AoS S4 initial thoughts - August 11

Now, S.H.I.E.L.D – the site – has given out a brief update of how things will go at the beginning of S4. Daisy has split from S.H.I.E.L.D. for now and is ‘not’ robbing banks as Quake (or Tremors?). Coulson has been demoted – the president of the U.S. has appointed a new director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Given that the department did not really flourish under his guidance in S2 and 3, the president’s logic cannot be blamed – what can be blamed is the fact that the new director’s name still was not revealed. The Hell? It probably isn’t Norman Osborn, (the man hasn’t made much of appearance in the MCU just yet), and so what is the harm in the lack of info? Are they trying to keep the excitement going?

…Yes, probably. AoS as a TV series has some strange sentiments towards excitement: in the second half of S3, especially, they worked so hard at keeping the excitement of the guessing game (which agent was going to die) that they overshot it, and by the last two episodes of S3 at least some of the fans just wanted it to be over already, and it didn’t work either – the S3 two-part finale had some of the lowest ratings of the series’ episodes, period.

…With movies, it is one situation: 2016’s ‘Tarzan’ did its best to depict the turn of the 20^th century political situation in the first half of the 21^st century – and may not have succeeded, according to some critics. The audiences loved it. ‘Ghostbusters’ 2016 remake (featuring a gender swap) raised a lot of controversy on the web, but the critics loved it (somewhat). The fans were less excited in the long run, (but not because of the Internet trolls, BTW), so now – no sequel (well, for the current being). ‘Suicide Squad’ – the critics did not really like it, but the audiences love it. For the films, too, audiences are key, but not because of ratings – because the admission fee, the price of tickets, etc. With sites like Netflix, it’s similar – it’s pay per view, and few people can master watching ‘Daredevil’, ‘Jessica Jones’, ‘Luke Cage’ (upcoming) in one go, so it all comes down to money, again.

AoS, however, is no more pay-per-view than ‘Chopped’ from the Food Network is, so it all comes down to popularity and ratings, and right now it seems that AoS is trying to bulk itself up via intrigue. It may work for fictional spy organizations and co., but in real life, for TV viewers? It does not.

Back to the fictional spy organization in question. Coulson got demoted and is working with Mack, May is training new recruits (?), Daisy is on the outs with S.H.I.E.L.D., the FitzSimmons have split-

Wait, what?

Apparently, somehow the new director is splitting the FitzSimmons up, with Fitz being on the periphery, and Simmons – a part of his inner circle; didn’t we do just that in S2?

Yes, we have. When Gonzales took over S.H.I.E.L.D. – sort of – Simmons joined him, and Fitz struck out with Coulson and Lance. Considering that for a while, Coulson had to share power with Gonzales (and May); this new S4 information appears to be yet another rehash of S2. One of S3’s problems was the lack of a clean break with S2; now we seem to get more of that same thing with S4 – and it has not even began. Not very encouraging, is it?

However, wait, there is one last thing – Dr. Radcliffe, the new member of S.H.I.E.L.D. (probably), and a friend of the FitzSimmons, is building some sort of a cyborg or homunculus in his lab. Isn’t this very exciting, to sound as Simmons would?

Yes, it does – but this is not the point. The point is that this sort of solution/resolution/plot twist/etc. has come fairly late in the series, as has the Ghost Rider. By now, a large part of the audience has stopped watching AoS, and no tricks are really going to catch their attention…well, maybe they will, but the trend in S3 was the decreasing number of viewers, no matter what the writers, the cast, and the rest of the team have thrown at them. Sometimes even a good show gets a bad turn, and AoS – after the successful S1 – was not that good at all.

In addition, is Radcliffe going to become another villain and be killed in the new season? Only time will tell; so far, his actor is not a member of the main cast, which is not a good sign, but it does not amount to anything: Luke, who played Lincoln, did become a member of the main cast, and still left.

So, for now we are left wondering at what will exactly happen in AoS S4, and will the show prosper or continue to flounder? We will just have to wait and see. 

S.H.I.E.L.D., tale - Nov 17

And so, keeping in mind that next week AoS is taking time off, let us recount as to what they have done in this episode.

