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Avengers (comics)

AGENTS OF SHIELD: RAINA’S FUTURE

by hutchm June 25, 2015

written by hutchm

Well the long awaited day has almost arrived … AOS is coming back tomorrow! While Agent Carter definitely helped to tide us over with some excellent episodes over the past 7 weeks, I’m sure that you were as eager for the return of Coulson and the Agents of Shield as I was. So where were we when the show went into hiatus?

In “What They Become,” we got to see Skye & Raina transform after being exposed to what we presume was the Terrigen Mists. Unfortunately this transformation was not completely painless as the change also impacted Tripp somewhat adversely and while Skye seems to be physically unmarred, the transformation to Raina – well that seems to be a bit more drastic to say the least. Common consensus is that Skye is actually Daisy Johnson – the inhuman known as Quake, but speculation is rife as to who or what Raina is and there is even a question about Tripp also as while it seemed he died (pretty convincingly) there are questions about whether or not this is a fake out entirely, so lets look at what we know and go from there.

Raina

In What They Become, we only got to see a glimpse of Raina’s eye & the assumption is that this lady, always so prim and proper, with a level of confidence only rarely impacted, is going to be physically and drastically changed. Raina has wanted this change more than anything else and has been chasing it from the start, but I think we’re going to see that the price she’s had to pay is more than she initially expected or quite possibly wanted!

“We’re going to see how this process affects both girls differently,” added Whedon.

We expect part of that difference will be in the physicality of it. Some Inhumans, like Crystal, can pass as human without problem. Others, like Triton, are unmistakably something else…

At the end of the second mid-season finale, Raina undergoes the process of Terrigenesis, revealing her to be an Inhuman also, but unlike Skye (Daisy Johnson/Quake), Raina undergoes a physical transformation causing a change in eye color, black, spiky protrusions on her skin and blackened fingertips. Whether she has actual powers is yet to be revealed. Questions abound about who or what Raina could be – there are some references to Tigra based purely I’m sure on the physical characteristics shown and while this is a distinct possibility another that’s been circulating is that while Marvel is restricted from using mutants (due to their deal with respect to the XMen) there is no restriction on their creating NEW characters that are unique to the MCU. This is probably a stretch also as there is so much history within the Marvel Universe it would be somewhat silly to start a new character from scratch here (not mentioning the uproar in the Interweb when all the fan theories fall to dust), however just because it doesn’t make sense to you or I doesn’t mean they won’t do it! So long answer short? No clue … I know that her transformation into some sort of creature while leaving Skye physically unmarred is going to have a significant impact on her psyche, but I guess I’m more old fashioned and really want to see what her powers are!

Tripp – is he alive?

Now the main thing fueling speculation here that he might be alive is a supposed tweet from the actress Ming Na Wen who plays Agent May on the show. I’ll be honest, I’ve tried to find it and I couldn’t so there might be truth to the rumors, but his death looked fairly conclusive to me. In fact the way he went out – a true hero who literally saved the Earth from the Diviner and its destructive “choosing”/weaning of humanity … well that’s what you want in your hero’s … someone that’s selfless and thinks of others first. It’s a real pity as he’s a background character true, but he’s one that could have been developed into someone quite interesting and useful instead of a glorified red shirt.

AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. has improved dramatically since last season and if the final run of episodes this year can rival the same time season, we are in for quite a treat. AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. returns on March 3rd.

June 25, 2015 1 comment

A Sin to Err: Agent Carter

by hutchm May 26, 2015

written by hutchm

Well it had to happen sometime I guess … I mean the good thing about the SSR & Agent Carter is that while they are always a couple of steps behind Peggy, they are still playing the same game unlike other shows where the only person that seems to be able to do anything at all is the title character. This is a refreshing change as I’m sure you would agree!

OK to do a quick recap of the episode, Peggy has determined that the only way Howard Stark could have been robbed is if he was taken advantage of by a woman as he is such a womanizer & after what she saw last week with the Russian training facility she further determines that this woman must be in some way associated with Leviathan is also probably the killer of Kresminsky and quite possibly still maintains some of her patterns from that time – namely sleeping with a shackle/handcuff – and as such should have the scars to match. Obtaining a list of Howard’s paramours, she sets out with Jarvis in tow to visit each of them & while Jarvis is quite reluctant (it seems Howard’s rejection of these women is through Jarvis) he eventually agrees to speak to them also, which unfortunately means he gets more than one slap from a woman truly scorned!

