Elsewhere, Ward’s plan to torture Bobbi into apologizing for Kara’s torture and brainwashing at the hands of HYDRA was doomed to fail, but it did set up a tense rescue as Hunter searched for a booby trapped Bobbi. Bobbi took the brunt to save Hunter, nearly dying in the process, but nothing reunites two lovers like one nearly dying. In the end, Bobbi tells Hunter though that she wants to quit, which seems like a move left over from the aborted S.H.I.E.L.D. spinoff that wasn’t announced today. I think it’s safe to say that both Hunter and Bobbi will be back on the team next fall.
Another person back on the team is Mack. True, he told Coulson he was quitting last week after admitting that he was unable to trust the director, but surviving an Inhuman invasion of the aircraft carrier and getting a promotion to supervisor of alien artifacts can change a man’s mind. Mack got more than few badass moments tonight, but none were more cool than when Gordon finds him sitting on the container with the crystals. “Who are you?” says Gordon. “You’re Gordon, right?” Mack replied. “Well I’m the guy that kills Gordon.” I was sure that Mack would pay the price for that piece of awesomeness, but instead he got a promotion. In part it’s penance for cutting off his bosses hand with an axe. It sounds silly, but when Coulson caught that crystal I thought he was a goner. Then, whack! Hope Coulson’s a righty.
Forming his own team now is Ward. A development I’m not 100 per cent sure about because it hinges on the idea that Ward cared a great deal for Kara and is willing to become the new head of HYDRA in order to avenge her. In part one, May set him up beautifully by getting Kara to disguise herself as May, thus getting her killed by Ward. Great maneuver, and one that seemed to not pay-off as the focus in part two turned to the Inhumans. I thought the writers might have just dropped Ward, but to have him turn up in the end and getting a little drunky over Kara seemed a little melodramatic. It will be cool to see Ward keep HYDRA alive, don’t get me wrong, and hopefully it will make him more of a consistent threat. But doing it for Kara? I’m not buying it.
We also say goodbye to Raina, who’s precognition gift was enough to convince Skye that something was off in the Inhuman kingdom, and like some figure of a tragedy, her warning is sealed with her death. In the end, it seemed like an important character like Raina got the short-shrift being dispatched so quickly and dispassionately. Ruth Negga’s been one of the most consistently good aspects of the show, but I wonder how much of her unceremonious departure has to do with her starring role on AMC’s upcoming Preacher series.
Cliffhanger? After Fitz and Simmons aired out some feelings, and Fitz found his gumption to ask Simmons out on an actual date, Simmons gets sucked up into the transforming goo that was being kept in the cargo bay of the aircraft carrier. Being sucked up into goo need not necessarily mean death, but will it mean that Simmons will be transformed in some way? Will she have powers of her own? Will she be the vessel for some kind of sentient lifeform in the artifact? Unknown, but we should have seen it coming. Typical Whedon, eh? A couple comes close to living happily ever after and one of them gets shot, or permanently possessed by a demon.
Anyways, that’s it for this season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. A well done and engaging season overall, but one that threw so much at the viewer all at once that it was covering up some of the structural flaws it still has. Hopefully season three will address better action directed by character as opposed to throwing out all these outside elements like another new S.H.I.E.L.D. faction or unnecessary teasing of big screen features that have zero reciprocal impact on the show itself. Fortunately, that’s a problem we won’t have to worry about till next May with Captain America: Civil War, but if you think that S.H.I.E.L.D. won’t have to pick a side, you’re crazy. Not like Cal crazy, but crazy.