Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Turn, Turn, Turn (1x17)

I have a feeling that everything leading up to this point has been some sort of trick. Like, we all thought this was a mediocre show at best, with a few standout moments and some okay characters here and there. We all thought we knew what we were getting. And now, it's like everything that's happened so far is meaningless. It's like it was all a prologue, and now we're finally getting into the meat of it all. Oddly, I think this episode shines so spectacularly partly because of how weak the rest of the season has been. This particular episode just shines above the rest. In a way, it's a reboot of the show. We're starting something completely different now. And boy, did we need this.

So. The Bus has been hijacked. Garrett's jet is being attacked by S.H.I.E.L.D. drones. Coulson helps save Garrett and he comes back on board. The team are headed towards the Hub, with no idea what's awaiting them when they get there. Simmons and Triplett are at the Hub, so Fitz and the others know they need to get there to rescue them. Coulson thinks that May is the traitor, although she insists that this is not the case. She says she's been reporting to Director Fury. When she tries her direct line, someone answers and says that Fury is dead. May tells Coulson the truth - she was the one who assembled this team, and she was tasked to report on him, to make sure he didn't exhibit any signs of mental or physical deterioration because of what happened to him when he died. Although Coulson does believe May, he still feels betrayed, because May knew about "Tahiti" the whole time and didn't say anything.

Skye looks through S.H.I.E.L.D.'s network and discovers the truth: HYDRA has infiltrated. When they arrive at the Hub, they all split up to try and track down Agent Victoria Hand, whom they believe to be the Clairvoyant.

Meanwhile, Simmons and Triplett are working on trying to analyze Skye's blood, but as HYDRA infiltrates the Hub, they are forced to hide. Hand and some of her supporters show up, and after testing Simmons and Triplett's loyalty, she reveals that she is not part of HYDRA, but she believes that Coulson is. Fitz, Coulson, Garrett, and May manage to infiltrate part of the Hub and gain control, but Garrett makes a mistake - he mentions something that Coulson never told him, and outs himself as the Clairvoyant. Several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents enter the room at this point, and several of them turn on the rest, revealing themselves to be working for HYDRA. May and Coulson manage to take them down. Fitz even manages to help out a bit. They are able to capture Garrett.

While this is happening, Skye and Ward are trying to avoid getting captured by large groups of HYDRA agents. Ward admits his feelings for Skye and says that if they get out of this alive, they should get a drink and talk.

At this point, S.H.I.E.L.D. is in ruins. Nick Fury is presumed dead, and the rest of the agents have to go into hiding to stay alive. Coulson, May, Fitzsimmons, and Skye all get back to the Bus, hoping to repair it and keep themselves alive. Ward goes with Hand to deliver Garrett to the Fridge. He says that since Garrett was his S.O., he feels personally betrayed, and wants to see him delivered to his fate first hand.

While in transit, Hand tells Ward that she doesn't want to deliver Garrett to the Fridge. She wants him to die. She offers to let Ward take him out, in order to make up for killing the wrong man (Thomas Nash) earlier. Ward takes out his gun. He looks like he's going to take Hand's offer. Instead, he shoots the two guards and Hand, killing all three. Ward is a HYDRA agent.

Yikes. So if I had to talk about a few weaknesses...

There's this moment when Simmons tries to contact a fellow scientist to get help about Skye's blood, and we get a video call... it just felt awkward and didn't add to the frantic-ness of it all. I thought it was a weak moment.

The Ward and Skye scene went on too long. Obviously they're not building up a legit romance anymore... or I don't think they are... I'm just confused. And that whole scene where Ward expressed what he felt for Skye, and Skye kissed him... it just reminded me how boring Skye is. And how boring Ward is. Or how boring we all thought he was. In any case, that scene, paired with what happened later, made me very confused as to whether or not we're supposed to think Ward's feelings for Skye were genuine, or just part of the act. I really can't tell.

But now for the good stuff!

Garrett is a traitor! More than that, he's the Clairvoyant! When this whole HYDRA business came up, I really wasn't even too concerned about the Clairvoyant anymore. And then that seemed to come out of nowhere! And just... wow! That was enough of a shocker for me.

Hand's trick with Skye and Triplett. Nicely executed. She pretends to be HYDRA, and then she flips it around. I'll admit, I fell for it. Hand is a hardass, but she's not an enemy. I'm sad she's dead now, because it would have been interesting to watch her and Coulson work together.

Fitzsimmons! Fitz has a one-track mind throughout this whole episode. All he wants is to rescue Simmons from the Hub. When Garrett suggests that Simmons might be being tortured, Fitz goes straight into denial. And then when they're finally reunited, Simmons runs straight into Fitz's arms. Gah! So cute! I've been shipping these two since day one, and I'll be mightily displeased if nothing ever comes of it.

WARD IS WORKING FOR HYDRA! They basically took the most boring character ever and turned him into a giant, interesting question mark. See, at this point I honestly don't know - was Ward telling the truth about anything? About his boring backstory? About his feelings for Skye? About his need to protect his team, and his feelings of failure when he doesn't? I just don't know! I really hope that Ward is just out-and-out evil. Like, I hope they don't try to do a whole redemption arc, or show him feeling really guilty, or anything. No. I want it all to have been an act. I want a really interesting cold-hearted villain to come out of this.

I could go on, but if you've seen the episode, you understand why it stands miles above anything else we've seen this season. Finally, things are happening. The plot is pushing forward. Even the boring characters are becoming less boring. I really hope they can keep up this momentum for the rest of the season.

9/10