This review contains spoilers.
Last episode saw the team say a tearful goodbye to two of their most loyal and longstanding friends, and the precarious position S.H.I.E.L.D. is in politically.
This episode featured the Watchdogs, the online hate group Daisy mentions, that want to take out Inhumans – and now they’re finally on their way to making that happen. This episode also included a look into Mack’s background – at long last! He’s an incredibly mysterious character and I’m glad we get to know more about him.
The kickass stuff;
Once again, fight scenes. I can’t fault them at all. Not only was the choreography great, but there was this really amazing action scene that took place in the Mack household that I just loved. It mostly involved them walking around a dark house, being stealthy and kick-ass, but it was a great scene.
The Agent Carter reference – hell yes! The Nitramene weapon used by the Watchdogs is very much the same weapon Howard Stark designed, and the weapon that appeared in season one of Agent Carter. I’m so glad to see more references to Peggy and the good ol’ days of SHIELD – I hope they do that more, with more nods to the things we’ve learned from Agent Carter.
Also, Fitz and Daisy team up! Their friendship was so special in Season 2, so I’m glad they’re still showing them as friends, even if Fitz nearly got imploded in the process. Though really, I knew this show probably wouldn’t let that bomb go off on Fitz neck – it isn’t his time. (I refuse to put a “yet” here because I swear to God, I’ll never forgive Marvel if they kill Fitz.)
I loved seeing the two sides of the Inhuman argument meet in the form of family – Mack’s little brother and Mack himself at odds with each other, Mack firmly (and obviously) on the side of “Do Not Murder Inhumans” and Ruben sharing the same fear-mongering view that the Inhumans will cause nothing but death.
Further to that, I loved the different way that people deal with that hatred – because Daisy is all for the SHIELD method of scaring someone into telling you what they need, whereas Mack points out that using fear for answers will only ignite further fires. I think they’re both right, in a way – of course Mack is right, that proving them right by going after them and spreading fear isn’t the way to go, but on the flipside, this group have gone from Trolls to Terrorists real quick, and there needs to be a way to stop them planting more imploding bombs.
Family moments;
Obviously, Mack and his brother were the outstanding Family Moment of the episode, what with them being brothers. It was really good to not only see a SHIELD agent with regular family (something we haven’t seen before) but also to see how Mack’s involvement with SHIELD touches his relationship with his brother. It’s good to see how he hides who he is, and how is brother is so un-trusting and angry towards him for that. I also just, in general, like knowing more about Mack, where he came from, and how it’s shaped him today.
I loved seeing May and Simmons together – it’s not a usual combo for this show, but after the events of Andrew/Lash, it’s not all that surprising they would come together to help each other. I’m hoping they build on this particular relationship, because it’s mad adorable.
I also really liked Lincoln this episode – his whole life’s been changed so it’s about time he reacted with some anger and got treated like a part of his team, even if Phil’s introduction was…unorthodox. I also appreciated that he’s still furious, still so full of anger – but when push came to shove, he wasn’t happy to outright kill someone.
And speaking of someone…Agent Blake is back! And he’s against SHIELD now? And unwittingly working with Hydra/Malick so that’s super awkward. And also really stupid of him. But I hope they explore his feelings on Inhuman’s a little more rather than just leaving it at “He is ANGRY” – of course he’s angry, for good reason, but his anger might not necessarily be directed entirely at Inhuman’s and I’d like a good arc for him.
Finally, I really loved how this episode ended with Ruben and Daisy coming to an understanding. It seemed corny, but I liked seeing them bond over how much they love Mack, and watching as Ruben started to shift his stand on Inhumans slightly from talking to her – and Daisy had this little look of realisation that maybe it isn’t about scaring people, but about trying to talk and show them what the good Inhumans are really about.
The meh;
I’m not so sure how I felt about this episode in terms of plot development. Or much of a development really. It shuffled some pieces along, but it didn’t feel like we made any significant jumps at all. We made little improvements, and it was nice to see certain interactions I mention about, but overall, I just want something to happen. Top it off with the fact there was hardly any actual progress in the realm of HiveWard, and Malick’s plan (other than one moment at the end which felt so out of place after this episode, involving Blake and Mr. Giyera chit-chatting over a missile). I just want to see this show kick it up like a thousand notches, and I really hope episode 15 blows my freakin’ mind.
Overall, I didn’t hate the episode – it had enjoyable moments, and a nice look at our own Mack’s (Alfie’s) background! However, I feel like I’m just waiting and waiting for something bigger to happen, and the two-hour season finale is ever approaching.
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