Simultaneously, as Peggy’s search is progressing Sousa has also been putting the pieces of everything together, and has determined that there is enough information to pull Peggy in as being in some way involved with everything –

He identified the marks on her back as matching those from the blonde lady at the club
He spoke to the driver of the milk truck that they had captured in episode 1 & verified from him that Peggy was the person that had disarmed/disabled him at the farm
He spoke to the homeless man two episodes ago who’d indicated that a lady and a well dressed man (Jarvis) had left the dock

Once he’s able to persuade Dooley of all of these facts a massive “woman”hunt for Carter ensues and they initially try to apprehend her at the Diner where she’s speaking to Jarvis. Managing to disarm and escape from all of the agents sent in after her, Peggy escapes out the back door but is confronted by Thompson … however before he’s able to apprehend her, she knocks him out also. When Sousa finally arrives, she persuades him not to shoot and makes her escape back to the boarding facility where she searches in her room for the Captains’ blood.

Prior to the grand hunt however we had Dottie apparently targeting Dooley or the escaped Psychologist but surprise, surprise … this man isn’t what he seems as he manages to speak to Dottie through morse code and tells her that she needs to kill Peggy. First of all I got a little bored with the Soviet Scientist Ivchenko’s scenes towards the end of the episode. While they ended up building to a rather shocking climax they still felt kind of superfluous once we knew that he was still a Leviathan agent trying to infiltrate the SSR to find a mysterious item that was obviously one of Stark’s bad babies.

As the search continues for Peggy in the boarding hostel, both Thompson and Sousa are obviously frustrated at the fact that Peggy was able to trick them so soundly – Thompson perhaps for the camaraderie that they’d developed while in Europe and Sousa for the friendship he’d shown her since day one, but they’ve also both realized that the reason she was able to trick them is because they underestimated her so badly (pretty much a sign of the times as Agent Carter has taken pains to show to us throughout the series). But without a doubt the best woman-besting-men moment (and there were quite a few in this episode) was when Angie burst into tears to prevent Agent Thompson from finding Peggy. While it was quite funny by itself, the fact that she did it without a second thought to help her friend well … that gives you a nice warm feeling and something else? … well, Thompson and Sousa had just realized they’d been tricked, but they completely fell for it once again!

Unfortunately before Peggy is able to make her escape though, Dottie is able to casually approach her and gives Peggy a kiss with the “special” knockout lipstick that Peggy had used herself in the 1st Episode and Peggy collapses to the floor. Dottie pulls out her knife and is about to kill Peggy, but is stopped by the arrival of Thompson and Sousa who march Peggy away in handcuffs.

Review

OK, well things are definitely heating up and you can see that this show is coming to a climax. Peggy now knows who the Leviathan lady is and while it is somewhat late, it is something that will come in useful and although she’s been captured, she’s not in any way out of the game. I didn’t love Dr. Ivchenko as a character, but I have to admit that I was surprised with his being a spy – I hadn’t considered that, so kudo’s to you for tricking me! I guess the question though is the kiss … I mean girl on girl in a primetime Disney production? Well all I can say is that it wasn’t sexual at all and it completely suited the needs of the story … I would say that as a Black Widow – Dottie is trained to use her sexuality as a weapon and she does so without regard for gender. That’s pretty cool.

May 26, 2015 1 comment

Agents of Shield Television

Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season Finale Review – SOS (Ep 21 & Ep 22)

by hutchm May 22, 2015

written by hutchm

This weeks two part season finale entitled ‘S.O.S’ is probably the best Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D will ever be – it literally takes no prisoners in its dealings with the core characters and no one (at all) is 100% safe. It is extremely fast paced – perhaps frantic in places – and while there isn’t some of the amazingly well choreographed fight sequences we’ve seen in earlier episodes, there is more than enough death and destruction present to satisfy even the most bloodthirsty! This episode didn’t linger to make full use of the threat that the inhumans posed. This despite the fact that we knew very little about them. Jiaying was an effective villain. Like Darth Vader she meant something to someone and she wasn’t just the unapproachable antagonist with the standard ‘I seek revenge’ backstory. If you’ve not yet seen the episode, I can’t recommend it enough – be warned thought that if you continue reading this, there are many SPOILERS as always in my recaps and reviews.

