Wine glasses aren’t just for drinking anymore.
(screencap courtesy of CTV.ca)
Agent Melinda May gets the spotlight focus in one of the strongest Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episodes to date. The full recap after a recap of what happened last time.
Previously on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Skye has been taken to a community called Lai Xi, but more commonly known as “Afterlife”. Said community is a haven for people like her who have extraordinary, inhuman abilities. There she runs into Lincoln, a man with electrostatic manipulation abilities, and Jiaying, her soon-to-be mentor (but also her mother).
Elsewhere, Gonzales made an overture to Agent May to take a seat on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Beta “board” to help him make decisions, while Coulson and Hunter were aided by Mike Peterson/Deathlok in taking possession of a Quinjet for their uses. Their next move? Enlist the help of Grant Ward to help them not only stop Gonzales, but to also find Skye.
Recap (Full Spoilers)
As one can tell from the episode’s title, most of “Melinda” is almost all about May, whose sordid past in Bahrain is finally unraveled in flashbacks that make up the bulk of the hour. This past involves an S.H.I.E.L.D. operation wherein they’re called in to deal with a superpowered Russian named Eva Belyakov and bring her in. It naturally all goes FUBAR once a little girl being held hostage complicates matters even further. May’s nom du guerre of “The Cavalry” – a frequent point of contention for her – is fully explored here, and when things take a turn for the tragic when Eva’s daughter (revealed to be an Inhuman) enters the mix, it becomes clear as day why May has an apprehension to what some would call a “badass” nickname. It’s certainly one thing to deal with an armed terrorist or a similar situation by shooting them to end the threat, but being left with no alternative but to shoot a child (albeit one empowered by Terrigenesis) to save lives is something that does no good to a person’s psyche. Albeit brief, the signs of any PTSD suffered by May after this encounter are clear – she’s left reliving the moment when Eva’s daughter tried to reach her hand out to her when Andrew offers a tender moment. In any event, it’s becoming quite clear in present day that she’s at least more open towards what S.H.I.E.L.D. Beta suspects of Coulson, especially with something dubbed the “Theta Protocol” now out in the open (more on that in a moment).
With her character taking centre stage, Ming-Na Wen takes May through a wide spectrum of emotions: from the cheerful family woman/Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. living happily with husband Andrew Garner glimpsed as the episode opens to the emotionally-shaken “Cavalry” that saw her marriage end and her life forever altered as a result of her painful choice in Bahrain. When May is left more than worse-for-wear in the wake of her mercy killing of Eva’s daughter, you can’t help but feel for her, which is a testament to Wen’s acting ability here. Yes, she’s damn good with the butt-kicking and the like, but she’s quite good with the emotions thing, too.
The other outstanding plot point that gets built up in the episode is the continuing saga of our favorite Inhuman Skye and her stay in the Afterlife sanctuary. While she gets better acquainted with both her powers and mentor Jiaying, the tide changes once the latter reveals her parental lineage to Skye, which leaves her emotions in a quake. This all culminates in an awkward, yet somehow heartwarming family dinner the two have along with Cal. Continuing from when we last saw the good doctor, Cal is clearly overjoyed by this reunion, as he glowingly discusses memories of Skye’s birth – definitely a far cry from the crazed man that Skye once branded a “monster”.
On that tangent of “monsters”, we have the predicament Raina finds herself in, still unhappy about her quill-faced appearance forced upon her by the Terrigen Mists. This is where Gordon, himself sporting a noticeable visual change in his lack of eyes, comes in to mentor her – becoming a neat parallel to Jiaying’s own supervision over Skye. We also get Raina explaining to Lincoln about a dream she had of Skye and her family enjoying a nice dinner which becomes reality by episode’s end. Last season, Raina served under the authority of The Clairvoyant, and was devastated to learn that said Clairvoyant really couldn’t see into the future. Her Inhuman changes appear to be leading her to become a clairvoyant herself.
While the “Real S.H.I.E.L.D.” storyline largely takes a backseat in the episode (Coulson only appears in present-day at the end, while Gonzales doesn’t even show up at all), we’re still left with the mystery of “Theta Protocol”. Said project apparently involves a lot of beds, some well-placed therapy, and plenty of superhuman involvement. Recently, ABC announced that it was developing a spinoff series for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., so could whatever Theta leads to be the theoretical stepping stone of which this spinoff will start from? Theta certainly has all the hallmarks of something that could readily be built upon with a sister series to S.H.I.E.L.D., possibly focusing on Coulson operating a pseudo-academy/sanctuary for superhumans. If everything does go that route, it would make for a neat parallel with the whole Afterlife storyline going on at the moment.
Despite the main story arc of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Civil War being put on hold for the week, “Melinda” provides a very strong character piece that divulges another layer of a beloved character, while continuing to build upon the ever-intriguing Inhuman storyline. This is quite possibly, the best episode the show has churned out this season.
Grade: 10/10
Notes from the Field
- Skye’s birthday is July 2nd, 1988, according to Cal. Now we’ve got a definite birthdate for at least one of the main characters.
- At the very end, Fitz managed to open the Toolbox and hack into Coulson’s tablet to communicate with him and Hunter. While it seems like that he’ll be in safe hands, I wonder how he’ll feel about Coulson’s plan to have Ward help them out against S.H.I.E.L.D. Beta.
- The conscious decisions to frame the flashback scenes in a yellowy lens filter help convey the overall tone that the show is trying to set with these Bahrain scenes, much like a similar use of lens filter to tell the story of S.H.I.E.L.D. Beta’s birth back in “One Door Closes” (though utilizing a muted blue rather than yellow)
- “Nuclear or biological? Biological always works.” (Coulson figuring out how to get the army off of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s back)
- “I’m being followed. They won’t grab me. I think they’re hoping I’ll lead them to you first. The thing is, would it still be okay if I came out and hung out with you?”
Next Week
The teaser for next week lays it on thick with the Avengers: Age of Ultron hype, suggesting that next week’s episode features heavy ties to the highly-anticipated sequel. Avengers talk aside, next week also promises Coulson finally enlisting the help of Ward to take the fight against S.H.I.E.L.D. Beta, which might end up biting him in the backside. Plus, will the Theta Protocol link to Age of Ultron in some way? Find out next week, hopefully.
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.