Marvel's Agents of SHIELD Review by John Keegan

Marvel's Agents of SHIELD 3.08: Many Heads, One Tale

Marvel's Agents of SHIELD 3.08: Many Heads, One Tale

Written By:
Jed Whedon and DJ Doyle
Directed By:
Garry A. Brown

Anyone who is a major fan of the Whedonverse had to stand and applaud during the reveal regarding Hydra and the “ram’s head” symbol that has been popping up everywhere.  Not because of how it has been lingering in the background for a while, but rather, because fans of Angel will no doubt be thinking of Wolfram and Hart.  And really, they are probably the same organization in the end, right?

 


 

I’ve mentioned many times over the years that I’m a sucker for storylines that reveal secret histories, and between the Inhumans and the truth about Hydra, the past couple seasons are hitting all the right notes.  Of course, it’s been said since the beginning of the series that “it’s all connected”, so I suppose this shouldn’t have been much of a shock.  Even so, I love it when the pieces start falling into place!

 

This episode also rather prominently took the FitzSimmons ship to a completely different level, and that has been long-awaited by many.  It also raises the rather obvious question of what to do about Will, although now that seems to have an equally obvious solution.  Looking back, wouldn’t it make sense if Will himself was the all-powerful being that Hydra was trying to bring back from the other side of the portal?

 


 

I was a bit concerned about Coulson’s closeness to Rosalind after the previous episode, but as it turns out, he was playing quite the angle.  There is some indication that it was at least a slightly tragic level of misunderstanding at play; Rosalind may have been betraying Coulson to some degree, but not nearly as much as he believed.  I suppose that’s not much consolation, really, but it’s better than turning her into some kind of maniacal villain.  I prefer motivations that are somewhat relatable.

 

Even as Hydra’s origins were expanded beyond the implications of the earlier days of the MCU, there were ties to the previous incarnations that have appeared in the films.  Gideon and Ward’s power struggle was nice to see, and it also puts Ward’s activities in perspective.  It was a little too easy for him to assume control of Hydra as it was; having him discover just how little he understood about the organization was a bit more intriguing.  That, and seeing him take down Gideon’s men was a lot of fun.

 


 

Agents of SHIELD has been putting down the framework for a great mid-season finale, and so far the third season has been the show’s strongest material to date.  I’m still worried about the fate of the series as a whole; they might be able to get a fourth season based on the legendary syndication formula that still prevails, but that’s all I see happening at this point.  Of course, at this rate, the show might live on via Netflix, if the popularity of that corner of the MCU is any indication.
Our Grade:
B+
The Good:
  • The secret connections between the Inhumans and Hydra
  • Fitz-Simmons. The ship has launched!
The Bad:
  • Those ratings continue to worry me.

John Keegan aka "criticalmyth", is one of the hosts of the "Critical Myth" podcast heard here on VOG Network's radio feed Monday, Wednesday & Friday. You can follow him on twitter at @criticalmyth

Marvel's Agents of SHIELD by - 11/21/2015 2:15 PM144 views

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