After the journey to the center of the mind (and emotional issues that need addressing) las episode, we’re back to alternating between the Earth and space plots, as more information unfolds. Let’s take a look and see what’s in store this time around for S.H.I.E.L.D. and Coulson’s mysterious double.
1. Crashing on Kitson
Did you think Fitz-Simmons would just be teleported back to Earth? Nope, there’s more in store for them, as the Chronicom teleporter disk takes them right back to Kitson. Here they’re taken captive by Mr. Kitson himself, an amusingly amoral individual who basically inherited the whole planet.
While Enoch is sentenced to work at the brothels for his part in cheating the casino, Fitz and Simmons are sentenced to death. Come to think of it, Simmons didn’t actually do anything, she was just incredibly high. But since apparently Terrans/Earthlings have a bad reputation in the galaxy (thanks, Star-Lord), she’s stuck with him.
The execution itself is designed as a nasty game, where the sentenced have to hold a chain connected to a guillotine blade. If they let go, it falls, and the audience bets on who’ll be the first to go. Fortunately we, as an audience, know that the random third person brought in for his own execution will likely be the only one to die.
Of course that’s what happens, as a mysterious woman (who did actually appear in the first scene) buys their lives off Mr. Kitson for a crew she’s putting together. Naturally, that will eventually bring them back to Earth in search of some mysterious artifact, so we’ll see how this ties into the Shrike plotline.
I’ll take a random guess now and say she’s in some way connected to the Shrike’s creator.
2. Don’t, Deke, Don’t
So Deke is still around, and he’s actually being put to use. Of course, it begins with his very awkward attempts to make small talk with Daisy and his lack of Earth historical knowledge (no, Deke, Michael Jordan did not invent sneakers). But it turns out no one actually told him that the Fitz he knew died and the reason half the team went into space was to find the Fitz frozen in hibernation. So that was a bit of a bombshell to drop on him.
But we actually get a pretty good scene where he confronts Mack about it. For as unreliable as he’s historically been, we can actually believe it when he says he’d have gone to space with them. In the meantime, though, he’ll take over the tech-based stuff at S.H.I.E.L.D. until his future grandparents return.
Deke also mentions it confirms his multiverse theory, but we already knew that existed from the Spider-Man: Far From Home trailers. If anything, this just confirms that the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. universe is different from the main Marvel cinematic universe, hence the fact that the snap never happened. It’s hard to say at what point their paths truly diverged, but it’s still safe to assume that happened.
3. Sarge in Charge
Meanwhile, S.H.I.E.L.D. has successfully captured Sarge and his crew. So… great, mission accomplished, right? Of course not. Because Sarge is the one with experience dealing with the Shrike, and he knows it. He even confidently states that soon enough all of Mack’s team will be working for him (although it didn’t work so well when he tried that with May).
First, we get a little info on Jaco, one of Sarge’s men. He’s the one who needed to mix a few chemicals to replicate his planet’s atmosphere, because without it, he… breathes fire? Okay, I’m not entirely sure how that works, but I can roll with it. Still, it’s clear that he lost a lot to the Shrike as well, hence his dedication to joining Sarge’s mission.
The different reactions he gets from different S.H.I.E.L.D. agents is a nice touch. For some, it’s shock. For May, it’s anger. For Daisy, she’s basically seeing her father figure come back with an evil streak (after her actual father is already pretty crazy as-is, of course), so her reaction is essentially “I can’t deal with this right now.”
But eventually S.H.I.E.L.D. does have to acquiesce to Sarge’s demands. While they could have probably come to an arrangement if they had more time, Mack’s hand was pretty much forced because of one big mistake.
Continued below4. SHIELD’s Big Blunder
Picture, for a second, that you’re a part of S.H.I.E.L.D. and you’re learning about these Shrike. Then, Deke comes up with a scanner and says he’s located two of them heading towards each other. So what do you do? Intercept, sure. Capture, that makes sense. But what then?
Well, in the case of this team, you bring them in… together. Yes, clearly they wanted to reach each other for a reason, and the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. just made that happen, without any consideration as to why they were trying to reach each other in the first place.
So of course that goes horribly wrong. They lose the subjects, they nearly lose a few agents, and Mack has to give in to Sarge’s demands just to learn how to fix that mistake.
Come on, folks, you’re supposed to be better than that.
5. End of an Enoch?
And as the episode ends, we say goodbye to Enoch. Fitz and Simmons are reunited, the future is safe, and his best friend is on the way back to Earth, so his mission is done. Now he has to go and help the Chronicoms rebuild and find a new planet. So he gives a fond farewell, expresses that he’ll miss Fitz, and goes on his way.
Nice departure, right? I have always praised this show for how they handle characters leaving.
Although… there are two small problems there.
First, he did kind of betray his own kind to let Fitz-Simmons escape. It looked like he did so violently, in fact. They might not exactly welcome him back with open arms.
And second, he’s still on Kitson, and even if he no longer has to serve at the brothels, he’s stuck on the planet with no means of transportation or communication.
Maybe Enoch didn’t think his departure through quite as well as he should have. But I’m sure we’ll be seeing him again before the season is over, especially if the Chronicoms want revenge on the Shrike for wrecking their planet.