Right lets deal with that elephant first … Ward is a dick and there is absolutely zero chance of his ever getting redeemed. He deserves nothing more than death and I only hope that when it finally happens it is in a particularly gruesome manner suitable to his crimes and attitude. OK now that, that’s off my chest lets get down to the review … by the way, I’m not normally that blood thirsty but aside from his betrayal (last season) and his treatment of FitzSimmons, his actions this episode warrant nothing more a swift and final punishment.

While last weeks episode showed us that Jiaying is not as innocent as she seems my initial thoughts that it was just hatred of H.Y.D.R.A and S.H.I.E.L.D are probably wrong … rather like any ruler (which she is) she has chosen to take whatever actions are necessary to protect her people and in this case she has determined that those actions necessitate the destruction of S.H.I.E.L.D itself. She was so obsessed with protecting the Inhumans, that it blinded her own sense of humanity (or inhumanity).

Coulson quickly figures out that the supposed attack is not all its cracked up to be and while he’s immediately curious about Cal and his rationale for being at the base determines that the first priority is getting Bobbi back from Agent 33 and Ward. Coulson and the “council” realize that they need to do something to fight back against the Inhumans and Jiaying but while Coulson is hoping that Skye will serve as a mediator the remainder of the council advocate an immediate counter-attack. Fortunately Mack who’s still on the aircraft carrier backs Coulson in his decision. Meanwhile May and Hunter manage to track down Bobbi’s Quinjet and see signs of the struggle and Cal is interrogated … almost innocently he declares that he’s a trojan horse and has been sent by Jiaying to destroy S.H.I.E.L.D. This is actually our first exposure to his Mr. Hyde persona that has been hinted at over the course of many episodes and when the drugs finally take effect on him he transforms into a hulk like creature with supernatural strength.

Back in Paradise we learn that Jiayings healing ability while internal can be “enhanced” by sucking the life force from another being which she proceeds to do to heal herself from the self inflicted gun shot wound that we witnessed in last weeks episode. Skye meanwhile is trying to understand what went wrong and visits Raina where she is told by her that her mother is not as innocent as she’s proclaiming and Raina’s purpose is to actually herald Skye’s ascension to leadership over her mother. Jiaying attempts to stop Raina’s influence over Skye by killing her. However, Skye has seen the murder and for the first time questions Jiaying purpose about attacking S.H.I.E.L.D. Jiaying realizing that Skye will not be easily persuaded has her incapacitated and incarcerated with the gloves that Simmons developed to restrict her powers. She takes Skye with her and then proceeds to attack the S.H.I.E.L.D aircraft carrier along with several other Inhumans. Quickly reducing their defences they manage to take over the majority of the ship but Mack is still onboard and realizes that they are planning on using one of the crystals in the ship to poison everyone. He takes it upon himself to defend this room against all comers after first managing to help Skye escape.

At S.H.I.E.L.D HQ Coulson has managed to “persuade” Cal (by driving a car into him and pinning him in place so that he could talk to him) that Jiaying might not have Skye’s best intentions at heart. Coulson has realized that Cal actually has a good heart and while he’s been convicted of multiple murders – in actuality it was Jiaying sucking the life force from them and Cal was basically left to blame. Cal agrees to help Coulson save his daughter and they set off together to the aircraft carrier to confront Jiaying and the rest of the Inhumans.

