Episode 9 is titled “Repairs”. A guy has a crush on a safety inspector so he loosens some bolts to get her attention and the ploy causes an explosion in a power plant. It inadvertently opens a gateway from hell so he floats between reality and hell to haunt her. I do not really care for ghost stories so I am not a big fan of the episode. The aspect of the episode that I do want to comment on is the focus on Agent Melinda May. She has been portrayed as a tough and lethal agent. She is emotionally guarded and means business. The episode begins with a shot of her and Agent Grant Ward in his hotel room after spending the night together. It is an odd couple. They are the two physically strong agents within the team and both like to do things alone. Both of them started the season lacking personality. While Agent May is still the same, Agent Ward has loosened up during the season and been a little more intriguing. Accordingly, Ward is playful and is not afraid of the relationship while May wants it completely private and kept secret from the team. It is obvious the show wants to have a romance within the team. In my opinion, it picked the wrong two characters for it as they have been mostly dull most of the series. Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz would have been a better pairing as they are very entertaining as comical relief, definitely attracted to each other, and have good chemistry on screen. Earlier in the season, I thought Skye and Ward could have worked well together when he was her senior officer and mentored her. Their interactions together during that time were done well.
Back to Agent May, we also learn about the reason she is called the “Cavalry”. As with most stories, it gets exaggerated over time. In a practical joke, Fitz and Simmons convince Skye that May defeated over 100 men on horseback. Of course, the truth is more modest and somber. Coulson tells Skye that S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents were trapped in a building with a “gifted individual” and his followers/ worshippers. May took it upon herself to save them and defeated the enemy force. However, no one knows how she did it because she kept it to herself. The event changed her. Coulson notes that she was always quiet but she use to be warm, pulled pranks, and thought the rules were meant to be broken. The description reminds Coulson of Skye. It is a very good story. Hopefully, they will show exactly what happened in a future episode. Naturally, she is the agent that handles the ghost in the episode. At the end of the episode, she shows signs of lightening up as she pulls a prank on Fitz. Nevertheless, she reverts back to the cold, no nonsense agent in the next episode. Coulson tells Skye that May is taking the lead on finding more information on her parents. In reality, Couslon wants to keep the truth from Skye and wants May to play along. However, May shows no compassion. She belittles Skye for her emotional attachments and questions her commitment to the team. It is a very difficult scene to watch. I have not been a fan of Ming-Na Wen’s portrayal of May. She is supposed to be a tough, badass agent. Unfortunately, she just comes off as mean.
In the midseason finale, “The Bridge” links various storylines of the first half of the season together. First, the Centipede organization reenters the picture. It has improved its Extremis formula and uses it to inject Commandos to give them super strength that is used to spring Edison Po (Cullen Douglas) from prison. Po is the mysterious man that is visited by Raina (Ruth Negga), “The Girl with the Flower Dress” earlier in the season. He has ties to someone called the Clairvoyant, who has some kind of ability to foresee the future. Centipede seeks the Clairvoyant’s guidance in order to find out how to reach Stage 3, the next level of its Extremis formula. I like Raina as a character. She is mysterious and is a villain with charm. I did not like Po in the episode. He is a goofy, Saturday morning cartoon villain.
As Centipede is employing superpower commandos, S.H.I.E.L.D. needs help. Accordingly, it turns to Mike Peterson (J. August Richards). He also obtained his super strength from Centipede. In the first episode of the season, Coulson’s team hunted him to stop him as he was unstable and violent since the serum was unstable. However, he is actually a good guy that wants to be a hero. As a result, he passionately wants to join Coulson’s team to make a difference and redeem himself. Moreover, the serum has stabilized in him since the beginning of the season. I really like Mike Peterson as a character. He has personality and loves his son. During the episode, Raina and Centipede kidnap his son. While it is initially believed that they want to exchange his son for Peterson as it is implied that the stabilization of the serum in him is the key to Stage 3, Centipede actually wants Coulson. One of the running subplots throughout the season has been the mystery surrounding Coulson’s resurrection. As a result, it is apparently the key to Centipede’s Stage 3. It is a decent cliffhanger for the midseason finale.
Overall Assessment of Season
The show has had some very good moments. However, it has been inconsistent for me. I watch the show but I am not eager to get to Tuesday each week just so I can watch it. Clark Gregg is excellent reprising the role of Phil Coulson. I also enjoy Chloe Bennett’s portrayal of Skye. She is beautiful with a personality and spunk. The conversations between Coulson and her are also excellent. Fitz and Simmons are characters for comical relief and have their moments. May and Grant are supposed to be badasses but come off as boring. At least with Grant, he has shown a personality. His scenes with Skye are also very good. The show is good for Marvel fans. However, it does not have broader appeal. In my opinion, Coulson and Skye are clearly the reasons to watch the show. Their stories will determine whether the show survives. I hope the truth behind Coulson’s resurrection and Skye’s parents are great stories in the second half of the season. I also hope that Centipede and the Clairvoyance become imposing villains instead of goofy sideshows.
About Pat Wong
Patrick is a contributor for Rookerville. He is an avid sports fan. Before joining Rookerville, he was part of a defunct New York Yankees message board, NYYankeefans, where he was its top poster and was inducted in its Hall of Fame for his contributions. Patrick is also a passionate fan of movies. He has enjoyed reading movie reviews over the years and is excited about the opportunity to review movies.