'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' Midseason Finale Recap: What Happens in the Portal Doesn't Stay in the Portal
Warning: This recap for the “Maveth” episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. contains spoilers.
The good news: Coulson got his revenge and killed Ward. The bad news: Not even death can keep Ward from wreaking havoc on S.H.I.E.L.D. and its agents.
The Plot
Back on Earth, Mack and Team S.H.I.E.L.D. storm Hydra’s castle. Simmons escapes and runs into an incarcerated Andrew. He convinces her to let him out and returns the favor by helping her escape. The remaining sleeping Inhumans aren’t so lucky; he murders them all.
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S.H.I.E.L.D. barricades itself in the portal room, and Mack sends everyone but Daisy back to the plane as the duo wait for Fitz and Coulson to return. On the planet, Ward forces Fitz to lead them to the exit portal, but he leads them to Will instead. They all head towards the portal, but Will kills most of Hydra in a storm, and Coulson kills Ward. Will reveals that he’s actually the demon, and Fitz sets him ablaze with a flare. Mack orders the castle destroyed, and he, Daisy, Fitz, and Coulson make it back to the Zephyr in one piece. What they don’t know is: The demon made it back, too, in the guise of Ward.
Amazing Grace
Again, we see how this show has mastered the graceful art of the Obvious Plot Sidestep. There was always a very good chance that Will was the demon — the fact that Simmons fell in love with him would make the reveal even more dramatic — and his behavior this episode made it clear that he was, in fact, possessed/duplicated.
A lesser show would simply give the audience what they expected: Will is the demon, always was, and Simmons was a dummy who fell for it. By making the smallest tweak to expectation — Will was real, but died saving her — Simmons isn’t a dupe, Will’s sacrifice is more meaningful, and you still end up with the same result of the demon loose on Earth. Comic book shows suffer the scrutiny of nerds endlessly speculating and theorizing, which is a special kind of pressure, and Agents gives them what they want without sliding into predictability.
Amazing Laughs
One of the hallmarks of a Joss Whedon joint is the use of snarky asides to make the fantastical feel more down-to-earth. The lack of humor in the first two seasons was a big part of why many episodes fell flat. Agents has been pretty good about it this year — in particular, the interplay between Coulson and Rosalind.
They’ve had some difficulty fitting Lance Hunter into the role of the guy who calls out the weirdness, but he is on fire this episode. As a blustering tough guy fighting other tough guys, he’s annoying, but when he’s outclassed and outgunned by telekinetics and alien planets, his snappy comebacks have an edge of desperation that make him positively endearing.
Ward, You Jerk (Continued from Last Recap)
When we talked to Brett Dalton about Ward, he said, “I can’t really think of anything else that I would also like to do on the show that I didn’t get a chance to.” And if you think about it, we’ve seen him flush with victory, crushed in defeat, madly in love, and scrambling to survive. It sounds a bit like they’ve taken the character as far as it can go, and now they’re giving him a serious overhaul. Whatever’s left of Ward may simply be leftovers after the demon has consumed him.
Amazing Inhumanisms
* Thank heavens Will is dead. Not because he wasn’t great — just because three dudes with dark hair and beards on the same show gets really confusing. Between Will, Ward, and Joey, the show was starting to resemble Orphan Black’s Clone Club.
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* Why don’t either the planet or Hydra’s demon/Inhuman have a name? Even a placeholder name? Let’s all agree that it’s Planet Smurf, and the world-destroying menace is called Gargamel. Cool?
* If you yelled, “What’s in the booooox?!” like Brad Pitt in Se7en as the Containment Module approached Zephyr One, that was the correct thing to say.
* Coulson leaving his hand behind after spatchcocking Ward on the Smurf Planet seems like he got all the rage and vengeance out of him, and he’s ready to reassume command of S.H.I.E.L.D. What happens when Ward shows back up next season?
* Line of the Night: “This is how S.H.I.E.L.D. works. We make a plan, the plan turns to rubbish, we make a new plan. Oh, just to be crystal clear? This is the part where the plan turns to rubbish.” Honorable mention also goes to Hunter for his line about what he’ll do if Gargamel comes through the portal: “I’ll probably run.”
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns Tuesday, March 8 on ABC.
