No introduction is necessary this time, as we’ve got a lot to look over. So let’s check out the latest episode and see what new goodies this season gives us.
1. Fantastic Fight
It’s no secret that I’ve been a little disappointed with many of the previous fight scenes this season, but recent episodes have started to make up for that. This time we get a very nice fight between Ruby and Daisy in the middle of a snowy field.
In addition to fight choreography, the cinematography used in the scene is very important to making it really look good, and we got a wonderful contrast during this scene, with the black outfits the characters were wearing contrasted against the pure white background. The last time they used this sort of framing for a fight it proved to be one of my favorites of the season, so i was a welcome stylistic return.
The fight itself was also pretty well choreographed, with nice moves from both sides. It didn’t turn into another bout where each one takes a turn punching the other in the face, and Daisy as didn’t overuse her powers, each character was allowed to pull off some nice moves.
It’s always good when we can get a nice fight scene out of an episode.
2. Bad Ideas
After slowly losing their minds over their supposed invincibility, Yo-Yo, Fitz, and Simmons (who I am now referring to as “The Future Three”) begin to realize they might have made a terrible mistake.
Remember how I said knowing they survive is no guarantee that things won’t go horribly wrong for them in other ways? We start to see that, as Yo-Yo really should have let Mack run more tests before going into the field with robot arms. Then we get Fitz and Simmons in the middle of a gunfight, and for people so certain they can’t die, they’re still being sure to duck and hide as normal.
Sure, they may have smashed Strucker’s machine and temporarily defeated Ivanov, but for characters who are supposed to be so smart, they sure got themselves stuck in a real bind.
3. Let’s Talk About Deke
So… can we maybe once have characters who bicker frequently without it being a sign of hidden feelings? Because while a drugged-up Deke may think Daisy is cute, I’m fairly certain she’s still pissed at him for selling her out to the Kree not too long ago.
Also, in addition to their general lack of chemistry, I’m pretty sure Deke being her co-workers’ grandson from the future would make any potential relationship really awkward.
That said, the scene where the few SHIELD agents at the base have to perform emergency surgery on him was very tense, and certainly not for the squeamish. I feel like it will have more of an impact on Simmons for not being around to help save her future grandson than it will on any other character, but that remains to be seen.
4. Parental Controls
Speaking of families, how about the Hales? We see General Hale throw Ruby against a wall in frustration earlier, when we know that Ruby is physically stronger than her mother. Even Ruby doesn’t seem to understand why she follows her orders; it’s possibly some sort of programming put into her, or possibly just the result of a really strict upbringing.
Who among us can honestly say we haven’t ever felt like whatever we do is never enough for our parents? Everyone struggles to live up to their expectations, and most viewers could relate to the scene where Ruby cries about feeling like a disappointment. It was a humanizing moment for a character born to be a perfect soldier.
Right before she locks her own mother away to go off and become a living weapon, of course, but that’s how it goes sometimes.
5. That Shut Us All Up
I’m going to make this last thought quick.
After so many episodes and arcs showing how Coulson and May care for each other and how much chemistry they have, after Coulson’s bonding moment with the LMD May, after all they’ve been through, May finally says she loves him.
And I am living for that scene.
Continued belowHonestly, I’m more invested in watching their relationship come to fruition than I ever was with Fitz-Simmons (and it’s not just because my girlfriend and I cosplayed as Coulson and May before the shipping was even hinted at), since they are two well-defined and developed characters whose relationship slowly grows over time. When something gets in the way, it’s not because one of them got punted off to another planet and left the other to frantically search, it’s because of their personalities and current goals getting in the way of building that relationship.
And also that time that May got replaced by an LMD, but that’s beside the point.
Long story short, it’s a bond that’s the result of lots of character arcs and development, and I can get behind it completely.
But if you can’t, I am way too old to get into any shipping wars, so you do you, friend.
