Danny Hale reviews the fourteenth episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 3…
After the events of ‘Parting Shot’ it seems only appropriate to open this week with Mack on leave. Out of the entire team it was Mack who was closest to Bobbi and Hunter and so this was a nice opportunity to explore Mack’s character away from the others. We are introduced to his younger brother Ruben and we start to see their relationship play out. They’re clearly close but it appears Ruben knows nothing about Mack’s true occupation creating a refreshing environment in which to observe Mack; here we see him entirely separate from work and just enjoying family time. This family time is cut short when we get our first glimpse of the Watchdogs; masked and armed the group demonstrate a terrifying use of stolen Stark tech, nitromene to destroy an ATCU owned building We see that Ruben is taken with the Watchdogs to Mack’s disquiet, his youth mistaking their terrorist actions for revolutionary statements. Also, displayed on the bottom of the television news channel was a headline about gang wars in Hell’s Kitchen which was a nice little tie-in to Daredevil season 2.
Lincoln who was absent last week returned from the Cocoon with his training presumably completed. We’re not given any indication as to how he performed but Coulson cuts right to the chase and takes Lincoln with him on an assignment. En-route Coulson laid the law on Lincoln which was very necessary and it also helped us as an audience understand how Coulson really felt about the new recruit. Up until this point I was still a little unsure of Lincoln’s place in S.H.I.E.L.D. but Coulson’s words put him in line and also gave him an opportunity to earn a spot on the team by proving himself trustworthy and loyal. Lincoln’s evaluation highlighted what we have seen from Lincoln all season; he is here for Daisy, not loyalty to S.H.I.E.L.D. and when his emotions come into play his ability to follow orders is called into question. Coulson’s mission brings them into contact with yet another old face, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Felix Blake. We haven’t seen Blake since season one where Deathlok had left him in ‘critical condition’ so it was great to see another old player return, especially one who was so close to Coulson. Blake’s motives for manning the Watchdogs are actually quite understandable given what he has experienced. This is a man who showed true loyalty to S.H.I.E.L.D, who almost paid with his life in the line of duty. He was left near dead by Deathlok and has now awoken to a world where he learns that the S.H.I.E.L.D. he always fought for was in fact run by HYDRA and in its current from seems to be aiding and abetting known alien life-forms. I really enjoyed how this scene played out; Lincoln it seems passed the test. I was glad he had reservations when asked to murder Blake in-cold-blood even though Coulson was ordering him to. He knew to question authority when it was appropriate but also knew when to shut up. It shows he’s grown and is perhaps ready for the field.
The entire plot surrounding the Watchdogs and Inhumans this season is probably the most relevant storyline to contemporary society this show has had. The writers have always, intentionally or not presented Inhumans and society’s attitudes towards them as a metaphor for race, religion, sexual orientation or any group struggling for equality. Bringing in the Watchdogs adds that element of threat and hatred that minority groups can experience, even touching on cyber-bullying. Of course there is a risk of the storyline becoming slightly heavy-handed but once tackled correctly it should make great and thought-provoking television. I completely understand Daisy’s personal involvement in this issue but her desire to scare details out of a Watchdog member divides the group somewhat. It’s this dissention that is so compelling and also foreshadowing of Captain America: Civil War. It is a question of accountability and of privacy; not everyone with abilities is trained and responsible with what they can do. Civil War should be just that, a war and I hope its effects and the questions it raises reaches our team.
The Watchdogs member Daisy encounters is a man called Dallas. She stops his car, gets in, introduces herself and shakes a few answers out of him. Smashing his car up was hardly the most intimidating interrogation we’ve ever seen on this show but important to note that that was Daisy’s choice of play and having Fitz hold a gun to the grunt’s head had a far more intimidating effect. What followed was the Watchdogs accidentally identifying Mack as an inhuman after Ruben turns up and stumbles upon S.H.I.E.L.D’s operation. Fitz is also hit in the neck with some nitromene set to detonate. Daisy and Fitz then race against the clock to figure out a way to stop Fitz from imploding. The nitromene had been modified by Blake and as such required a more intense remedy. Luckily Daisy and Fitz make a good team and using some nitrogen they manage to halt the explosive. It’s not long before they discover that Mack has been accidentally targeted by the Watchdogs as an Inhuman. We see him and Ruben have it out now that Mack is being honest about his work but they are followed by the Watchdogs. Ruben it seemed wanted to join them but when they break into the MacKenzie household it is not to recruit. Mack meanwhile makes easy work of the five members even with sustaining a shot in the arm. The slow motion was a little unnecessary as I never really feared for his safety although it was worth it to see him retaliate with that shotgun axe.
The episode wrapped up with a nice scene with Daisy and Ruben; Ruben’s willingness to accept Mack based solely on how much Daisy trusts and respects him was very touching. Elsewhere May and Simmons had two short yet strong scenes; Simmons is training, feeling guilty for her own inability to kill things. It’s an interesting a natural progression for her character and I’m excited to see where it goes. May meanwhile asks Simmons to not give her hope that Andrew can ever return to her. This again is something heart-breaking to see in May yet completely natural given the loss she has already experienced. With our main characters taking a back seat some of our support characters got to shine this week. It’s unclear whether Ruben is intended to fill the void left by Bobbi and Hunter or if he was just here for the one week to flesh out Mack, either way this week did great work to explore Lincoln’s role in the team and to further develop Mack as a character.
Danny Hale
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Originally published March 31, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
