So “The Man Behind the Shield” in this situation isn’t Captain America then.
This week’s episode was your reliable SHIELD fare. Some action. Some plot development. Some humour. It was nothing…special, but the ending certainly set up something special.
Picking up after last week’s events, the team was out scouring for the captured Mace. This led them to Russia, and some pretty great flashbacks to a mission of Coulson and May’s there back in the day. I always enjoy seeing Ming-Na Wen bust out May’s lighter side, and we got a lot of it this week. I’m not sure how I feel about the idea that May and Coulson always wanted to “be together,” but then May ended up falling for Andrew. It dampens the spontaneity of their “romance” that I enjoyed.
Coulson finally came face to face with the Superior during the climax, and promptly made fun of him. The Superior’s big, secret origin story is that he was the leader of the unit Coulson and May beat up in Russia during the flashback. And that’s weird, since we don’t see him at all during the flashback, and it’s not a dramatic reason for swearing a blood oath against a guy. At least, not for a TV show like SHIELD. Wouldn’t having the Superior reveal his interest in Coulson’s connection to all the aliens and Inhumans that have plagued the MCU so far been a better way to go? And what does making fun of the Superior’s backstory through Coulson’s mocking do for the villain? Again, weird. At least his battle against Daisy was sweet, yet short.
So now, let’s talk about the ending, which saw Fitz and Simmons making the not-so-fun discovery that Coulson, Mace, Mack and Daisy were all somehow replaced with LMD versions of themselves at some point during their mission. I know that people are raving over this development, and yeah, next week’s episode should be pretty awesome. I’m just a bit iffy on the twist’s execution. It was all a bit too sudden, and confusing. The fact we didn’t get to see the switch really lent to that feeling. It’s very possible that we’ll see the ol’ switcheroo as the next episode’s cold open, but even if that happens, there’s still a bit I’d be left scratching my head about. How could Radcliffe and Aida make four LMDs so quickly? How did they know what the four heroes would be wearing, or not wearing in Mace’s case? Hopefully all my wonderful questions will be answered next week.
Other Thoughts:
- Mace verbally slapping the Superior was so satisfying for some reason, but then he started getting beat up by the Superior’s goons.
- “Cool origin story, bro.”
- I loved Aida’s interactions with the Superior this week, and how she was there while Mace was being interrogated and kicked around. Really added to the whole “I’m seriously becoming sentient this time” vibe.
Rating: 7.7/10 biological hazard excuses
The next episode is the finale of the LMD arc, and then SHIELD goes on another lengthy, six week break. Shucks.
Noah
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