Wow, this is one of the most action packed and exciting episodes of SHIELD we've seen. And yes, Lady Sif and a lot of Thor references and mentions fill the episode. How will the team fare when Lorelei takes control of Grant Ward? Let's start this episode.
The episode continued where the last one ended, in which Lorelei arrives in a small town near a biker hangout with the guy she controlled. As the guy goes inside, the bikers start hitting on her, asking why she chose a guy like that. Rooster is the leader of the pack and offers her a place to stay if she wants to lay low. The guy comes back and is upset Lorelei is with someone else, since he left his wife for her. She said they'd be together to the end, and says that this is the end and sends him flying across the area and into a truck. She then takes control of Rooster and tells him to introduce her to all his men.
On the SHIELD plane, Skye wakes up, but before she can leave, Simmons comes in and makes sure she gets her rest. Grant shows up and is happy to see that Skye is doing better. She's angry at herself for putting herself in danger, but Grant says that thanks to her SHIELD knows Mike Peterson is alive and they know about the Deathlok project. Grant is angry that Mike was in the area and did nothing to help Skye, but she defends him. When she gets better she's eager to train to never need help again.
Simmons discusses the constant blood samples she's been taking from Skye with Fitz and notes she's getting suspicious. Simmons wants to study the alien drug used to heal Skye and review Coulson. She wants to use it to save lives, and send it to SHIELD to investigate, but Coulson wants it to stay in-house.
Coulson talks to a fellow agent about talking to Fury. The guy tells him that Fury can't be found unless he wants to find you.
The SHIELD gang notice some strange energy above the skies of the Nevada/California border. It's the same energy Dr. Fostor found in New Mexico and London sometime on previous occasions so they knows it's the Asgardians (Thor took place in New Mexico, Thor The Dark World was in London). The team is sent to welcome them (except for Simmons and Skye). Fitz says they shouldn't have anything to worry about since the Asgardians are allies. Grant reminds them that Loki wasn't an ally.
Melinda, Grant and Fitz arrive in time to see the rainbow bridge bring someone to our world. They soon see that the visitor is Lady Sif, and Fitz's equipment recognize her as fighting alongside Thor in New Mexico. Sif warns them that the world is in danger.
Later on, Sif is in the SHIELD plane with the others. Coulson described that she's a warrior and tells how she jumped on the back of The Destroyer and stabbed it in the back.
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| Lady Sif kicks all sorts of ass |
Lady Sif is surprised to see Coulson alive, since she heard from Thor that Loki killed him. Coulson said for a while, he was dead. Sif says Thor considers him a good friend and would be pleased to know he's alive. Coulson says he also considers him a friend and that's why he'd rather tell him in person. When you think about it... shouldn't Heimdall have seen Coulson alive and told Thor by now... or was he too busy checking out Jane Fostor showering?
Anyways Sif explains that Lorelei uses sorcery to seduce men to do her bidding. Most men can fall for her charms just by looking at her, but for the ones with stronger wills, she can use either her voice or touch to seduce them. She has a collar used to keep Lorelei quiet and thus, breaking her spell. She was imprisoned, but escaped during the time that the Dark Elves attacked Asgard and journeyed to Earth through one of Loki's portals.
Meanwhile, Lorelei is in a bar with the bikers and is displeased by all the money they got her, considering it to just be paper. Rooster tells her that money is the currency here. Just then Rooster's wife shows up and is not too happy to see Lorelei wearing her clothes. She starts yelling and insulting Wayne (Rooster's real name) and Lorelei complains about the noise she's making. Wayne starts choking his wife since her yelling is upsetting Lorelei.
Sif starts looking for leads on where Lorelei could be and Coulson asks her if she knows of other alien species, particularly any blue ones. She mentioned several kinda, like the Frost Giant and the Kree, but they've taken them down and have never ventured into Earth. They spot several robberies at a jewelry store and a gun shop and Sif says Lorelei has already started to gather riches and weapons.
Fitz shows Grant and Melinda the new guns he's been working on, called 'Icers'. Grant jokes that he finally got rid of the extra ounce in the guns. He also mentioned that after facing Mike Peterson, he made the weapons stronger. Sif arrives and tells them they're ready to depart.
They soon arrive outside a bar where its said Lorelei is inside with her men. The police are already there and Coulson asks them if they've seen the suspect. The cops say they have and 'she's beautiful' and start to shoot at them. A gunfight ensues between the police and SHIELD. The bikers tell Lorelei about 'a girl with a sword' and she already knows it's Lady Sif that has come after her.
Coulson asks for cover, and Sif kicks a trailer so hard, it slides across the ground, becoming a barricade. She runs into the bar to face Lorelei and Coulson tells the others it's best to let her deal with it. As Sif faces Lorelei, she mocks him for making men do her dirty work. The men surround Sif, and while the Asgardian is able to throw them around like they were nothing, one of them still shot at the collar.
Outside, Grant is fighting against Rooster and easily takes him down. Lorelei approaches Grant and starts seducing him, but he aims his gun at her. She is impressed by his skill and touched his arm. Now, under her control, she grabs a bike and rides off with her.
Back on the plane, Sif is angry that Lorelei got away, and also explains how the collar was damaged and won't work anymore. Coulson says Grant is one of their best and he knows how to avoid being caught, including avoiding cameras, using aliases and having several places he can hide in the area. If anyone can find him, Skye can, so he enlists her help.
Simmons asks Coulson to send Skye's blood samples to SHIELD to study it further. Coulson refuses but Simmons demands to know why since she feels it is her duty to save lives. Coulson says several men risked their lives to keep that drug a secret and until they can get answers out of Fury, they're going to keep it in-house.