They brought the strands together. Until now, the episodes tended to treat InHumans and Hydra separately, but now, they are bringing them together. Will is...sort of Hydra, just working for NASA and possibly not knowing this. Fitz and Simmons have finally kissed and are finally getting back together, because in worst-case scenario? Will is another knock-off of Ward, meaning a wolf in sheep’s skin. Ward himself...he is starting to play a greater role in S3, actually learning what Hydra is, what it stands for and what it does. The episode’s script is integrating the Avengers’ second movie into the plotline, and it is giving a new, bigger dimension to the show itself as well. Remarkable and Hydra nowadays is something more than just a Nazi death cult, something possibly worthy to go toe-to-toe with S.H.I.E.L.D., and especially Ward, since the next episode (actually aired in December) is going to put the end to ‘Ward’s revenge’ storyline once and for all, because S.H.I.E.L.D. needs something new and exciting to keep itself afloat, ratings-wise.

It is already doing that, mind, with making Rosalind not evil (supposedly), and Andrew – alive. Of course, as it may have been written before, redemption in S.H.I.E.L.D. is something of a select piece, almost anyone but Ward gets his or her chance of it so frankly, if Coulson puts Ward out of his misery in the next episode? It might be the better choice. It might also be the only choice, since the next month, December, is wrapping up the first half of AoS S3, for January? This is where ‘Agent Carter’ takes over. Agent Carter is a good show, though not as exciting as AoS...was, for now it is getting more straightforward and less unpredictable, and Carter is apparently going to Hollywood. You cannot get bored in Hollywood!

Back to AoS...there is not much left to discuss. There is hope for Andrew and May, Rosalind and Coulson, and Lincoln’s setting down. There are signs that Ward may be Hellfire, (which is a pity, he was a cool villain so far all on his own), though maybe they are just another plot twist and Fitz and Simmons finally kissed. Hooray! Go FitzSimmons! Lincoln and Daisy...they did not get too much time on this ep, but at least Lincoln has bonded with May, which is good for both of them. So yes, this is it for AoS this time around – a very exciting and informative episode to be watched.

S.H.I.E.L.D., 4722 - Oct 27

And so, yet another fine S.H.I.E.L.D. episode came to an end, featuring the show at its best - coherent. The previous 4 episodes had been done in ‘Angel & Faith’ format rather than the BtVS one; the action continuously alternated between the InHuman and Hydra plotline, with the main action being directed more towards the InHumans. It is hard to tell who was Angel and who was Faith, though the odds are towards Phil and May, but it is not the point. The fact that ‘4722’ hours have made Jemma into Winifred Burke is more like that, with her NASA companion being, perhaps, her Illyria...or not. Analogues tend to be weird, especially if taken too far, but Will, perhaps, is more than what he appears, especially if you look at the episode’s finale – perhaps he is some sort of a night bringer, hm?

 Back to AoS proper, ‘4722’ has made a break in the abovementioned ‘A&F’ format, plus it had introduced, perhaps, a whole new plotline for Fitz & Simmons, as they still cannot be a couple. Seriously, Ward turned out to be evil, and Lincoln is absent, so poor Skye, and Phil and Mel just cannot seem to be pull their shit together, thanks to Ms. Price (it’ll be fun to see if she isn’t evil – then maybe the plot line of ‘AoS’ can get even more interesting), so this just leaves Fitz & Simmons – and they are having problems of their own. Fitz seems to be competing with someone, perhaps Thanos, or even Galactus, for Jemma’s heart, and of course, being the stalwart knight that he is, he’ll let her go, or at least – let her help ‘Will’ get back to Earth from her misguided love to her – or perhaps not so misguided (it seems that everyone gets a second chance with S.H.I.E.L.D., even Ward did, sort of, and if Coulson hadn’t been such a moron, then who knows?)...

In the greater scheme of all things AoS, ‘4722’ is closer related to InHumans than to Hydra – and not just because of the obvious, but because Randolph, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s resident Asgardian (seriously, he really should have more than just one episode), seems to have some know-how back in 3x02, and it wasn’t particularly good one. He also had shared it with Coulson, but not with the audience, so we do not know what exactly that he knows, but given the fact that Jemma’s new friend just may be either an extra-powerful InHuman or a pureblooded alien of some sort (like Loki or Thor, just not an Asgardian) then yes, the new FitzSimmons plotline is closer to the InHuman plotline rather than to the Hydra one.

