We’re now a week away from Winter Soldier, and if you weren’t too busy getting ready for the premiere of Fargo on FX or being confused as to why “Turn, Turn, Turn” was on at 8 PM, then you probably saw last night’s episode of Agents of SHIELD, “Providence.”
And if you saw last night’s episode, then join me as we discuss the episode — one that answers questions, poses a few and lights a fuse. Spoilers, friends.
1. The Real Winter Soldier Aftermath
Last episode ran in tandem with the events of Winter Soldier, but this one gave us a good look at the aftermath. It was mostly in the beginning, but it was there: three or so minutes dedicated to a bit of world-building in the post-Hydra world. We got an appearance by Glenn Talbot, mustache and all, and we also essentially got confirmation that the Agents of SHIELD are now Agents of NOTHING. Oh dear.
It was an interesting way to kick things off, but it makes sense. It’s the sort of thing that the show would have to address directly, even if you would think that some of this stuff would pretty much be needed to be held in the actual films in order to maintain a greater element of continuity (y’know, in case people don’t watch the show — but that’d be silly, right?). Particularly, I’m quite interested to know what was said in the broadcast; you can make out some words, particularly the word “Avengers” and that some secrets were revealed, but outside of a mention of senate hearings (of which we saw at the end of the movie) you don’t get any better idea than that.
I imagine Age of Ultron might answer those questions a bit more directly.
2. Ward, Actual Agent of Hydra
So, last episode we sort of speculated as to whether or not Agent Ward was really an Agent of Hydra or not, and this issue confirmed it: yes. Yes, he was. He was in on it the whole time, and he is such a dick.
Which is a shame, really. All things considered, Ward was one of the more likable members of the crew — but as he explains in a slightly meta moment, this was very much on purpose. Everything he’d done was to become likable, essentially acknowledging all of the tropes that his character was forced to live in, and it was a mildly clever moment for the show, albeit a sad one. Agent Ward, we hardly knew ye.
Of course, I suppose I should note: is the evil Hydra base the same as Loki’s base in Avengers? Because holy heck, does it look directly identical.
3. That Pesky Mystery is Back
Literally my least favorite thing about this entire show has been the obsession with following the mystery of Coulson and how he came back to life. It was an interesting plot point at first but the show quickly dragged it into the ground, putting so much importance on it that it became fairly overbearing.
And after finally answering the question of how he came back to life, guess what: the mystery isn’t over.
Because you see, it wasn’t actually Nick Fury who insisted on bringing Coulson back from the dead. He was certainly a big proponent for it, but he wasn’t the one who gave the order according to May.
So. Who really resurrected Coulson? And how much longer are we supposed to pretend this is a mystery we want to keep discussing?
4. Inside the Fridge
After frequent references to it throughout the series, we finally get our first look into the Fridge, the SHIELD facility that houses all the most dangerous criminals and their weapons. And guess what? PRISON BREAK!
Orchestrated by Hydra, SHIELD now has a few years worth of stories to tell now. We’ve got Marvel Universe villains running all over the place now; there’s a reference to Johnny Horton aka Griffin and we get our first look at Patrick Brennan as Marcus Daniels aka Blackout. Still, this is a perfect opportunity for the show to really get the Marvel Universe in gear, which is something I think we’re all looking forward to.
Continued belowOh. And Graviton is back. I wonder where that’s going to lead?
Also: The amount of chemistry between Garrett and Ward is surprisingly potent, and as much as it pains us to see Ward go to the dark side, it’s nice to know he’s got a buddy.
5. Providence
Helmed by not-former-Nazi Agent Eric Koenig aka Patton Oswalt, our SHIELD team now resides in the secret Fury base of Providence, out in the middle of nowhere where one man obsesses over lanyards. And while the team spends far too long getting to the base, the episode pretty much sets the stage for some stuff to go down next week.
It’s tough to look at this episode as 45 minutes of filler, because it’s not. Not entirely, anyway; there’s some good stuff in this episode. Decent, even! For all the faults that have plagued Agents of SHIELD, this upheaval has certainly given the show a stark sense of direction, no pun intended. Now that the villain is out in the open and the show is very much in an Us vs. Them mentality, it’s easier to follow along and enjoy the ride a bit more.
The down side to this is, of course, when you realize that everything you saw this episode is just prelude for what’s to come next week. I didn’t watch the preview for what’s going to happen, but with Ward back with the team and on a timed mission to extract specific information from Skye, next episode is pretty much a powder keg ready to explode.
I enjoyed the stage setting of this episode a lot. I think next week’s episode will be the real determination as to whether or not this show has finally hit its stride, however.
