In memory of Cap’n Crunch
(This review contains
spoilers!)
After two great episodes in a row, I
was really hoping we’d finally reached a point where S.H.I.E.L.D could be consistently good again. Turns out it was a
fool’s hope, as this episode was by and large a complete disaster. Characters
acted out of character, the dialogue was pretty weird at times, and I didn’t
really feel invested very much.
Coulson, Talbot and Creel trying to
break out of the HYDRA base was pretty awesome though.
Daisy and May are trying to figure out
where Coulson is, and they’ve enlisted Robin’s help in finding him. Only
problem is, she’s not talking. Meanwhile, Coulson is trying to escape the base
with Talbot and Creel, but Ruby is making things difficult. And meanwhile
again, Simmons is trying to prove that she’s invincible…for some reason.
Let’s talk about that last one first. Simmons
decides she needs to get Fitz out…for some reason, I guess. To do this, she
needs to convince Mack to open the door. How does she go about doing this?
By filling three cups with water and
one cup with acid and drinking them one at a time to prove she’s invincible.
Not only is this an incredibly stupid
thing to do even with the whole “we make it to the future” thing, it flies
directly in the face of Simmons’ character. If it was just a trick to convince
Mack to open the door I would’ve been fine with it, but she reveals at the end
that she actually filled one of the cups with acid. You mean to tell me that
Simmons, a character that we’ve spent 100+ episodes with seeing her develop and
seeing her form emotional bonds with the rest of the cast, would risk her life
just to prove a point?
I don’t think so.
And while I thought Coulson’s great
escape this week was awesome and made great use of Creel, it did have two major
problems. Firstly, there wasn’t enough of it. It felt less like a major plot in
the episode and more like a fun treat after sitting through the May and Simmons
plots. And secondly, a problem I’ve been having for a while now: it’s
impossible for me to take Ruby seriously as a villain. Sure, she cut Yo-Yo’s
arms off, but “dangerous” does not create a compelling character. Think back to
Hive and Aida and how three-dimensional their beliefs and motivations were.
Ruby has all the personality and qualities of a tornado. She shows up, does
some damage, and then leaves. She has no character, no personality, and no
reason for us, the audience, to understand why she does what she does. She’s a
villain for the sake of having a villain.
This episode was a mess, to say the
least. May’s storyline was heartwarming albeit unmemorable, Coulson’s storyline
was fun albeit lacking in several qualities, and Simmons’ storyline was a
complete joke. After this, I think I’m finally ready to write this potentially
final season off as a wash.
FINAL SCORE
4/10
Mediocre
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