Article first published as MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Review Season 2 Episode 9 Ye Who Enter Here on Seat42F.
MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. tees up a
heck of a winter finale next week in its latest installment, “Ye Who
Enter Here.” The team locates the hidden city and immediately goes to
it, Hydra hot on their heels. Secrets are stumbled upon and the game
unfolds unpredictably as the show rockets through plot at a quicker pace
than it ever has, while still maintaining some good character-driven
stuff.
It’s hard to tell how many of
Whitehall’s (Reed Diamond) moves are planned and how many are on the fly
in “Ye Who Enter Here.” He uses the S.H.I.E.L.D. tracking device in
Raina (Ruth Negga) to follow her to the city and get her back, but is
that something he figures out late in the game, or does he set Raina up
in an elaborate machination? It certainly seems like Whitehall is
thinking on his feet, which is a welcome leveling of the playing field,
Hydra having been working at a distinct advantage for most of the
season.
Of course, that advantage may be
regained by the end of this hour. With both Raina and Skye (Chloe
Bennet) in Hydra’s clutches, thanks to a newly recommitted Ward (Brett
Dalton), Hydra hovers over the mysterious location and has The Bus at
its mercy. At this point, Whitehall might be smart to kill everyone,
which is exactly what he orders, though we don’t yet have the chance to
see it play out.
Certainly the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. team
will not be killed; without them, there would be no show. However,
MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t shy away from knocking its leads
out of their current orbits. Ward’s reveal as a villain is an example
of that, and in the latest installment, Mac (Henry Simmons), who is not a
main character but has become a much-valued member of the team this
year, is changed, possibly forever, and possibly killed.
We’ve only scratched the surface of the
hidden city so far. Mac is the first one down, after the drones lose
power, and he transforms into some kind of super human. We don’t know
why or how yet, but no amount of pleading with him will awaken the real
Mac from this berserker body that attacks everyone else. The
confrontation ends with Bobbi (Adrianne Palicki) accidentally sending
Mac falling down a shaft, which he may or may not survive, given his new
state.
Coulson (Clark Gregg) seems a little
callous when he tells Bobbi simply that that wasn’t Mac. He’s right, but
we don’t know if Mac still exists inside the body or if Mac’s
personality can come back to the surface. I certainly hope it does, as I
would miss that character. But I’m more disturbed by Coulson’s
transformation than Mac’s, as Coulson needs to still care deeply about
his people, even if he’s finally finding the distance of leadership he
also needs.
If Mac is gone, Fitz (Iain De
Caestecker) is in trouble, as Mac is the one friend keeping Fitz going.
Fitz and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) finally talk about the state of
their broken relationship, but rather than hammer it out and make up,
Fitz announces he’s transferring to the garage with Mac. It’s a
heart-breaking development, even if it makes sense, because Mac really
helps bring Fitz out of his shell and begin to heal. If Mac is out of
the picture, Fitz might need Simmons back, whether he wants to admit it
or not.
There are signs that a reconciliation is
possible. Simmons has her own friends, too, sharing great scenes with
Trip (B.J. Britt) and Bobbi in “Ye Who Enter Here.” But she also has
time for Fitz, and seems less happy with the dissolution than he does, a
decision he makes unilaterally. She still finishes his thought at the
city entrance, so their bond is still there. I just can’t believe they
are fully over, in large part due to the truly excellent chemistry the
two performers share.
I can’t help but feel that Skye is key
to what will happen next. She’s now a prisoner, but this week’s episode
shows she’s progressed enough in her combat training to handle herself
in a tough spot, so that’s not super worrying. Raina makes a number of
references to Skye being special, something more than human, but not
alien. Fans of the Marvel comic books are full of theories about Skye’s
connection to the Inhumans, a subspecies of Homo sapiens created by the
Kree, who are mentioned in “Ye Who Enter Here.” That is fascinating and
I’m excited to see what introducing the Inhumans will do not just
MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D., but the whole Marvel franchise.
However, I’m much more interested in Skye’s personal journey and how it
may shift due to this.
I can’t end my review without mentioning
how awesome it is to have Patton Oswalt playing not one, but two Agent
Koenigs this week. The humor he brings to the proceedings is simply
invaluable, and the man simply radiates talent. He is able to get a bit
dramatic when confronting the killer of one of his brothers, and I think
that’s a good layer for the Koenigs to have, but it’s also very
valuable to have him tease others about how many brothers there are and
have each of the two siblings featured this week claim the other is
shorter. This is gold that show should continue to mine. He would make a
valuable main character addition if they can lock him down.
MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. has had
an interesting fall run, perhaps not as intense as last spring’s story,
but with some wonderful fresh faces and the foundation of another big
arc. I am confident that next week’s fall finale is going to be a
memorable one.
MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
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