Agent 33 and Grant Ward are busy torturing agent Morse. Without any remorse Grant stuffs needles into Morse’s fingers and demands an apology for what she did to agent 33. After an escape attempt Agent 33 tries to kill Morse but can’t do it. Ward decides they should leave and booby-traps the door so the first person walking through it will be killed by a high powered rifle. Grant states he hopes it will be Hunter, so Morse can feel the loss while strapped helplessly in a chair. When Hunter and May finally arrive, Morse manages to tip the chair she’s strapped to over so that the bullet ends up shooting her instead of Hunter … Ward & Agent 33 meanwhile are attacking S.H.I.E.L.D agents and when May realizes that Agent 33 is there, she manages to trick her into going to another part of the building. Agent 33 wearing the mask that transforms her features into May’s is instead shot dead by Ward. Agents 33 death closed the book on Grant Ward ever joining the light-side. I had my doubts at the beginning of the season whether Grant could be allowed to come back without alienating the audience. In hindsight the brief cooperation between him and S.H.I.E.L.D was well handled. Now that he is responsible for the near death injuries Morse suffered he can never rely on the sympathy from either S.H.I.E.L.D agents nor the audience.

Agent 33 (Maya Stojan): Did anyone in the history of this show get a more raw deal than poor Agent 33? She was a nondescript agent (un-capitalized) of SHIELD who got captured by Hydra, brainwashed and turned into a killing machine, then saved by a sociopath who manipulated her into a creepy-love-y-dove-y relationship that may or may not have had real feelings behind it (I think Ward was as close to being genuine in his affection for Agent 33 as is possible). Plus, she had a tragic death, dying at the hands of her beloved, mistaking her for Melinda May, ultimately succumbing to the oft-used plot device that ushered her into the show in the first place. It was one of the most effective and concise arcs on the show, and while her time had come, Agent 33 will be missed.

Finally on the carrier, Coulson and Fitz meet up with Mack. Fitz has designed a quantum entanglement devise that restricts Gordon’s ability to teleport and forces him to remain in the room – while the three still have problems containing him, they are eventually (& by accident) able to kill him when he teleports behind Fitz who was at the time holding a steel rod. Gordon drops one of the Kree crystals prior to falling himself and Coulson leaps to catch it before it shatters on the floor killing all of them – and anyone else left on the ship – but as he grabs onto it, his hand starts to turn to stone. Mack quickly cuts it off before it “infects”his whole body and Jiaying realizing that she is losing decides to escape along with a box of crystals.

Skye rushes to stop her mother, but Jiaying instead starts to drain Skye’s lifeforce stating that she’s obviously not the one to lead her people. While Skye is able to push the Quinjet over the side of the ship Jiaying is gradually killing her until Cal comes up and manages to stop her. While obviously in mental anguish he finally does the right thing and puts her down saving his daughters life in the process. Cal was willing to do anything and everything to repair the damage done to his family, but it was an impossible mission, though Cal managed to save his daughter and his wife from herself.

Finally while we think things are finally golden for our team, we learn that Ward is now planning on creating his own “team” as he dislikes working alone from the remnants of H.Y.D.R.A – one can only assume that he is going to be taking on more of a leadership role in this organization. Bobbi recovering from her wounds tells Hunter that she doesn’t think she can continue on with S.H.I.E.L.D and while this might have been a good segue into the previously mentioned stand alone show with Bobbi and Hunter, now that this has been cancelled, I wonder what is planned for them. Cal has been put through the Tahiti program and given a new life as a Veterinarian (one has to wonder about this as so far everyone that has already gone through that program has also had issues) and Skye is put in charge of a new team that seeks out those with powers. Coulson is trying to deal with his missing hand and while it looks like Fitz and Simmons are finally getting together that’s not to be as Simmons gets swallowed up by the Kree stone held in the glass confinement case. We also see that while we might have thought Skye had disposed of the crystals safely into the ocean – in reality she might have herself instituted the changes her mother was striving for as the crystals decompose into our food supply.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D has managed to survive through its second season and while some fans have taken to calling this episode Save Our Show, I, personally have enjoyed all the twists and turns that this show taken us on … I think they didn’t drag things out as long as they did in Season 1 and perhaps they might have almost rushed things a bit too much prior to the launch of Avengers:Age of Ultron, but overall I’m extremely satisfied that this show will be back for a 3rd season. Not all future episode of SHIELD can be like ‘S.O.S’, but it is a start.

May 22, 2015 0 comments

Comic Book Comics Interweb Movies News & Gossip Random

Joss Whedon Vs. Phil Coulson Part 2

by Admin May 10, 2015

written by Admin

As I start writing this today we’ve been dealt the “shocking” blow that Joss Whedon formerly @JossWhedon has left twitter… again. As some might recall he left a few months ago and only returned for fear of what would be his unloved child Much Ado About Nothing for the free promotion.