Meanwhile, Grant takes Lorelei to Ceasar's Palace in Las Vegas (man, I missed seeing the little statue show) and they go get it on in their hotel room. Later on, Lorelei admires the lights out the window and admits she likes how Earth looks. She's been locked away for years and enjoys her freedom, but Sif is restless and will always be hunting after her. Grant says they should take Sif out of the equation. Lorelei says they can't stop her, but Grant says he knows how to take out the people that she's with.
On the SHIELD plane, Melinda tries out Sif's weapon and likes it. She asks if Lorelei is so powerful why does she use others to do her bidding. Sif explains she gets a thrill of seducing men, especially if they're already taken. She senses that Melinda cares for Grant and warns that he is no longer the man she knows and won't hesitate to kill her. Melinda says he can't even if he tried.
The gang busts into Ceaser's Palace, but Sif and Grant are gone by now. Coulson asks Melinda if her relationship with Grant will cause a problem. She ignores him and continues the search.
Back on the plane, Fitz tells Sif that he fixed the collar. He leads her to the padded interrogation room to show it to her, and then locks her in. He's under Lorelei's control now. Fitz also locks Skye and Simmons in another room. Grant is now manning the plane and it started to take off. Coulson realizes Fitz's condition and starts to play along.
Lorelei runs into Miranda, and when the SHIELD agent tries to fight her, the Asgardian sent her flying across the room. Grant meanwhile, opens the ceiling to the padded soom, which sucks Sif out of the plane. Grant then shows up with the fight between Lorelei and Melinda, and he kisses the Asgardian in front of his former teammate. Lorelei taunts Melinda, saying that Grant's heart beats for her now, and even though Melinda is worried about him, she tells him that he desires someone else.
Coulson sends the lovestruck Fitz away and opens the padded room, noticing that the ceiling is open and Sif is gone. Coulson then sets Skye and Simmons free, and gets clocks by Simmons using a fire extinguisher. She thought Coulson was under Lorelei's control, and he painfully says he wasn't. Sif is staill on top of the plane, hanging on desperately.
Lorelei finds Sif's sword, but Sif soon arrives. Sif says she has orders to take her back to Asgard, and a fight breaks out. Meanwhile, Grant and Melinda also fight it out. Simmons runs into Fitz and is being chased by her, until Coulson knocks him out. The fight between lovers get intense as Melinda smashes Grant through a window. Sif manages to defeat Lorelei and puts the collar back on her. Grant is about to shoot his partner and snaps out of it, dropping his gun. Melinda socks him anyway.
Sif is ready to take the captured Asgardian back, and Grant says it must take everything in her to not flat out kill her. Sif says she has orders from Odin to bring her back alive, and she will. Coulson tells Grant he should talk to Melinda. She tells Grant she's not hurt and they're basically done here. She also tells him he was more honest with Lorelei than he was with her, which leaves wondering what she meant.
Coulson talks to Skye alone the drug used to bring them both back. He mentioned he found out that it came from an alien source. Skye isn't worried because as a result of this, they're now alive, plus Coulson had this drug in him for a longer and he's been ok so far. Coulson is worried because they're in the dark on this, she says since she's an O8-4, they can be in the dark together. Coulson says they both have to work together to find the answers they need, but to keep it between them for the safety of the team. Coulson feels that Fury is going through a lot of trouble to keep this under wraps, so they have to find out why. They'll start by going after Quinn to make him pay.
Melinda is listening to the conversation.... and calls someone else telling them that 'Coulson knows'.
My opinions:
This was an awesome episode, and it was nice to see Sif in the show, and played by the same woman that played her in the movies. I like all the Asgardian references, and I guess Coulson telling Sif to keep his revival quiet is a good reason to keep the surprise if he manages to return in an Avengers sequel and show Thor's reaction then.
Lorelei was an interesting foe, and I liked seeing her adapt to Earth. Loved the Ceasar's Palace scenes. I'm surprised the fight between Grant and Melinda felt much more intense than the fights between the Asgardian women. Yeah, Lorelei got some hits in, but she was never really a match for Lady Sif and was basically smacked around like a bitch most of the time. Despite not having super powers, the fight between Melinda and Grant felt much more intense and fast paced. That one really felt like it could have gone either way.
I also like the new recaps before the episodes begin, which is a good way to have newcomers catch up. Similar to the 90's X-Men cartoon, let's say the episode brought back Magneto. The recaps would show past Magneto episodes to bring context to the current episode. Similarly, this recap shows scenes hinting Melinda and Fitz have been having sex and the scene where Coulson asks her if this will be a problem for the team...which is of course context that comes into play in this episode. Speaking of sex... whoa, Grant got to nail an Asgardian chick. And it seemed she enjoyed herself. That's pimp, yo.
Melinda of course, always has to act like the cold hearted woman without emotion. What she did with Grant was sex and nothing more. Still, she did seem angry that Lorelei took 'her man', and she also seemed bothered to know Grant desired someone else. I would assume that is Skye... but how will they bring that into the story. Hell, how would Skye even act if she finds out Grant's been doing Melinda? Something tells me she's fond enough of him to actually be bothered by it.
As for our guest of honor, Lady Sif did an awesome job. It was good to see her again, and I loved her interaction with Coulson, the others and our modern world in general. We need more guest stars like this. We know this takes place in the Marvel universe, especially the Marvel cinematic universe... but after several episodes of either facing super obscure super villains or made-up ones, it is nice to have someone from the actual movies appear once in a while to remind us that yes, this show is related to all the Marvel movies.
Anyways, great episode. Loved it. Next week there won't be an episode, but there will be some kind of behind the scenes special. It will include stuff related to Captain America Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, upcoming SHIELD episodes and whoa, even something from Avengers Age of Ultron. Can't wait.
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