I wanna keep this review short because I have schoolwork, but that's gonna be hard because this episode was INSANE. Like, at about the same level as last season's finale. Unpredictable, emotional, and a whole lot of fun. And it's not even the finale for midseason.
The episode opens with a bang (sorry), as Rosalind is killed by a sniper while she and Coulson have a nice, quiet dinner. The sniper: Ward. AND HE TOOK THE SHOT FROM LIKE HALF A BLOCK AWAY (There will be a lot of all-caps in this review). I really didn't see this coming. At all. I was under the impression Rosalind would play a role in the series for some time yet.
Clark Gregg was great in this scene and through the whole episode too. He lets us see a side of Coulson we've only seen glimpses of thus far, which is completely angry and vengeful Coulson. This leads to an awesome action sequence featuring Coulson battle his way out of Rosalind's apartment, as well as some intense moments too, such as when he lashes out at Hunter and whenever he speaks to Ward over the phone.
Speaking of Ward, he got a lot of time in the spotlight this week, which hasn't really happened for a good while. At least not this deep. We finally get to meet Ward's younger brother Thomas, and we learn that the two were close when they were younger until the well incident. There were also some revelations about Ward's relationship with the original team back when he was "on their side." Simmons was attracted to him, Fitz once caught Ward in his bunk staring at a photograph of Fitz and his family, and Skye admitted to relating to him and his struggle to find a parental figure of sorts to look up to. Now he's leading HYDRA's charge to the alien world, with Malick promising him he will make history. All of this proved once again that Ward is the best and most interesting character on the show.
BUT it really seems like his story is beginning to wrap up. After next week's winter finale, what else can the writers do to continue to make him interesting? Imprisoning him again would just be repetitive. I don't say this often about a character I like, but the best thing to do would be to kill him. All the loose ends in this character's journey are being tied up, and he deserves to go out in glory.
Fitz and Simmons went through quite the emotional wringer here. That torture scene was really intense, and I morbidly liked how Ward knew that the best way to torture Fitz would be to let him hear Simmons be tortured. This ended up breaking him and he agreed to help HYDRA open the portal only if Simmons' safety was guaranteed. Simmons trying to convince Fitz to just let them kill her instead was something else I morbidly liked. Something's wrong with me.
The episode ends with Ward, Fitz, and a troop of HYDRA agents jumping through the portal and Coulson SKYDIVES WRITE INTO IT BEFORE IT CLOSES SHOOOOOOOOOOOT. Given how insane this week's episode was, it's a safe bet next week's finale will utterly destroy me.
Other Thoughts:
- Are SHIELD and HYDRA agents trained to destroy their phones after having angering conversations?
- The Secret Warriors are here! All three of them! Still exciting.
- So both Rosalind's and Banks have been crossed off now. No more ATCU good guys, then.
- So the expedition Will was part of was HYDRA's work, right? Does that mean he's actually a HYDRA agent? That would be a fantastic twist.
- Ward says Simmons has a "Furiosa vibe." When I heard that I wondered how Grant Ward, leader of terrorist organization HYDRA, found time to sit down and watch Mad Max:Fury Road?
Rating: 9.2/10 smashed cell phones
Next week, the winter finale. Then the sweet, sweet 3-month hiatus returns.
Noah
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