Agents of SHIELD "Slingshot" Television 

Five Thoughts on Agents of SHIELD’s “Slingshot”

By | January 4th, 2017
Posted in Television | % Comments

If you clicked on this review thinking “Wait, was there a new episode I missed!?” then worry not; “Slingshot” was a special web episode, made of several mini-episodes (and available online for your viewing pleasure). While technically set between the mid-season finale and January 10th’s upcoming episode, it’s primarily a flashback meant to fill in a few of the gaps left between last season and this. So let’s take a look and see what it gave us:

1. Yo-Yo’s Story

Elena “Yo-Yo” Rodriguez is the center of the episode(s), as the story focuses on her character, her quest for revenge, and how she wound up as Daisy’s “woman on the inside.” Considering she’s been a peripheral character more often than not, it’s nice to see a little more with her. They tied it into her introductory story, providing some closure for something I’d honestly forgotten about until it reminded us, and overall provides a bit of development for her.

As the latest season didn’t really give us any information as to why she was helping Daisy behind SHIELD’s back, this helps explain that question away, too. It’s nice when we actually get some explanations for things that happen offscreen that make sense for all the characters involved.

2. More on the Accords

The Sokovia Accords have been hanging over SHIELD’s heads ever since The Winter Soldier, and are constantly brought up whenever someone’s talking about Inhuman registration or the many layers of bureaucracy that ties our heroes’ hands. This is no different, as it more or less starts with Elena signing the Accords.

The Inhuman tracking watches are brought up again, reminding us of yet another part of the Accords which are more or less a massive invasion of privacy rights. Elena’s none too happy about it, noting that it’s all rather invasive, and stating that it should be her choice when she uses her powers. She’s not wrong, either.

The show seems to be portraying the Accords as a necessary evil that no one is thrilled about having to uphold (except maybe Director Mace), but it mostly comes across as lip service as they all uphold it anyways. Even Fitz and Simmons are more concerned over whether or not they have room for an 18-inch TV, rather than the fact that they’re literally putting a tracking device on their friend’s wrist.

Of course, since literally the only alternative is to be handed over to General Ross and tossed into The Raft, there’s little room for argument.

We also learn that Steve Rogers was quite right in his assessment of the Sokovia Accords, considering Elena now can’t go after an arms dealer she’s been tracking without providing a form in triplicate to go through several layers of panels and bureaucrats, pretty much assuring that nothing will get done on time.

3. How Not to be a Spy

Yo-Yo thinks she’s slick. In fact, the episode makes it seem as though she is, using her powers in a timely manner to cause distractions or to snatch whatever ID cards she may need. Then Melinda May shows up and points out all the things she did wrong.

What makes the scene clever is how it’s delivered; May appears to be chewing her out, as though she’s demanding a confession. But the way it’s done is with just enough of a hint that she’s not telling Elena everything as a way of presenting evidence, but as a subtle way to say “Hey, here’s where you goofed, learn from it and do better next time.”

It was a nice little moment, made more evident when it’s revealed that May put Elena on a plane to Baltimore, where her revenge mission was taking her.

4. Watchdogs Again

Does anyone else find themselves forgetting the Watchdogs are still a thing every time they’re not on screen? We keep seeing all these little moments at the end of various episodes where we learn certain key characters are funding or controlling them, and yet they still don’t feel like any sort of legitimate threat. They appear, their plans are foiled, and the story moves on with the A-plot while leaving that little B-story in the dust.

It’s the same here, where Elena’s quest for revenge against the man who killed her cousin suddenly winds up being in the middle of an arms deal with the Watchdogs. They’re looking to buy a clunky-looking disintegrator ray, but it just so happens that Daisy has been looking for them as well.

Continued below

So yes, the Watchdogs do serve a purpose; as we know, Daisy left SHIELD and has been going on her own little roaring rampage of revenge to hunt down all the Watchdogs she can, before they can hurt any more Inhumans. So they do serve a purpose in that they allow Yo-Yo and Quake’s paths to coincide, they’re just still rather forgettable.

5. On to the rest of the season

Considering the overall story of the web episodes begins and ends with Daisy and Elena at SHIELD, it’s meant to get us ready for the second half of the season, even if the episode itself is mostly flashbacks. There’s a few lines about how Mace is working to repair Daisy’s image in the public’s eye, and how they’re still “gaining a team” even with the Accords.

Of course, there’s nothing about the LMDs in it, in spite of how the last episode ended, but that’s something we still have to look forward to. So while “Slingshot” doesn’t exactly do much to set things up for the season that’s to come, it does still give us some nice character development and moments; considering it’s just a series of short web episodes linked together, it still did fine for what it had to work with.


//TAGS | Marvel's Agents of SHIELD

Robbie Pleasant

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