Duck Fox

“The Things We Bury” takes its title both figuratively and literally. The figurative part comes courtesy of Daniel Whitehall. Using the information they acquired from Bakshi, the group finds out Daniel Whitehall was originally captured by SSR in the forties thanks to Agent Carter, and hasn’t aged a day since. Well, he did age, but it was all reversed some time between 1989, when he was last seen by S.H.I.E.L.D., and the present day. The subplot with Ward kidnapping his beloved brother Christian and forcing him to admit to emotionally torturing Ward also has a bit of a burial theme as Ward forces Christian to dig up the old well where all the bad things went down. Ward is an interesting character because while I don’t think he could ever be fully redeemed at this point, and pal around with everyone on the Helicarrier like nothing happened, I do think the show is leaning towards him becoming a Loki style anti-hero who the team will be able to work with while never fully trusting. He’s basically the opposite of Skye’s father. 

Yes, that was a terrible segue to talk about how awesome Skye’s dad is. Not awesome like “I would really enjoy this man’s company because he’s thoroughly entertaining and a quality chum” but awesome as in “this dude is scary crazy. Can’t wait to see what he does next!” While casually posing as a worker at the site Coulson and crew are attempting to hack to find the city he’s been drawing with his writings, he stabs Triplett in just the right way to leave him bleeding out everywhere and with a likelihood that he’ll be dead in minutes without proper treatment. Coulson’s not too pleased, but he ultimately ends up letting him get away again to save Triplett’s life. Nonetheless, the team manage to wrangle the intel they came for while Bobbi and Lance make sweet, sweet love back at the base. All in all, it could have certainly gone worse for everyone involved!

Perhaps the most important takeaway in a monumentally important episode, though, come via flashbacks. In addition to the obligatory guest spot by Agent Carter, “The Things We Bury” also unearthed the final dangling thread relating to Skye: her mother. Dichen Lachman plays a mysterious woman who Whitehall finds is immune to the powers of the Obelisk. He naturally decides to turn her into his next science project and for the next 70 years HYDRA does all sorts of terrible things to her in an attempt to quantify her immunity. Yeah, if you ever needed a reason to hate Daniel Whitehall, this is probably the best you’ll get. It’s enough to make you hope Ward is about to punch him in the final scene where he encounters Whitehall and the Doctor to discuss working within HYDRA. Like, forget subterfuge and espionage, just shoot him the face a couple of times. The flashbacks also reveal that The Doctor is surely thinking the same thing, as he encounters his wife’s brutalized body after Whitehall “disposes” of her. 

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. brings us a stellar follow up to the best episode in a season of great episodes. If you’ve got a brother or a sister or a friend or a fun neighbor who isn’t watching this show, it’s time you introduce them because the show’s not doing too hot in ratings despite the fantastic quality it’s been putting out. Just be sure they’re not HYDRA first.