Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: A Fractured House (2x06)

Okay! An episode focusing on Ward, and yet oddly I enjoyed it. Who would have thunk it? Let's take a look at what happened.

Some HYDRA people break in to a meeting of important military and political figures and do some serious damage. The catch? These members of HYDRA declare themselves members of S.H.I.E.L.D. Now, Coulson knows that the world will be on a manhunt for all of S.H.I.E.L.D. His fledgling agents are now in serious danger! Turns out, the politician who has been working with Talbot is named Christian Ward, older brother to Ward Grant.

Skye talks to Ward about this, and Ward insists that his brother is even worse than he himself is - he's a master liar and manipulator. Coulson talks to Christian, who tells him that Ward is the liar - all of the stuff about their childhood was made up in Ward's mind. Coulson seems skeptical, but like maybe he believes him after all. In any case, they strike up a deal - if Coulson will turn Ward over to his brother, then Christian Ward will make an announcement that S.H.I.E.L.D. are not the bad guys - HYDRA is. Christian does indeed make his speech, but Ward, upon being shipped to his brother, manages to get free of his bonds. Looks like Grant Ward is on the loose!

While all of this is happening, May, Bobbi, and Lance Hunter are working together to help protect S.H.I.E.L.D. from this newest political threat. Bobbi goes undercover to talk to someone about the weapons that HYDRA used to kill the politicians. There's a lot of Hunter/Bobbi banter, a lot of eye rolls from May, and some kick-ass action. Lance Hunter says he should leave S.H.I.E.L.D. to give Bobbi her space, but Bobbi reminds him that there really is no more S.H.I.E.L.D., and that they're both trying to find their new place in this world right now.

Fitz and Simmons are strained and awkward, as Simmons tries to treat Fitz just the same, but Fitz is frustrated by Simmons' sympathy. It seems that Simmons can't finish Fitz's sentences, and communication is really difficult. Later, Simmons sees Mack and Fitz hanging out, and with Mack's help, Fitz is able to communicate an important piece of information for the mission. Mack and Simmons talk privately - Simmons thanks Mack for helping Fitz, but Mack says that Fitz doesn't need any help. He also says that Simmons is the only thing making Fitz worse. Simmons says she knows - that's why she left.

Okay. Things to complain about:

Not much, really. I think maybe the Lance and Bobbi stuff could get old fast, because it does take time away from our existing characters. I mean, I like them for now, but I could anticipate that not being the case in the future.

Also, I haven't really enjoyed the Skye/Ward interactions this season. I especially hate it when Skye actually starts to lose focus and talk about her father. Seriously, Skye? Just get what you need and then get out! Don't let him manipulate you!

But let's get to the good stuff.

Fitz! Simmons! Mack! My heart hurts. The fact that Simmons can't finish Fitz' sentences for him is so tragic, especially when you juxtapose it to the way that Hallucination!Simmons always could. Jemma is so awkward and uncertain, and I think it breaks her heart that things can never go back to normal. There's this part of me that wants to be angry with Mack for putting a bigger wrench in Fitzsimmons, but to be honest, he's right - he only knows Fitz as he is now. Simmons, on the other hand, seems to be waiting for someone who won't be coming back. This will be an emotional journey, I can tell.

Bobbi and Lance Hunter have great chemistry and great bantering energy. My favorite line in this plot thread was when Lance says: "Deception is her forte," and then he seems to realize how that sounds, and he says "I mean that sincerely, not passive-aggressively, as in it's a good attribute for a spy... bloody hell." It's obvious that these two people still care a great deal for one another, but it's also obvious why it didn't work out for them. I liked Lance better in this episode than I've liked him so far. Great action sequences, too, by the way.

Obviously, the big focus here was Ward. We meet his older brother, Christian Ward, who supposedly forced him to torture his little brother back when they were kids, and yet now we get an interesting dilemma... which brother is lying? If Ward is seriously that much of a mastermind, and his entire back story is fake, then why did Christian come across as so... evil-politician-y? At this point I don't know what we're supposed to think, or what I hope happens. It's a good place to be.

I love how the politicians are calling the bad guys "S.H.I.E.L.D." instead of HYDRA. It adds this layer of complexity to the situation, because HYDRA was S.H.I.E.L.D. They had completely taken it over, right? So, what Coulson has now is a new fledgling organization, but it's completely starting over from anything that S.H.I.E.L.D. once was. And who's to say that there aren't already new HYDRA agents infiltrating the new S.H.I.E.L.D., the way Coulson already has people on the inside of HYDRA? It's so interesting!

I'm going to stop there. I was surprised by how much I ended up loving this episode, despite the fact that it had to do with Ward, my least favorite character of the original six (even if he is an awesome villain!)

8/10