Good day oh trill believers of the internets, it’s that time
again to talk about Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I have to concede this episode didn’t make me
that angry while I was watching. It was, for once, quite enjoyable even
if it seems that good episodes are quite far and few between in the first half of the
season. This episode is called The Hub and it’s about the team’s first encounter with one of the major ops bases of S.H.I.E.L.D.
and the mysterious level 8.
The starts with a cold open of Coulson being fake captured
and May being the heavy again. With both saving some agent in the artic with
some decently done mission impossible like fighting and escaping. I was quite
impressed since we rarely get a lot real SHIELD stuff in an episode... it was
refreshing. Then the episode picks up pretty closely to the end of last week’s
episode, which I hated where Jemma almost died from an alien electricity
virus. Fitz takes something out of the Agent's nose like something
from the old Total Recall movie. The team asks what’s on the weird nose device
but Coulson, because its level 8, doesn't answer as they don’t have the clearance for that. They then go to a place called the Hub. During
that Skye learns that her ID bracelet means she has like negative clearance and
that there are some thing’s she can’t know because she doesn’t have the
clearance to know. Cue moments of her acting like a spoiled brat of intense
proportions. At the Hub the all the young characters are impressed and we are
introduced to Agent Victoria Hand who has a meeting with Coulson and Hand tells
him that she wants Ward and a another agent to go into the field to take out
this crazy vibration/weapon control device from a group that wants to separate
from Russia and Georgia. Ward picks Fitz and the buddy adventure begins.
The two have to take out the device by 6 a.m. And then call for extraction. Those two are
cool but we then have more Skye complaining why and Coulson trying to explain
basic things TV characters get in other procedurals. This is where the episode splits into three
plot lines. The Ward and Fitz kick ass James Bond Jr. and IQ spy mission. Then
there is the Skye talking Jemma into helping her break into the Hub to REALLY
find out about Ward/Fitz’s mission and then the last part of Coulson having
issues all of the sudden following orders and talking to Agent May. All of the Ward and Fitz stuff is really fun
and thankfully takes up the majority of the episode. The two guys having this
adventure of looking for the device and getting info from locals is fun and is
some that has been greatly lacking in a show about super spies. Fitz is a times
very bumbling and Ward has to save him but you learn a bit more about the
characters and none of it really bothersome to watch.
Now let’s compare it to the girl team up of Jemma and Skye
which is the exact opposite because now you’re sitting through this character
that has with each episode has become more and more dead weight go along with
Jemma who because of her feelings for Fitz decides that going into places that
she isn’t supposed to is cool and knocking out a higher ranked agent is okay. Then
there is the point where Skye hacks into the Hub’s computer system (GTFOH) and
has to decide if she should steal info on what her past might be or the info on
the mission. This part collides with the Coulson’s dilemma about his people
being sent out into the field without him or his team assisting them. Coulson
essentially saves her butt again and gives her a stern talking too while she
again complains about the whys of following of orders and then tells Coulson
that there is not exit plan for those two. This leads to Coulson having another
conversation with Agent Hand where she just basically says that the best SHIELD
Agents finds a way out like good old Black Widow and Hawkeye.
Coulson and May decide to go get Ward and Fitz while those
two unaware are completing the mission. Fitz is deactivating the device while
Ward watches his back. With it being deactivated the Hand sends in forces and
Ward and Fitz has to fight their way out with Fitz making a cool weapon on the fly
and as they exits dodging explosions and such they see the Bus (giant plane)
and they get saved by their team. Both Skye and Jemma are pleased to the guys
so the whole team is happy to be together again and Fitz is tougher. They are
really setting up this romances the jocks and nerds (because Skye ain’t any
nerd) so that somebody we like Fitz is going to die at least to me. Agent Hand
seems pleased that Coulson’s team figured out how to get them and Agent Sitwell
was not too much, but more on him below. Coulson has another talk with Skye and
tells her some info he learned about her being dropped off at the orphanage by
an unknown female S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. He tells her that he put in a request to
find out more and that makes Skye happy. Coulson then goes and has a talk with
May about it and how he couldn’t tell Skye about why she was left there and
that he needs May’s help into digging deeper into Skye’s secret origins. Coulson
then makes a call to somewhere into SHIELD uses all these fancy codes (file
designated BCY307604. Agent authorization code X-2896 ) and gets told that he
doesn’t have clearance for that file and would he like for a request to made to
Director Fury. Coulson then looks way salty.
Did You Know:
So I kind of didn’t talk about Agent Sitwell much. He’s in
the episode a lot as Hand’s right hand man.
He has been in Thor and Avengers and the short films the Consultant and
Item 47 in this whole MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). In the comics Sitwell is
that dude. He’s been with Fury since the beginning of the comic feature and he
was also the liaison to Stark Industries. He’ll probably be in Captain America: The Winter Soldier since in the comics he worked with Fury in regards to
tracking the Winter Solider.
Also Victoria Hand is a fairly new and popular addition to
the comics. She appeared as Norman Osborn’s chosen S.H.I.E.L.D. person to be
his second in command when he took over the organization and re named it H.A.M.M.E.R.
For the most part has been considered someone the Heroes can’t trust because
she worked so well for Osborn. It looks like the show will have to take an
entirely different approach since there is no Osborn here.
Also there was a small mention of the Triskelion which might be the base we see in cap 2.
