Danny Hale reviews the fourth episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 5…
‘A Life Earned’ was a solid episode that introduced a promising new player, gave us a deeper look into our new villain Kasius and packed an emotional punch for Mack as he began to open up about his experiences in the Framework.
After its reveal in ‘A Life Spent’ I was glad the show didn’t keep Deke’s betrayal of Daisy hidden from our other characters for too long by showing him blatantly lie to Kasius about the existence of Coulson, May and the others. While it’s clear Deke has his own agenda I believe he is ultimately on the right side of the fight. Sadly, he’s going to have to do a lot more to convince May and Coulson of that fact. It is therefore unsurprising that Coulson had him locked up before the episode’s end; from his perspective Deke’s far too unpredictable to be in the mix.
Mack got some great work this week; up until now I was slightly afraid that the ever unfolding drama around the team would eclipse the grief we’ve seen Mack experience in the Framework. Mack has never been a lover of violence and while capable of dishing it out he is not an aggressive person by nature. We were deftly reminded of this as Grill, with his limited perspective of our protagonists, chooses Mack to “rough up” a man named Gunnar. This is not Mack and not an act he would be comfortable committing. Ironically, if Grill had just chosen Yo-Yo he would have found a much more suitable candidate. The reveal that the package Gunnar was waiting for was a child understandably stops Mack in his tracks, the loss of his daughter, twice, is still fresh on his mind. You can see the regret and shame in Mack’s eyes but for Gunnar Mack is just another of Grill’s thugs who only knows “death and violence”. Mack’s subsequent beating of Gunnar is grim to watch as we know how those words would have cut Mack and also how much he’ll resent devolving into the thing he hates most as he relentlessly punches a man he really knows very little about. This emotional knot falls loose later in the episode when Mack, heartbreakingly, explains his own complex with grieving for Hope; the fact that he feels worse for losing Hope in the Framework than he did when he lost his real daughter all those years ago. It’s a great subject to touch on and perfect for this show to explore. As Yo-Yo points out, Mack’s love for Hope was real even if the child wasn’t and he has had no time to grieve or process this loss. This scene was incredibly moving and gorgeously lit; Mack’s face half hidden in shadow, as if hiding his shame but allowing him to let the grief out. I had thought Elena’s actions in A Life Spent would be a simple splinter in Mack and Yo-Yo’s relationship whereas in fact it seems to be playing a smaller role in a greater arc for Mack exploring his loss and the supressed rage he seems to be holding onto.
I really enjoyed Daisy’s scenes this week and we were introduced to newcomer, Ben, an Inhuman with telepathic powers. After a brief conversation with Daisy we don’t know too much about him other than he would rather keep his head down and obey in order to protect the lives and future of his family than rebel. To Daisy this existence is understandably archaic and unfair but to Ben this is “life” so for me his decision is not that surprisingly or reprehensible. This brief set-up served to deliver one of my favourite scenes from the episode where we see Daisy and Simmons face to face but unable to communicate. Kasius, questioning them both uses Ben as a lie detector to determine if their words are genuine. Watching Daisy fabricate her story from Simmons’ silent perspective only to have Kasius step in front of her removing her from Simmons’ view was wonderfully tense. Ben then reveals another facet of his abilities by letting Simmons read his thoughts, allowing her and Daisy to successfully convince Kasius of their lies. I was naturally sceptical as to why Ben, a stranger, would risk everything for two women he doesn’t know. I was delighted to then learn that Ben actually seized the opportunity and read Kasius’ mind. This then reveals the more sinister intention that Kasius has to obliterate the Lighthouse and base once he has sufficiently profited from selling Quake. This would naturally push Ben to Daisy’s side as he is now fighting for his own survival and of everyone he knows.
A Life Earned was another great addition to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. with May and Sinara providing an incredible fight scene (hopefully only round 1) resulting in, I assume, May’s capture. We glimpsed into Kasius’ character a bit further learning of his heavy shame for his current residence, his desire to become wealthy and leave it behind but also how far he will go to exhibit his clout as seen by his little performance for Lady Basha before smugly making it clear she would have no opportunity to bid for Quake. This man does not let slights on his character go forgotten. Finally, we were graced with a genuinely surprising reveal in the form of one of Quake’s potential bidders unmasking himself as Fitz! I audibly gasped and cannot wait to have Iain De Caestecker back on-screen and to see what plan and information Fitz is bringing to the table. Next week’s episode titled Rewind will likely focus on Fitz’s adventures since he was left behind and I am more than ready to see how he’s made his way into the future and infiltrated Kasius’ stronghold.
Danny Hale
