Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Review/Recap: 0-8-4
Astghik Cin Poghosyan ’17/ Emertainment Monthly Staff
This week’s episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. kicked off with a smartly placed chronological jump to a scene where we witness S.H.I.E.L.D.’s new high-tech plane have a hole blown up on its side (parallels to explosions on the Hellicarrier in Avengers, perhaps?). Giving the viewers something to think about and a grand stimulus for endless speculation, the writers take us back 19 hours earlier to witness the chain of events that caused this catastrophic dilemma.
Coulson ( Clark Gregg) is as snarky as usual. In regards of character, Jed Whedon is keeping him on a consistent streak of never ending commanding wit and sarcasm. There’s a constant repetition that Coulson’s recovery was in Tahiti, which he keeps reminding the audience is a “magical place”. It begs the question, why exactly is Tahiti a “magical place”? Knowing the Whedons, this is something to keep our attention focused on in the future, since it’s going to unravel major plot points. This week’s mission was 0-8-4 or Object of Unknown Origin located in Peru where the newly formed dysfunctional team had to fly to. As Marvel fans, we love the constant references linked to the MCU like Thor’s hammer this episode as the last ‘Object of Unknown Origin’ to be sighted. Another reference that was mentioned this episode was when FitzSimmons ( Iain De Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge ) was examining the 0-8-4 and said that it looked German, linking it back to Hydra in Captain America. Whedon’s constant use of references to both the MCU and Marvel comics integrates Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. into the current Marvel phase.
The highlight of this episode was the coming together of the team and working as one in the face of a “common enemy”. This trope was effectively used to show the slightly rushed development of the inner relationships in the team. Ward ( Brett Dalton ) and Skye ( Chloe Bennet ) start off on the wrong foot, both having different ideologies, seeing the other either incompetent or uncaring. Turns out all they need to rectify their fast dwindling relationship are a shot of a whiskey and a motivational quote from Skye. As lovely as Grant’s take on her words were, it was rather fast paced and had no time for proper development on screen. The typical “brawn vs. brain” trope is used when Ward is interacting with FitzSimmons, not understanding or appreciating their genius. The entire team is a cocktail of people thrown in together who can’t work together because that’s something that always captivates the audience: a dysfunctional team that learns how to work together for the greater good and hence enhances the character and relationship development.
By the end of the episode, the team is seen drinking together and watching the 0-8-4 launch into the sun. Their relationship has grown throughout the episode and they’re all chummy-chummy together. While everyone likes the inevitable bromance between the lead characters, the connection that the characters have by the end of the episode is quite hard to believe considering they were at each others throats a couple of hours ago.
The scene that had all the fans up in arms and cheering loudly was the surprise guest appearance by Nick Fury (Samuel Jackson) during the last minutes of the episode. Nick Fury’s badass reputation is well known and his one-eyed glare even more so. It was a pleasant surprise and it also raised the fans expectations of who else might make a guest appearance in the future episodes of Agents of S.H.IE.LD.
We find out two important things in this episode: One, whatever it was that happened to agent Melinda May on the field to force her to retreat to simple desk-duty happened in Bahrain. The subtle and slow revelation of the character’s history is an interesting plotline that the fans would love to see explored. The second essential bit of information revealed is that Skye has not been wooed by all the crazy S.H.I.E.L.D. has to offer, but rather has an agenda of her own with Rising Tide.
Tune in for next week’s episode because Marvel and Whedon combined in one is definitely something worth being invested in.