S.H.I.E.L.D., April 22 - Light

And so the break that the titular agents had was short-lived. Starting from the very beginning of this episode they had to defeat a very audacious villain – Dark Light, or Dark Force, or someone named along the dark line. Basically, Whedon went down the BtVS memory lane with him – Dark Light was a creepy stalker, like Angelus, and he was a vampire, like Angelus (true, an energy vampire rather than a standard one), and he was vaporized using sunlight (synthesized sunlight)...maybe not like Angelus, but like a vampire all the same.

Dark Light aside, it should also be noted that we were offered a glimpse into agent Coulson’s past, when he had an opportunity (in theory) to live a normal life, with a normal girlfriend, in a normal relationship – but he put it all aside for duty, for which he died during the Avengers movie (remember?). This is especially important, because the team’s relationships are breaking apart fast – the team itself is breaking apart fast! May has left the team and Coulson behind, (and it may sound trademark, but she did call her mother, grandmother, or other older female relative when it happened), Skye has realized that Ward is evil, so her relationship with him has to change, and Fitz decided to be the bigger man against agent Triplet and give up Simmons to him. Of course he had not used those words or say that aloud – he is not that clueless when it comes to women – but that is what did.

And yet it is obvious that the agents had it better than agent Koenig did – Ward had killed him, just shortly before Skye figured out a way to track down Hydra villains (and others), but that is to be expected: somehow S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, played by guest stars, do not last on the show very long – they either die or just are not seen again or both...but that is besides the point.

What is the point? The point is that through the season “Agents” showed how they accomplish their goals and surpass their obstacles through sheer teamwork. Now, however, due to their unintentional actions and intentional sabotage their team has fallen apart, and with Hydra pressing down on all fronts they have to pull themselves together – or be hanged separately. By the necks via a hemp noose, perhaps. Will they succeed? Will they fail? Only the last few episodes well tell...