Here's something I thought I'd never say: what ever happened to that Agent Grant Ward? Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s man of action was as bland as Melba toast, that is until it suddenly turned out that he was HYDRA-ish affiliated, an apprentice of the evil John Garrett. Then, all of the sudden, Ward was complex and driven. He was a character we wanted to learn more about because it turned out there was more to learn. And then he started out the second season as a kind of hunky Hannibal but with less eating people, gently telling S.H.I.E.L.D. everything they wanted to know about HYDRA, but not everything he knew. But after being shot by Skye and left for dead in Puetro Rico, it's time to ask the question, what the heck happened to Ward?
Finally, an episode about everyone's favorite fake husband secret agent! Of course, you know I'm being sarcastic, right? Holding on to Tom Keen as a regular character on The Blacklist struck me as a move akin to when Alias tried to hold on to characters like Will and Francie even though the point of having them around had long since disappeared and taking time out of the plot to service them seemed more a distraction than anything. The Blacklist has had many chances to eliminate Tom Keen, but for some reason it feels compelled to keep him in play. Now, presented with another opportunity to get rid of him in this episode, they once again passed up on the chance.
Skye's dad recruits of a team of villains to take on the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., while Skye herself struggles with her new powers and her place on the team.
The Blacklist is always at its best when the villain-of-the-week is a compelling presence with an easy to understand motivation and paired with an actor with the right kind of talent to draw you into the character. "T. Earl King VI" was a great example of all of that, as it featured a number of outstanding guest stars, an easy to understand mission, and a solution that didn't call for the dumbing down of the FBI in order to highlight the smartiness of Red.
It seems like forever since we last checked in with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the other Marvel TV series that almost seems lost in the wave of universal acclaim for Agent Carter. The shame is that the series left us all hanging with a cliffhanger, a juicy one that had serious implications for the characters on the show and in the greater tapestry of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Inhumans arrived with the sad passing of Trip and the sudden evolutionary leap of both Raina and Skye. Or do we mean, Daisy? Big change is hard to accept, and this first episode of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s second half was all about trying to cling on to normal even if holding on to what's normal is now impossible.
