Did this remind anyone else of the episode of Firefly, "The Train Job," where our cast of characters has to steal something while on a moving train? Because, yeah, this episode was just like that one. But, to be fair, I'm not sure that makes it automatically bad... there were some very interesting dynamics explored in this episode, and a few genuine shocks. However, as is increasingly common with this show, there were a lot of elements that really shouldn't have been there at all. Let us take a closer look.
The team finds a package being sent to Ian Quinn from Cybertek. They decide to track it by boarding the train on which it is traveling. They figure that if they can get to Ian Quinn, they will be one step closer to the Clairvoyant. They take the case over from the Italian police, headed by Luca Russo. While on the train, the group splits up and goes under cover. Simmons and Coulson pretend to be a father and daughter, Fitz and Skye hide in the back to monitor the situation via computer, and Ward and May look for the package. May gets on top of the train and is making her way to the package, when disaster strikes.
The team is discovered. Coulson and Ward jump from the train, May is taken, and Fitzsimmons and Skye are stuck on the train. Simmons is knocked out, so Fitz and Skye are forced to leave her on the train as they follow the package, unwilling to let this lead to the Clairvoyant go. May has been kidnapped by Luca Russo, who, it turns out, has double crossed them. May manages to escape and reunite with Ward and Coulson. Together, they and Simmons chase after Fitz and Skye.
Skye has entered Quinn's mansion alone, while Fitz waits outside. She finds Quinn and Cybertek's man, Mancini, and also finds Mike Peterson, who has been in a hyperbaric chamber. The package that the group was tracking on the train contains a high-tech cyber leg for Mike to use, since his own leg has been amputated. They fit it on him. Quinn tries to order Mike to kill Skye, but Mike says the Clairvoyant has given him different orders. Quinn does the job himself, shooting Skye twice in the stomach and leaving her for dead. Mike Peterson kills the Cybertek people, because they accidentally brought S.H.I.E.L.D. to Quinn.
The team rushes in to the mansion and manage to arrest Quinn. However, Skye is close to death. Simmons manages to save her - temporarily - by putting her into the hyperbaric chamber. In the final scene, we see Mike Peterson ask his masters if he can see his son. They say no. On his prosthetic leg, we see the words "Project Deathlok."
Oooookay. As I keep saying, over and over and over and over again, I'm just not at a place where I can be happy with this show. Let's list some of my problems with it:
- Ian Quinn is a sort-of-okay villain, but the Clairvoyant still isn't. I know that he tortured Coulson, so we don't like him because of that... but what else do we know? And why are we being kept in the dark? You shouldn't hold on to secrets just for the sake of having secrets. As I keep saying, that's one of the biggest problems with this show.
- May/Ward/Coulson love triangle bullshit. There's this moment where May is injured and Coulson is patching her up, and then Ward walks in and sees them having this intimate moment so he gets all pissy about it. I almost threw my laptop through the window. No. Bad. No. I was actually rather okay with the Ward/May sex thing because it seemed like they were genuinely showing their relationship to be about sex. The two of them have no romantic chemistry that I've seen.
- Skye being a stupid hero. When she entered the mansion, I was like - there's no way she could actually pull this off. She'd totally get shot. And then she did get shot, and I had one moment where I was surprised, and then the next moment I was crossing my fingers that she'd actually die. I don't think this show wants its viewers to root for Skye's death. But I just kept thinking... wow, what a twist that would be! It's all fun and games until someone winds up dead... and killing off one of their protagonists so early in the game could be a great way to shake things up. But obviously they're not going to kill freakin' Skye. So I was disappointed.
- Mike Peterson is going to be Deathlok? I'll fully admit I'm not an expert in the Marvel canon, but I'm skeptical about what they can do with this twist. I doubt their ability to pull it off. That leg is cool, though. And nice makeup job on J. August Richards. He looks really messed up.
But hey, let's be fair. Things I liked about the episode:
- I always love it when Fitz shows concern over Simmons. I ship these two like you wouldn't believe.
- Simmons pretending to be Coulson's daughter. I was cracking up at this part. Seriously.
- The twist that the Italian cop was double crossing them. Not the most original thing I've ever seen, but I didn't see it coming, so there's that!
Another mediocre episode. It wasn't the worst thing I've ever seen, and I did like seeing how they planned the whole thing and all their operations on the train. Let's hope they can improve! I feel horrible, but I'm rooting for Skye's death!
6.5/10
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