Woah! What?! I can't believe I didn't see that coming. I'm feeling a little off my game, to be honest. Usually things like this don't catch me off guard. Was this a really obvious twist and I just totally missed it, or did they do a good job of keeping the truth hidden? Let's get started.
Cons:
Uh... I don't really have anything to complain about! Actually, if I were to lodge a tiny little nitpick, it would be that the Fitz and Simmons stuff could have been taken out of the episode and it wouldn't have hurt the overall flow at all. This show has a lot of plot threads and sometimes I think it's okay to cut one out of the story. Simmons got the whole episode last week - if we hadn't seen her or Fitz this week it would have been okay. I liked seeing them, but it wasn't necessary and might have messed with the pacing of the episode just a tiny bit.
Oh! One other thing. In this episode, Werner Von Strucker gets one moment to shine, as he reveals the big secret of Lash's identity. And then he dies. Von Struckers seem to be dropping like flies, and that's a little lame. That character didn't even get a chance to do anything before he was dispatched.
Pros:
Everything else! Oh my God! Where do I even start with this episode? I wasn't expecting this to be so good. First, I guess, the big spoiler: Andrew is Lash! He survives Von Strucker's attempt on his life by going all Inhuman and transforming. This explains why he left May without a word. He realized he was Inhuman! So many things about this reveal are deliciously interesting. Andrew is a man whose work is tied up in human psychology. He's obviously deeply disturbed by his Inhuman nature, as is proved by the way he's going around slaughtering Inhumans. Particularly sinister is the way he keeps asking Daisy where Lincoln is hiding these days. Uh oh!
Daisy and Lincoln have been keeping up a phone correspondence full of wistful, romantic pauses, but he hasn't told her where he is, for fear that S.H.I.E.L.D. or the ATCU will swoop in and find him again. I actually liked the brief glimpse of Lincoln we got in this episode. It didn't distract too much from the larger issues.
And speaking of the ATCU... Coulson and Rosalind got a story this week. I'm so happy that things are moving forward at such a nice clip. They aren't drawing out storylines unnecessarily. Lash is Andrew, and Rosalind is apparently keeping Inhumans in suspended animation while she looks for the cure to being Inhuman. Turns out, she lost her husband to cancer. She wants to help these people the way she couldn't help him. This doesn't mean we should approve of Rosalind's actions, or suddenly jump over to her side, but it does add an element of humanity to her. Her relationship with Coulson is moving along at a rather glacial pace, but you can see that there's real affection and attraction between them. I can't want to see where this goes.
On the flip side of this, Daisy thinks they might know who Lash is - Rosalind's second-in-command. She follows him, trying to learn the truth. Mack and Hunter accompany her. They learn, due to qualities in the ATCU member's blood, that he is not an Inhuman and therefore not Lash. But they do find ATCU's location, and Daisy looks on with horror as Coulson and Rosalind watch Inhumans being put in suspended animation. Daisy is completely disgusted by this treatment, and wonders why Coulson doesn't seem upset. This will be interesting - Daisy has an immediate and visceral reaction to the truth of Rosalind's actions, and she's not wrong. But Coulson has a different perspective. I can't wait to hear their conversation about this...
Meanwhile, Ward is on the hunt for Von Strucker to silence him before S.H.I.E.L.D. can find him and extract information. He comes in contact with Gideon Malick, one of Hydra's Big Bads. Ward and Malick seem to have an interesting animosity between them. Will they work together to create a stronger Hydra, or will factions start to break out and weaken the fledgling revival?
Coulson takes Hunter off the mission to find Ward, since his reckless behavior the week before almost got Andrew killed. Instead, he assigns May, who declares that she's back on the team. May decides to bring Bobbi along, encouraging her to get back on her feet and back on the field. The two of them do manage to find Von Strucker, but only in time for him to die in May's arms with the horrifying truth of Lash's identity. This plot thread was awesome, as our two bad-ass fighting female agents team up together. You know, this show has a lot of different awesome female characters. One of the coolest things about it is that there are two "strong female characters" of the ilk that became so tedious to people in action films. There isn't a token bad-ass fighter lady. There are two bad-ass fighter ladies, each of whom are complex, full individuals who also happen to be super awesome at hand-to-hand combat.
More than that, I loved the exploration of a relationship between May and Bobbi. With a large cast like this, there are so many different friendships that can be examined and explored. May helps Bobbi out of her shell. It seems that she's still a little gun shy. May reminds her that she's capable of being out on the field and making good calls. I really loved the scene where May was posing as a Chinese business woman and Bobbi as her translator. They spoke only Mandarin and the contrast between what they were really saying and what Bobbi said May was saying was really funny.
I guess that's it. I'm surprised that I didn't find this episode overly crowded. A lot of stuff happened. But I was totally keyed in and excited for all of it. What is May going to do now that she realizes the truth about Andrew? Will she tell everybody, or keep it a secret? I can't wait to find out more!
8.5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment
I'd really appreciate hearing what you think!