Agents of SHIELD, Season 3, Episode 20: Emancipation
Hooooly fuck this episode was amazing. I say that about every episode of Agents of SHIELD, but this episode is just great. There was a bit of intentional homage to what's going on in Civil War, of course, but other than mentioning the Sokovian Accords and how the president's decision to take stock of SHIELD stems from that event, they didn't really delve too deep into forcing a half-assed crossover like season two, where Coulson's super-duper secret plan throughout half the season was meant to tie in to Age of Ultron. Here, the show is content to keep its conflict internal, and deliver some really great scenes as Talbot comes in and takes stock of SHIELD and its Inhuman problems.
I do really like Talbot. Yes, he's a jackass enough to fit his role of an obstructive bureaucrat, but it would've been way too easy to make him obstructive. He could've gone all 'I will shut this all DOWN' and whatnot, but Talbot is mostly content with just challenging Coulson verbally, with the two hiding some information from each other, and when push does comes to shove, Talbot is relatively supportive, and immediately accepting of all the weird shit that's been going on in the world of Inhumans. And I do like how Coulson is just happy to show Talbot the Inhumans on their side, though Joey is conspicuously absent this episode. There was a fake-out that the hooded fellow that the Watchdogs want to beat up was him, but it turned out to be Hellfire instead.
The weakest part of the episode, I imagine, was Lincoln. The show tries so hard to make Lincoln relevant, but he and Mack have always just been there to me... and Mack finally got some overdue characterization in recent episodes. Lincoln has... just always been there. He's Skye's boyfriend, he shoots lightning, he has temper issues, and that's about it. This episode hinges on the 'is Lincoln a traitor' which we kind of already did a couple episodes ago, and Lincoln apparently is so frustrated with SHIELD that he succumbs to Skye's sweet words and conspires to escape.
When really it was all a big, big bluff to get a quinjet as a trojan horse to Hive's location, carrying Lash along with it. And, well, the dramatic moment of Lincoln fighting Mack was just a complication when someone who didn't know about the operation interferes. It's honestly a bit far-fetched to think that Lincoln is stupid enough not to realize that Skye's mind-controlled, and I thought he was trying to pull a fast one on Skye anyway -- the twist, really, is that apparently Coulson and May were in it all along.
Lash fighting Hive was pretty cool, as the two arc villains of this season finally confront one another. It's a standard 'sic two enemies against each other' plot, and it kind of works! I could've done without Lincoln's silly every Inhuman has a purpose speech, of course, and just want to enjoy Hive do battle with Lash. It's a great moment as Lash just no-sells the swarm that Hive sends out with his hole-creation abilities, knocks around every single one of the creepy Primitives, and even blew a hole in Hive's chest. Though apparently there's enough of dr. Garner within Lash for him to save Skye... and apparently Lash has the ability to selectively draw out just the parasites from Skye's body. I'll just have to accept this and move on.
Ultimately, though, I thought Lash's death would have had more impact if we had one last scene between him and May -- the one before the permanent transformation felt too convenient, and we really needed some closure for Lash in this episode. But all in all, damn, Lash single-handedly just humbled Hive, rescued Skye and generally is awesome all around. It's not a bad way to go out, and made me respect Hellfire a lot more.
Man, when we first saw Hellfire, I thought he was just going to be an irrelevant side character, but this episode he's proven himself to be pretty damn awesome. Yeah, he changed his Gambit gimmick into something similar to Ghost Rider, but that only makes him cooler. I admit, knowing that Ghost Rider's TV rights have returned to Marvel, I thought that when the Watchdogs ambushed Hellfire and he's talking about hell and pulls out that flaming chain, I thought we were getting the MCU version of Ghost Rider. But Hellfire's cool.
Hive and Hellfire kidnap a group of Inhuman-hating Watchdogs after beating them up with a flaming chain, for the awesome dr Radcliffe to experiment. I absolutely love dr Radcliffe. He's just a fun mad scientist who has to juggle his pride as a scientist and the pants-shitting fear of Hive. I'm surprised he actually made it out of this episode alive. When the Watchdogs were transformed into the Primitives (who really look like X-Men Origins' versions of Deadpool with flesh-sewn mouths) I thought they were going to tear the good doctor apart, but apparently he lives! Yay, dr Radcliffe. Hopefully they give you some cool powers too. I was a bit disappointed that the Primitives are basically cannon fodder, but they do illustrate Hive's insane plans to turn everyone into, well, basically that. Unlike Radcliffe, who wants to hasten evolution and humanity's progress, Hive just wants to put everyone under his thrall as an Inhuman. And I love how creeped out by the Primitives Hellfire and Radcliffe were.
They're going to use the warheads that Blake stole for them to spread the virus to like an entire continent, so that's another great tie-in.
Oh, and Elena and Mack's little shippy thing continues on its merry progress, and Elena gave Mack that cross necklace... which we last saw in that explody ship. Good job, show. Threaten to kill off a character just as I begin to like him.
Overall, a great show all around. Skye is back, and while I would've wanted something more climatic from her part, it's sufficient. Lash also could've had a bit more drama with his dramatic sacrifice, but honestly I'm not really complaining. Two more episodes to go, and I'm definitely looking forward to this.
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