Anghus Houvouras reviews the nineteenth episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D….
Hydra has leveled S.H.I.E.L.D. to the foundation. Agent Coulson and his ragtag team of operatives have been labeled as terrorists. The Fridge, the prison that housed all their enemies, has been liberated and the criminals now run free with no one to stop them.
This is the new normal for the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and I kind of like it.
It’s a model that has worked so well for Joss Whedon shows like Buffy, Angel, and Firefly. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. felt a little weak in the early episodes when we viewers were watching this enormous agency through the a very small window. Captain America: The Winter Soldier has completely changed the dynamic. Now the misfit Agents are no longer that small window into a larger world, they are pretty much all that’s left.
This is the posture that works for these shows: the heroes are constantly on their heels. Buffy, Angel, and Firefly all worked well because the villains were vastly superior and almost overwhelming in their scope. Even though you knew the heroes would find a way out, half the fun came from watching your favorite characters scramble through a world where Vampires, Demons, Reavers, or the Federation were far more powerful.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has greatly benefited from a status quo that sees them terribly outgunned and dealing with threats on multiple fronts. The villain Blackout has escaped and becomes Coulson’s number one target. He’s after a beautiful cellist named Audrey (Amy Acker) who turns out to be Coulson’s ex. Blackout was tampered with while in captivity and his powers have increased tenfold. His obsession with Coulson’s ex-girlfriend makes things personal, especially since she thinks he’s still dead.
Meanwhile, back at the secret base, the evil Agent Ward comes back to try and unlock the hard drive containing the secrets of Coulson’s resurrection. No longer trusted by Coulson, and with no one to give her orders, Agent May decides to leave the team. On top of all that, one of the Agents is murdered in cold blood. This whole episode has an Empire Strikes Back feel to it: everything is bleak and the odds seem impossibly stacked against the team.
There’s some fun sequences in this episode, one of the few this season that feels well composed. There’s a nice rhythm between the story lines. The opening interview sequence with the remaining Agents going through a high tech lie detector test delivered by Agent Koenig (the great Patton Oswalt) is a fun, character building scene. Coulson dealing with unresolved feelings for a lost love is nicely juxtaposed with Skye realizing the guy she’s fallen for is a cold blooded killer.
I’ve liked a lot of this messy first season. The last few episodes have felt like an improvement in both story and quality. ‘Only Light in the Darkness’ is a great episode, quite possibly the best of the season.
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 April 23, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
