Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Inside Man (3x12)

Lots of stuff going on here. And a lot of it is really interesting! A few things... not so much.

Cons:

Not enough Fitzsimmons. This show has an overcrowding problem, because there are too many characters to cover in each episode. As such, when you have moments with Daisy and Lincoln, Bobbi, Hunter and May, Coulson and Talbot, Hive (formerly Ward) and Malick... people slip through the cracks. And after the step forward we took last week with Fitzsimmons talking about their relationship, it's sort of unsettling to have pretty much no screen time with them this week.

Daisy and Lincoln. Gosh, I really want to like them as a couple... I just keep going back and forth. This week, the two of them took different sides on a pretty interesting debate about Inhumans. I found the debate fascinating, but Lincoln just isn't doing enough to sustain my interest on his own. And even Daisy, who still holds the #1 slot for most surprising character turn-around for me in any TV show ever, is starting to slip back into the "uninteresting" category whenever her relationship with Lincoln becomes the focus.

Talbot and Coulson had a lot of screen time in this episode, which I loved, but there was this one really annoying moment when we got the big "reveal" that Talbot had been working with Malick. We're supposed to all gasp dramatically or something... but then we learn just a few seconds later that Malick had Talbot's son, and that's why he was cooperating with Hydra. Why even include the "dun dun dun" moment of betrayal? It felt like cheap shock value.

Pros:

So, like I said, Daisy and Lincoln's relationship might not be the most interesting, but this week we got an interesting addition to the Inhuman lore - a possible cure. Absorbing Man (or Creel) is working as Talbot's body guard, but given S.H.I.E.L.D.'s last interaction with them, they are taking certain precautions. Fitz and Simmons run some tests on Creel, because he seems to be unique in being a powered human being without being an actual Inhuman who underwent TerraGenesis. They discover that his blood might be able to "cure" Inhumans who haven't gone through their transformation yet. Daisy firmly declares that Inhumans don't need to be cured, and that what happened to her was a gift. Lincoln on the other hand knows that there are some people who would have loved the chance to never transform and go on living their normal lives. Obviously this debate is quite similar to the ongoing discussions in the X-Men comics, and I look forward to a more nuanced exploration of the question moving forward. Daisy lives a life outside of the norm, and she doesn't have a "normal" life that she's been cut off from since she has powers. In fact, her powers brought her more closely in to the family group she had made for herself. Other people, as Lincoln points out, had their lives ruined by their powers developing - look at May's husband Andrew, for example!

It was cool seeing Creel again. His absorbing powers are pretty darn awesome, and I like the idea of a reformed criminal working for the good guys. Hunter isn't about to forgive Creel right away, but by the end of the episode he actually does play a valuable role in saving all of their asses. I hope we get to see more of him, and more of Talbot, in the coming weeks.

Talbot and Coulson had the main plot, and I've got to say, it was pretty awesome. Basically, Talbot and Coulson are going to a counsel of world leaders to discuss the Inhuman situation. Coulson is going undercover as a doctor with expertise in the Inhuman condition, while Talbot is going as himself - the figurehead in charge of the ATCU. At the counsel, they try to figure out who the "inside man" is who might be feeding information to Malick. In the end, Malick himself shows up! Turns out, Talbot himself was the "inside man," although of course we quickly learn that he was just trying to save his son. And, indeed, Talbot's son is saved, although things are a little complicated since these other important world leaders now think that Coulson is a bad guy.

There were lots of cool things about this plot thread - first of all, Talbot and Coulson have a great frenemy thing going on. Coulson was working so hard to establish a partnership, and was so deeply hurt when he thought that Talbot had been Malick's man all along. But in the end, it's their teamwork and even their trust in each other that saves the day.

I loved how Talbot tried to steer Coulson towards suspecting the other world leaders of being Malick's guy on the inside - he kept on being slightly racist and accusing people just because "he's Russian!" or hey it must be the girl from "down under," because she seems suspicious. He even makes an awkward crack about how everybody has unpronounceable names, and nobody laughs. Coulson remarks that Talbot's suspicions are getting them nowhere: "Congratulations. You just narrowed it down to everyone."

And speaking of casual racism... the way that the people at this important counsel talked about Inhumans made me so mad. They were all set to create a separatist colony and basically make all the Inhumans move away from "normal" people. It's pretty icky, and I'm wondering how much this idea is going to feel similar to the indexing of superheroes thing that's going on in Captain America: Civil War. I know exactly where I stand on both debates - cataloguing and keeping surveillance on people just because they're different is wrong. But... is it as simple as that? I appreciate the fear that people are feeling. It's perfectly natural to feel that when somebody has a lot of power and no control over it, they might need some monitoring.

Bobbi, Hunter, and May, meanwhile, are all trying to sneak in to these peoples' rooms and take a look around to find the mole. I've been on a serious Leverage kick lately (everybody should watch that show! It's amazing!) and this episode actually had a bit of that feel - the spy work, the fancy gadgets, the creative use of everyday objects as weapons... it was a lot of fun to watch. I especially liked how Coulson's fake hand was used to scan people's handprints and get past locked doors.

Malick showing up at the end of this episode and actually coming face-to-face with Coulson was a really effective move. It elevated the tension and made me feel like everything that was happening was a little bit more serious than I previously would have thought. It also did a lot to elevate the threat of Hive (aka Ward's corpse) who thus far has just been sort of there in the background. This week, we saw him absorb five living people and strengthen Ward's body for his own personal use. He's creepy, alright. I've got to admit that even if I didn't like the "Ward As a Vessel for a Greater Evil" twist, I'm enjoying the execution quite a lot.

One other interesting thread in this episode had to do with Hunter, who is none too happy about being forced to work alongside Creel. May points out that Hunter isn't really a part of the team - the only reason he's an agent is because he's there to look after Bobbi. Hunter doesn't exactly deny this, but at the same time he seems a bit hurt when May declares quite bluntly that they're not friends. Hunter's motivations might not be a pure and unwavering dedication to the cause... but that doesn't mean he's not loyal to his people. I think May is ignoring the fact that Hunter would die for her any day if he had to.

One thing I can always say about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. nowadays is that I'm interested in where the plot is going. Even when an episode passes by that is only mildly noteworthy in its own right, there are always a bunch of things that it's setting up that I can't wait to see. That's the case this week - will we be getting more with Creel? Will Hunter reaffirm his dedication to S.H.I.E.L.D.? Will Coulson and Talbot be able to work smoothly together? Will Daisy and Lincoln have it out over the idea of an Inhuman "cure"? When will Hive show up to mess with our team? I can't wait for more!

8/10