What I really want to start in on is a little fly by on the difference between criticism and opinion. Criticism is something I strive to produce in these articles and big ups to Hutch for giving me a spot under his big tent to do so. Carefully considered researched and balanced while an opinion is very different it’s very personal and can be easily misconstrue as an attack of sorts. Then hand in hand with how casual twitter seems to feel the intent of your opinion might come off a little bit off.

Joss Whedon is a big boy he’s can make his own decisions if he doesn’t want to be social that fine. But don’t for an instant say “he was run off twitter” again he’s a big boy can make his own decisions. He did so as I believe it was the great John Housemen himself who once said something to the effect of:

well at some point we must continue with the business of living and I submit the time is now.

On to some actual due criticism mid April after Mr. Whedon viewed a clip under 2 minutes in length from the upcoming Colin Trevorrow directed jump start of the Jurassic Park franchise, Jurassic World. Again under 2 minutes in length and took to twitter to proclaim it “70’s era sexist She’s a stiff, he’s a life-force – really? Still?” ”. In a later statement to Variety he said “I shouldn’t have tweeted it” but unequivocally maintains his opinions that the film is sexist after again viewing a clip under 2 minutes in length.

I don’t understand how Mr. Whedon could form such a strong and unshakable opinion about a full film he hasn’t actually seen yet. In consideration when it’s always been my opinion that not too be hyperbolic that Joss Whedon is about as feminist as an old ball of socks. Granted many of his works have touched upon feminist idea. But what characters did he ever have that weighted over 125 lbs? Or did not have impossibly perky breasts. Proper representation counts giving a blonde 17 year old hard body cheerleader super power is about as in touch with common women as I am.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer season six or as I’ve always called it in my house Anne Rice presents: Red Shoe Diaries. Firefly how does Mr. Whedon introduce a leading female cast member under 18 totally nude and sealed up in a frozen shipping container. Age of Ultron, Black Widow being given no character development only tragic back story or Tim Burtoning if you will and by de facto becomes The Hulk’s ape trainer. In her new back story (Spoiler alert) her graduation from the “red room” in spy craft included a hysterectomy. Because she is infertile fully and without any reservation compares herself to a Hulk like monster. So yeah that was a thing.

All questionable female driven decisions Mr. Whedon has made that I pull directly off the top of my head. All that being said what credibility can we give to an opinion of an entire film based upon a 90 second clip I submit absolutely none don’t be absurd. Even tassidly it is fair to call Mr. Whedon a wee bit of hypocrite for again declaring an entire film sexist after viewing a 90 second clip and including at my count no less 5 down blouse shots of Wanda Maximoff.

In the age of the internet men who live in glass houses rarely throw stones but when they do it’s not hard to notice anymore.

May 10, 2015 1 comment

Action/Adventure Agent Carter Agents of Shield Comic Book Comics Interweb Movies News & Gossip Random Television

Joss Whedon Vs. Phil Coulson

by Admin May 8, 2015

written by Admin

This morning I read a recent Q&A Joss Whedon @josswhedon did with Dana Schwartz over at mental floss and I have to say some of his answers really raised my eye brows here and there.

DS: People don’t really stay dead in Marvel movies. I think we’ve had to deal with Loki dying four, five, 12 times. Coulson coming back. Fury comes back mid-film in Captain America: The Winter Soldier … How many more times do you think a character’s death can have an impact if it doesn’t have a permanent effect?

JW: “A lot of people come back in The Winter Soldier. It’s a grand Marvel tradition. Bucky was supposed to die. And the Coulson thing was, I think, a little anomalous just because that really came from the television division, which is sort of considered to be its own subsection of the Marvel universe. As far as the fiction of the movies, Coulson is dead. But I have to say, watching the first one with my kids—I had not watched the first one since it came out—and then watching it with my kids and watching Coulson die but [thinking], “Yeah, but I know that he kind of isn’t,” it did take some of the punch out of it for me. Of course, I spent a lot of time making sure he didn’t. And at the time it seemed inoffensive, as long as it wasn’t referenced in the second movie, which it isn’t.”

