Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: All the Comforts of Home (5x11)

... Oh my God.

Cons:

I'm not thrilled that there's another weird silicone alien being around. I was never too pleased with Enoch as a character or a concept, and this new guy isn't shaping up to be much better.

I hardly remembered that S.H.I.E.L.D. agent girl who sort of betrayed them but then didn't - was I supposed to feel more connected to her? Because I didn't.

Okay, so... I'm having mixed feelings about Deke being here. I was sad about his death, and I think I had mixed emotions about that as well. It felt like we were just starting to get to know this guy. The problem is that if this episode is an indication of the kinds of things we're going to be getting to know, then I'm not too excited about that. He is immediately thrilled to be on Earth and experiencing all of these things he's never experienced before. I get that, and there were some funny moments, but I also felt like there should have been a bit more gravitas to Deke's arrival. Shouldn't he be a bit shell shocked? I know his life sucked, but there were people there that he probably cared about, and he must realize that everything he's ever known is gone for good. I feel like a bit of a freak-out would be in order. Maybe we'll get that more later, but his antics felt a bit too comedic for my taste.

Pros:

The reason for starting my review the way I did? Yo-Yo loses her arms. I feel like I should have realized that was going to happen. There's got to be consequences. We've got to feel the dread of knowing that the cycle can repeat. But when it happened... my heart skipped a beat. And Mack's reaction just wrecked me. Their relationship really is the most precious thing. I wasn't expecting anything in this episode to affect me so badly, but... yikes. That was brutal.

We're seeing a lot of very soft, loving moments between Coulson and May. My shipping of them came as a bit of a surprise for me - I wasn't expecting to want them to be together so badly. But their gentler romance, built on years of friendship and trust, is really working for me at this point. I want more!

While I have expressed some reservations about Deke, I did love the scene where Daisy springs him from lockup. That was just precious, and I love the fact that it actually worked. Daisy is good at her job, man! The two of them bickering feels like classic early-day banter on this show. And I don't actually mean that as an insult, despite my feelings on early-days Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. What are the odds that we finally figure out that Deke is Fitzsimmons' grandson? I really want it to happen.

This review is a little short, but I'm short on time. Suffice it to say, the Yo-Yo moment got to me in a way I was not expecting, and I'm intrigued about where things are going to go from here. Onward to next week!

8/10