Agents of SHIELD Emancipation Television 

Five Thoughts on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.‘s Emancipation

By | May 11th, 2016
Posted in Television | % Comments

The official Civil War tie-in episode brings Talbot to the S.H.I.E.L.D. base with the Sokovia Accords in hand. How will the team react to these new laws? Keep in mind that there may be spoilers to the movie, so read on with caution.

1. Civil War tie-in at last

The past few episodes have dropped plenty of small nods and references to Captain America: Civil War, but now that the movie has finally hit theaters, we get to see what the actual tie-in is. Will the team be taking sides themselves? Will it somehow connect to Zemo? The Sokovia Accords? Captain America breaking his friends out of The Raft and going renegade?

Well, mostly the Accords. However, we also get a nod to Peggy Carter’s passing, as Coulson mourns the loss of a founder of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Still, General Talbot’s entrance means that most of the focus will be on The Sokovia Accords, and how they connect to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Secret Warriors.

2. What exactly are the Sokovia Accords?

In the “Civil War” movie, the Accords are all about putting a leash on The Avengers; requiring the U.N.’s approval before they can take action, and also being at the organization’s beck and call.

In Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., we learn that there’s a few sections in there regarding the registration of enhanced individuals, particularly Inhumans. Talbot explains that, following registration, there would be some analysis and documentation of their powers, which he explains is to protect “normal” people from the Inhumans, or the Inhumans from themselves. Still, it makes the Accords far more similar to the Superhero Registration Act from the comics.

For the most part, the agents are not too happy about that, given the risk it puts them in. Talbot does mention that S.H.I.E.L.D. once had an index of super-powered individuals, which is absolutely true, though Coulson also adds that the index proved to be a very bad idea when it fell into the wrong hands.

Not like that stops Talbot from pointing out everything that goes wrong as a reason to say “This is why we need the Accords.”

3. Lincoln’s gambit

Meanwhile, Lincoln is still under quarantine, having fried his immune system last week. Apparently he should be better by now, but he’s still being watched, both by S.H.I.E.L.D. and by Daisy, who’s hacked into the security feed.

Lincoln knows she is too, and uses it to communicate with her, plotting an escape. It’s a well-done scene when put into action, as she guides him remotely to make a getaway in a stolen quinjet. In fact, it’s perhaps the most spy-like they’ve been in ages, especially given the twist that occurs after Lincoln supposedly escapes.

4. Watchdogs on a leash

Remember the Watchdogs? After their one episode, it seems like they’re still at it, and ready to hunt down any Inhumans they find.

Perhaps, however, following a person with unknown powers into a dark alley isn’t the best of ideas. After all, that led them right into a trap, where Hive could drag them off to be used as test subjects for his new Inhuman project. Daisy’s been donating enough blood that she was clearly weak and tired, near the point of death, but it’s a sacrifice Hive was willing to have her make.

The new Inhumans created with a cocktail mix of one part Daisy’s blood, one part terrigen, and one part Hive cells are far from perfect, and frankly looked a little like the poor excuse for Deadpool that X-Men Origins: Wolverine created, with bald heads and mouths melting shut. Still, apparently that’s good enough for Hive, and it’s not like they were characters we knew or cared about.

5. Lash is back

But the Watchdogs aren’t the only old plot points making a comeback. Lash has spent the last several episodes locked up securely and standing around menacingly, apparently occasionally visited by May, but he was still on base, and that freaked Talbot out.

Still, as Lincoln would often say, every Inhuman exists for a purpose. From a writing perspective, it may be more fitting to say that every character exists for a reason and should have a good arc that concludes in a satisfying manner, as they attempted to do with Lash.

Continued below

When Lincoln supposedly escaped on a stolen jet, it was actually Lash stored onboard. Lincoln knew that Daisy’s “escape plan” was a trap that would just give him over to Hive, but S.H.I.E.L.D. managed to pull one over on Hive, Daisy, Talbot, and the audience when they pulled the ol’ switcheroo and put a different Inhuman on board.

Of course, one might be concerned that Hive would just take over Lash, thus gaining yet another powerhouse. In fact, my first thought was “Why doesn’t Hive just mind-blast him now?”

Well, it turns out he can’t. Lash’s vaguely-defined powers are enough to counter Hive’s mind-controlling swarm, and also beat Hive to a nearly-dead pulp (although of course it’s not enough to finish the job). Somehow those powers also allow him to extract the infection from Daisy, freeing her and putting her on a quinjet home.

It turned out to be a heroic sacrifice, though, as he gets a burning chain through the chest for his troubles; James seemed to have picked up a few tricks from Ghost Rider with his explosive powers. While Lash’s death wasn’t the most dramatic or impactful, it was still a decent end to the character.

Still, there’s one more death that was promised, and next week will show us who dies.


//TAGS | Marvel's Agents of SHIELD

Robbie Pleasant

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