I think that it’s safe to say that we were all excited for this week’s episode of ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.‘. Aside from seeking redemption for the disappointing ‘Thor: The Dark World’ crossover episode ‘The Well’, it was generally exciting to see Jamie Alexander guest star as Lady Sif to take on Lorelei on our television screens rather than in a theater. However, by the end of the episode, I feel like the audience as a whole was more focused on a different badass female on the show.
When we last saw Agent Coulson and company, they were on a race against time to retrieve the necessary experimental medications to keep Skye alive after her altercation with Ian Quinn. However, since Director Fury was MIA, the crew on the Bus had to do things the old-fashioned way and track down the facility where Coulson was treated after ‘The Avengers’. Luckily, they got to the Guest House in the nick of time to acquire the GH-325, but before the complex was blown to bits, Coulson learned that the source of this mysterious elixir came from half of a blue alien in a tube.
Now, with many, many questions left to be answered, the team continues on with new missions when Sif ventures to Midgard in search of Lorelei, a sorceress with the power to control men who intends on taking over the realm. Things get a little more difficult when the villain takes control of Agent Ward. Now with a worthy warrior by her side, the sultry siren seeks to take over Las Vegas while simultaneously mucking things up for Ward, May, and just about anyone else who comes in contact with her.
Lorelei thought she’d be appearing in ‘Sons of Anarchy’.The first thing that I have to say is that this episode did indeed live up to all the hype prior to its debut. Lady Sif’s appearance on the show had a great story, tons of action, and did an excellent job of introducing a lesser-known character from Marvel Comics into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Of course, ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ has done that successfully in the past with Deathlok and Graviton, but Lorelei was much more fleshed out than those two were in their first appearances.
Next, this episode managed to make a good thing out of a mediocre thing as they managed to tie in the story of the Berserker Staff and actually make it’s existence a bit more meaningful. When Lorelei took control of Ward, she noted that he has the anger of a Berserker, which combined with his S.H.I.E.L.D. training makes him a superior warrior than the married guy in the desert, Rooster the biker, or any other human male she has come in contact with. What a great way to take something that largely disappointed their audience and bring it back in a really interesting way to add another layer to the story.
Speaking of Ward, that dude is in some serious trouble after this episode and it’s not just because he did some nasty stuff while under Lorelei’s control. Since it was established that the sorceress’ powers make her into her victims’ greatest desires, that means that they retain all their thoughts and who they are while under her spell. That’s why it’s a little troubling when Ward reveals that Agent May, who he’s involved with, isn’t the one that he truly desired before Lorelei. I have a feeling that the writers are bringing it back to a romance between Skye and Ward, which seems a little cliché at this point, but this show has definitely surprised me before, so maybe when we get the reveal of who Ward really wants to be with, it’ll still be interesting and unexpected.
Finally, I can’t end this without mentioning May in the post-credits scene. Up until this point, she has been established as one of Coulson’s closest friends. They have a history and they interact differently with each other than they do with any other agents. But now to find out that she’s in on the whole conspiracy covering up Coulson’s resurrection is such a huge development in the show. As if finding out that Coulson and Skye are going into business for themselves on the side to find out the information that’s being kept from them wasn’t enough, this had to come immediately afterwards. This was definitely one of those moments when I shouted, “NO WAY!” at my television set. I didn’t even consider this to be a thing until it actually happened and now I’m just so stoked to find out how this plays out.
Philip, Son of Coul, with Lady Sif of AsgardBasically, there were just so many great things about ‘Yes Men’. From the jokes (especially one about the old woman on the $100 dollar bill) to the fight scenes to the reference to the various blue aliens in the universe including the Kree (which happens to be my prediction of what race that tube dude belongs to), this episode of ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ really brought its A-game. I hope that there continues to be other excellent guest stars from the films like Jamie Alexander and that the show keeps up this degree of quality that it has been delivering since the midseason finale. Especially since Nick Fury is going to have to show up again eventually because of how deep Coulson is digging into this classified information. Oh man, when that happens, shit is really going to hit the fan and I can’t wait. But until then, I will end this by saying that this show has gotten exponentially better and everyone who quit on it should catch up and give it another chance.
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‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ starring Brett Dalton, Ming-Na Wen, Iain De Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge, Chloe Bennet, and Clark Gregg airs on Tuesdays at 8:00pm on ABC.
