(Marvel Studios, 2015)
Season 2 Episode 12 –
Summary: Agent Phil Coulsen leads a ragtag group of agents through the mud as he fights Hydra and any other baddies that comes along the way. As our heroes learn to adapt to one another, and the changes happening around them the lines between fiction and reality begin to blur. This is a tale where not every superhero needs a power to save the day. This is a tale about survivors.
“Who You Really Are”
Directed by Roxann Dawson; Written by Drew Z. Greenberg
[SPOILERS!!]
Review: This episode had a lot of standing around. “What a weird way to open a review,” you say, but given what we saw in this episode, and who we saw in this episode, it had a lot of standing around, a not nearly enough action. - I’m not going to sit here and say action is the end all, be all element needed to make anything good. Standing around scenes can be a good thing for character development, but not only do we not get a great deal of character development this issue, but given the fact the both Sif and a Kree warrior were in this I would’ve loved to have seen more fists flying than there were.
However, having both Sif and Vin-Tak in this episode was fun to see, and it makes me really happy to see Marvel digging deeper into their cosmic side through TV. With the involvement of the Inhumans, and now an official Kree on Shield, I am absolutely stoked to see what comes next. - I did find it funny that Sif was guest starring in an episode where her enemy has a tiny hammer, much like her beloved Thor.
Seeing Sif as an amnesiac for most of the episode was hard, I’m sure Jaimie Alexander was probably giving it her best performance but never in the episode did it feel “right.” It didn’t feel like an amnesia Sif, but a Sif who was trying really hard not to let anyone else know her true identity. Vin-Tak was fun to watch, and it was very interesting to me to see both character come to same conclusion that Skye is automatically a monster since she underwent Terragenesis. I was saddened that he wasn’t blue more often in the episode. I don’t know if it was budget constraints, or if they still believe their audience won’t except aliens just yet.
Well, GotG was Marvel’s biggest movie hit or close to it, and Avengers was also the same, noth of which have aliens. Also Shield is unfortunately consistently having low ratings. They might as well just write it straight for the fans and embrace what they really are by this point. No reason to keep Vin-Tak restrained. Let him go blue!
Poor Skye though, I felt so bad for her this episode, with everyone telling her she’s a monster through and through. Even Jemma is still acting crazy xenophobic even for her. I could definietly believe Jemma of all people would become a lot more protective against anything alien, but not like this. Not when her friend clearly needs her help and understanding in this change she’s gone through.
This will most likely shape Skye in a terrible way to come, with everyone automatically against her when it’s clear she’s trying her best. - I like the writers aren’t sugar coating that not everyone approves of this change, but with the exception of Fitz, everyone is being written overboard on the matter. And I don’t like it.
My favorite thing about this entire episode was the blatant reveal of Terragenesis. I’m so glad we didn’t take forever to address the issue, and they were able to flat out tell it like it is. She has alien DNA and underwent a Terragenesis transformation. I love that. And I am excited for the reveal of more diviners out there – and I don’t mean the teaser from the mid-season finale, but that there are many, many diviners out there that were once brought down from the Kree.
It’s all this Inhuman business I’m the most excited for, and I’m so ready to get to the exploring of it.
This episode was great for setting that up, but I felt a lot of the character were held back in order to do it.
Final Score: 3 Terragenesis Crystals out of 5
Derrick is a born and raised otaku with a love for comics, anime, manga and movies. The full list is pretty long, but that’s just the basics. Stories set in space are his bread and butter.
You can find more of his writing at IndieComix.net
@KazekunForever