Danny Hale reviews the ninth episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 3…
Warning: spoilers below.
What an opening; I really couldn’t wait to jump back into Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. this week even though it had only been a week without a new episode. Watching the prologue made me realise just how much I have come to love Rosalind. Well that’s the end of that. I literally froze with a drink have way to my mouth when I heard the gun shot and my arm didn’t move until the title screen granted us a moment to prepare ourselves; the show came back at full throttle. The fact that it was Ward who shot Ros and then blatantly taunted Coulson made it all the worse. I literally don’t know who deserves to kill Ward anymore; the guy REALLY has it coming now. In one way I felt Rosalind’s death was a bit soon and I know a lot of people are going to have that issue but in some ways being too soon is what makes it so hard to stomach. She was taken just as I was starting to really, really love her character and was dying to see more of her. For me I’m in favour. I secretly hope that she’s won’t be gone for good but I can’t say for a second that I wasn’t completely gobsmacked by her death and therefore the writer’s definitely did something right.
The episode thus follows these events launching Coulson into an understandable rage and it seems he’ll stop at nothing to get to Ward. The ensuing fight out of Ros’ apartment continued to show that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. meant business. Luckily Mack was there to pick up Coulson and they escape to safety. As a means of discovering some detail in Ward’s past that they may have overlooked Coulson rounds up the original team in order to learn all he can about Grant when he worked with S.H.I.E.L.D. This episode did a great job of solidifying Ward’s character; I’ve mentioned before how I felt the writers floundered a little with him post Captain America: Winter Soldier but here we touched on the Ward that refused to lie to Daisy, the Ward who slept with May and the Ward that pushed his little brother into a well. Nothing was left untouched, the writers presented everything Ward had done and in the process gave us a look into what makes him tick. The original team’s statements leads Coulson to possibly the last person Ward really cares about, his younger brother Thomas.
Banks meanwhile made a return and as we just begin to learn how loyal he was to Rosalind he was harshly taken from us. I literally had just started to warm to him. This moment was either an extra nail in the coffin or a convenient means at removing the ATCU from the show. I hope it’s the former as the ATCU could realistic vanish from the show without ever needing to show Banks again. Therefore I’m grateful he got an on-screen death. Unfortunately Fitz and Simmons are taken prisoner with no Banks to protect them.
Coulson, as part of his revenge mission recruits Hunter and Bobbi to help him on his mystery quest. In an awesome move, Coulson then makes Mack acting director in his absence. I loved seeing Mack in this role and really hoped he would make the right calls. He then of course discovers that Fitz and Simmons have been kidnapped by Malick and Ward. Daisy wants to head in and attempt a rescue op. Mack, unsure, calls Coulson for counsel but Coulson just throws his phone across the aircraft. Not having a great day our Coulson. Mack’s news just further fuels Phil’s plan which we then learn is to abduct Thomas Ward at gunpoint from his workplace.
It was great to see Fitz and Simmons come face to face with Ward again and even better to see Simmons take no crap from him or indeed Malick. Sadly despite Simmons’ increasing strength and bravery in the face of torture Fitz cracks and in order to quieten Jemma’s pained screams he agrees to take her place and travel to the other planet. It appears HYDRA has no problems opening portals on this side but they need Fitz and/or Simmons to get them home.
Thomas Ward provided a unique insight into his brother Grant’s family life and we got to learn about their relationships and just how twisted Ward got. During Daisy’s discussion with Coulson about Ward she talks about how he got to where he is. It is interesting because you can see and understand how Ward got taken into HYDRA and why he followed Garrett so blindly even though he has really and truly gone too far and is completely beyond redemption. Thomas then offered to speak to Grant on the phone in the hope that Coulson could trace the call. Grant takes the bait and realises too late what Coulson has done.
Mack as acting director had a tough choice to make so at least he made an exciting one. We got to briefly glimpse Joey and Lincoln geared up for a mission despite Mack’s slight reservations about how ready they may in fact be. Daisy meanwhile seems more than happy with his decision and their little fist-bump was perfect. I really like these two as a pair. I’ve always been a fan of Mack and feared he was being written out last season so I’m thrilled he’s making a solid bond with Daisy and really putting his stamp on the show. His little speech to the newbies was also sweet as it shows he took Coulson’s words seriously but not personally.
Bobbi this week (and it seems in general this season) maintained the voice of reason. As everybody else seems to be lashing out she remains calm and tries to reason with Coulson, reminding him that letting his feelings interfere with the mission could be detrimental. Coulson on the other hand feels that not allowing his emotions to take over is what got them into this mess in the first place. I’m not sure he’s right but I do agree that Ward needs to be taken out post-haste.
Ward meanwhile is with Malick where he informs Ward of his intention to send him to lead his team on the other side of the portal. Grant is far too keen on revenge and beating Coulson to be interested. He also states he knows when he’s being used. Malick then showers Ward in the kind of praise he can’t resist and as such, Ward gets played. Is it just me or is anybody else just waiting for Ward or Malick to shoot the other during most of their scenes? I think it’s very important for the show to keep Malick right now; he has added another layer of villainy to the mix and I’m not ready to lose him! On that note I think Ward’s time may be up. Due to time and other events my hatred for Ward just wasn’t what it used to be but this season has done an amazing job of making him despicable again so I think maybe by season’s end it might be time to say goodbye. Maybe I’m completely off the mark and there’s a lot more to see but only time will tell.
Fitz and Simmons had a short sweet scene where they exchanged goodbyes before Fitz accompanied Ward and the HYRDA soldiers through the monolith. I’m very intrigued to see more of Fitz and Ward together; I loved their dynamic. They had one of the strongest relationships when Ward was ‘good’ and his actions against Fitz afterwards filled him with guilt once upon a time. Hopefully we’ll see more of that next week and then hopefully Fitz will leave him for dead in some trench. As Coulson, Bobbi and Hunter watch a heat reading of the building Coulson sees Ward jump through the portal just as anti-air missiles begin firing at their aircraft. In a move that was as ridiculous as it was awesome Coulson jumps from the struggling ship, through a window in the roof of the church and plummets headfirst into the portal moments before it closes. As I say I was too in the moment to care about the logistics, I just cheered. That was until Coulson landed headfirst on the sand and rolled down a cliff where he lay unconscious. Uh oh.
All in all this week was one of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s strongest to date; it had everything that makes the show great from the over the top grand plots to the small individual relationships. With the mid-season finale next week it’s very hard to see how Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. could let me down this side of the New Year. This season came back with a new energy and they’ve nailed it every single week.
Danny Hale
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=0_9dLZCKOvQ
