Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Episode 7

Score: 6/10

 

In “The Hub, the show brings us to a S.H.I.E.L.D. base called the Hub, run by Agent Victoria Hand (Saffron Burrows). We learn that there is another hierarchy of clearance, level 8. At the Hub, they are strict on hierarchy and limiting access. As one could imagine, S.H.I.E.L.D. has a lot of sensitive, classified information that cannot be released as it could endanger missions and its agents. Accordingly, only Coulson has level 8 clearance to be briefed on his team’s next mission. Nevertheless, Agents Melinda May and Grant Ward participate as one of them is required for the task. A separatist group in Russia has a weapon referred to as the “Overkill”. It has the power to disable and destroy weapons. Accordingly, it can cause the missiles on a jet or helicopter to explode or even cause nuclear missiles in nearby silos to explode. As the weapon makes the group very dangerous, Agent Hand wants to engage two members of Coulson’s team to disable the weapon. The two members she requests are Agent Ward and tech savvy Leo Fitz. Ward is needed to infiltrate the base and physically fight through combatants as necessary while Fitz is required to disarm the weapon. Ward and Fitz is an odd team. Ward is not personable while Fitz does not stop talking. As such, Fitz constantly tries to strike conversation with Ward with little success. It is not my ideal pairing of characters on the show. For this reason, this episode is not as good as other recent episodes.

 

Skye is very uncomfortable about the secrecy of the mission. She tries to pry Agent May and Coulson for information to no avail. At S.H.I.E.L.D., the agents are asked to just trust the system and not ask questions above their clearance. Of course, this structure is completely against Skye’s nature. Accordingly, she teams with Jemma Simmons in order to hack the network for information. In the most entertaining scene in the episode, Simmons is caught trying to access a panel in a restrictive area. She completely cracks under the pressure and says hilarious, off the wall comments in her panic with Skye trying to coach her through an earpiece. As the Hub agent, Jasper Stillwell (Maximiliano Hernández) realizes the scheme, Simmons is forced to tranquilize him. Afterwards, Skye obtains information about Ward and Fitz’s mission that shows they were sent in without an extraction plan. In essence, it is a suicide mission as S.H.I.E.L.D intends to bomb the area as soon as the Overkill is disabled. Of course, Skye questions Coulson about the information. He lectures her again about disobeying the orders by obtaining classified information. He makes an excellent point that he needs to know he can trust her in the future. Nevertheless, Coulson is unaware of the information and is furious that Hand did not keep him in the loop as he had a right to know the entire plan as he has level 8 access and the omitted details affect the safety of his team. Accordingly, Coulson and his team fly the Bus to extract Ward and Fitz.

 

The episode does bring up an interesting discussion about spy organizations. Of course, there needs to be secrecy and restriction of access to sensitive information. For example, leaking details of covers or missions can endanger the lives of agents. On the other hand, what kind of oversight and checks do there need to be on these organizations? How much and what types of information should they be allowed to keep from everyone else. In this episode, Skye obtains information that saves the lives of a couple of her teammates. As such, she is portrayed as moral in her actions as the results justified the means. On the other hand, hacking and weakening the defenses of a secured server adds risk that the information could have leaked to others inside and outside of the organization. If information accidentally leaked out to their enemies and compromised the mission, Skye would not have been correct in her decisions. Accordingly, there is a fine line and not a great answer to these questions.

 

At the end of the episode, there were some interesting plot twists in the series related to Skye and Coulson. In a previous episode, Skye admitted to Coulson that she joined S.H.I.E.L.D. hoping to get more information about her birth parents. Coulson tracks down the redacted adoption document. He tells Skye that she was turned in by a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent but that it is unclear whether that agent was her mother. Although he knows more, he keeps the information from Skye for now. He briefs Agent May on the situation and asks her to look into it. As such, the viewer only knows that there is more to the story that will be revealed later. In regards to Coulson, he continues to pry for the truth surrounding his death. During the episode, Agent Hand asks him about his recovery. When she mentions Tahiti, he responds “it is a magical place”. Throughout the series, he has been giving that response robotically at the mention of Tahiti. It is like he has been brainwashed or programmed to associate Tahiti with a magical place. As he has level 8 clearance, he has access to request the file detailing his death. When asks for the file, he is met with the answer that he does not have clearance to the file but can make a request to Director Nick Fury for access to it. Skye and Coulson are my two favorite characters in the show. The mystery around Skye’s birth parents and Coulson’s death during the Avengers is very intriguing. It is definitely an aspect of the series that keeps me interested and watching.

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