What makes a show worthwhile watching, maybe even inspiring?
The actors and the acting, for one thing. S.H.I.E.L.D. still
got it covered. The touching reunion between Fitz and Simmons, the way the
entire team pulled together to make that possible – it was superb, complete
with some definitely Gothic settings (and professor Randolph, from Asgard, to
break the tension on occasion) and an interesting prequel (of the 19th
century).
Other interactions between the characters were worthwhile
too. Hunter finally got May out of her funk, while May seems to be on the out
with her ex-husband – again. Maybe there is hope for Philinda still.
(FitzSimmons are back together, and Daisy is with Lincoln now). Garner,
however, is not very impressed with Coulson, so perhaps there are seeds for a
potential conflict ahead, and maybe the team will go through some further
reworking – necessary this time (cough
conflict between Lincoln and Daisy cough).
The other conflict, of course, is between the ‘new and
improved team’ and Ward. He has already recruited von Strucker’s own son for
his cause, and is clearly on a roll, intent on rebuilding Hydra from the ashes.
Hunter, who talked May into joining his cause, will stop him, of course, but-
But acting aside, the overall plot of S.H.I.E.L.D. has
turned predictable. “Purpose in the Machine” is not as rushed or clichéd as “Laws
of Nature” had been, but all the same... Ward, on some level, had given the
show an element of unpredictability: will he deliver? Won’t he? Now that
unpredictability is gone from his character, and it is obvious that he will
rebuild Hydra before S.H.I.E.L.D. can stop him, because otherwise there will
not be any Hydra and it is a staple of any Marvel™ universe, so yeah. This means a relatively
straightforward plotline, with Ward keeping one-step ahead of Hunter and May
until he is no longer needed by Hydra, and then-
And then it is anyone’s call, really. His character is based
on Angelus, just a bit, so odds are that he will die, though it will be a team
effort, because that is how S.H.I.E.L.D. works, or supposed to. (The scripts of
S2, speaking of supposed, have gone through some remaking in the process, and
it was painfully obvious, even in the beginning, but the scripts of S3 seem to
have got it together after all.) The entire BtVS S2 situation, where Angel/us
got sent to Hell has already been done by Jemma, and now the team has brought
her back, and now Fitz gets to be the fixer out of the two – Jemma does have
some karma to work out...but that is pointless. S.H.I.E.L.D. the show does not
care about the karma: it is a straightforward live action adaptation of Marvel™ comics, possibly complicated
by the interactions of actors and staff behind the scenes that we will never
know about. The good are good, the bad are bad, and eventually they are dead.
Ward probably has to die, if von Strucker the younger is to inherit Hydra;
considering that the beginnings of S2 showed him to be suicidal already, this
might be what the character intends to be. (The characters, because Marvel™ and co. do their best
to differentiate characters from actors, yeah.)
Anything else? “Purpose in the Machine” was less
heavy-handed in integrating the show with MCU, which is a good thing, again.
This might change in the next episode, but that does not matter: S.H.I.E.L.D.
S3 has found its stride, and it is a fast-paced one: already Randolph has introduced
(to Coulson) the greater concept of the InHumans, so perhaps the Secret
Warriors of the comics aren’t too far off – with a new twist. This is very
exciting, so who knows what the future episodes will bring?
So: great teamwork from the characters, great acting from
the actors, and a proper integration into the MCU (not heavy handed as in the
previous episode). I.e. this is a very good episode to watch.
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