Believe in The S.H.I.E.L.D…. Wait, what?
(screencap from CTV.ca)
What happens when a crazed doctor brings together a group of superpowered individuals as a means to wreak vengeance on an organization that wronged them? Well, quite possibly, the strongest hour of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. since its midseason return.
Previously on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
While Skye struggled with grasping her powers, the Team answered a situation in Portugal involving an amnesiac Lady Sif and a Kree alien named Vin-Tak. As it turns out, Vin-Tak was on Earth to find out about the activation of a Terrigen Crystal. During the course of this adventure, the Team finally learned about Skye’s powers, and it seems to have fractured some relationships as a result.
Hunter seemed to have finally put two and two together about the duplicity Mack and Bobbi have been up to, but that got him knocked unconscious by Mack.
Full Recap (MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD)
Before we talk about the last few minutes of tonight’s episode and what it means moving forward, let’s run down the events that happened beforehand in an hour filled with fun and intrigue all around.
The main thrust of the episode is Dr. Cal bringing together a team of “gifted” individuals to help him get revenge on Coulson and SHIELD. These individuals, with abilities ranging from enhanced strength (Francis Noche, who injected himself with a serum to give him such powers) to a scream that literally knocks people out (David A. Angar, better known to Marvel aficionados as Angar the Screamer), are taken by Cal to Wisconsin as a means to lure Coulson out to exact that revenge. However, Cal probably certainly didn’t count on Coulson being more than ready to meet that challenge.
While it was a bummer that Cal’s “dream team” of supervillains ended up getting dispatched rather easily, the action between Coulson and crew versus the mad Doctor’s gang was pretty fun to watch regardless of that. As head of S.H.I.E.L.D., Coulson rarely has had time to show off his combat chops on the field. Here, we got to see him in action as he took out Angar with ease and later beating down Wendell Levi – the apparent “brains” of Cal’s group. And as always, both May and Mockingbird got their chance to crack some skulls in defeating Noche and Karla Faye Gideon, respectively, during the ensuing smackdown. The whole brouhaha brought some much-needed superhuman-level action into the fold, which is definitely welcomed with the further development of the whole Inhumans story ahead of the 2019 film. In a show that’s ostensibly about superheroes, it’s good to have our heroes fighting enemies that may be more powerful than them in certain ways. And on the subject of said villains and their relative inefficiency when facing off against S.H.I.E.L.D., it might have been deliberate on the show’s part that the villains brought together weren’t as formidable as one might think. Enhanced abilities are nice to have, but probably don’t mean much when using them against seasoned field operatives who have dealt with these situations many times over. It’s quite feasible that in his madness, Cal simply may have overestimated the abilities of his ragtag group of Gifted individuals, as well as underestimating S.H.I.E.L.D. as an organization that can be taken down in one fell swoop.
If there’s one thing this show is good at, it’s providing us with villains who have “personality” to them, rather than simply being outright evil. Last season’s final episode brought us the delightfully maniacal John Garrett causing trouble for the Team. This season, we have Cal and his methodical madness, brought to chilling and manic life by the ever-wonderful Kyle MacLachlan. It’s clear that he’s having a hell of a time playing a character like Cal and relishing every moment of it. MacLachlan is clearly at his best here on S.H.I.E.L.D., and his role has a chance of possibly even matching his iconic role as Agent Dale Cooper on the cult classic Twin Peaks.
Skye’s predicament at the end of the episode where the use of her earth-shaking abilities to turn themselves inwards caused some fractures in her bones will most likely lead to her wearing some very special gauntlets to further control her abilities (More on that below).
Also wonderful is guest star Blair Underwood (who you might know from the short-lived NBC series The Event) appearing as May’s ex, a doctor by the name of Andrew Garner, who’s recruited to help Skye come to grips with her predicament. It’s quite fascinating to see uber-badass May have (former) relations with someone as affable and approachable as the good Dr. Garner is. Aside from the action involving Cal’s crew, the scenes involving Garner interacting with May and the rest of the Team were a standout in “One of Us”. Ming-Na Wen and Underwood have such a strong rapport in the scenes where they were talking about their past loves and other such topics, that it makes you wish that the latter would become a recurring element.
