Agents of SHIELD returned to its regular format this week, picking up where "Devils You Know" ended. I think "Among Us Hide..." definitely continues the season's streak of strong episodes, giving us some humour, heart, and a game-changing revelation...
The Recap
Andrew has survived his attempted assassination, and recalls his ordeal to May and Coulson. He says an undercover SHIELD agent protected him from Werner and the other HYDRA thugs, but the agent was killed and Andrew couldn't escape before the place blew.
May is furious with Hunter, and refuses to let him come with her to continue tracking Ward. She enlists Bobbi instead, whom May believes is now fit for the field.
Their first lead is to track down Werner, who did not report back to Ward after failing to kill Andrew. They find out he recently took a large sum out of his bank account in the Cayman Islands. Werner, meanwhile, believes he has found refuge with Gideon Malick, an ally of his father. Werner tells Malick that Ward's crazy and Malick assures Werner that he'll take care of Ward.
Coulson is with Rosalind, who is taking Coulson to the ATCU facility for a tour. She receives a phone call telling her that her home has been robbed. Coulson insists he accompany her to her home. He doesn't want the tour to be delayed again.
Daisy and Mack decide that Banks is the prime suspect in regards to the identity of Lash, since he left a few minutes ahead of time and knew the route the truck would take. They leave to track him down, accompanied by a bored Hunter.
May and Bobbi infiltrate the bank using fake IDs, but the security is alerted to their true intentions after they break into Werner's money box. Much to May's frustration, Bobbi is hesitant to engage the officers, using intel on the head of security to earn his trust. Once that falls through, May and Bobbit kick their butts and leave with Werner's box.
Coulson and Rosalind arrive at her home. While Rosalind speaks to the police, Coulson discovers that all the furniture is new and finds an autographed baseball bat. Coulson tells her he believes she pretended her house was robbed to stall for time, since nothing of value was stolen. Rosalind bites back, saying he could have set up the break-in to allow his agents to infiltrate the facility. Frustrated, she leaves with Coulson for the facility.
Daisy, Mack, and Hunter track down Banks. Eager for action, Hunter ices Banks and brings him into the surveillance truck. He says that they can get a blood sample from Banks and see if he;s Inhuman. After Daisy sends a sample to Simmons for analysis, they discover Banks was en route to a place called Endo Tech. They leave Banks in his car and go to check it out.
Fitz examines Werner's box, which sends May and Bobbi to Malick's penthouse. Malick contacts Ward and invites him to bring in Werner, believing him to be a liability and a lost asset. He wants to even the playing field.
Daisy. Mack, and Hunter arrive at Endo Tech. Simmons tells the Banks isn't Inhuman. They send a Dwarf into the building and find that the ATCU are keeping Inhumans in suspended animation. An outraged Daisy spots Rosalind and Coulson. Coulson expresses his disdain towards this way of containment, but Rosalind tells him it's like a coma. The Inhumans will be awakened once a cure is found for their abilities. Coulson deduces that Rosalind lost someone close to her, which she confirms. Her husband died of cancer, and she wishes she could have done for him what the ATCU is doing for the Inhumans now.
May and Bobbi bust into Malick's penthouse to find Werner being tortured by Kebo and some other HYDRA thugs. Bobbi fights and kills(?) Kebo while May frees Werner. Dying, Werner tells that he was about to kill Andrew, but then that "thing" came.
Turns out, Andrew is actually Lash. He killed everyone but Werner and blew up the store himself. May stares in disbelief as Werner dies.
Back at HQ, Daisy is speaking to the fugitive Lincoln. He can't tell her where he is, but insists he;s safe. After hanging up, Daisy is met by Andrew, who asks about Lincoln and his location. He believes Lincoln would be safer at HQ. As Daisy leaves, Andrew makes an evil plotting face. Oooooo.
The Review
First thing's first, that Lash/Andrew twist was a doozy, wasn't it? It's an immensely interesting reveal for so many reasons and raises many questions. It explains why Andrew was so interested in Lincoln's location earlier in the episode, why he was so angry that Coulson didn't tell him about Multiple Woman, and why he spared Daisy. But was his transformation recent? Is he only killing the evil Inhumans? Why is he intent on finding Lincoln? So many questions!!!
The reveal of Lash's identity is also a testament to how SHIELD has mastered the pacing of its storylines. Some other shows would have left us hanging for half a season before we found out. Having the reveal two episodes after the mystery was presented is a good hook for the first part of the season and leaves dramatic room for revelations down the road.
My personal favourite highlight of the episode was its humour, with Hunter and his thirst for action getting the most laughs out of me. The quick cut to him approaching and icing Banks, plus his pride in doing so, was hilarious. The scenes with May and Bobbi at the bank were also pretty entertaining too.
The Coulson/Rosalind relationship got some development. There wasn't much banter this week, but we learned more about Rosalind and her motives. We also learned that she's kind of into Coulson. Speaking of great pairings, Bobbi and May made a great team. But I don't understand why May was so confused as to why Bobbi was so hesitant to fight. Uh, she was tortured. You saw it, May. May is an aggressive character, but not so aggressive she scolds an agent on the mend for not fighting.
Fitz and Simmons didn't get too much attention this week, which seemed appropriate to me because of the large amount of screentime Simmons got last week. But, it was clarified that Fitz's desire to help Simmons rescue Will are genuine, though it appears that from the research he's done on him, he seems a little distrusting.
The biggest crime this episode commits is killing of Werner von Strucker. It's not that the character was well-developed, as he's only been in one or two episodes. The wasted potential was what disappointed me. I mentioned in an earlier review that it seemed like Ward taking Werner under his wing would parallel Garret doing the same for Ward. But, that's not happening. The character didn't amount to anything, nor was he a game-changer. He ended up being pointless, which sucks.
Other Thoughts:
- So Powers Boothe is playing the same character as in The Avengers, right? It would be cool to learn there was a HYDRA leader on the SHIELD World Security Council.
- Why did Rosalind throw out those perfectly good burgers? They could've eaten them on the way! What a waste of food!
- The "Rosalind is Lincoln's mom" theory is kind of weakened, as I'm sure it would've been brought up as a reason why she's doing all this stuff with the Inhumans. But, she says her husband was a cardiologist, a medical man. Lincoln has medical training...
- I hope the "Lincoln on the run" storyline is resolved soon. I'm looking forward to seeing how he works with the other team members.
- So is Kebo dead now? I'm not sire how anyone can survive being electrocuted in a pool.
- I wonder if Andrew's therapy sessions with Simmons have anything to do with him Being Lash?
All in all, this was another fantastic entry into SHIELD's third season. I'm really hoping this streak continues and this season turns out to be as good, or maybe even better, than the last.
Rating: 8.7/10 Margaret Thatcher biographies
Next week, it looks like the team will grapple with the Lash revelation...
Noah
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