Article originally written for Seat42F.
MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. ends its sophomore run on
ABC last night with “S.O.S.,” a two-hour finale that is as surprising as it is
intense. Lots of characters die, dynamics shift, a war is only narrowly
avoided, and there are plenty of pathos and cliffhangers to go around. I don’t
think I’ll be able to cover it all here, but I’ll try to focus on the most
important things.
No sooner does Coulson (Clark Gregg) agree to an advisory
council than those on that council begin dropping like flies. Gonzales (Edward
James Olmos) is murdered last week, soon followed by Agent Oliver (Mark Allan
Stewart) in “S.O.S.” Bobbi (Adrianne Palicki) is kidnapped by Ward (Brett
Dalton), while Weaver (Christine Adams) is held hostage by Jiaying (Dichen
Lachman). By the end of the finale, a couple are left, but will Coulson replace
those who perished? I hope so, because it still seems like a good idea to have
his judgment balanced by others, and not just those on his team.
Coulson does earn back some lost respect, though. Mack
(Henry Simmons) hasn’t quite left the agency when the battle begins, and
decides to stick around and help Coulson prevent a war. Last week, it looked
like Mack would be resigning for good, but he is too noble to walk away when he’s
needed. Let’s hope MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t really have to say
goodbye to him, signs being positive he will re-enlist at the end of the
episode.
The battle Mack and Coulson are working to end is the one
between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Inhumans. Jiaying, hardened and turned dark by the
traumas she suffers through, doesn’t trust S.H.I.E.L.D., and so tries to force
a war to wipe them out. This makes sense, given what we’ve seen of her
character, but she brings along a lot of Inhumans who don’t realize what’s
happening. As Lincoln (Luke Mitchell) says after learning the truth, they
aren’t bad, just misled.
The struggle to stop Jiaying is not an easy one. While her
plan isn’t perfect, she does have the element of surprise at first, and starts
fighting before S.H.I.E.L.D. knows there’s anything to fight about, Coulson
being the cool head that keeps the council for escalating things early. Jiaying
also has Gordon (Jamie Harris), who believes in her scheme, and Cal (Kyle
MacLachlan), who is set loose in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s base with super strength.
But Jiaying doesn’t have everything. Raina (Ruth Negga)
sacrifices herself to expose the truth to Skye (Chloe Bennet), who turns on her
mother and teams up with Mack, and Coulson talks Cal into switching sides to protect
his daughter, appealing to the good man long buried deep inside of Skye’s
father. What this means is that the war in “S.O.S.” really features a single
villain and henchman (Jiaying and Gordon), with everyone else being essentially
good, one may assume, manipulated by this leader. It should make for a more
peaceful relationship between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Inhumans next season, with
Jiaying and Gordon dead and Lincoln supporting Skye.
The casualties are rough, though. Besides the S.H.I.E.L.D.
agents that Jiaying kills, Coulson loses a hand. He would lose more if not for
Mack’s quick thinking, and surely S.H.I.E.L.D. has the technology to give
Coulson a really cool bionic replacement. Still, there’s a lot of destruction
left to recover from.
Overcome it they must, though, as Ward is now heading up
Hydra. After some disturbing scenes of torture, Ward making Bobbi suffer,
Hunter (Nick Blood) and May (Ming-Na Wen) swing in to the rescue. In the chaos,
Bobbi is badly wounded and Agent 33 (Maya Stojan) is killed, the latter
sparking Ward’s embrace of the evil group, which he plans to use to take his
revenge. Still, even with Ward remaining out there as a Big Bad, the outcome is
as positive as one could hope for from such an encounter.
All of the above stuff makes for some really intense action
and suspenseful moments. Emotion is served, too, especially in the relationship
between Skye and Cal and the outcome of that, Cal’s memory being wiped and he
being given a chance at a good life. The episode runs the gamut, being both big
and small, and ending the season on an anticipatory note that should have fans
on edge waiting for MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. return next fall.
There are also two huge cliffhangers, exemplifying the two
arenas S.H.I.E.L.D. participates in. The personal has Fitz (Iain De Caestecker)
and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) finally planning a first date, something
viewers have been waiting for at least a year, and then Simmons is sucked in by
an alien artifact. The larger plot sees Jiaying’s crystals infect fish, whose
oil is bottled and sold, thus potentially affecting a huge chunk of the
population and activating more Inhumans.
And that’s why I love “S.O.S.” It really does have it all,
presenting two hours that frequently shocked and constantly entertained.
MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. will return for a third go
‘round next fall, and this pick-up pretty much guarantees them a fourth year
because of syndication patterns. I look forward to seeing what they do with it.
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