REVIEW: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. "Chaos Theory"

Last week’s 50th episode was a so-so run with a noticeable twist as seen by this cover photo. In this new new SHIELD, we have to see the fallout from that secret especially with people dying and dogs and cats living together. Or SHIELD and the ATCU in this case. For now, we’ll take a break from that chaos to bring you…more chaos.

Six months ago, May and Andrew were happily vacationing on the beach which means that something terrible has to happen. Sure enough, Andrew was affected by leftover Terrigen Mist from old Afterlife items, and that’s where we start. Really? A two-minute backstory, and now we have to accept it. There’s obviously more to it with Andrew’s nervous looks, but the show just has to keep that bitter taste in your mouth before we get into juicy details.

Other plots attempt to move forward as Coulson has a meeting with the president (yes, that president) as an ATCU advisor to try and find a balance between hunting inhumans like Lash or training superheroes like Daisy. Fitz scans Simmons’ phone from the alien world, May looks through Andrew’s files for something weird, and we’re treated to a reappearance of Joey who’s aiming to be the new Magneto with his better controlled metal powers. All of those things remind me, why are we giving so much time to Bobbi and Hunter’s drama? That’s possibly the slowest thing right now, so of course, it’s the first thing we focus on after the opening.

There are still some nice things, like Fitz going through the phone and coming across a recorded message from Simmons (and a picture of her and Will which I don’t know exists apparently). That plus Joey being enthusiastic about joining the Secret Warriors and Daisy crossing paths with Rosalind are scenes the show really needed at this point. However, they are inevitably cut short with Andrew icing May after she knows the truth, and Lincoln confiding in Mack that he believes that Lash works in SHIELD. Just because that guy is right does not mean I am going to suddenly be interested in him.

Simmons recounting how she would have spent her life with Fitz in the midst of almost dying of dehydration would probably be in the top ten saddest moments of this show if it wasn’t undercut with the fact that she’s searching for her space boyfriend. Oh well, FitzSimmons still lives on. In the meantime, we’re treated to the strange case of Dr. Garner and Mr. Lash (not to be confused with Daisy’s father Mr. Hyde but that’s another far too long story). The guy’s losing control of his abilities and, unfortunately, his sanity in his strange new need to kill inhumans.

It’s pretty sad that this is the thing that seems to bring SHIELD, the ATCU, and even Lincoln back together in their tracking Lash’s actions back to Andrew. I’m so happy to see the return of Coulson’s suit, but I feel off that it comes from more banter between him and Rosalind. I’m still not on their relationship, but taking a break from frenemy-zoning each other is always a good side of the show. Of course that all goes downhill when Lincoln attacks Andrew, and Lash emerges. Once again, he will likely never be my favorite if he keeps making awful decisions like attacking Andrew when literally EVERYONE says not to do anything. It’s like they want me to hate him.

With Lash on the loose, everyone opens fire on the monster with Mack making another open desire for his shotgun-axe combo (it’s been mentioned twice, so here’s hoping). In the predictable sense of irony, Daisy rescues Rosalind by stopping her fall in midair. One thing I do wish the show could do more is incorporating Daisy’s powers in new ways like that. It makes the show more creative, and it’s also a little fun in the midst of this near-death drama. Speaking of near-death, May confronts Lash distracting him long enough to shove him through the new cage and rendering him unconscious. With the ATCU’s help, the team agrees to put him under stasis until they can figure something out. If he didn’t have to come back eventually through some kind of improbable means, I would say this is easily the most anti-climactic ending for a bad guy.

In other morally grey areas, Fitz discovers a way that could reopen a portal. Unfortunately, it also reveals more conspiracy bait info with Will possibly being involved with the same cult back from the 1800’s. I know this is a spy show, but I’m a little shocked that this is the first time I’ve heard of that theory. On the bright side, literally, Fitz and Simmons share a tender moment watching the sunrise with Simmons saying she was serious about that small house in Scotland. For what it’s worth, I was waiting two years for just a nice moment for the two of them, so I’ll take it.

But this is just the seventh episode in the season which means there has to be another twist. Ward shows up in the teaser meeting with the deep voice Hydra guy (okay I’ll call him Malick), marking this as the first time since the season two finale that we’ve seen the whole cast in one episode. I really wish that was it, but then Malick reveals a connection to Rosalind and the ATCU by answering her call after she finishes a night with Coulson. I honestly don’t know which one is worse at this point. So yeah, SHIELD’s in trouble…again.

In spite of everything that happened that really needed to happen, this episode felt…short. I’m always for SHIELD revealing secrets rather than keeping them, but this keeps feeling like revealing new thing after new thing after new thing. It’s hard to keep track of what’s important especially when some things are actually starting to be predictable. But hey, if we can have a tangible reason not to like Rosalind Price, then I’ll take it. Now if only they can do that for Lincoln now that he’s onboard.

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