Angus Houvouras reviews the penultimate episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D….
There’s a sound I’m hearing while watching the latest episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. It’s the sound of someone hitting the brakes over and over again bringing all the build up momentum to a screeching halt. That would be the second to last episode of the season “Ragtag” which sidelines the show while trying to deliver some wildly unnecessary back story about the nefarious Agent Ward.
‘Why?’ is a question that often derails a good story. Sometimes the why isn’t all that important. Ever since Agent Ward was revealed to be a double agent working for Hydra, I hadn’t once considered why he did it. He’s a cold, calculating, blunt instrument who turns out to have been working for the enemy. The motivation behind it didn’t really seem all that important. Finding out his origin story in flashback form felt like a big dead weight wrapped around the neck of the show. It’s utterly pointless and does nothing to further the plot or add weight to the proceedings.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a show that has found a good rhythm by keeping the tension high and delivering some fun character moments. “Ragtag” is a jumbled mess that has the down and out Agents trying to track down the Clairvoyant/John Garrett before they successfully unlock the secrets to Coulson and Skye’s resurrection formula. It turns out Garrett was the first Deathlok and has been trying to find a way to stave off death. His body is failing him and he has only months to live. Without the formula he’s a dead man.
There’s a lot of attention paid to the relationship between Garrett and Ward, and frankly it’s the kind of semi-abusive father figure story that makes Ward come across like a wide-eyed puppy. It’s meant to humanize him but ultimately it greatly diminishes the character. He’s just another lost little boy desperate for validation from his mentor. It’s a stock character assignment that doesn’t pan our creatively or emotionally.
There are a few good bits in the episode, mainly from the interplay between Coulson and May who have mended their fractured relationship. Seeing the old suitcase of Howling Commando World War Two era spy-tech was fun. The Easter eggs always buy a little goodwill from me but it ultimately can’t save a very flawed installment.
I’m still looking forward to the finale but there is a lot of unresolved dangling threads which might be difficult to tie up. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. launched unevenly, let’s hope it sticks the landing.
Anghus Houvouras is a North Carolina based writer and filmmaker. His latest work, the novel My Career Suicide Note, is available from Amazon. Follow him on Twitter.
Originally published May 7, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
