Coulson is the key
(This review contains
spoilers!)
People have complained in the past
about S.H.I.E.L.D having limited ties
to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, only namedropping characters like Tony Stark
or Thor once in a while or having a subtle tie in, like they did with Age of Ultron. Personally, I’ve never
found it to be a problem. I don’t need Benedict Cumberbatch dropping by in full
Doctor Strange regalia (although that’d be awesome) to accept that this show
takes place in the same universe as the movies. Despite this, it is nice when
the show goes the extra step to tie something from the movies into the show,
even if there isn’t one currently in theatres.
That’s where this episode started us
off: with Coulson discovering how much the Superior knows about him and how he
always seems to be around when supernatural stuff is going on. He’s still
holding Mace (and potentially May) hostage, so now Coulson has assembled the
entire team to storm the Russian base and get their people back.
This week also has a unique B-plot we
haven’t seen much of lately: a flashback involving Coulson and May back when
they were less trained and prepared for anything. It’s a fun lookback to a
pre-Bahrain May and an awkward and nervous Coulson as they try to retrieve an
artifact before a group of Russians get to it first. It’s a fun storyline,
albeit with several drawn-out and awkward “romantic” moments between the two. I’ve
been pretty critical of the Coulson-May romance before (although I know it has
its fans), and it kind of felt like the showrunners were inserting romantic
tension where it didn’t belong. Maybe because this episode aired on Valentine’s
Day? Still, despite these moments it was a very entertaining flashback that
explained why the Superior wants Coulson so much.
Much more interesting was the main
plotline, as all the heroes are gathered up and go on a mission to find the
Superior and rescue Mace. Honestly, I’m still not sold on the Superior as a
villain. Yes, the actor is good, but he simply doesn’t feel as threatening as past
villains like Hive or Uncle Eli or even Aida. He honestly feels more like a
Hydra boss that would be fought in Season 1 or early Season 2 than anything
super interesting. He’s not a bad character, just an uninteresting one.
It was cool to see Daisy completely
destroy him in a fight, though. As the supposed mastermind behind the
Watchdogs, I liked that she really held nothing back and just wrecked him. It
felt immensely satisfying to watch this guy who’s been a pain for Daisy for so
long just get smashed to a pulp. It did feel a little weird that he somehow
survived the ceiling caving in over his head, but this is a superhero show
after all.
It won’t be long before the LMD
storyline is wrapped up, and lately I’ve kind of felt that bringing in the
Superior has drawn attention away from the LMDs that should be the focus.
Thankfully, the show looks to remedy that by introducing even more LMDs to the mix.
At some point during the Russia mission, Radcliffe and Aida were able to
intervene from the shadows, replacing Coulson, Daisy, Mack and Mace with LMD
versions of themselves. Judging by the preview for next week, these aren’t “we
don’t know we’re LMDs” bots like May’s was. They seem prepared to fully
infiltrate and take over S.H.I.E.L.D.
This is such a great twist. Not only
is it surprising to have over half the main team replaced, it leaves only Fitz
and Simmons, arguably the weakest characters overall, to defend against next
week’s robot onslaught. S.H.I.E.L.D has
never shied away from tossing some horror elements into the mix, and next week
has been set up to be a very tense episode.
Man
Behind the Shield is a good episode made better thanks to the twist ending.
While the Superior remains a bit of a weak villain, it was still fun for
Coulson and crew to storm the base and face off with him once and for all. And
although the flashbacks are muddied by a bit of annoying Coulson-May romance
stuff, it’s a very entertaining reminder of what the characters were like
before the events of the show. Plus, the ending really speaks for itself,
setting the LMD storyline back on track for what looks to be a crazy ending.
FINAL SCORE
8/10
Great
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