“There’s a thing where you can do that so many times and there’s nothing at stake. But it’s difficult because you’re living in franchise world—not just Marvel, but in most big films—where you can’t kill anyone, or anybody significant. And now I find myself with a huge crew of people and, although I’m not as bloodthirsty as some people like to pretend, I think it’s disingenuous to say we’re going to fight this great battle, but there’s not going to be any loss. So my feeling in these situations with Marvel is that if somebody has to be placed on the altar and sacrificed, I’ll let you guys decide if they stay there.”

View image | gettyimages.com

Fair dues Mr. Whedon your not happy with Coulson being alive again. But arguably you absolutely do not lose under cut the impact or the impact of his death in Avengers because I think it’s a little weak to rely on losing Coulson to be the ONLY tangible link an audience can grasp or really feel.

Given that the sky had broke open and hundreds of thousands of alien monsters poured out to conquer and slaughter anyone breathing in a major American city as the pretext for an invasion. Homes big and small business streets all totally destroyed. No one in recent human history can identify with any of this I guess?

Friends family members being hurt or even dyeing in this massive city wide catastrophe. Credit where credit is due in The Avengers they rescue a lot more people from actual dangers. Unlike Man Of Steel and one of my many issues with it similar in that a major American city and is totally different because this attack is by aliens in massive ships with superior technology. Devastating the city a kin a a few thousand 9/11 attacks but of course the only people we see in actual trouble are Jimmy, Lois and Perry. Because of course the filmmakers “just didn’t want to go there”.

Since the revival of Bucky Barnes it would be fair to say the only character left untouched and justifiably so is Spider-Man’s uncle Ben. Playing devils advocate to myself I’m trying to think a little more like Mr. Whedon in this moment. Could they have done things differently story wise that he would have been happier with? Would a compromise have been a happier solution for him? Coulson might have returned but as a Life Model Decoy everyone was a buzz about for a time.

But then on the other hand the entire first season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D is the character acting wizard that is Clark Gregg (@clarkgregg) clawing his way to discover why he brought back from the dead. It was very human it was easily relatable it was so engaging because you wanted to learn with this man why he was chosen to be brought back. He wasn’t an extraordinary guy he was in the background of a few things and he was kind of a jerk sometimes. But he was and he was working really hard to make it mean something and I’m sorry but if that’s not a Marvel story then I’m not sure what is.

Again devils advocate, if the show and stories in general went in a different direction just a speculative idea. If they were to follow the books a little closer and Maria Hill was the headliner. After all she is and was Fury’s right had and his very visible heir apparent as in the books she did take on the role of director over for Fury. It would have been very different the story challenges would be minimal and what real journey does Maria Hill have after The Avengers?

She’s a very high ranking officer at an elite spy organization, we already like her character a lot. There is no reason not too I mean it’s not like she was a jerk to Jane Foster in Thor or anyone else really. We would have started off in a story about an awesome winner who has an exciting spy job continuing to win and be awesome.

Quantum leaping back into myself devils advocate section is done for now. I find it a bit rich that Mr. Whedon is complaining about the continued use a character he did not have a hand in originating. Even more so every single character in The Avengers film originated somewhere else. Granted Mark Ruffalo as Dr. Banner was new but the character certainly wasn’t and it’s not like The Hulk was the focus of the entire film.

That being said it would be fair to say The Avengers film is a lot like a mix tape Mr. Whedon made from all the best songs of all these awesome bands we already know and love. Yes the arrangements the tone the emotions it evokes are fantastic for our road trip. But then to later turn around and complain that someone continued The Ballad Of Phil Coulson to the detriment of your road trip mix is a bit ludicrous.

I also ask if he is really truly so opposed to the idea of Coulson living then why is he his brother and his sister in law writing producing and show running Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D respectively. The vehicle of Coulson’s resurrection. All under his very own company mast head Mutant Enemy.

To wrap things up Mr. Whedon is every Coulson lives t-shirt on the streets and on the backs of loyal fans a dollar in your pocket or a knife in your artist hearts?

