(Marvel Studios, 2015)
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.
“One Door Closes”
Directed by David Solomon; Written by Lauren LeFranc & Rafe Judkins
[SPOILERS!!]
Review: Man, this episode was great!
So much actually happened, and this is definitely one of the strongest episodes not only of the season, but also of the series. We get the explanation as to why Bobbi and Mack are on an opposing version of SHIELD, we get yet another organization invasion – poor Coulson – and Skye finally gets to rock it (pun intended)!
Let’s just get the worst problem of this episode out of the way quickly, so that we can get to all the good stuff. I don’t believe Gonzalez and crew could have gotten to Coulson and the others as fast as they did after Bobbi gave them the call – unless they were set up near them, but I didn’t see any indication that they were. I also don’t think they could have taken out Coulson’s SHIELD as fast and effectively as they did – but then this is the second time this season something like this has happened (see: Coulson taking out several heads of HYDRA at once).
And during the fall of SHIELD flashback, I believe Gonzalez and Bobbi were too easily persuaded by Mack to not bring the ship down and everyone with it. Was it a tough call to make? Yes. Was this one of the weakest screen moments I’ve seen of a character using friendship and love to persuade his colleagues to imagine a different course of action? Most definitely.
Also, where is Agent Koenig during all of this? I really want to see more of him!
Anyways, those were really the worst things about this episode, so from here on out it’s probably just going to be a bunch of gushing.
I loved how Skye finally got some real information about herself, and being given the knowledge that there is a lot more out there like she is made it just the better. I’m very interested in Gordon, and what exactly his powers are. We know its teleportation, but it seems he has the power of omniscient as well and I really want to know what’s going on here?
My favorite moment of the episode though is the final one, where Skye finally lets loose and knocks a large section of a forest on its ass – along with Bobbi and Calderon. I still like Bobbi a lot, and it’s nice to see one of the big actors from Fringe making his way to Agents of SHIELD.
Overall I enjoyed the fall of SHIELD flashback, and it really helped open up the world of that event much more. Yeah, season 1 covered that event and its fallout in a lot more detail than The Winter Soldier did but it’s still so nice to see others being affected by it and exactly the events that led to where they are now.
This episode had it all, two moving and intriguing storylines pushed forward by leaps and bounds, a lot of action, great character moments (see: Simmons out witting Bobbi in a wonderful playing dumb scene), and some insane plot twists.
Now to see Lance Hunter and Coulson having to work exclusively together… that should be fun!
Final Score: 4.5 Unlikely Team-ups 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