Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Season 2, Episode 19: The Dirty Half Dozen
Marvel Studios and ABC you tricky, tricky bastards. I had actually suspended my awareness of this show being a part of the larger MCU. The way this episode ended was brilliant. Having the Theta Protocol revealed as the Avengers was a very slick move. I get the midseason hiatus and timing now, but I’m wondering if this is going to be the idea every season. If so it might make things a little weird for home video collections. After Raina’s predictions, it might be a little awkward if there isn’t a pretty big Age of Ultron connection next week. It was a brilliant way to get viewers pumped up to see the movie though. I’m pretty sure it’s going to be the top seller this year, but it’s always smart to suck consumers in where you can.
The rest of the episode was equally brilliant. They managed to get the entire original team together for one mission. Even with the addition of all of the new and great characters, it felt particularly good to see this particular group in action again. Coulson has proven his competence and the chemistry between this particular group of actors is as great as ever. His reconciliation with May was touching to say the least, he is always at his most vulnerable when with her. He trusts her above anyone else and the same is true for the reverse.
Ward has again proven to be the most interesting of the lot. As callous and uncaring as he has been this season, we saw a layer or two peeled back as he revealed he is still human. He apologized for his actions and he even left Agent 33 AKA Kara behind to rebuild without being tainted by his presence. I see a redemption arc coming up for him, but it will be a long and interesting road for him, because no one trusts him on any side of the conflict.
The inhumans are getting a more and more attention in every episode. Cal and Skye are shaking things up for them quite a bit and I’m sure they will play a part in the Ultron conflict. The thing I’m most interested in is seeing their reaction to having Gonzales refusing to let two of their own go. Gordon is a pretty powerful teleporter, so he can probably get them on his own, but we’ll see what happens. It might not end well for the leader of the “real S.H.I.E.L.D.”
Speaking of Gonzales, this is still the weakest part of the current plot to me. I get the point of rebuilding S.H.I.E.L.D.’s resources, but the conflict just feels a little forced. I get that he disagrees with the way the organization was run before, but his beef with Coulson doesn’t seem big enough to explain the extreme hostility between the two. The whole thing seems like “I want to run S.H.I.E.L.D. so screw Coulson” to me. Why are so many following him? Hydra had been infiltrating the agency from the beginning, so why are they blaming things on Nick Fury? Even more so, why is it that Coulson has to shoulder that blame?
I’m no secret agent, but I’m pretty sure successors take over unquestionably when there’s a resignation. I’m still really just not getting into the whole thing. It feels incomplete. Please give these two characters a dialogue that makes everything make sense, because as of right now it seems very rushed.
Jonathan Thomas Jones is a speculative fiction author and founder of geekhavenreviews.com. He has been passionate about all things geek for his entire life. See more about him at jonathanthomasjones.com and follow him on twitter @jtgloryjones.
