– Spoiler Review –
Edward James Olmos is on Agents of SHIELD, I repeat, Bill Adama is on Agents of SHIELD…do I really need to say anything more? “Love in a Time of Hydra,” introduces us to the ‘other SHIELD,’ Coulson makes a hard decision regarding Skye, while Agent 33 and Ward reappear to give General Talbot some trouble.
Hunter has occasionally felt like a surrogate for the audience, which is why putting him in the situation of learning about the ‘other SHIELD’ was a smart choice. Hunter asks questions us viewers would be likely to ask Agent Gonzales and his team, but he does it in a much funnier and entertaining way. Their explanation revolves around their disagreement with the way Coulson and Fury were focusing on alien tech and staying the shadows, so they broke off and formed their own splinter group. Some of their problems with Coulson have merit, like how his actions and seeming obsession with alien tech brought the whole team into danger and killed Trip, but obviously if they hadn’t got there Hydra would’ve been stronger for it. Either way, a faceoff between Agent Coulson and Agent Adama…I mean Gonzales, is something I really look forward to.
But one of the best parts of this storyline (so far) is that Bobbi and Hunter can actually speak truthfully to one another for once, leading to the big moment where Hunter lays everything out on how they can be happy together if they leave and Bobbi rejects it so she can stay on mission. Hunter’s subsequent escape felt a little too easy, but the threat he poses to their operation is big, so big that Bobbi will be making her move to root out Coulson’s sole source of power (in her eyes): Fury’s toolbox, the device in his desk with all the data on it. But with May and Coulson already pegging Mack for lying about something, will they get him to talk in time or will Bobbi sneak out with the toolbox before they’ll be none the wiser?
Before Coulson has his leadership questioned though, he makes a big decision in regards to Skye. He takes Andrew’s (May’s ex-husband seen in “One of Us”) advice and shuttles Skye away from field duty, dropping her off at a nice little comfy cabin resort complete with deadly defenses to keep people out…and in. The scenes between Coulson and Skye really show how far their relationship has come, and just how important their friendship is to one another. I mean, when Coulson compares you to his 1962 Mustang in an anecdotal story, you can’t get more important than that.
I have to admit at this point I was ready to forget about Grant Ward and Agent 33, as there are far more interesting characters and plots I’d like AoS to follow (like Cal and the Inhumans, for starters). But by the end of their story here, they’d at least moved in a direction possibly worth watching: Agent 33 and Ward work on brainwashing Sunil Bakshi. Who knows what those two crazies could put Sunil up to, but I’d like to think they’d possibly use him to infiltrate whats left of Hydra. The best part of the mask being burnt onto Kara’s face means Ming-Na Wen and Chloe Bennet get to stretch their chops a bit by playing the damaged character; It’s no Oprhan Black-level stuff, but it’s a nice bit of variety for the actresses.
Here are a few other things:
- I’ve been shortening Mack incorrectly to Mac in all my previous reviews, I guess…oh well.
- Talbot came off a little more foolish than usual, but it wasn’t enough to ruin his character or anything.
- Coulson had Simmons working on something more benign than originally thought: those gauntlets.
- Fitz gave it to Simmons good, turning all her talk about change back on her, and I couldn’t help but agree with Fitz. I just hope Mack isn’t able to convince her to join the ‘other SHIELD’ considering her opinions match theirs, and since it already seems like the Fitz-Simmons band isn’t getting back together for the time being, it’s a likely possibility.
It looks like it won’t be long before the two SHIELDs go up against one another, as “Love in the Time of Hydra” moved pieces around and started to set the stage for the latter half of AoS‘ entertaining second season.
+ Edward James Olmos
+ Coulson and Skye’s interactions
+ Mask allowing actresses to stretch their chops
– Sort of indifferent to Agent 33 and Ward returning
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
MARVEL’S AGENTS OF SHIELD REVIEWS:
Season Two: 2.1 Shadows | 2.2 Heavy is the Head | 2.3 Making Friends and Influencing People | 2.4 Face My Enemy | 2.5 A Hen in the Wolf House | 2.6 A Fractured House | 2.7 The Writing on the Wall | 2.8 The Things We Bury | 2.9 …Ye Who Enter Here | 2.10 What They Become | 2.11 Aftershocks | 2.12 Who You Really Are | 2.13 One of Us | 2.15 One Door Closes | 2.16 Afterlife | 2.17 Melinda | 2.18 The Frenemy of My Enemy | 2.19 The Dirty Half Dozen | 2.20 Scars | 2.21,22: S.O.S.
MARVEL’S AGENT CARTER REVIEWS:
Season One: 1.1 This is Not the End/1.2 Bridge and Tunnel | 1.3 Time and Tide | 1.4 The Blitzkrieg Button | 1.5 The Iron Ceiling | 1.6 A Sin to Err | 1.7 SNAFU | 1.8 Valediction