May 8, 2015 0 comments

Agents of Shield

The Dirty Half Dozen (AKA – The Gangs all together!) – Agents of Shield (S2E19)

by hutchm April 29, 2015

written by hutchm

Somewhat like old home week, the gang is finally all back together. Skye has returned and with Ward’s inclusion last week our original cast of characters is now all together back on the boat … one thing that needs to be said though is that WOW have they changed. Skye once a bit of a loner is now truly at home with her teammates, Fitz and Simmons with their on again / off again relationship/friendship (who knows what ship) are still just as confused – perhaps even more so and May … once the mother of the group to Coulson‘s dad is now possibly considering a divorce!

The elephant though … well that’s Ward really isn’t it? Who he has become and what he’s done to those he considered his friends … this was his opportunity to really apologize and perhaps start working towards that redemption he seems to so desperately need. The team (including us) would never give it to him – his actions go definitely beyond the pail, but unfortunately Ward’s apology really shows a lack of maturity and a true understanding of the pain and anguish that he has caused his supposed friends.

When Mack apologized to Hunter – it was meaningful … you could see the tears in his eyes (I know this was acting, but it was believable) but perhaps most importantly he said the right words:

I still believe in what I do, but I never meant for you to get hurt and I’m sorry for that and I’ll try to make it up to you in any way that I can.

Ward by contrast however blames all of his actions on how he was brought up, the abuses he suffered at the hands of his family etc… he refuses to take any ownership for his actions and his sociopathic tendencies and while it seems he’s trying to do the right thing by Kara (Agent 33) he’s unable to translate these actions into the necessary changes he’d need to make in himself. While Ward seems to desperately want to be a hero again – he cannot redeem himself, truly redeem himself until he acknowledges and atones for his previous actions and shows true remorse. Right now his only regrets seem to be that he and the team had “good times”

Whereas Captain America: The Winter Soldier had S.H.I.E.L.D being impacted greatly by the events of that movie and us literally being caught blindsided, this time S.H.I.E.L.D is providing us with some foreshadowing by way of Raina and her gifts and while I personally wasn’t that impressed with this (I’ll explain more later) it was to be expected.

Episode Recap

OK lets get down to the nitty gritty as there was quite a bit of stuff that happened in this episode including a tie in for the the upcoming Avengers Movie also (as previously mentioned).

*** Spoilers below ***

With the return of Cal and Skye to the Afterlife, Cal literally explodes (verbally) and lets the cat out of the bag in regards to Skye’s parentage. If you recall from a previous episode Jianying wanted to keep this secret so I’m sure this is going to come back and bite her quite badly. Skye wants to immediately attempt a rescue of Lincoln, but when Gordon initially attempts to do so himself he is accosted by Hydra agents and almost captured. With Raina’s “influence” based on her visions, Skye has herself teleported to the bus prior to Coulson and the rest of the gang initiating their rescue attempt.

Coulson as just mentioned has managed to persuade Gonzales of the value of conducting a rescue operation to recover Mike Peterson (Deathlok) and also the unnamed powered individual (Lincoln) that H.Y.D.R.A is experimenting on. While his apparent surrender to Gonzales at the end of the previous episode might have put him into Gonzales’ “power” it is quite apparent that Coulson can literally run circles around him. His comments to Hill that Gonzales has a committee that actually vote on decisions shows the true derision that he feels for Gonzales. The sad fact is that a leader is someone willing to make those difficult decisions and deal with the consequences of them both positive and negative and unfortunately as much as I like the Edward James Olmos – Gonzales is not a leader. He is not the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. OK, I’ll get off my soapbox now and get back to the recap! 🙂

Coulson gathers together the rest of the gang and with Skye’s return to the bus thanks to Gordon, they set off on an apparent suicide mission to infiltrate the H.Y.D.R.A base. When H.Y.D.R.A detects the bus even thought is cloaked and fires two missiles apparently destroying it … our thoughts immediately go to the team … well, no, not really – we all knew they were fine didn’t we? Anyways, it turns out that they were in a quinjet inside the bus and they actually used the wreckage of the bus as camouflage to sneak down. Bakshi it seems has continued to keep them informed and they well knew the capabilities of the base prior to planning their assault. Once they are able to obtain ingress to the base they actually meet up with Bakshi and split up into three separate teams with Skye/Ward and Bakshi on the rescue team. While Skye initially uses her powers (which she seems to be gaining control of exponentially) to disable some H.Y.D.R.A agents, she really kicks ass in an action sequence that is up there with the May vs. May fight from Face my Enemy. Kevin Tancharoen has directed several episodes this season, and once again he really raised the bar for action on this series when he staged an intricate sequence showing what Skye is capable of not just with a weapon but also with her body and the surroundings. I can’t really speak highly enough if this sequence and I definitely want to see more of Skye kicking butt not just with her powers, but also good old fashioned hand-to-hand as this episode shows she’s definitely got the goods and the abilities to allow her to hold her own.

