Agents of SHIELD 1.17 “Turn, Turn, Turn”

Just a head’s up. If you haven’t seen Captain America: The Winter Soldier yet, then you NEED to skip this review, as the events on the big screen spill over into Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in a way that not only provides a huge boost or adrenaline, but also allows dramatic changes in the status quo to emerge suddenly and effectively. Some shows say, “Everything you thought you knew changes tonight!” but fail to really deliver. Well, with this episode, everything you thought you knew about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. actually does change.

The episode opens moments after last week’s ended with Coulson (Clark Gregg) freaking out, May (Ming-Na Wen) declaring her innocence, Skye (Chloe Bennet) with a gun pointed at May, and Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) behind bulletproof glass not knowing what to think, while the Bus changes course and heads straight for the Hub. Oh! And out in the world, Agent Garrett (Bill Paxton) is under attack by S.H.I.E.L.D. drones trying to blow him out of the sky.

Meanwhile, at the Hub, Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) and Triplett (B.J. Britt) are trying to set up a secret secure line to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy in the midst of a sudden upsurge in activity. It looks like something big is happening and agents are mobilizing right and left.

Okay. Is that enough recap to keep any spoilers from popping up?

If not, here’s a picture to help keep virgin eyes pure.

Now let’s get into this episode!

Holy crap! If you saw Captain America: The Winter Soldier, you know that HYDRA has infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. at the highest levels and in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., it looks like Agent Hand (Saffron Burrows) is the Clairvoyant. At least that’s what Coulson thinks. And it makes sense. Especially after Simmons and Triplett get through to S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy only to find it under attack and are told not to trust anybody – which leads to a few tense moments as they figure out whether or not to trust one another.

Back on the Bus, May admits her direct line is to Fury, so Coulson forces her to get in touch only to find out that Director Fury is dead. Again, if you saw The Winter Soldier, you know how that plays out, but you also know exactly what’s going on at S.H.I.E.L.D. during this time. Utter chaos. And the news of Fury’s demise throws our heroes into that chaos as they arrive at the Hub knowing that all bets are off for anyone getting out alive. Especially once our crew discovers HYDRA is behind it all.

The rest of the show is a series of twists and turns that are all very nicely played, keeping the audience on our toes trying to figure out just who to trust, as much as the characters are. I have to admit, that I was shocked that Hand was actually a good guy who believes that Coulson is the one who’s turned. And she’s got a point. Coulson and his team have been at the heart of a lot of crazy shit lately.

And if it weren’t for a slip of the tongue (a convenient plotting cliché that I’m going to overlook this time), Coulson wouldn’t have known until it was too late that the real HYDRA double-agent, the real Clairvoyant, was with them on the Bus: Agent Garrett. I was just making a point similar to this last week in my look back at Invasion of the Bee Girls, about how the best villains are the charismatic ones who slip casually into their betrayals but still have something likeable about them.

In that review I was talking about the legendary William Smith. But here, the same sort of conditions apply to Bill Paxton. He’s just so darned likeable that you don’t want him to be the bad guy, but if he is, he’s a great one.

So ultimately, once the bad guys are captured and things begin to calm down, we get back to situating the episode in the larger context of the Marvel Movie Universe by establishing that Captain America returned and with the help of loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, saved the day. Meanwhile at the Hub, Hand and Coulson make up and decide that they’ve got to try to make things right.

The first step of which is to plant Garrett deep underground in the Fridge.

Which brings us to what may the most shocking moment in the show – and maybe the series so far. With no S.H.I.E.L.D. overseeing them, Agent Hand takes it upon herself to play judge, jury, and executioner for Garrett once she’s got him to herself. And by “to herself” I mean on a plane, with a couple of guards, and Agent Ward – who volunteered to go along and make sure his evil HYDRA double-agent S.O. gets locked up once and for all.

When she offers Ward the chance to execute Garrett on the plane, I was stunned.

I really wasn’t expecting that. And when he takes the gun, stands, and considers it, I was a little more stunned. I thought he was going to do it and we were going to go down a dark path with our heroic Agent Ward. Especially after he risked his life to save Skye at the Hub and to complete their mission to knock out communications.

So when he kills the guards and then puts a couple of bullets into Hand, I was simply amazed.

In a matter of moments, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. twisted everything I thought I knew and changed the game for everybody going forward. Not only do we have a fantastic Big Bad with Garrett, he’s got a Red Right Hand in Ward who we already know is one of the most dangerous agents S.H.I.E.L.D. had. Sorry. Scratch that. That HYDRA has.

Now there are only five more episodes till the Season Finale and things are getting pretty good.

It took a while, but Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. seems to have finally arrived.