Agents of SHIELD: One of Us recap S2,Ep.13
“What are they talking about? Is it about Skye’s condition?”
That line friends perfectly summed up everything that continues to be the problem with ‘Agents of SHIELD.’
In wrestling, the writers determine who will get the big push i.e. the guy poised to be the next main event star/focal point of the promotion. Occasionally, there’s a disconnect between the writers and fans as to whom should be the big star and rarely does that work out well for either party. Currently in WWE, the writers are pushing Roman Reigns as ‘The Man,’ but the fans have made it clear they’d rather see Daniel Bryan in that spot. The writers are holding firm with their plans and darn it, are going to make the fans LOVE Roman Reigns.
The show runners of ‘Agents of SHIELD’ clearly have the same obsession with Skye and are determined to make viewers love her as much as a TV version of Tony Stark.
Ironically, with the exception of Coulson, Skye is the one character most likely to get promoted to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But to make Skye a character we want to see rubbing elbows with Captain America, Iron Man and Spider-Man, we need less, not more of her. This episode went the opposite direction leading to one that started with some promise, but again was more about future developments than this week’s outing.
Cal returns and in nutty and entertaining scene, comes to Karla Fay Gideon (Drea de Matteo), a woman with small knives in place of fingernails. She’s been placed on the SHIELD watch list and Cal offers her the chance to join his associates the super tech genius Wendell Levi and the super strong Francis Noche to get payback. SHIELD’s answer to the Masters of Evil? This could be promising.
Meanwhile, the object of Cal’s revenge – Coulson – is hanging with Skye and talking over her new powers. Coulson’s defaulted to his usual surrogate father whenever speaking with Skye. He’s still concerned and has May call in her ex-husband Andrew (Blair Underwood), a brilliant psychiatrist, who Coulson hopes will be able to help Skye gain a measure of control.
Andrew finally gets Skye to open up about her powers. She’s learning to control it and settle the quakes down, which we learn later doesn’t extend to when she’s sleeping. Kinda makes loud snoring not seem so bad, huh?
May again gets the episode’s best moments while catching up with Andrew and her relaxed nature and laughter is enough to make Simmons forget how anger she is over Fitz’s betrayal. Too often, May is just stuck playing the cold, emotionless second-in-command, but she’s one of the show’s more complex characters and would benefit from more dedicated screen time where she has the spotlight not assisting others.
Cal is taking his traveling band of misfits to get one final member David Angar aka Angar the Screamer from the comics. Write this date down as it’s rare for me to say this, but this is one case where I’m fine with the show not being comic book accurate with his outfit.
Coulson asks Bobbi about Hunter and she lies and says he started falling back in old drinking habits and Mack had to take him somewhere. Did Coulson simply not care that another of his field agents were gone at a time when they’re short-staffed?
Cal sets up a showdown at the college Coulson’s dad taught so it’s up to Coulson and Bobbi to stop him. May takes The Bus to back them up and Skye wants in on the mission. Here’s yet another problem with killing Trip: the team only has but so many capable agents to go on missions especially with Skye “grounded.”
Skye wants to help Coulson. Another problem with killing Trip. Only Bobbi and May are field agents. She’s already under control. Sigh
Just as Cal confronts Coulson, May appears with Skye. Cal was hoping she’d have something exotic like wings. Besides Cal being a big bag of crazy, why wouldn’t he want Skye to be able to blend in and have powers? The big showdown ends up being a blowout. The ‘blind’ Inhuman teleporter returns and grabs Cal leaving his team of losers to get taken down without much trouble.
Skye started losing control watching the fight play out, but kept her powers in check … sorta as the effort makes her pass out. When she awakens, she’s wearing gauntlets to better resemble her comic book appearance. Simmons reveals Skye wasn’t controlling her powers, but keeping them inwards resulting in major bruising.
Seeing her friend struggling, Simmons suggests to Coulson that they create a new designation for powered individuals. He gives her a secret assignment of finding out how to handle these specials, which by the way secrets are kept on this show, will be revealed to everyone next week.