Coulson meanwhile leads Fitz and May on a separate mission to disable the anti-aircraft defenses that H.Y.D.R.A has in place so that S.H.I.E.L.D can send in some jets to destroy the base. While Fitz is hacking the defenses however, Coulson seems to have another reason for being there – rescuing Deathlok and Lincoln it seems is simply a cover and a way for him to access the base. In a similar sequence to what we saw with the Widow and the Captain from Winter Soldier, Coulson manages to obtain access to some information while May holds of the attacking H.Y.D.R.A agents. May however is less than pleased at learning of this subterfuge and continues to push Coulson to come clean with her on all of the different secrets he’s holding very close to his chest.

Simmons similarly however had her own reasons for deciding to join the rescue attempt and while her attempt on Wards life fails she does kill Bakshi. While I can understand Simmons’ need to avenge herself on Ward, I really feel that she is becoming more and more unhinged herself and if she’s not careful could end up just as damaged as he is! Jemma is not a killer. I think she’s falling apart so quickly she doesn’t know how to stop it. So much hurt, pain… She can’t deal with it alone. That’s why I really hope she confesses everything to Fitz (including Bankshi’s death and I’m afraid of how is he going to react).

Returning to the base, Coulson hands over the cube but not before letting slip that Fury is still alive. While Gonzales’ might think Coulson isn’t the Director, a phone call from Agent Hill demonstrates quite clearly that there are many others who believe the opposite. While speaking to Hill, Coulson provides her with the information that he’d stolen from H.Y.D.R.A – the location of Loki’s scepter – and also informs her that they need to call the Avengers again.

Review

From the point of view of tying up a bunch of loose ends this episode absolutely delivered and I know I’m probably in the minority in my one gripe, but since this is my post I can state it anyways! While I absolutely was expecting the fact that they’d somehow allude to the upcoming movie in S.H.I.E.L.D I hate the fact that they had to do it. I know that they (the MCU) are all interconnected and I loved what changed in S.H.I.E.L.D after the events of Winter Soldier, but this “plug” for Age of Ultron felt like nothing more than that … an attempt to get more bums in seats. Winter Soldier took me by surprise and the whole S.H.I.E.L.D v.s. H.Y.D.R.A impact along with the changes to some beloved characters … that was good storytelling. This – well we’ve all seen the trailers for weeks if not months with Ultron … we know that these are the metal men that Raina is referring to and unfortunately as much as I enjoy Raina’s character and her thorny new look, her clairvoyance feels too much like a convenient plot device to put certain pieces in place. The impact just isn’t there for these pronouncements which is really sad as the last 5 minutes of the episode removed some of the awesomeness that I felt in the rest of the episode. I absolutely know and realize that the whole MCU is interconnected – I honestly do get that – maybe its just Raina. It’s probably just me. 🙂

Coulson has kept the secret of the Theta Protocol close to the vest as the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., refusing to reveal what it means even to Agent Melinda May (Ming Na Wen). In “The Dirty Half Dozen” Coulson finally lets slip what this protocol entails while speaking to Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders): the Avengers as mentioned below and while I wasn’t too keen on how this was tied into the show, I am very curious to see what happens next week post Ultron and how that impacts S.H.I.E.L.D and the team. While Ward is absolutely not redeemed (thankfully), the question is of course is his actions on/for Kara as genuine as he is making them out to be, or is he still playing another con, this time with her inside S.H.I.E.L.D?

By this point you’ve probably already seen the trailers for the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron. If not you can find one of them at this link. Something else that might interest you however is an overall cinematic for the MCU as presented in the video below. I found it quite interesting and hopefully you will too!

April 29, 2015 1 comment

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