Incidentally, so far Ward’s Hydra is noticeably lackluster, if compared to Whitehall’s, for example. So far Ward’s leadership hasn’t been very impressive, so if everything goes smoothly, the next episode should spell the end of Hydra...but things don’t often go according to anyone’s plan in the world of AoS, and as long as the scriptwriters don’t go over the top with this (as they had at the end of S2, putting in an unnecessary hackfest/bloodbath there too), it’ll work. Plus...plus if this episode can be considered alien/InHuman ‘heavy’, then the next episode should probably be Hydra ‘heavy’, just to keep things balance. S.H.I.E.L.D. the show loves to keep things balanced, thus we will have to wait and see.

So: a major update on Simmons, a not so major, but still important, update on her relationship with Fitz...and that’s it, really. Today’s episode was very good and very important, but in a restricted, more narrow kind of way. Will this trend continue with S.H.I.E.L.D. episodes? We will just have to wait and see. 

S.H.I.E.L.D., Wanted - Oct 13

“A Wanted (InHu)man is an interesting and well-written episode. In many ways, it is a very impressive and solid S.H.I.E.L.D. episode. The actors are delivering fully what they mean to deliver; the script is solid and well rounded; the setting is very realistic, and the drama of the episode itself keeps the audience intrigued, tense and guessing what happened next until the end – when Jemma declares that she must go back...in short it is everything that “Laws of Nature” was not.

For example...the beginning of this episode begins in the middle of action, in media res, with Lincoln doing his own thing, his past development in “Laws...” having been not so much discarded, as ignored. The episode 3x01 is mentioned, and there are tie-ins to it, but mostly – it is ignored. Perhaps, even S.H.I.E.L.D. scriptwriters/producers/etc were embarrassed of the heavy-handed clichés and the rushed plot that occurred back there.

Episode 3x03 has no such clichés, and indeed Lincoln/Daisy situation is treated much more interestingly here; so early in the S3, there is no happy conclusion for Daisy and Lincoln yet; there were some proclamations of love, but still nothing certain. If Daisy and Lincoln are to work it out, they will really have to work it out...or not, because at the moment this does not appear to be very likely...

On the other hand, Coulson and Ms. Rosalyn? They seem to be hitting it off. Coulson – or rather the show’s scriptwriters – have realised that they must not make ATCU a remake of the ‘real S.H.I.E.L.D.’ from S2, and are trying to make something new here; the fact that Ms. Rosalyn appears to be something of a female Coulson – or at least a woman that Coulson can relate to.

And yet...such details are secondary. The truth is, “...Wanted...” was carried not just by the actors and their acting, but also by the plot itself. The cast is very good, of course, but so are the people behind the scene, so to speak. On this Tuesday, they too have delivered something right and proper, and the audiences got to enjoy another solid and satisfying episode of ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’. (And the infamy of “Laws...” finally got its karmic comeuppance.) 

S.H.I.E.L.D., Laws of Nature - Sep 29

And so, AoS is back. Opening S3 is “Laws of Nature”, a nice filler/introductory episode. It introduced Joey/Jose, a new character with the power to melt metal (and maybe other solids), as well as Lash, a giant feral InHuman of an arsehole, who goes around killing people. Whedon, whose demons back on BtVS had been known for their grotesque appearances, must be so proud of him – talk about a throwback, and it is primal!..

And then there is Ms. Rosalind, an international woman of mystery, who is running ACTU, a new incarnation of ‘real S.H.I.E.L.D.’. It aims to control the new InHumans, (who are set to appear all over the world), but actually may not be the evil organisation that Lash made it appear to be to the viewers. That said, given Coulson’s keen acumen and whatnot, it is only a matter of time until S.H.I.E.L.D. and ACTU are being full-out enemies, or at least – rivals.

Think back to S2. Ward is not in this episode, so we shall not be talking about him this time. Think about the ‘real S.H.I.E.L.D.’. Odds are, they were not exactly evil, and they did make peace with Coulson at the end of S2 – just for Jiaying’s InHumans to decimate them, because they followed Coulson’s plan, and died for because.

The same goes for senator Ward. Yes, it was his brother who killed him, but the man got the opportunity only because of Coulson’s decisions. (May’s as well, maybe, but she is not in this episode either, so we shall not talk about her much too.) Coulson found the senator useful? Then he should have dedicated at leastsome agents to protect him against Grant – but he did not. The result? Ward killed his family, but he had nothing to lose, while Coulson probably lost any political goodwill he had built by hanging over Scarlotti to Talbot and the US authorities – and now he is paying the price. Great decision choices there, ‘DC’.

