Duck Fox

One of the things Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has always been good at is comedy. Admittedly, sometimes you had to wonder whether it was trying to be funny. But generally the show manages to keep a sense of humor, even while it takes ten years to tell you Skye’s father is an alien. Yet, few episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. actually put light-hearted adventure front and center. I was beginning to think Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen couldn’t create such episodes after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. last year. Thankfully, I was wrong, and Tuesday’s outing turned out to be the best of the season.

While none of this episode is revolutionary television—“steal the painting” and “fighting your doppleganger” are well worn tropes—the minutiae elevate the episode. Take Fitz’s arc: last episode he began to wean himself off of Simmons, but is still having difficulty connecting with the rest of the team. While Mac, Hunter and Skye can casually mouth off about their exes and rib each other, Fitz feels he doesn’t belong with them. It’s only after he helps save the day that the team convince him to come out of his shell a little. It’s definitely a theme that should resonate with a sizeable amount of the show’s audience—from my experience, nerds lean towards introversion, making it hard to connect with even people who they enjoy spending time with. What’s really great about this, though, is seeing all the characters be cheerful, casual people. S.H.I.E.L.D. can get so bogged down in following the plot bunnies down their rabbit holes that it can neglect the subtle character moments that stand out in any properly done Marvel property. 

While Hunter and the nerds are rapping about their lives, Melinda May and Coulson are hot on the trail of a painting that appears to have symbols very similar to the ones Coulson has to fight not to begin drawing out, on it. They go undercover in a swanky party to acquire the painting, but encounter General Talbot. They ditch him with a bit of flirty tango-fu, and attempt to steal the painting, but they arrive after it’s already been taken. Talbot confronts them outside, but instead of siccing the entire Department of Defense on them, he just requests Coulson come by and take a look at the painting. It seems terribly like a trap. But without other options, they agree to the meet. 

Throughout Coulson and May’s scenes is a bit of tension springing from Coulson’s need to get Melinda to agree to a failsafe plan. After all, if Coulson continues to unravel, someone should be there to stop him from hurting anyone. Someone should be there to kill him. May is intentionally avoiding talking about this, or so Coulson believes. I’ve made it clear how I feel about Coulson’s whole “alien weirdness” plot, and while I’m not a huge fan, I do have to admit it’s an excellent tool to create some drama. 

May decides to tail Talbot and figure out what he’s up to, but bites off more than she can chew when she finds out he’s secretly Bakshi! Bakshi and his girl Friday, also a badass martial artist, manage to subdue May, and use the same mask Bakshi wore to impersonate Talbot to impersonate May.

Coulson meets up with faux-May and pointedly jumps into the conversation about her taking over for him if he goes too far off the deep end. “May” agrees to off him, but really this HYDRA agent is probably just excited to learn S.H.I.E.L.D. is led by the fairly average Coulson now, instead of Nick Fury. Which may have been what tipped Coulson off, because next thing you know, he’s punching May in the face after asking her if she would have a cup of coffee with him post mission. Turns out, May hates coffee. The episode then kicks into high gear as it is revealed fake May planted a destabilization device on the Bus, and everyone there scrambles to keep it from exploding. May is freed and has a fantastic battle scene with her doppleganger while Coulson takes on Bakshi.

When all is said and done, the wheels on the bus keep going round and round and May has taken her doppleganger down a notch (seriously, if there’s one reason to watch this episode it’s for this great fight scene). And the real May shoots down Coulson’s proposal to kill him, saying she’ll find a way to save him, no matter what. It’s a poignant moment that carries real emotional weight because we’ve seen how hard Coulson has struggled with his newfound life. In the car with nay-May, he was practically begging for this assurance. Hoping for the prospect of some relief at some unknown point in the future. While May snatches this hope from him, she does give him something more valuable than grim resolution: hope. 

The episode ends with a tag involving Raina and the fantastically menacing Kraken. When Kraken confronts her in her car, Raina attempts to smooth talk her way out of his clutches, but Kraken uses a mystery device to seemingly magnetize her hand and force it back onto the steering wheel, proving he’s not as easily manipulated. He gives her an ultimatum: return the Obelisk or he will return and… well, he doesn’t exactly say, but it is implied that if he doesn’t get the Obelisk she will not want him returning. So basically the perfect way to tease the season long arc, and much better than dropping random tidbits from Skye’s father. 

“Face My Enemy” hits you over the head with the metaphor, where Fitz, Coulson and May must all face their worst enemies—themselves—but it manages to engage with the characters on a deeper level by connecting their stories. While not an essential episode, it is a thoroughly pleasing installment.