Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Review: “The Dirty Half Dozen” (Season 2, Episode 19)

Speaking of changes to character, what are we to make of Good Guy Grant? He seemed to wax the most romantically about the team’s past, even glossing over his part in recent HYDRA actions by saying, “Hey, I’m a freelancer.” Freelancers can have standards though and it seems that Ward has some now, chastising Simmons for trying to kill him and leaving Agent 33 with S.H.I.E.L.D. so she could reclaim her life properly. That’s sweet, but too bad it took doing all that evil stuff to have this epiphany. Between this and Ward’s 33 per cent attendance rating in the second half of the season, I’m not convinced that the show knows what it’s doing with him anymore.

S.H.I.E.L.D.’s got other problems as well: directors with rogue agendas. Coulson’s got Theta Project and some strange secondary mission he’s running while at the HYDRA base much to May’s annoyance. Gonzales, meanwhile, is down right giddy – or as giddy as Edward James Olmos is capable of portraying – that he’s got powered people on his base, presumably because he’s got reasons of his own. Even Bobbi, who’s put her faith in Gonzales, seemed perplexed by Gonzales eagerness to have powered people, not to mention having Skye in custody despite the fact that she’s proved her worth to S.H.I.E.L.D. again.

So the question is, what does Gonzales have in the cargo hold of the aircraft carrier, and why is he surprised that Coulson knows about? In the end, Coulson’s as good as his word and gives Gonzales access to the Tool Box, revealing that Fury will likely be back for it, much to Gonzales’ surprise that the former director is, you know, alive and kicking. I kind of hate this game, but is that a hint that the man in the eye-patch is coming back to the reins of his spy agency again?

Speaking of teasing Age of Ultron, we see that Coulson’s been keeping in touch with Maria Hill, who we know is co-ordinating with the Avengers. Theta Project has something to do with the Avengers, too, because it’s ready and Coulson says to Hill that it’s time to call them in. List mentions “the Twins” as being HYDRA’s only successful super-power effort thus far, and Coulson gives Hill Strucker’s location, which all seems to set up nicely things for Age of Ultron. Again, having not seen it, will we get an answer to the Theta Project question at the multiplex on Friday, or will this be part of next Tuesday’s S.H.I.E.L.D.? For that matter, what will the world of S.H.I.E.L.D. look like next Tuesday with Raina having a premonition freak out about Loki’s scepter, which we know is in Strucker’s possession.

The Easter eggs in the end almost buried the other events in this week’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which is weird given Joss Whedon’s recent comments about his regretting Coulson’s resurrection and how the movies and the TV shows represent their own separate but equal things. It makes me wonder if S.H.I.E.L.D. has fallen back on old habits, coming across as nothing more than a promotion tool for the films and occasionally being allowed to tell its own stories. And since we’re digging into the Inhumans storyline so much, will there be any long-term impact on that end, and will it matter with the Inhumans movie still four years away? Perhaps we’ll know more on these issues of narrative once Friday’s come and gone.