Speaking of decision choices, there is Lincoln, who, apparently, is not with S.H.I.E.L.D. anymore. WTF with that? Obviously, the SkyeWard relationship is done. Obviously, there needs to be more than just ‘Skye/Daisy married Lincoln and had his babies’. But at the end of S2 Lincoln helped Skye and Co. defeat Jiaying’s forces, so whatever it was that caused his about-face really should be shown in detail. For the moment, though, Lincoln refused to come with Mack and Skye/Daisy, but has run away, seeking out his own way in the world. He will probably be back, helping the agency or being helped by them in few episodes – he is a part of the regular cast now, after all.

With Jemma, it’ll probably be much longer – she’s stuck on some alien planet, having learned some survival skills that probably equal Ward’s, waiting, but proactively, for the others to come and rescue her...and by ‘proactively’ I mean running for her life from...whatever it is that we weren’t shown – yet. We did get to see the alien moon, which is cool, so maybe we will get some Guardians of the Galaxy crossover action yet. Of course, if Fitz will lose Simmons to Rocket Racoon, this will just be wrong! His final scene in this episode, when he is screaming at the monolith because he had lost Jemma (at least for a while) is heart rendering.

On the other hand, Lance and Bobbi are back together for good. They have to be, of course, since the talk of a spinoff featuring them, and primarily them, has been in the works had been around since they appeared on S2, and now it is picking up steam, but anyways. Bobbi still has not recovered from Ward’s shooting her in the knee; Hunter is going after Hydra and Ward (so who is going to be helping Daisy/Skye with the InHumans? Only Mack? Considering that he does not like aliens and had been infected with some sort of an alien virus back in Puerto Rico...this will turn out to be a problem, one bets). That is fine, Hydra is a part of Marvel universe, but the question is – will Hunter be able to handle it? In the end – yes, he must because of the spinoff, but on the other hand? Ward might be evil now fully, but if he had been able to rebuild Hydra after AoS S2 and ‘Age of Ultron’, then he had to learn new skills, including organizational ones. How will Hunter be able to handle them, I wonder?

And so, this is it for ‘Laws of Nature’. It just introduced the new characters and plotlines, (conflicts, etc), and not even them, since neither Ward nor May have appeared in this episode. It should be noted, that on the latest ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ promotional posters, Ward is flanking Coulson alongside Skye. Why? Is he going to be redeemed? This is unlikely; even for his fans on the show, but no one probably saw Lincoln splitting off from S.H.I.E.L.D. and breaking up with Skye after S2 either.

...Anyways, ‘Law of Nature’ was very exciting to watch, but nothing in-depth. This is worrisome too – ever since S2 ended; TV had featured new shows that were clearly influenced by ‘Agents’, including ‘Killjoys’ and ‘Blindspot’. The latter, in particular, stars Jaimie Alexander, who had appeared as lady Sif on S.H.I.E.L.D., so odds are that lady Sif will not be returning to this show any time soon: being Jane Doe on ‘Blindspot’ pays better. That is not the issue; the issue is that those shows tend to stimulate excitement and nothing more; easily watchable and easily forgettable. Hopefully, ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ will not follow their example...

So this is it for this installment – a nice introductory episode, nothing more. Hopefully, the next ones will be have more depth.

S.H.I.E.L.D., S.O.S. - May 12

An ancient English saying says: “Best is the enemy of good”. Last night’s S2 finale of “Agents” had certainly proven it right.

Where to begin? The two-part “S.O.S.” had been truly epic, containing several plot lines. 1) Jiaying, having proved to be some sort of a life-sucking monster (BtVS grins and says hi from its new-old home in the comic-world) as well as a bio-terrorist, who wants to destroy the world – or at least, S.H.I.E.L.D. by using crystals containing the Terrigen mist. 2) Cal is sent over to Coulson in order to destroy him personal. Silly Jiaying – you cannot kill Coulson, Coulson can win over anyone (well, almost anyone. Grant Ward does not count). 3) Grant and Kara Lynn kidnap Bobbi because Bobbi had handed Kara Lynn over to Hydra between S1 and S2, and now the dastardly duo want Bobbi to apologize to”} Kara Lynn – but things do not go according to plan.

