Duck Fox

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has gone from being one of those shows I felt obligated to watch, because it had such a strong cast and took place in the Marvel universe, to a show that I genuinely look forward to week after week. Looking at this episode, it’s little wonder why. The reason S.H.I.E.L.D. has managed to become compelling is it is willing to actually build up and explore storylines this year rather than kick the can further down the road. We’ve already gotten a large amount of payoff on Skye’s and Coulson’s character arcs, with Skye finding out who her father is and Coulson embracing the crazy and writing out the alien map. But tonight it’s all about Ward. Ward is a polarizing figure in the show’s mythos. From the beginning, many a joke was made about how generic and bland Brett Dalton was, but then toward the end of the first season, it was revealed that Ward was HYDRA and working with the traitorous Garrett. After capturing him in the finale and locking him away, he’s done little but wallow in self pity. Or plot his next evil, depending on who you ask. Dalton’s certainly putting a lot more into the role this year, and I’m genuinely unsure of whether Ward is heading toward redemption or damnation. 

Considering they planned an episode around more thoroughly explaining his motivations, and have clearly set up Ward’s brother, Senator Christian Ward (White Collar’s Tim Dekay) as even more coldhearted and evil, I’m leaning redemption. But it’s exhilarating because I could genuinely see a great twist coming from these assumptions. 

But before we discuss the duplicitous brothers, why not get into the main arc of the episode? Namely, HYDRA attempting to smear S.H.I.E.L.D.’s name by attacking a UN dignitary who supports them. Christian Ward is very hands on with his anti-shield propaganda, and it’s becoming a real problem for the group. Not as much of a problem as HYDRA themselves, though—when Coulson sends a team of agents to talk with the Belgian UN man about working together, the agents are dispatched by HYDRA. Coulson, not knowing what has happened, tasks Bobbi, Lance and Melinda with investigating the incident. A couple of epic fight scenes later and the group is all safe, with Bobbi and Lance even hinting at rekindling their romance a little.

Speaking of rekindling relationships, now that Gemma is back, she takes some time to go and see Fitz. Fitz is unhappy with her for obvious reasons (he feels she abandoned him) and is far less moody around Mack, which frustrates Gemma in turn. A tense scene between Mack and Simmons plays out, with Mack saying he doesn’t know the guy Simmons left behind, but he does know the guy that’s currently there, and he’s pretty cool. Simmons says she didn’t leave him behind for her, but for Fitz himself. It’s quite a complex issue: Simmons genuinely believes by getting out of the way she could maybe help Fitz become who he was…. But should that be a priority when the current Fitz is still quite the cool guy, regardless of a few mental ticks? 

For all the good things this episode did, however, S.H.I.E.L.D., is still at its best when it is actively working on the main arc of the series. Though Ward taking out the guys transporting him to his brother and escaping will definitely tie back into this arc, the show definitely lost a little momentum. That said, things are certain to pick back up next week when we finally get some answers on Coulson’s wall writing!