"Emancipation" was an improvement over last week's episode, but I still thought the first half of the episode was repeating itself again. Luckily, the episode ended on a high and emotional note.
Like last year with Age of Ultron, the tie-in to Civil War wasn't too big or too distracting from the season's story. Having Talbot on the show is always great, and the Sokovia Accords introduced in Civil War were enhanced and expanded upon. I know a lot of people were a bit confused, since in Civil War, the Accords seem to only be an act that would put the Avengers under government control and supervision, while SHIELD seems to be going to comic route and portraying it as the MCU version of the Superhuman Registration Act. It is indeed confusing at first glance, but like I said, the show expands upon and enhances the Accords. The film only dealt with how the Avengers would be affected, while the show deals with how "ordinary" or non-Avenger people with powers are affected. Think of it as a nice bit of world-building rather than a continuity error.
Talbot's visit to the base was where I felt things were getting sluggish and repetitive, but not as bad as it was last week. Besides his meeting with Lincoln, everything else almost felt like a walkthrough for newcomers to the show. We're reintroduced to Yo-yo's powers, and Hive's abilities and agenda are explained in detail to a flustered Talbot. Perhaps this was intentional, since I'm sure a lot of people tuned in just to see how things would tie into Civil War, and I have to give them credit for that, but I wish the writers could've found a way to bring people up to speed while progressing the season's storyline further,
"Emancipation" still had a lot going for it, though. The writers really know how to play with expectations concerning how a character will act or how a certain scenario will play out, which made Lincoln's arc this week all the more satisfying. For some reason, I found it plausible that Lincoln would be that moronic to believe Daisy would run away with him. But he wasn't, which was a great way to get behind Lincoln a lot more. And it also led us to that mind-blowing Lash reveal. Dude. That was awesome. And it was oh so satisfying to see someone knock Hive around like he did. It was a bit disappointing to see him bite the dust, and bite the dust so easily, but it added a good emotional beat to this penultimate episode (Well, technically penultimate since the finale is a 2 hour event).
Also, Daisy's back! It's going to be a rough road for recovery for her.
Other Thoughts:
- Seriously, I need just a bit more Talbot in this show next season. Don't over-Talbot, though.
- The way the word "sway" is used sounds like it's a drug of some kind. And I kinda like that.
- Ok, so, let's talk about last minute "Who will die?" predictions. The ending scene suggests Mack, but that's too easy. And they wouldn't spoil that the week before the finale. I'm betting on May, since the SHIELD logo on the sleeve is something she has on her costume. Also, having now lost Andrew, it might make sense for her to die from a storytelling standpoint.. I don't want her to die, though. I don;t want anyone to die! I want to keep everyone safe! AAAAAAA!
- But if I'm right, you all owe me 20 bucks.
Rating: 8.0/10 Rasta Hulks
Next week, it's the finale, son!
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