 So far so good, and on screen “S.O.S.” proved to be truly epic, as actors and their characters delivered dynamic action sequences and tense dramatic dialogue. It was a very great pleasure to watch it, but it was so overwhelming, that it was too much. Breaks in the action – comedic or otherwise – would have made this double-parter of a finale even better. Instead the tension just rose and rose until people could not take it any more – and lost interest, or lost the thread of a narrative, or the show suffered in other ways...

Take, for example, the death toll. At the end of S1, only one person had died – Garrett, and yet “Agents” still gained enough popularity to be renewed for the second season, and to sprout “Agent Carter” on top of it. Here, conversely, we have Raina, Jiyaing, Gordon & Kara Lynn (spoiler alert?). Plus, Cal had been treated by T.A.H.I.T.I. and no longer remembers anything of his old life (just how did this procedure interact with his altered biochemistry, one wonders?) and Bobbi will apparently be leaving S.H.I.E.L.D. for good (reminiscent of some of the Avengers on ‘Ultron’?). Of course, considering that there are rumors of her and Hunter doing their own spinoff, I would not discard her just yet either. Or the ship HuntingBird itself.

...Yes, the relationships of all of the agents (or “Agents”) have largely fallen apart at the moment. Grant had lost Kara Lynn and has joined with Hydra (or rather decided to take it over, as Garrett did in S1), forgetting all about Skye for the moment; Hunter and Morse have their own issues to work out; Melinda has left Phil for her ex-husband; and an 0-8-4 ate Simmons, just when Fitz was about to ask her out (but left her alone with the alien thing for a moment). That, of course, is a monster of cliffhanger in regards to the future S3 of “Agents”, but still raises some questions even now, for example - does Simmons have alien DNA just as Skye does, and that is why the new 0-8-4 had reacted towards her so?.. But these questions can wait, for any answers will be short-circuited by the show’s scriptwriters and the show’s general unpredictability.

About that. Unlike “Carter”, “S.H.I.E.L.D.’s” strongest point was its unpredictability and ability to frustrate, shock or awe its audience and fandom. That is good. But the S2 finale stretched this ability to the limit; the audience has realized that no matter what happens, they will be wrong-footed, and they are feeling overwhelmed and emotionally exhausted by this; they need a break. Hence, of course, the break in the action between the finished S2 and the upcoming S3 (whenever that will happen), but still...

Most of the characters who died did not have to die! S.H.I.E.L.D. was supposed to be about justice, instead the evil Inhumans got lynched, and Kara Lynn...didn’t deserve to die; unlike Grant, she remained a wholly sympathetic character, whose death had been unnecessary and accidental; with her around, Grant might return to the side of goodness much sooner, if at all.

...Yes, this is “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”, not “Skye and Grant show”, but still, Grant is beginning to become a ‘designed evil character’ or something along these lines. Cal got redemption (via memory working but still) – why not Grant? Skye fought with May – and got forgiven post haste – why not Grant? Let us not forget – at the beginning of S2 he actually cooperated with S.H.I.E.L.D., but got handed over to his brother for all that...a decision that backfired upon S.H.I.E.L.D. and got Bobbi tortured among other things. Seriously, if Grant is such a monster, then kill him already! Don’t let him go on for more seasons than it is necessary! Even Angel was Angelus for just one season of BtVS (more or less.)

The same can be said about the other deceased – or otherwise departed – characters. Now the Inhumans of Afterlife are leaderless; Skye and Lincoln can take charge of them and the other Inhumans. Hooray?! Probably not, and not quite necessary. Sure, as the alien angle continues to develop further in “Agents” the part-alien Inhumans will continue to grow in importance (unlike Hydra?), so Skye’s connection to them will grow in importance too, yet this mass destruction of ‘secondary’ characters is overkill. Until “S.O.S.”, “Agents” had killed off relatively few people, and never at once, so this? “S.O.S.” is a game changer for sure, and towards something more and more grandiose. Will this be a good thing for the show or not? We will learn this only in the future.

S.H.I.E.L.D., "Dirty Half Dozen" - April 28

And so, “S.H.I.E.L.D.” had delivered yet another surprising – in a good way – episode...as opposed to JW, whose surprises – like the I-Rex that is not even a tyrannosaur – are not as good. A carnosaur combined with several abelisaur species does not have much right to the claim of a T-Rex, period. 

