REVIEW: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. "The Inside Man"
Welcome back to Agents of SHIELD. The only reason I say that is because this is the point where I’m still not used to the show being back. That probably won’t change until episode 15, so I’m just going to be surprised at everything that happens. Anyway, we’re getting into some real government-based things that would be pretty useful if Civil War would pay attention. And with General Talbot back in the game, what could go wrong? Cue Odd Couple music.
I’m pretty sure we all knew that the parasite thing took over Grant Ward, and anybody who thinks Ward is decent at anything is a horrible thing. With even more TV’s, the Not-Ward meets up with the medusa-eyes Inhuman who paralyzes everybody in the room but Not-Ward before being drowned by space sand. In less weird news, Talbot’s marriage is in shambles before meeting with Coulson to go to a symposium in Taiwan. They always pick random countries for these settings, but everyone agrees that this symposium is a terrible idea.
The rest of the team prepares for the mission while May and Lincoln (again?) tail Talbot. Things actually get a little interesting when Carl Creel, the Absorbing Man, returns to try and take out Talbot. Unfortunately, it’s Lincoln to their rescue who nearly kills Creel until Talbot reveals he is actually a bodyguard. Still, they lock Creel in a containment unit for questioning. Needless to say, not many people are happy about having Hartley’s killer onboard, but they need Talbot so drama everywhere, especially when Coulson forbids Daisy and any weapons from going.
Not-Ward’s still dying, which is a comforting thought considering he keeps using the royal “we,” and I hate that. At least SHIELD is not completely stupid in trying to gather intel on the other guests and manage to put Talbot in a Taiwan getup despite being borderline offensive in accusing people. Thanks to fancy new Fitz technology, Bobbi, Hunter, and May manage to acquire the ability to enter their coded rooms. That’s right everybody, it’s undercover time, the perfect way to only use about half the massive cast at a time.
Unfortunately, the other option is seeing Daisy and Lincoln training which I’ll admit would be pretty hot if I cared about these two together or any of Lincoln’s issues. Simmons thankfully cuts it short by requesting Lincoln’s help with inspecting Creel’s DNA. While Talbot and Coulson speak to the ambassadors, the rest inspect the rooms. Their options are slim when the opinion is split across the group with one being paranoid, one wanting to build a sanctuary city, and one being blast-preferring. In short, any one of them could the mole, and Hunter goes to chase Creel.
In X-Men related news, Simmons fines a potential cure for terrigenesis using Creel’s blood which appears to reverse the process. If you know the story, you’ll know that main characters like Daisy are meant to oppose this, but hopefully this will turn out better than The Last Stand. When searching for clues, Bobbi comes across files that one of the ambassadors is keeping an Inhuman named Eden Fesi (so now the Secret Warriors are relevant) in custody, and Hunter witnesses Talbot’s son in stasis until he’s once again knocked out. If that wasn’t enough in horrible plot twists, Talbot arrests Coulson at the meeting with Malick outing him as director of Hydra. Yes, Talbot’s the Inside Man. Roll Credits.
Nope? Okay, more things, and a cameo by the Dino Charge Blue Ranger before May and Bobbi come to Hunter’s rescue. May goes to rescue Talbot’s son. Hunter and Bobbi fight back while Daisy and Lincoln just fight. I get their arguments since I’ve read X-Men, but when the opposing side is coming from Lincoln, the show knows I’m not going to listen to him. Anyway, Malick puts the blame on Coulson, and Not-Ward does his weird sand thing again which apparently involves screaming. Then again, this leads to Coulson and Talbot handcuffed together.
Fortunately, the Inside Man title works again when Creel comes to the men’s rescue, having double-crossed Hydra and knocked out Hunter to maintain the image. Bobbi and Hunter finish off the other Hydra agents and attempt to find Talbot’s son, only for May to show up with the van all ready. May’s always the only one to get stuff done. I wish I could stop forgetting that.
Good to know that Daisy and Lincoln are still together despite their argument with their primetime display of sex (egh), and that Talbot’s son will be okay with a possibly thankful wife. Though Coulson and Talbot (Call him Glen, sometimes) are finally on the same page, Coulson (correctly) believes that Malick is reporting to someone else. In a final awful display, Not-Ward comes up Terminator-style being naked covered in slime surrounded by the corpses of dead people. I fail to see how that happens, but now we have a not-dead Not-Ward on our hands. Fortunately, Bobbi and Hunter sneak onboard Malick’s plane to learn Hydra’s plan and to prepare for their spin-off. Oh joy.
Compared to last week’s wins, this episode is a good five steps back. I can’t say it’s downright terrible considering I have seen downright terrible on the show (something, something “Love in the Time of Hydra”), but this one left a bitter taste in my mouth. Maybe it’s also because you don’t normally put exposition dumps in the second episode like not knowing Not-Ward's plan, ambassadors against Coulson, or a potential Inhuman cure. There’s still room for some wins there, but you wouldn’t get that from this episode. And where the hell was Mack?
