Agents of SHIELD: "Purpose in the Machine" Recap/Review (Season 3, Episode 2)

"Purpose in the Machine" was a fun episode, but unlike last week, there was just a bit too much going on.

We open in the mid 1800's; a small group of men in a castle draw stones from a bag. All of the stom=nes are black but one, which is white. The man who drew that stone is given supplies and weapons and is taken into a room which is locked as soon as he steps in. Inside the room...the Kree monolith. We hear the monolith liquefy and consume the man. The group's leader tells another man that, in all of history, no one has escaped the monolith.

Until now...

When we return to the present, the team rushes to the monolith's containment cell and tear Fitz away from it just as it liquefies. As he recovers and is scolded by Coulson and Bobbi, he notices some sand that Bobbi has picked off his face and rushes to the lab to analyze it. He tells everyone it's alien sand and thus the monolith IS a portal of some kind. In order to open it, Fitz needs an expert. He, Coulson, and Bobbi prepare to track down Elliot Randolph (more on him in a bit), Hunter leaves to begin tracking down Ward, and Daisy and Mack greet Dr. Garner, who has come to review Joey.

Meanwhile, May's still enjoying some R&R, playing some golf, and taking care of her dad (played by James Hong, no less). Hunter visits her to try to convince her to join him in his Ward hunt, but she refuses. She confides in her dad that recent events have made her realize she wants a normal life, but her dad urges to return to SHIELD and join Hunter, which she does, big surprise. Honestly, I found the May scenes to be the least interesting of the episode. Nothing in the  S2 finale really suggested that she had been affected by the events of  those episodes. We last saw her preparing for a well-deserved vacation. Bobbi should be the one going through this dilemma. She was kidnapped, tortured, wounded, and shot all during the events of the finale, and her last lines were "I can' t do this anymore." Everything would make much more sense that way. May's scenes are also weren't engaging, since it was inevitable  May would be back. It's good to have her back on the team, but her storyline in this episode was completely unnecessary.

Anyway, back at the Playground, Garner tells Daisy that Joey is unfit for her "Secret Warriors" (first mention!) program and draws her attention to Coulson's recently aggressive behaviour.

Now we get back to Ward, who has already made a good amount of progress on his #HydraRevival. He's given em' a new logo and hired supermodels as henchmen (they're way too beautiful, srsly). The next item on his agenda is to recruit Werner von Strucker, the son of Wolfgang himself. The relationship between Ward and Werner will definitely be interesting, since there are already parallels with Ward's relationship with Garrett...

 

(source)

...like how both bring tacos to the disillusioned kids they're hoping to mentor.

Alright, back to the monolith mystery. Fitz, Coulson, and Bobbi find and recruit Elliot Randolph, who busts himself out of prison (long story). Randolph was a character who appeared early in the first season. He's an Asgardian who decided to stay on Earth, and has been a wtness to most of its history. It was a nice touch to bring him back and makes it rewarding for those who've been dedicated viewers. Randolph agrees to help rescue Simmons on the condition the monolith/portal is destroyed immediately after.

After getting a peek at the scroll Fitz retrieved last week, Randolph takes the three to the place he saw it last: a castle in England (presumably the same one from the opening scene). There they find a steampunkish machine which Fitz deduces is for opening the monolith portal on demand. Coulson has Mack and Daisy bring the monolith to the castle. 

Fitz is able to get the machine to work and the portal to open, but it doesn't last very long. While it's open, however, Fitz is able to send a flare through and Daisy collapses, weakened from a pulsing sound in her head. Fitz realizes the portal is opened using frequencies or something (there was technobabble aplenty in this scene) and Daisy says she could probably open the portal again using her powers.

Daisy opens the portal and, before anyone can stop him, Fitz dives in and emerges on the alien planet we saw Simmons on last week. This is where things get intense. Like, emotionally intense. It's a hard scene to describe and it's best WATCHED not told about. I'll just say that Fitz rescues Simmons just as the monolith is destroyed. Everyone's relieved, and Simmons is recovering, physically and emotionally.

Th episode can't end too happy though, as the final scene shows Werner talking to Garner about joining his Psychology class. Ward...what are you up to?

In Summary:

• The monolith mystery and the Ward/HYDRA scenes were definitely the most fun and engaging scenes. 
• May's scenes, however, weren't.
• The one scene revolving around Daisy and the Secret Warriors felt a little out of place, especially since it didn't really  have anything else to do with the rest of the episode. 
• It did raise a lot of questions about Coulson and his recent decision-making (letting Hunter go after Ward, etc.)
• The climax/Simmons rescue was really well done. This show really knows how to play with my emotions.
• There are still lots of questions about where Simmons was, what she did, who was pursuing her, etc. Flashbacks, maybe?
• The Werner/Ward mentor/student dynamic could be a highlight for the rest of the season.
• Ward's fight scene on the yacht was pretty sweet. The best moment being his casual shooting of the one guy who manages to make him bleed.
• Also, HYDRA's creative use of rats.

Rating: 7.5/10 couches

Next week: Lincoln, Rosalind, and the ATCU return.

Noah