With “Agents” the twists are in another manner. In the “Dirty Half Dozen”, Grant Ward had reached his ‘nadir’, and has confessed that he misses the team and sincerely regrets what he has done. However, it is still a bit too early for him to come back (at least, according to the overall plot of the series), so Jemma tries to kill him instead. Because Grant is better than she is in such a situation, Simmons has failed, (though she got Bakshi, but the latter has earned it), and has come to a realization that as far as people go, Grant is better than she is, at least at the moment, so far – no dead Grant, and no live one either, to Kara Lynn’s loss. It seems that no matter how had Grant tried to get over Skye – one good look at her, and it’s game over, it’s back to the skip SkyeWard, at least in theory. True, Skye has Lincoln, but considering that in the first part of S2 she had been paired with Lance Hunter instead, SkyeWard should not be dismissed just yet.

Whereas the ship Philinda...this is another story. “Dirty Half Dozen” has also attempted to connect itself with the upcoming Avengers film; the references to baron Strucker, to twins Wanda and Pietro, to Fury and Hill’s future involvement with Ultron abound in this episode. Yet what’s important here is the price that “Agents” had to pay to become involved in this film – Coulson has gone to the backs of him team, or rather – behind their backs, in order to get Hill (and Fury) the info about the Theta protocol & etc, rather than sharing it with May and the others. Considering that in the world of “Agents” anything that includes a team is wrong, Coulson’s actions are going to bite him in the back; he has already lost May (at least for a while), and also Simmons. (Considering that Fitz will not be happy about Jemma’s attempt to kill Grant, this couple just might have problems of their own.) 

On the other hand, Morse is growing increasingly dissatisfied with Gonzales’ leadership, and if she goes, so will Mack and Hunter, most likely. Since Kara Lynn appears to be hanging with them at the moment, odds are we are going to see some shifting loyalties on the teams in the future. 

On the other end of the world we have the Inhumans, who have not only learned that Skye is the daughter of their leader (one of their leaders), but who also have to deal with Raina, who has partially recovered from her own ordeal with the Obelisk and seeks to challenge Jiaying for the leadership – if she is able to master her powers of prophecy first. Skye may have her hands full in helping her parents keeping Raina in check – and helping her mom keep Cal happy and user-friendly, to quote her. Yet, since “Dirty Half Dozen” has emphasized the similarities between Skye and her mother, the following episodes may focus on their differences instead, causing Skye’s task to be increasingly difficult, especially since Gonzales continues to unveil his own master plan (such as it may be). With Hydra down for the count (or rather – fighting the Avengers in their own new movie), there’s nothing stopping S.H.I.E.L.D. in dealing with the Inhumans – and each other. What will happen, when Coulson and Gonzales go toe to toe, how will their respective teams react, and how will Fury (cough potential Avengers crossover cough), is anyone’s guess.

Let’s wait and see!

S.H.I.E.L.D., Melinda - April 14

Back on ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’, the plot to save Skye continues, whether she wants it or not, but before we get into that...

First, the pigeons have stayed, apparently – our (admittedly half-hearted) attempts to drive them off were unsuccessful, and we are not ready to call in the professionals just yet. Well, more power to them, I say!

Second, after the initial euphoria of Brontosaurus’ return has ebbed, the other scientists are once again claiming to take things slow, it is not certain yet if Brontosaurus is really Brontosaurus, or just another Apatosaurus species/specimen. Considering that even in ‘canon’ Apatosaurus can number up to 4 species, this is a reasonable approach.

Then we have River Monsters returning to Discovery channel. By its standards and the standards of Animal Planet, this is one of the best things that could’ve happened to it, because otherwise AP is just a load of crap, with pet shows and ‘Too Cute’, and DC’s ‘Shark Week’ is right there for comparison, too. I will not be talking about River Monsters in detail just yet, though.

Now, back to ‘Agents’. This episode had somehow gone all ‘girl-power’ – not only it had focused on Melinda May and her becoming the warm and fuzzy machine of emotion that we all know and love, but it focuses on other female characters of the show as well: not just Skye, Gemma and Skye’s mother, for example, but on Morse and Weaver (team Gonzales) as well, albeit to different degrees.