The blind Inhuman brought Cal to a room and while Cal would like to consider himself an Inhuman, the man says Cal is just a science experiment who’s been making too much noise. Now he has to report to someone behind the door. While Black Bolt and the main Inhumans haven’t been cast for the 2019 film, it’d be neat to get just a portion of one of their costumes to tease their appearance.
Disappointingly, last week’s intriguing cliffhanger is stuck in wheel-spinning mode. Hunter recalls his first mission with Mack and Bobbi where he was kept in the dark because he wasn’t SHIELD. Mack gets a call and leads Hunter to a hallway where he explains that he and Bobbi work for the real SHIELD.
Like we figured, Mack and Bobbi hadn’t turned evil and are working with another splinter cell of SHIELD. While I’m sure some of it will get answered later, did Fury authorize this secret version of his secret spy agency with Coulson’s team being the sorta not-so secret version to distract SHIELD’s enemies? And why wouldn’t Bobbi and Mack just straight up tell Hunter their plans? It’s not like he has some deep loyalty to Coulson and company.
If you’re hard pressed for time, no need to track down this week’s show unless you want to see more of Crazy Cal.
Yeah this one was a head sctratcher. Such a let down. Cal makes it worth it… yet he needs to pop when needed or it will wear thin. Especially if doesnt get to really rip or hulk out if you will. Im glad they clearing up the human accidents vs the inhumans. A lot of the soccer moms and non comic folks are still yapping about is that black bolt and raina will be tigra… im like look gotdammit lol. I just wish marvel start to poop or get off the pop. The best episodes when skye a ss got shot or was elsewhere.. and her in the red dress running with the super cleaveage. How has marvel not figured this out?? If ward can bounce skye can too so they can go skyward elswhere. Too many like this and it will dropped to watch 2 weeks to get more payout
I’m wondering if we’ll ever get a full-on Mr. Hyde. We keep getting it implied, but never getting to see the full deal.
That’s the problem with them going with the Inhumans so quick instead of just doing an awesome season of SHIELD. There’s enough cool spy stuff for them to focus on instead of holding in place for a film that’s not coming out until 2019.
sorry to be sexist but if MUST HAVE all this skye can we get that dress back… please. make me forgot how she is ruining the show and dragging more interesting characters with her. I know they will bump it up in next few weeks but its gettting to be a drag. The CW keep pounding us with stuff to see if we can keep up. There are great sports on in march, my wife and i are glued for Empire. Marvel is starting to not be event tv. I will tape but I have given it 2 years and i need more pay out. Whereas im mad that tv arrow and flash cant join DC next set of failed movie attempts.. smh
Good point about it not really being must see appointment TV. I’m reading a lot of sites that people are enjoying the new direction, but I’m less trustful they can make this work. If this season were tied to Age of Ultron I’d see it, but Inhumans is way too far away.
Jeff if these writers are trying to tie this into an un-established movie about characters no one but comic heads know about instead of AOU, than these writers are even more idiotic than I already thought they we’re. That being said my understanding is that AOS will tie into AOU this season like it did last year with ‘Cap 2’, it had better because they need a boost in the ratings.
I think you’re right about the AOS tie-in, but I don’t see how more connections would be a bad thing since that’s much sooner. :-/
l know there are going to be connections to ‘Age Of Ultron’, there has to be. I expect this show to close out season 2 with a bang connecting to AOU, not on some Skye fantasy b.s.
