REVIEW: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. "Closure"
After two weeks with no new episode and one week of Jessica Jones, we return with the penultimate episode of season 3A. After the discovery of Hydra’s worship of the evil Inhuman on the alien planet, we’re back with the fallout of what the SHIELD team will do next. I would say SHIELD has jumped the shark with this plot, but after the Hydra betrayal, the Obelisk, Skye getting superpowers, and the alien planet, I don’t know what to think of it anymore. Either way, this will likely end in tears or a big explosion. Or both. Let’s find out.
Oh right, Coulson and Rosalind are still a thing. After the whole accusing her of being a Hydra traitor and me still not trusting her at all, I’m a little surprised at how fast that went. Then it goes a little faster by starting the episode killing her. Why does SHIELD always make me feel bad for not liking people by killing them? Except for Ward. He just shows up and kills them, like he did with Rosalind. Fortunately, Coulson escapes the same fate with a little superspy gunfire and a ride from Mack. I know I feel bad for the guy considering he watched a woman he kind of liked died, but that doesn’t make up for the fact that I was wary of Rosalind about 95% of the time. That, and the fact no one in the show can catch a break in the dating department. May’s husband’s a monster, FitzSimmons are planning to rescue Simmons’s other boyfriend, and Daisy’s other option is Lincoln. None of that is good.
Coulson plans to take the fight to Ward, bringing the old team back together again to try and find a weakness. It goes from awkward to eh as we end with Daisy describing her former feelings for Ward. Is this some kind of manipulation to make me okay with Daisy and Lincoln? Are these my only options? She states she’ll never forgive him, but that won’t stop the shippers on the internet. Friendly reminder, that she states he murdered Rosalind and Koenig. Never forget that.
Banks joins the SHIELD base to hunt the man who killed Rosalind while Ward returns to Malick who now has all the mini Monoliths (miniliths?) to make a new portal. In a spectacular move, Coulson leaves with Bobbi and Hunter on a secret mission and puts Mack in charge. Every once and a while, there are a few good moves like this that make me like the show again. Well that, and the plot twists, like having Giyera, the Inhuman Magneto from last episode, killing Banks to take FitzSimmons to Malick. Again, just because I didn’t like him doesn’t mean I wanted him dead.
Of course, FitzSimmons are the ones who know how to open the portal and come back, so they’ll be fine. Yes, I’m saying that as they’re being tortured, but I think splitting them up is the real crime along with having to watch Ward ramble. Meanwhile, Coulson and Hunter track the last loose end from Ward’s past: his brother Thomas, who apparently works at a jewelry store. I doubt we’ll go into the intricacies of how that happened, but we’ll go along with it anyway.
Thomas surprisingly helps out with the plan with the agreement that they put Ward down in the end. Once again, apparently just because Ward cares about someone doesn’t mean that everything he does isn’t crazy. There’s someone out there who doesn’t think that killing people is justified because they were mean. Can we really trust Thomas? I don’t know, but I already trust him more than Ward. With FitzSimmons being tortured, Hydra setting up the portal at the castle once again, and Coulson heading into their hands, there’s only one thing for Mack to do as acting director.
Yep, it’s Secret Warriors time, even if their team is just Joey and Lincoln. Mack rallies the troops for a superhero takedown to rescue FitzSimmons. Unfortunately, it’s a little undercut by Malick’s talk with Ward about evil plans. FitzSimmons’s moment makes up for it a bit, but the portal’s opened once again with Ward and Fitz going through to the other side. With no other options, Coulson parachutes right into the base…right into the portal.
I know all of that sounds coincidental, overdramatic, and stupid. Let me tell you…it is, but it’s still some pretty exciting events compared to last year’s trip to the alien city. Things like that can only get worse as the Hydra team and Fitz are alone for twelve hours as Coulson knocks his head on the only rock in the desert. Way to go, director. Now we have twelve hours for some characters on the alien planet. No one better fall in love after this.
All in all, I’m pumped. We have Coulson facing Ward. We have a semi-Secret Warriors team (two out of three ain’t bad). We (hopefully) have some insight into the evil Inhuman thing coming on the way. It’s the same exciting shit-goes-down thing I expect from a penultimate episode such as this, though I will take one point off for it being about Ward down to the title and an extra one for killing off Rosalind for this revenge thing. Still, we’re at the point where everything is actually connected and things are happening. This definitely won’t be my favorite penultimate episode, but it fits all the requirements, and that’s saying a lot.
