REVIEW: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. "Together or Not at All"
How appropriate for this episode to be titled “Together or Not at All.” It’s almost like the show itself is giving me an ultimatum when it knows what I clearly want. If only it can remember those things a few episodes sooner. For now, let’s get into the episode.
Oh dang these people are alive is sadly one of the first things I thought. It’s really not a surprise nor should it be a total disappointment. We still have more than half of a season left, and they need to fight something. But seriously, it probably would have been a bold move to have them just cut off the head of the bad guys and then scramble to escape in the chaos. They’re still scrambling, but it’s only to save their lives. That’s not entirely new.
I have to hand it to the episode, they managed to create some kind of interest towards Kasius and Sinara. Top tier villains they are not, but they now have some kind of motivation. All it took was some terribly shoehorned-in exposition dialogue and the killing of a bigger asshole villain. Hey, I never said it was well done. I only said that it happened.
The story in this episode moves surprisingly quickly, especially since, as I’ve mentioned earlier, we still have a good bit of season left. I guess that tends to happen when you actually have the full cast to work with at the same time. It not only feels fast-paced but also substantial. I don’t look at the clock and feel like I only got a fifteen-minute episode. We’re moving forward on things, even if I don’t always like them.
On a less serious note, THEY BROUGHT BACK GRAVITONIUM. That’s really not a big deal in the scope of things, but with that plot point being one of my longest running gags, I have to bring it up now. It actually does make sense to remember it now with the whole space setting, I won’t deny that. In the long run, however, it’s nothing more than an easter egg, proving there’s nothing more coming from that story. One point for cheeky sneak-ins though.
Back to actual plot details, the only thing worse than the villains surviving is Deke coming back to the plot. What’s just as grating is the time they spend trying to make him useful. Yeah, he helps save their lives. That strangely doesn’t make him stop shouting half his lines or being a general asshole. I don’t even understand why he cares, and I know for a fact that knowing his backstory won’t help any of this. It didn’t help with Ward. It didn’t help with Lincoln. It’s probably only going to be a hinderance here since there are plenty of other things I care about at this point.
For example, Flint, aka the only new character I liked the whole time this season. For once, we have a new character who shockingly wants to protect people because it’s the right thing to do. I have a soft spot for characters like that, and I’m glad that we get to continue that story. Not only that, but we get some Mack and Elena to compliment that story as well, and I already like them. Everyone wins with that story.
On the bright side, the other story is not a total downer. Most of our team has escaped and are clearly heading/crashing to the human compound where they will inevitably fight off against the surprisingly dwindling bad guys and then go home. Despite all the misery we have been getting, this is probably the fastest move towards a positive development that I’ve seen in this show. Yes, of course they need to deal with the bad guys and the logistics of time travel, but it doesn’t seem to be needlessly punishing our characters with misery. At least not yet anyway.
But still, new developments or older developments with things that I enjoy, these are the things that should be in the seventh episode of a season. At this point, I will probably admit I am more interested, though less emotionally invested, than I have been in a while. The space plot has officially won me over. Now let’s quickly end it before I regret it.
