A minor LG-related trivia note: before Rainer was the name
to one of the guest characters of S4, it was the name of a one-episode villain
back in S2 – a sign that between 3rd and 4th seasons LG
underwent some change in management, not just in mythology – but couldn’t they
have checked the names? Joe-Bob obviously wasn’t going to cut it, but being
caught like this with Rainer? Embarrassing!
Now, back to S.H.I.E.L.D. The brave and courageous
S.H.I.E.L.D. agents have encountered lady Sif (pronounced lady Shif half the
time during the episode). And they also met Lorelei – Sif”s archnemesis, ones
supposes: the episode does not divulge, but there is history between the two
Asgardian ladies, and it was a painful one, emotionally, if not physically: as
far as sword prowess goes, Lorelei was no match for Sif.
Norse speaking aliens’ aside, the team has undergone some
new developments. For a start, Simmons has actually spoken up to Coulson,
reminding him, perhaps, that she had a greater duty beyond even loyalty to him
as the team leader. Also, the Fitz & Simmons duo had split up during this
episode – this is important, because in earlier episodes, such as “Seeds”, the
duo was almost like peas in a pod. In “Yes Men”, however, they were not – a minor
detail, but an important one.
The duo of May & Ward, on the other hand, has mostly
stopped existing: May, apparently, cannot forgive Ward for being unable to
break from Lorelei’s spell, even though Sif warned her about it. Yet perhaps May
just used Lorelei as an excuse to push Ward away: after all, she is spying
on Coulson and/or Skye and/or other members of the team for the sake of Fury or
some other party. Considering that “Agents” (as a show) are based on mutual
trust and cooperation May’s actions imply that she may have fallen into the
dark side – cue the March of the Empire...
On the other hand, Coulson and Skye have fallen into
something, encountered something different as well – they may not be thinking
of striking against S.H.I.E.L.D. yet, but they clearly are not going to be
following the party line precisely. Between then, May doing that double-agent
action, and Simmons involving Coulson in the discussion of greater good vs. more
regular good, the titular team just may be spiting up along several lines.
Ward...this was not his best episode: he fell under Lorelei’s
thrall and beat up May, for whom he has actual feelings – at least for now.
When May’s own flaws will be revealed, it may be harder to figure out just
where Ward’s feelings for May lie. In truth, of course, Whedon may have planned
something like this from the start: the relationship between Ward and May was
mainly physical without any in-depth bonding; May may have it with Coulson
instead, but as this episode showed, that has its’ own problems. And yes, no
relationship can survive based on physical attraction alone. And yes, May is
proud of her skills and does not take kindly to being beaten (both literally
and physically), and pride is a sin (one of the seven originals), which makes
her a flawed character (and a good guy), but still, this is not probably the
time to go into in-depth characters study either.
Oh, and Fitz? Sadly, he was mostly the comic relief for this
episode. So was Simmons, but she, at least, had that confrontation with Coulson
by the end of the episode that was more serious than funny. Skye too was mostly
in the background for this episode – but then again, she had not quite
recovered from the events in “T.R.A.C.K.S.”, so that is reasonable.
In short, May has all but broken up with Ward and revealed
her inner darkness, Coulson and Skye are about to go on a crusade for light and
justice, Simmons may got onto her own crusade and recruit Fitz for the ride
(they are a duo, after all) and Ward was charmed and enchanted by
Lorelei. Oh, and we had a tie-in with the Thor movie series too. Cool.
