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Five Thoughts on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s “Best Laid Plans”

By | January 29th, 2018
Posted in Television | % Comments

Humanity’s uprising begins in earnest, and time travel paradoxes are uncovered. We get some witty lines, some decent fights, and Mack and Yo-Yo get to be badass negotiators. So let’s take a look at what thoughts this episode inspired.

1. La Resistance

First of all, I love the opening shot of this episode. The blue Kree against a red background, and the way they used darkness illuminated by the glowing blue of their guns and the red of the doorway lights was great visually. I don’t exactly go into this show expecting high levels of cinematography and shot composition, but when we get moments like this, I savor them for all they’re worth.

Now we have the human revolution, led by (as Yo-Yo calls him) Rebel Peacemaker Mack. Of course, Yo-Yo is all in favor of flat out murdering Kasius and any Kree that get in their way, and Flint is getting a taste for blood too, so there’s tensions rising they have to work through, and that’s even before Kasius threatens them with a fiery death.

It was great seeing them work with what leverage they could, although Yo-Yo really should have realized Kasius would have something protecting him from her, especially after he recognized her so quickly. I have to assume that he was there when the Yo-Yo from his past and our future died fighting the Kree.

Seeing the humans come together against the Kree was also a joy after so many episodes showing us just how broken down humanity was. Even with certain death looming, they had finally reached the point where they weren’t going to give the Kree anything, knowing that “though they die, La Resistance lives on.” (I’m running out of revolution jokes, but a South Park one still works.)

2. Ontological Paradox

Time for my favorite part of this season: more time travel mechanics!

So while searching the Zephyr, trying to get it back online, Fitz-Simmons find not only the gravitonium used to keep the ship afloat (and prevent the shattered world from completely falling apart or even losing its atmosphere), but they find Fitz’s notes on how to upgrade it and design the Lighthouse.

That’s where the real fun paradox kicks in: they learned about the designs from seeing them in the future, so that they could use said designs when they go back to the past, building everything and allowing them to find the designs in the future. In short, the designs themselves have no set point of origin, and are in a constant loop of inspiring themselves in the future so that they can be made in the past.

That is what we call an ontological paradox.

Best of all, Simmons even realizes the paradox. Fitz, being his usual predetermination-means-failure self, is crushed by the realization that they’re stuck in a time loop, while Simmons takes a more optimistic look at it. Meanwhile, I’m just wondering how they’re going to solve this without breaking all of time and space.

3. Do It or Don’t, Deke

So Deke and Voss have a little chat, as Voss tries to talk Deke into finishing what he started. He does seem to ponder the morality of Voss’s plan, if killing Daisy really would save everyone, and even discusses it with her in a vague manner.

However, this moral dilemma doesn’t really have much of a payoff. The moment where he saves Daisy from Sinara would seem to be an indication that he’s decided to take her side, but there wasn’t enough of a “moment of truth” to really show him making a choice. Instead, it left just enough wiggle room that they can still milk the internal conflict for as long as they need.

Though I did like the line where he said “I used to be really good at self-preservation!”

4. T.A.H.I.T.I.

So Tess is alive again, but “alive” and “well” are two different things. While normally bringing a character back from the dead with no explanation would be worthy of a lengthy rant, in this case, there is not only an explanation, but a precedent.

It takes us all the way back to season 1, where we see Coulson alive and well after getting stabbed by Loki in The Avengers. Fast-forward and Daisy (or Skye as she was called at the time) is dying, and they save her the same way: with a strange blue injection, which we later learned was basically a Kree’s blood.

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Of course, it had some unfortunate side-effects down the line in Coulson’s case, but since there’s no hidden Inhuman temple in space, we probably won’t have to worry about that with Tess.

I’m just glad for the continuity. Between this and the gravitonium, older seasons are coming back – what’s next, C.E.N.T.I.P.E.D.E. again?

We might have even gotten a call-forward, when Voss states that Robin’s predictions showed an alien invasion being the start of the end. It could be referring to the Chituari invasion in The Avengers, or it could be a little hint of foreshadowing before Infinity War begins.

5. Rematch

So Sinara and Daisy get their rematch. I was a little disappointed with the fight choreography the last time they fought, but this was the show’s chance to make up for that, and in many moments, they did. When they fought in zero gravity, it looked great. When the gravity gets turned back on, though, it’s mostly back to just punching each other, give or take a few cool flips here and there.

When the gravity goes off again, and Sinara pulls off an awesome leap directly at Daisy, it seems like the fight is back on, but then she’s just impaled. So we didn’t get quite an epic showdown, nor was it a dramatic moment where Deke decides once and for all he’s on S.H.I.E.L.D.’s side after his conversation with Voss, it fell just a little short for each.

I feel like for all we’ve seen Sinara do, she deserved a better end than that.


//TAGS | Marvel's Agents of SHIELD

Robbie Pleasant

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