And so, once more S.H.I.E.L.D. had faced-off against Hydra.
And now, since this is S2, and the peak of Hydra’s success had been in the
second half of S1, S.H.I.E.L.D. is the one coming on top.
Where to start? This episode focused mainly on agent Simmons
– at last she shook-off her static S1 appearance and began to look a good deal
more unbound. This is ironic, because now she is working for Hydra – but as
this episode reveals almost as quickly – she is a double agent of Coulson and
S.H.I.E.L.D. instead. Sort of like Ward was back in S1 for Hydra, only in
Simmons’ case Coulson is keeping his personal attention on her when she is
making her Hydra-based reports. The trick here is that these reports – or dead
drops – can be done indirectly: for example, Simmons puts her reports into some
sort of capsules – may even explosive capsules, for example – and Coulson,
or some other S.H.I.E.L.D. agent picks them. However, since S.H.I.E.L.D. is
still strapped for staff and equipment, this does not happen, and instead
Simmons has to report to Coulson right beneath Hydra’s nose while Talbot out
there, looking for them as well. Can we say – plot hole? Let us go on.
When one thinks about plot holes, one has to think about
Grant Ward and his status. Coulson tells Fitz at the end of the episode that he
cannot stand looking at Ward and only needs him as an information source on
Hydra. Fair enough. Question: why can’t S.H.I.E.L.D. capture other Hydra agents
and use them as counter-source, or alternative sources to Ward? Seriously, even
if Ward fully cooperated with them, (which he seems to be doing) and did not
push his own agenda, (which he is also doing), he may honestly not know some
things or other, and so outsourcing is necessary. But that does not happen, and
so far it looks as if Ward is the only Hydra prisoner of S.H.I.E.L.D.
To make matters worse, Ward is confused as Hell. He is
genuinely sorry for what he had done to Fitz, and when Fitz goes to oxygen-starve
him, what proves the most worrying – the highest priority – to Ward are the
others, starting with Skye. This, of course, saved the team’s life when they
tried to rescue Donnie Gill (and boy did that go south, and didn’t Donnie get
the short end of the stick), but...
Maybe Ward is trying to redeem himself, but because it is
doubtful that he knows right from wrong anymore, the direction in which he is
going is anyone’s guess, and he is successfully – at least on some level – is messing
with Skye’s head. Maybe he does not mean to, but he still does it. Friendship
of a fool is equal to the friendship of an enemy, and if Ward is both, then
S.H.I.E.L.D.’s reluctance to use other Hydra captives (or to get any in the
first place) is foolish, simply foolish.
(Incidentally, why have not Ward tried to escape? He has
been trained to do so, both by S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra, yes? Maybe he has his
own agenda, in which case S.H.I.E.L.D. is even more in trouble.)
But if Ward’s situation is ambiguous, Donnie Gill has been shifted,
period. His character did not develop at all, (though his powers did), Hydra
had partially brainwashed him, and S.H.I.E.L.D. had shot him in the back in the
character of Skye, as a part of her character
development.
On topic of Skye. So far she has been something of a Melinda
May junior, but now she is beginning to crack. She is not a seasoned
soldier/warrior/killer yet, and between the fact that she actually had to shoot
someone (Donnie) and Ward revelation at the end of the episode, she is beginning
to crack.
(Incidentally, Ward is beginning to act rather like the male
version of Raina, who is not with Hydra anymore, but with Skye’s father.
Can it be that Ward is actually a triple agent, who is working for Skye’s
father all along? The possibilities are staggering.)
However, if Skye is cracking mentally, Donnie has not just
cracked, but also fell into water and didn’t drown – not only his body wasn’t
recovered, but as he sinks you can see a protective layer of ice forming around
him in the process. Between Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. Donnie is losing his
humanity fast, and is not even given a chance to be saved. This sucks,
especially for Donnie, and if any of the agents – in fact, if any people – will
meet Donnie in the future, they will be iced.
This, incidentally, equalizes Donnie with Carl Creel from
the previous episodes – they just go around killing people by turning them into
inorganic materials: Creel into stone, Gill into ice. This sort of approach
makes one wonder if they needed to use Donnie; couldn’t they have the
Absorbing Man just run around for one more episode instead?..
Enough with the villains, let us talk about heroes. Fitz is
beginning to realize that having an imaginary Simmons around does not help his
cause, and he did not starve Ward from oxygen (yet), so he is still a good guy.
His reward for not doing that and for helping the rest of the team with Donnie?
A pep talk with Coulson. That is fine and dandy, but one of the more important topics
in Fitz’s life – Simmons’ feelings for him – were very obviously avoided by
Coulson, and Fitz, who isn’t that stupid or naive, not even now, just
may have caught on that. This sort of strategy – bending the truth, telling
white lies – has already backfired on S.H.I.E.L.D. in the past (take agent
Victoria Hand from S1, for example) and it may backfire on S.H.I.E.L.D. again.
On the other hand, agent Mackenzie is trying to befriend
Fitz, at least with some success, and Fitz still considers himself a part of
the team, so everything may turn out all right on this front, just as Skye may
yet turn out all right despite all of the pressure that is building up on her.
Plus, May have actually smiled at Hunter, which is a milestone as well.
No, seriously, throughout the entire S1 agent May has never
smiled, so the fact that she did now – and at agent Hunter too, btw – is a
milestone of sorts; a good milestone. To put otherwise, not everything that has
befallen the agents in this episode was bad, either...
To summarize: Simmons has entered the belly of the beast,
whose number one agents (a doctor that doesn’t seem to age despite being about
100 years old and an evil Elvis wannabe) tend to brainwash suspicious members
in a great homage to “The Clockwork Orange”; Fitz is continuing to get better
and to lose his innocence; Ward and Skye continue to have mutual sexual
attraction; and May have actually smiled. A mixed bag of news all around, no?
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