Now on to the shocker ending, where Mack revealed to Hunter – who spent the bulk of the episode under captivity by Mack at an undisclosed location – who the mysterious people he and Bobbi have been working for: S.H.I.E.L.D., or rather the “real” S.H.I.E.L.D., symbolized by a different version of the familiar S.H.I.E.L.D. emblem, that might possibly bring to mind a badge-based version of the old S.S.R. symbol. The fact that there are two (maybe even more?) versions of the organization around is actually pretty logical, given the fractured state of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the wake of Captain America 2’s events. It’s rather nice that we got a quick turnaround for this particular arc, and that there’s even more questions that need to be answered coming out of it. I just hope that Real S.H.I.E.L.D. isn’t simply just “regular S.H.I.E.L.D., but more secretive and possibly evil.”
And speaking of shocker endings, the true final scene of the episode shows us Cal in a room much like the one glimpsed in the midseason premiere after being taken by Gordon, the eyeless teleporting Inhuman. He’s being brought before someone who Gordon apparently takes orders from, on the grounds of apparently not being truly Inhuman. While it’s unlikely that Gordon’s higher power is a “major” Inhuman like Black Bolt or Medusa, the intrigue behind who he or she is should be a compelling arc to go along with the Inhuman angle the show’s been taking.
While last week’s episode was a decent one at best, this week brought S.H.I.E.L.D. back into the groove that has been the norm for its sophomore year. From a fun climactic battle scene to some shocking revelations, we had it all this week. “One of Us” is a great demonstration of when S.H.I.E.L.D. is at its strongest: bringing together action, suspense, humour, and heart into one neat Marvel-built package for all of us to enjoy.
Grade: 9.0/10
Notes from the Field
- Aside from the heavy focus on May’s past, we got an insight on Coulson’s own past in this episode, learning that he’s a born Wisconsinite, raised in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. It’s nice to see some background on these characters.
- As noted above, Skye’s attempt to control her quaking has caused some bodily harm, particularly with her hands.
- The Index that has been mentioned countless times appears to be a hint towards what will form the basis of the conflict in Captain America: Civil War. Or at least, that’s my take on it.
- “Tell me about the wedding. I’m thinking May could either go understated or full Bridezilla. She can be a real control freak.” (Skye grilling Dr. Garner about his past with May)
- The Real S.H.I.E.L.D.: made up of Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins…? Okay, maybe not the last one, or all three, for that matter. One of these days, I’ll stop referencing the former WWE stable known as The Shield in these recaps.
- “So, what’s your thing? I was hoping for wings.” (Cal asking his daughter about her Inhuman changes)
- “Have you tried the sausage biscuits?” “I don’t like food.” (Wendell Levi isn’t a hungry man, sorry)
- So, a group of unkempt and rather suspicious people, two of whom have visible “items” on them (Karla’s nails and Angar’s muzzle), all eat breakfast at a diner, and nobody bats an eye towards them. Even when one of them starts raving about fighting for the “honor” of their people against S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Episode director Kevin Tancharoen must have an affinity for figuring in tables as a way for characters to incapacitate opponents in his fight scenes. First we had May KOing her doppelganger way back in the Tancharoen-directed “Face My Enemy”, and now it returns again here when Morse took down her foe with the end of a table during the big melee in the latter half of the episode.
- Simmons mentioned Mike Peterson during the third act when explaining about what she thinks of how the Index should work. That naturally makes me wonder about just when we’ll see Peterson again on S.H.I.E.L.D.
Next Week
From the looks of the teaser, we’ll get some answers about “Real” S.H.I.E.L.D., which may just involve guest star Edward James Olmos at the centre of it. Oh, and Ward finally makes his return. React accordingly.
Marc Quill just happens to cover shows aired on Tuesdays at 9/8 on ABC that are also based on Marvel Comics. He’s also very Canadian. You can reach him on Twitter @MarcQuill.