With everything being busy as we were the finishing touches on our Cosplay costumes and related props for Zenkaikon, as well as packing up for our road trip to Lancaster... I didn't have time to blog about this episode the Tuesday it aired, like I usually do, nor did I have time to do it during the week. Now tomorrow promises yet another new episode as this season comes to a close... so it's now or never so I don't fall behind like I usually do... That said, this article will be shorter, a bit rushed, but still to the point... but it won't be the overly detailed play-by-play like the past articles.
I really hoped you watched Winter Soldier already because if not, the major plot twist in the movie has been seriously affecting these episodes and it'll be hard for any fan to continue watching the series without knowing it by now. SHIELD was revealed to have been corrupted by HYDRA all along. Even though Captain America took down their major plan, SHIELD as a whole has been shattered and divided and HYDRA is out to wipe out the remaining faithful agents. It was a surprise reveal to see that Garrett was HYDRA, but then we find out that so is Grant Ward... and to prove this wasn't a fake out, he shoots and kills Victoria Hand in cold blood. They soon also enlist Quinn and Raina into their plans. Grant managed to get a flash drive with all of the information they obtained during their adventures from the start of the series, but Raina finds out that Skye rigged it so only she can access it. The others finally found a secret SHIELD base safe from the clutches of HYDRA, but an innocent Skye shows Grant the front door and welcomes him inside...
The episode starts off introducing one of the escaped villains from the big break out at the Fridge from the previous episode. Daniels, known in the comics as Blackout can suck the power out of anything and stops them cold, even people. The Agents find out about this and Coulson makes it his duty to find and stop him.
Grant is back with the group, trying to hide his HYRDA-ness and act like he's willing to give a relationship with Skye a chance. Koenig shows everyone a super-duper lie detector that 'not even Romanov could crack' and has everyone take it before they're trusted on any missions. We find out things Like Skye's past name in the orphanage being Mary Sue Poots and that May was actually married. And hey, Triplet's grandfather was one of the Howling Commandos. They're also questioned if they knew or were involved in Project Insight, which was the major plan HYDRA had in The Winter Soldier. Though it seems Grant raised some doubts, he still passed the lie detector. They all earn badges that are secretly also homing devices so Koenig can keep tabs on them on any time.
Coulson leads the others against Blackout and find out he's after a lady named Audrey. They managed to rescue the lady but Daniels escapes before he could be captured. Coulson later explains that he once helped defeat Blackout and rescued that same lady from him. He was crazy and obsessed over her, considering this woman to be 'the light to his dark', and we soon find out that this woman was the cellist that he once mentioned he fell in love with. Unfortunately it has to end when Coulson 'died' and he feels he has no place in her life anymore. Fitz has an idea but they will need the cellist as bait to lure Daniels out. Coulson is reluctant because he doesn't want to place her life in danger again.
Meanwhile, at the SHIELD base, Skye comes up with the idea to hack into NASA computers to find out what happened at the Fridge. Grant is concerned since it will show footage of himself robbing it. Koenig decides to go for it. It seems Grant also has plans for May, but before he could do anything, we see that she is quitting and leaving on her own accord. She came in to help Coulson, but he doesn't want her around anymore... so she quits and leaves the team. As Skye hacks into the NASA computers and Koenig is moments away of seeing the Fridge footage... Grant comes in and takes care of him.
Audrey starts to perform at her concert, while the others stand by hidden behind the scenes. She tells Simmons the touching story of how she met and fell for Coulson. Fitz asks him why he doesn't let her know he's still alive. He tells him that she has already moved on with her life, and even if he did tell her, he couldn't stay with her. Daniels comes in and wants to talk to the woman.
Fitz, Simmons and Triplett attack Daniels with modified versions of floodlights, using gamma radiation and using tech created by Bruce Banner. Coulson told them the last time he defeated him, they blasted him with more energy than he could absorb, and they were hoping they could do it again. Daniels tells them they experimented on him while he was locked away in the Fridge and was now more powerful than before. He manages to escape and tries to attack the cellist. After he touches her, she falls to the floor and Coulson comes out of hiding and starts to act.
Meanwhile Skye uses the homing devices on their badges to find out that Koenig is dead and comes to the startling revelation that Grant killed him and is a traitor. Grant is now on the lookout for her and Skye tries her best to act as if nothing is going on. Grant lies saying that they've been given a special mission and have to take the plane out ASAP. Skye continues to play along, realizing the villains being released from the Fridge was only a distraction.
Coulson attacks Daniels with his floodlight blaster, and the others soon come in to help. Daniels is defeated and Coulson rushes to help Audrey. He kisses her forehead and leaves before she can wake up, seeing Simmons in his place. She says he always dreamed that Coulson was still there, watching over her, but this time 'it felt so real'. Simmons and the rest respect Coulson's wishes and don't tell her anything.
The crew return to the SHIELD base finding that Koenig, May, Skye and Grant are gone, along with their jet. On the jet, Skye finds out that Grant wants her because she's the only one that can unlock the information on the flash drive, and continues to act naive towards the situation. Meanwhile we see that May has met up with her mother, who was part of another secret organization. They heads out to find someone that can help them... Maria Hill.
My Opinions:
I hope you guys don't mind this shortened version of the episode review, but I feel I did mention most of the important points here. Things are still busy as we're trying to work on and edit our con videos, so the next 2 episodes might be done like this. Also maybe I can grab Chuck to do an end-of-season one video.
As for this episode, everything Grant does makes me hate him more and more. Garrett told him to 'grabs Skye and cross off the team', so we have a scene where he tells Fitz to go ahead and tell Simmons how he feels about her before it's too late..... hinting to us that he is going to have to kill them soon. May basically save her life by quitting when she did since Grant wouldn't have waited that much longer to wipe out his biggest obstacle. Skye is finally on to him, but Grant also knows she's no dummy... so we'll have to see how this plays out in the next episode. How long can she fool him into thinking she doesn't suspect anything?
Then we have Koenig, barely introduced, and already dead. Paige wasn't too happy to see him go, but I figured if they were going to have Grant kill someone, it would be someone new and not one of the long-lasting cast members. Koenig was corny and cheesey, and Paige said he reminded her of Happy from Iron Man 3, and it was a shame to see him go. If anything, he brought in some humor to the super seriousness of the situation.
One thing I hate about Grant though is... I know this show loves to bring in movie references to tie this to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as the comics, but STOP COMPARING HIM TO BLACK WIDOW. In the last episode, Garrett commended him being able to gain the trust of the team with even 'better acting than Romanov'. Now we have this lie detector that 'not even Romanov could crack' and here we see Grant do just that. Sure, Koenig happened to ask just the right question ear the end... but still. If those two ever faced off, I'm sure they'll at least make Grant put up a halfway decent fight... until Widow gets tired of his crap and says 'bitch please' and just completely curb-stomps his ass.
Blackout was an interesting villain, and I heard his powers work the same way as she they do in the comics, and he is just as mentally unstable. We haven't seen a super powered bad guy in a while, so this was interesting. It's interesting to see that Coulson has encountered super powered people before he ever met Iron Man and discovered Thor's hammer.
We have only two more episodes left to go, and we already heard confirmation that Maria Hill and Nick Fury will be cameoing once again (Hill in the next, Fury in the last). Let's see how they wrap this up... and exactly where the show can go from here, and how can it possibly go forth towards a second season?
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