmons then decides that it is time to tell Fitz everything…. but that will have to wait until next week as the episode ended.
MY TWO CENTS
This week continued to build on other weeks and really, it is nice to see Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. continue this season so solidly.
First off, Coulson and Rosalind have this cat and mouse relationship where they take turns on who is what as they continually try to figure out how this relationship between S.H.I.E.L.D. and ATCU will work. Add into it all a bit of attraction and it makes for an intriguing, albeit dangerous, relationship to watch develop. Currently, it looks like Coulson is the one who could end up getting burned the most. Daisy also sees this. I think everyone hopes that she and we end up being wrong.
Daisy and Mac are building a nice partnership in the field. It isn’t at all what we would have expected to see after watching last season. In fact, as I’m writing this I have to think of the irony that Mac would end up partnering with Daisy and Bobbi ends up partnering with Fitz. The way things are working out though really do make sense and are adding some nice counterbalances to personalities. It also really is helping to develop a lot of the characters.
The love relationships in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are clearly getting dangerous and going to cause a lot of heartache. Whatever ends up happening with Andrew is going to have severe repercussions in S.H.I.E.L.D. How May will react could be downright scary and we might be saying that Hunter’s current recklessness is nothing compared to what is unleashed if May reacts badly to the end of this episode. Bobbi and Hunter are both motivated by protecting each other, which could also lead to weakness and mistakes. What it all comes down to is these relationships could definitely be exploited by Ward or someone else and could definitely lead to some problems down the line.
Speaking of Ward, it is interesting to see how he is pulling things he liked from S.H.I.E.L.D. into Hydra. While his character really hasn’t developed a whole lot, it will be interesting to see where things go. This week seems to be a stalemate between S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra. Both sides definitely hit the other fairly significantly. While this really isn’t the most interesting storyline to me currently, I’m a LITTLE more curious as to where it is going. Sadly, I’m more interested in Hunter and May chasing Ward than I am in the rebuilding of Hydra. I wish I could say both elements were pulling me in.
Lash is finally getting to be a little bit more interesting. I’m glad he isn’t just a big Inhuman killing monster and there appears to be something more to him. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I sure hope that Daisy doesn’t try to recruit him.
Daisy continues to try and build her Secret Warriors team with so far not so good results. I’m guessing we really aren’t going to see the full team develop until much later in the season. However, if Andrew is now out of the picture that might end up being proved wrong. If things do move too quickly, expect Daisy to have some tough lessons to learn if she cuts too many corners in creating her team.
Finally there is Fitz and Simmons. It is becoming increasingly clear that there is a very long road ahead for both of them… that probably won’t be fun. It is sad to see them both suffering as they really are the Jim and Pam (The Office reference) of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Next week will be interesting and hopefully more will be learned about Lash. I also hope more will be learned about why Simmons has the need to return to the other world. I’m also expecting to see how Ward reacts and plans revenge after the attack on his Hydra base while also promoting Strucker for a job well done… after all, it’s all about earning everything… And then there is the Coulson and Rosalind thing. She has as many, or more, secrets than Coulson does. It will be interesting to see if she is good or bad and to learn what is really motivating her.
Now it’s your turn. Tell me what you thought of this week’s episode. Speculate away at the questions that it brought up. I would love to hear from you in the comments section below!