Let us start, then, with the star of the episode – Melinda May. In the flashback, 7 years ago-

Wait. Let us talk about chronology. Skye was born, according to her parents, back in 1988, making her, supposedly, 26 years old. 1988 + 26 = 2014: in real life, this was last year, back when these episodes were aired and filmed (?); in ‘Agents’ world 2014 – 7 = 2007, which was when Coulson and May went to Bahrain (a small island country, located near the western shore of the Persian Gulf in Middle East, if anyone cares) to try and bring-in an Inhuman woman from Russia, empowered with super-strength. Fair enough and aside from ‘casting the type’, the cliché works. The rescue had not. The woman had a daughter, whose gift was to mentally dominate the others and to take away their pain in the process, as well as free will. May had to kill her - alongside her mother. This is not S.H.I.E.L.D. way, and May asked for a job transfer to an office job, which she got and kept, until Coulson got her back into the field back at the beginning of the show.

So far so good, but we also get:

- More of Melinda’s ex-husband, Andrew. Not only in flashbacks, but also he gets mentioned in real life: Coulson had been keeping in touch with him; not because of their mutual bond with May, but also because Coulson just may be setting up something called ‘the Delta protocol’ that will enable him to run some sort of a colony or training camp for super-powered people such as Skye and Deathlok, and he has also empowered Deathlok further (maybe because he needs Deathlok’s help in confronting Ward?). Considering that May (and also Simmons) hadn’t heard about this, this means that either Coulson had been lying to May...or that team Gonzales (Bobbi, Mack, Weaver, etc) are lying to May in order to suborn her. May – even with Simmons’ help – will need all the smarts that she has in order to figure out the truth.

And the same goes for Skye, naturally. Her mother told her that story as well, but... firstly, she does not appear in the flashbacks, making one wonder just where she was all the time when May was fighting the rogue Inhumans and why she had not stepped in. She knows about S.H.I.E.L.D., but how and why are different questions that ought to be answered – maybe her scars hold the key? They look as if someone had tried to tear off her face with a clawed paw or something like that; when you are dealing with Inhumans, maybe this is exactly what has happened...but why?

On the other hand, we have, well, Skye’s mother per se: Cal had told Skye that Whitehall had killed her (Skye’s mother) and used her organs to rejuvenate himself. Considering that Whitehall had not aged for almost a century that certainly may be so. Only...now we’ve got Skye’s mother alive and well, and  this means that either someone is lying to Skye here, or ‘Agents’, as a show, had just hit their first plot hole – and it’s a major one! Well, only time – and future episodes – will tell us what version is correct.

What already can be seen, however, is that Skye’s dinner with her parents feels somewhat choreographed; well, it was choreographed by the actors, but it feels choreographed by the characters too. Skye’s mother wants Skye to remain in Afterlife, of course, but she also wants their relationship to be kept secret, for after the incident in Bahrain 7 years ago, the inhabitants of Afterlife take a dim view to the whole ‘bond between parent and child’ thing. This sort of duplicity is not healthy, and may be an indicator of darker things to come.

Conversely, though, we have Lincoln, whose own Inhuman gift is the ability to see the future, apparently (just think Rachel the Oracle in ‘Percy Jackson’ novels), and who had foreseen Skye having dinner with her folks that she had. This is certainly a twist in the plot and it is anyone’s guess what will come from that.

While Skye bonded with her parents, Raina bonded with Gordon, sort of. Raina is suffering from nightmares, low self-esteem (she looks like a chupacabra!), the realization that she just may constantly be in Skye’s shadow, to name a few. Gordon is having his work cut out for him...yet he has no intention of giving up, and he is firmly on team Raina – he honestly thinks she is beautiful. Considering that everyone else on the show ignored the flower girl, hated her, or did not know about her at all, (or any combination of the above), Gordon just might be what Raina needs to get herself out of the pit that she and Cal had made...

And so, in this episode Melinda took a trip down the memory lane and found herself in charge of the Playground, surrounded with allies who just might be trickier than any outright enemies, Skye took a training course from her mother and learned about May’s adventures in the past, while finding herself surrounded by family/allies, who just might be trickier than any outright enemies, Raina has begun to bond with Gordon, and Fitz (who had been mostly ignored in this episode) had not only hacked into Fury’s ‘toolbox’ (with an acetylene torch?), but has contacted Hunter and Coulson and together they will shake-off Fitz’s tail and get a move-on in saving Skye. Another great and dramatic episode, put otherwise.

