REVIEW: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. "Watchdogs"
Welcome to new and improved SHIELD, and I know I’ve said that about three or four times. Then again, this is the first time we’ve gotten a new one by letting some characters go. Are eight main characters better than ten? Can SHIELD actually remember things from season one? Will we ever get to a main plot? All but one of those questions are answered in this week’s episode. Go ahead, guess.
We open in Naperville, Illinois (SHIELD and their random cities) with Mack talking motorcycles with his brother Ruben as he calls him Alfie. Two minutes in, and this episode is already better. According to him, Mack supposedly works for an insurance company while Ruben has been laid off. On TV, they spot the Watchdog group annihilate an ATCU building using a weapon that literally implodes the place. In other news, the news remarks on some gang wars in Hell’s Kitchen. So things do happen done there. Fitz, Daisy, and Mack head to the scene with Lincoln unfortunately sitting this out on Coulson’s orders. How sad for him.
Fitz and Mack note that the chemical connected to the implosion was connected to a device created by Howard Stark probably inspired by the whole hole in the universe situation, once again proving that nothing coming from Howard Stark is good. Coulson traces this to former SHIELD agent Felix Blake, who’s leading the Watchdogs. Huh, Agent Blake. They are now one Graviton from closing plot holes. Meanwhile, Simmons practices at the gun range with May giving advice. This is officially the season of “I don’t normally see these two together.”
Daisy suggests tracking and shaking down possible suspects, but Mack shoots her down like that’s going to stop her. Instead, we go back to Coulson takes Lincoln to search through Blake’s hideouts, not hiding his displeasure at his evaluation. I know that’s not fair, but Coulson’s the first person in a while to show the same direction of dislike I feel for Lincoln. It will never go as far as I normally feel, but this is all I can get. Meanwhile, Mack and Ruben have a fight over Ruben’s growing debt and sympathy for the Watchdogs, and Simmons helps May track Andrew. I suppose now would be the time to take a dark turn as any.
As a surprise to no one, Daisy and Fitz track down a Watchdog named Dallas, rough up his car, and hold him at gunpoint to tell them about the Watchdogs meetup location. Daisy informs Mack who once again has to move out of a thing with his brother. Simmons then discovers that Andrew may be driven by biological instincts and reveals that she and Fitz have been finishing the serum with Creel’s blood which could probably work on Andrew’s incomplete transition. May, however, shoots her down since Andrew has already killed too many people. For once, we actually move to more interesting things in Mack, Fitz, and Daisy tracking the Watchdog meeting, but of course, we intercut it back and forth to Lincoln and Coulson in Georgia.
Actually, I’d be wrong. The scene at the Watchdog meeting becomes more interesting when Ruben turns up to spot Mack. The team is spotted, leaving Mack to chase after Ruben spotting him pointblank ice Watchdog soldiers. Daisy attempts to find Blake, but one soldier lands a shot on Fitz which left unchecked will cause him to implode. Meanwhile, Coulson and Lincoln find Blake himself berates Coulson for his new SHIELD along with reminding us that the movies are things.
Daisy works to get the bomb off Fitz without cutting his skin or quaking it off (ha, look at that). She tries killing two birds with one stone by locking a soldier with Fitz in a containment unit. From him, they manage to freeze the bomb, though Daisy’s still not kind to the soldier. Coulson asks Lincoln to kill Blake only to have a less than lethal shot reveal that this Blake was a hologram. Way to go, Lincoln’s a good guy, but now Ruben’s mad at Mack who is now in danger after being spotted at the raid. And I really liked Mack’s parents’ house.
Mack tries to sneak Ruben out of the house with soldiers crawling around them. That’s already interesting enough before the introduction of THE SHOTGUN AXE made by Mack himself. Mack has now officially become the coolest member of SHIELD down to taking a bullet to the gut. Fortunately, SHIELD takes him back, but not before Daisy finds out that Ruben calls him Alfie. I think I can safely say at this point that an episode with Mack at the center makes for a good episode.
Not to mention, we also get a useful post-credit scene where Daisy and Coulson discover that the building attack was a distraction set by Hydra who made off with a nuclear weapon to the real Blake, who’s stuck in a wheelchair. SHIELD has now literally become a comic book with the actual things that can happen, but I’m willing to let that slide for all the Mack goodness.
If you can tell, this was a significant step up from the previous week if only for Mack’s display. Perhaps the room for all the characters to actually play a part and have a story can improve the flow of episodes as we start to get into the real plan. Plus, the fact that we had yet another episode without Ward (or the Hive), this felt like a good example. There’s still the flaw of the vaguest plans against the vaguest villains of the whole show, but at least we have room to breathe while still being interesting. Don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t their best, but I think I could like this new and improved SHIELD.