I agree with you Jeff, while I have enjoyed the new episodes to an extent, the goofy writers seem to be stuck in neutral a little bit. In my opinion Coulson and May are the standout characters of this show period, and now matter how much the writers try to make Skye the star of the show that’s not going to change that. I thought in the second half of season o the writers we’re really on to something with fresh new engaging stories, now these dumb writers are trying to forcefully incorporate an uninteresting character on us in Skye. Yes she is easy on the eyes, in fact she’s a cutie but she just doesn’t bring a strong screen presence whatsoever, something that May brings in abundance. You see how the audience responds to this blasphemy with steadily dropping ratings, yet these goofy ass writers(excuse the language my friend) refuse to heed these warnings. If the writers long term goal is to really make Skye a character who’s going to be rubbing elbow with the Avengers on the big screen, I can tell you now that’s not going to happen because viewers are not responding to her character well and Marvel is not going to put some atrocity like that on their big screen, she’ll make cameo appearances on the big screen at best Jeff, you have nothing to worry about my friend. Now don’t get me wrong, I still think AOS is a good show but that’s all it is right now when it could potentially be a great show if the writers take those stubborn pretentious sticks out of their you know what. These foolish writers keep trying to make this show all about Skye and it’s not working, you know who that works with Agent Carter. Now Hayley Atwell has true charisma and on screen presence, and unlike Chloe Bennet she’s much more than just a pretty face, you actually get engaged into watching her character. I’ve held back on rating about this mistake with AOS for a while, imo it’s the biggest factor that makes AOS a good show instead of a great one. My last warning to the AOU writers, stop trying to force a character down viewers throats when they despise her, how ignorant can they be lol.
I need an applause emoji. Is it considered a rant when you sum it up perfectly?
I just don’t get the fascination with Skye and it’s frustrating as mid first season and the halfway point of this season the writers seemed like they got it. Now it’s like they’re just being stubborn, which I could get if Inhumans were right around the corner, but that’s so far off I don’t know why they went there with Skye so soon.
Another problem is everything is so Skye focused the others have to fight for leftover screen time.
my only hope is that they just said screw hacker girl.. let get her powered up for a few years. I mean they still need to wipe out hydra. Also more spy stuff is needed. Cant they just lock up freak of the week for about 3 weeks then get back into this story. If they think for one second they about to drag out this inhuman stuff for 4 years on my dime.. im out. will record whole season and drop it down for more book time. Since I cant get cw live. Or im find some anime. We are getting at our skye limit again.
You guys are so correct here, it’s like the show’s writers are trying to OD us on Skye or something, what the hell lol. If I’m going to OD on a character that character better damn well be someone I’m invested in seeing who has my complete undivided attention, something she doesn’t. Now when a female character demands your attention like Agent Carter or May without being forced down your throats it’s whole different story. As I was saying before I think the biggest reason the ratings are suffering is because these goofy ass writers are trying to force a character with no on screen presence whatsoever on us. Excuse the cuss word again, but damn these silly writers are just pissing me off my friends. And like Jeff said they are already jumping into the Inhumans, characters we are are not going to see on the big screen until 2019, unless a few of them debut in one of the earlier MCU films which I don’t see considering what the stories of those films will be. Black Widow commands the screen, Agent Carter commands the screen, May commands the screen, hell even Maria Hill has a pretty good screen presence, I just don’t see it with Skye. She’s easy on the eyes and and she’s a cutie and all, but she lacks on screen magic imo, you either have it or you don’t. Again I’m cool with her on the show, but she just needs to be more of a supporting cast member and not the breakout star of the show that these idiotic moron writers are trying to make her out to be. Hell the premise and focus of the show is supposed to be about Coulson leading his team anyway, these fruitcake flaky writers need to stick with that. Just because the writers are related to Joss Whedon doesn’t mean they are in his class which they are not by a long shot lol.
What’s really lame is how Simmons shined in her standalone episode when she infiltrated Hydra and she hasn’t gotten a whiff of a storyline to take advantage of her nerdy lack of spy-ness yet we have to sit through every moment of Skye’s learning process.
Yeah I like Simmons, she’s nice on the screen. Of all the main characters Skye is the weakest, Marvel would never be stupid enough to feature her on the big screen because she can’t even carry her weight on the small screen. Now I’m okay with Skye getting a featured episode on her every once a while as long as the writers spread the wealth, but these dummies don’t do that. If Skye had you what I would be telling the writers to get off those and start paying more attention to MORE attention to better and more interesting characters. Could you imagine if these jokers we’re writing scripts for the big screen, they would screw the MCU up with their stubborn and limited imaginations haha.