‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Episode 1.17 “Turn, Turn, Turn” (9 out of 10) Starring Clark Gregg, Chloe Bennet, Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton; Tuesdays on ABC.
Before we get started, two things need to happen. First, an apology: Sorry “Agents of SHIELD.” I’m still going to take issue with your occasional moments of bad writing/acting, and Skye will always kind of bug me, but tonight you owned it. You owned it hard.
Second, I need to drop a SPOILER ALERT x 10, because not only will reading this review spoil the crap out of tonight’s episode, but it will also spoil the crap out of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”
Paranoia Ensues
Last week, Coulson and Fitz discovered that May was communicating with someone in secret while Agent Hand hijacked their plane. Considering the events of the new Captain America movie, it makes sense that nobody trusts anybody else. It’s a motif that tonight’s episode uses to a surprisingly strong effect. There were double crosses, triple crosses, cross-eyed stares, star-crossed lovers—I lost count of the amount of crosses that happened tonight. The best thing about these plot twists? I honestly didn’t see any of them coming. Each one smacked me upside the head like a bully who wants my lunch money.
We begin the episode thinking that Agent Hand is the Clairvoyant, but as the plot bounced back and forth between SHIELD HQ revealing its shady HYDRA connections that were revealed in “Cap 2” and Coulson trying to maintain order on his own ship, pretty much everyone except Skye and Ward are accused of being sleeper agents—speaking of those two, they share a surprisingly intimate kissy moment right before Ward jumps out of a broom closet and beats the shit out of fifteen some odd SHIELD security enforcers. I’m not sure if I liked this step in their relationship—it was kind of like seeing Luke and Leia kiss after learning that they were actually siblings.
The Twist(s)
The moment that Garrett starts ranting about how imperative it is to kill Agent Hand is the moment that Coulson, along with the rest of us, figure out a terrible truth. It’s been Garrett all along—he’s been sending SHIELD all over the place in an effort to gain access to whatever it was that brough Coulson back to life—which he totally did. Hand manages to step in right when Garrett has the drop on our friends, and the good good guys manage to apprehend the bad good guys. Despite neutralizing Garrett, the remaining agents who haven’t sold out to HYDRA are now scattered across the world, and it’s a good bet that their lives aren’t going to get any easier.
Right up to the closing credits, the showrunners continued to throw out some insane curve balls, the last of which will completely change the show’s dynamic from here on out. As Hand and Ward are transporting Garrett to a prison facility, Hand offers Ward the chance to shoot Garrett for all of the nasty things he’s done. Once Ward has the gun however, he shoots everyone BUT Garrett—yes, Ward has officially been compromised. It’s a great moment as we see a cunning smile creep across Garrett’s face, and this will definitely create some drama as the season progresses. Totally unexpected, and totally ballzy. It’s this kind of plot twist that makes me think someone knows what they’re doing behind the scenes.
Verdict
After seeing “Winter Soldier,” I was very curious about how SHIELD’s downfall would affect the show. At the conclusion of tonight’s episode, when our characters were thrust into the same situation as the rogue Jedi after the execution of Order 66 and the crew of the Galactica after Cylons destroy the Twelve Colonies, my enthusiasm for the show grew three sizes. It was a long haul, and I haven’t completely shelved my inner skeptic, but tonight’s episode was the movie/TV crossover that I had been hoping for since I heard about the show’s creation. Tonight, “Agents of SHIELD” had the same vibe as a crossover comic book event, which I need to see more of. If Marvel Studios can take the comic book template and move it into motion pictures and television, the world will truly be a better place.