Agents of SHIELD "Rise and Shine" Television 

Five Thoughts on Agents of SHIELD’s “Rise and Shine”

By | April 2nd, 2018
Posted in Television | % Comments

The plot thickens as we learn more about Hale, Ruby, and Hydra’s plans. So what’s does this mean for the SHIELD team? What does this mean for the future that seems inevitable? And will this connect to the next “Avengers” movie at all? Read on and see.

1. Never Hurt the Dog

The easiest way to make a character or organization irredeemable is to make them hurt a dog (or any other small animal, but mostly dogs). So of course we get the cliche of “have a soldier raise a dog then kill it for their graduation” in the Hydra boarding school. I hate that cliche, but then, we’re supposed to hate Hydra anyways, and Ward did establish several seasons ago that it’s part of the Hydra initiation.

Now, of course, General Hale has gone beyond redemption, as we see how easily she did it in her flashback. Although we see that Ruby refused to go through with it herself, which may mean something for her character down the line, aside from a more rebellions nature.

I mean, sure, she cut off Yo-Yo’s arms, but at least she didn’t kill her dog.

2. Talbot in Trouble

On the other side of the alignment chart, we get to see how General Talbot’s been doing ever since he got shot in the head. Props to Adrian Pasdar for his performance this episode, as we see Talbot struggle to recover from the damage; while I never liked Talbot as a character (and let’s face it, we weren’t really supposed to anyways) this was an impactful moment for a significant character.

Talbot’s character was also helped by his complete defiance against Hydra even as he was held prisoner by Hale. He kept firing off octopus-based insults with such speed that I could almost overlook the fact that all of Hydra seems to be mixing up their mythological beings.

It’s also important to note the faith he displayed in Coulson and the SHIELD team after being captured. For someone who’s butted heads with Coulson and his team so many times, the fact that he still believes in them shows impressive growth for his character.

Then to see him an even more broken man after untold months of torture, well, that’s pretty impactful.

3. Unequal Opportunity Evil

Y’know, when you sign up with an evil organization like Hydra, you really shouldn’t be surprised that sexism is a thing there as well. But that’s where Hale found herself in the flashbacks, where for all of her high scores and performance, she’s still only valued as a surrogate for Hydra’s super-baby.

Let’s face it, if Ruby was a guy, there would be no question as to what her future would be in Hydra. She’d be next in line to be the head honcho, rather than just a weapon.

But then, when you join an organization based entirely on hating anyone different, you really can’t act surprised when they hate you for being a bit different too.

4. Destroyer of Worlds

We also learn a little bit more about some of Hydra’s machinations, particularly a machine that can fuse people and elements. Ignoring the fact that it’s basically what Absorbing Man already does, the idea is to combine someone, preferably an Inhuman, with Gravitonium, which would make them a “destroyer of worlds.”

Of course, we know that Quake is known for bringing about the destruction of the Earth in the future, and Coulson knows that’s where it leads too, but there is a new factor or two thrown in there: Ruby thinks it will be her, and Hale doesn’t believe Coulson when he says someone called the destroyer of worlds will actually destroy the world.

Still, we get a few new elements thrown around, which may shake up the future that we think will come to pass.

5. Okay, that’s definitely Thanos

Speaking of inevitable futures, Coulson gets to meet with the shadowy Confederacy of aliens. They want Inhumans and Gravitonium, and in return they’ll protect the Earth from an upcoming invasion.

It’s totally Thanos. We’re all on the same page there, right? Infinity War is on the horizon, and Agents of SHIELD is continuing the time-honored tradition of hyping the movie without actually doing anything that would impact it one way or another.

Of course the Confederacy won’t actually protect the Earth from the invasion, whether it’s by their own design or because Coulson and/or Hale betray them. Thanos is coming, and that’ll all happen on the big screen; all the TV shows can do is get us hyped for it and show us the aftermath.


//TAGS | Marvel's Agents of SHIELD

Robbie Pleasant

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