Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: One of Us (2x13)

Pretty good stuff. Maybe a few weaker elements in here, but this episode managed to have a good mix of a lot of things I'm excited to see. Let's do the plot summary.

Skye is in isolation, trying to deal with her new destructive powers. May recruits her ex-husband, a psychoanalyst named Andrew Garner, to work with Skye. Skye is resistant at first, but she decides to go with it when she realizes she'll be learning about May's past. Skye is on the Index now, part of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s list of people with abilities.

Cal, Skye's father, is going around collecting dangerous people on the Index. He takes his group to Manitowoc, Coulson's hometown, drawing Coulson and Bobbi there. Cal and the other villains take possession of the local school stadium. May, upon hearing that Coulson needs backup, takes the Bus to Manitowoc, with Garner still on board. Skye insists that they use her to help defeat her father. After all, she knows that she's his weakness.

May threatens to kill Skye, trying to entice Cal to stand down. As chaos erupts among the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents and the Index members, Gordon (the guy with no eyes) shows up and takes Cal away. Gordon then mocks Cal for his feeble abilities. Back at the stadium, Skye starts to lose control of her powers, causing terrible tremors. She redirects the power inward, causing hairline fractures throughout her body. It looks like Skye's coping mechanism isn't going to work long-term.

Meanwhile, Mack has kidnapped Hunter and hidden him away. Bobbi tells Coulson that Hunter ran off after Bobbi ended their rekindled relationship, and that Mack is off to find him. Mack keeps Hunter locked up in a safe house. Then, an organization shows up to extract them. Mack calls these people the "real" S.H.I.E.L.D.

So. Lots of exciting developments going on. We're laying the groundwork here for some truly spectacular moments coming up. I have only one serious complaint. The crew of Index members were boring. I was vaguely interested in the girl with the blades grafted to her hands. She could have been cool. Then there was the dude who could kill people with the sound of his voice, and a few others who I can barely remember because they were so bland. You would think, what with Cal being our Big Bad of the moment, that we could get some more interesting companions for him.

This isn't a complaint, but I do have to mention one other thing: I'm skeptical about this whole "real" S.H.I.E.L.D. business. What exactly does that mean? Who is leading this other group, separate from Coulson, and how on earth could we be kept in the dark about it all this time? Nick Fury assigned Coulson as the new Director. I suppose this could be a really exciting development, but at the moment I find myself a bit let down by that reveal. I wanted something really unexpected and exciting for Mack and Bobbi's big secret.

However, the good outweighs the bad, as it usually does with this show (barring the first two thirds of Season One, of course).

We got a lot of Melinda May in this episode, and that always makes me a happy camper. We got to see a softer side of May, as she reconnected with an old flame. I can see why a relationship between them wouldn't have lasted, but I loved seeing them talking and laughing about the good ol' days. It's a nice reminder that May is human, and that she has her vulnerabilities.

I liked Andrew Garner. I kind of hope we can see more of him, and that he's not just here for a one-time guest appearance. He's a logical man, straightforward and easy to talk to. I can see why he and May fell for each other, even if ultimately their relationship failed. I also liked the way he won Skye over, putting her at ease with tantalizing little bits of gossip about May.

Fitzsimmons! Both of them are so hurt and so messed up by everything that's happened between them. But... they both miss each other terribly. In this episode, we saw them bonding over the gossip about May and her ex. They talked about how having such a solid foundation, such a deep history, makes for a love that can never die. Ostensibly, they were speaking about May and Andrew Garner. However, it seems pretty clear they were also talking about themselves. I know they will never get back to how they were before, but I hope they can repair some of the damage!

Skye is such a trooper. She cares about her team - her family - so much that she's willing to do herself great harm to protect them. I was happy to see some moments of the old, chipper Skye, but I'm also excited to see how far into darkness she's going to fall. I think her powers are going to be an interesting tension for the group as we move forward.

Although I complained about Cal's cronies, Cal himself is an excellent villain. He's just sympathetic enough to be interesting, but he's also deranged and off the rails and so much fun to watch. He's threatening yet also pathetic. I can't wait to see everything come to a head with this villain.

Finally, there's this whole Bobbi, Mack, and Hunter business. I'm disappointed by the reveal, but I'm hopeful that maybe there's more to it. I loved the way Bobbi played Coulson, convincing him that Hunter had run off and that Mack was tracking him down. I think, for now, that Coulson buys it. With all of the loyalty being shown to (and by) Skye right now, it's so painful to see two members of the team betray Coulson like this.

I think that's all I've got for now. I can honestly say I'm not sure where this is heading... and I'm really excited to find out.

8/10