S.H.I.E.L.D., Afterlife - April 7

And so it happened that yet another episode of “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” was aired on TV. Awesome! But first – few other bits of info.

First of all – real life here – we appear to have acquired a couple of pigeons on our balcony. We have no idea of how to get rid of them, and barely more intentions if we want to in the first place. So far it seems that the pigeons are roosting there, and not nesting, but I would not bet on it, so for the moment the pigeons are there to stay.

Second – also real life here – it seems that the scientists (paleontologists) have decided that Brontosaurus and Apatosaurus are two different dinosaurs. Leaving aside that the Apatosaurus family accounts for up to 4 different species, this is really exciting news; it seems that the main different between the cousins is that the Apatosaurus is the slightly bigger and bulker dinosaur. Neat.

Third – here we go to TV land – is that the fifth season of MLP: FIM has begun to air. The season starter concerning the cutie marks was good – it introduced a new villain into that universe, the Mane 6 weren’t the ones to save the day, actually – and MLP: FIM in general has changed its tune: now the villain isn’t bringing chaos and change into Equestria, she – Starlight Glimmer – is bringing order and monotony instead. Clever move on Hasbro management, maybe they have experienced some change of their own...

Finally, about the latest “Agents” episode, “Afterlife”. In this particular episode, several things happened – primarily Skye has arrived at the titular destination; fortunately, it isn’t what one expects, but rather some sort of a Shangri-La-like place, where Skye should be able learn how to use her powers in peace. The catch is that both Raina and Cal are there as well – let us talk about them for a bit.

It is easy to dislike Raina – all she did had been stirring up trouble for Skye/Daisy and her coworkers, but conversely she had always been dominated by someone else (like Cal) and she was always in Skye’s shadows, a replacement, and not a very good one, perhaps. It is always bad to be perpetually stuck in second place, and to add an injury to the insult, Skye, who had never wanted it, has become something of a prototype superhero (agent Quake from the comic-verse, perhaps?), while Raina, who had been always eager, has become a chupacabra instead. One could start to feel sympathy for Raina here, you know?

With Cal it is more straightforward – just like his comic-verse counterpart, Mr. Hyde, Cal is insane, selfish, and bipolar. However, Gordon (the grimlock to Raina’s chupacabra) apparently can handle him well enough, as can Cal’s wife (Skye’s biological mother?). Her character has just made an appearance, but there is already something of a Fu Manchu vibe about her, suggesting that there is a snake in Aftermath’s paradise, so to speak.

Then again, Skye already does not seem to find Aftermath to her liking – it is too static and quiet for her: she is a woman of action, of strong ideas and ideals, and the quiet and serene retreat of Aftermath just may not be the place that she’ll want to stay permanently – though perhaps she could be persuaded to stay awhile...

And while she stays, Coulson and Hunter are planning to find and rescue her (and given the universe of “Agents” their attempt will probably not be misguided). To do that, they will need help – and it comes in the shape of Deathlok, also known as Mike Petersen. This is really good, for Deathlok was very important in the previous season, and so far he has proven to be more formidable than before. That is good, because Coulson and Hunter will also need Grant Ward to help, and as it was shown in the “Love” episode, Grant has apparently cooled his ardor for Skye quite a bit, and his parting with Coulson was even worse. Odds are, this is the sink or swim moment for Grant’s character – he will either start returning to the good guys’ side and become a proper S.H.I.E.L.D. agent once more, or will become fully a villain and probably die soon enough (Simmons, for example, wants to kill him). Considering that “Agents” tend to provide the unexpected it can go either way.

As for the rest of the team... Fitz and Simmons have made up, and have smuggled Fury’s toolbox – a vibranium cube – out of the Playground. Captain Gonzales and his people may be quite competent, (and apparently they got the numbers on their side too), but so are Fitz and Simmons – they have come a long way since their naive debut back in S1. They may no longer be able to talk in synch, as they have done before, but they have become much more mature as well – Mack, Morse and others will not know what hit them.

But finally we have Melinda May, who has issues of her own – and since the next episode deals with her back-story, well...let us leave her for next week as well. 

So: Deathlok is back, Coulson is starting to fight back and to recollect his team, Fitz and Simmons have proved their mettle, Grant may get a last chance to get his, Skye is going to get rescued whether he wants to or not, and May will get a special episode about her next week.