'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' Review/Recap: "I Will Face My Enemy"

Sam Rivman ’18 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

This week of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was filled with enough action, character development, and plot progression to please even the most cynical of viewers. “I Will Face My Enemy” was exhilarating from beginning to end, and Coulson (Clark Gregg) finally gets back into the action, which was a well welcomed sight. The writers of the show have a great habit of moving smoothly through the season without remaining stagnant on any plot point for too long, and it shows in “I Will Face My Enemy”.
One of the biggest components of S.H.I.E.L.D. has always been the practice of espionage. While previously Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. tended to ignore that aspect a bit more than they should have, the writers more than made up for it with this episode. Director Phil Coulson and Agent May (Ming-Na Wen) attend an art gala undercover in order to retrieve a painting found in a Spanish church with alien-esque etchings on the back, which were identical to the etchings that Coulson has been making during his fits. They do so in true spy fashion, with fancy clothes, impressive gadgets including a 3-D retina scanner, and even fake personalities. Agent May makes conversation with the other guests while feigning a smile and even a laugh. That’s right, Agent Melinda May, otherwise known as “The Calvary” for her badass field combat skills, wore a shiny dress and pretended to laugh and enjoy herself. If that wasn’t a good enough gem to get viewers giggling with delight, she and Coulson danced together at the gala, and they were incredible. Anybody who says that they didn’t squeal internally when Coulson and May danced is simply lying to themselves and should be ashamed to not outwardly ship Philinda.

At the gala, Coulson is forced to go head to head with General Talbot (Adrian Pasdar), who is also after the painting. Here’s where things get interesting: Talbot isn’t actually Talbot at all, but is actually a Hydra agent using high-tech face changing technology. The same technology is later used by Agent 33 (Maya Stojan), a female Hydra agent, to take on the image of Agent May in order to lure Coulson into a trap after the real May had been captured. The best scene in the whole episode and perhaps even the entire series comes after Coulson discovers that Agent 33 is a fake and May frees herself. May and fake May duke it out in what was easily the best fight scene ever on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. At one point, May actually drop kicks fake May right over a counter top. She literally drop kicks her, and it was absolutely glorious. The sound of viewers’ jaws dropping across the East Coast at that moment was deafening.
Away from the action, the rest of the team faced their own problems. When Agent 33 infiltrated their plane disguised as Agent May, she planted a device that would cause the plane to explode. Simultaneously, Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) is still struggling with his brain damage and learning to socialize given his condition. When disaster strikes, he feels hopeless to help in his weakened state until Lance Hunter (Nick Blood) offers to assist him in saving the plane. They succeed, and in a heartwarming moment, Lance asks Fitz to share a beer with him, which makes Fitz feel welcomed despite his difficulties speaking. Fitz even opens up about his unrequited love from Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge), which was touching and made Fitz even more of a sympathetic character.
If the writers of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. can keep up the same level of excitement and depth for the rest of the season, it will be even more epic than season one. Every episode of season two thus far has been impressive, and “I Will Face My Enemy” was the icing on the cake.
Overall Episode Grade: A