Last week we saw the appearance of the Absorbing Man tasked to steal the original 084 from General Talbot’s secured facility. Also we got to see Director Coulson in his first appearance in the new role and running what was left of S.H.I.E.L.D. with just a skeleton crew. Fitz appeared to be still not right after the incident that saw him sacrifice himself for Simmons before Fury pulled them out of the ocean. Fitz has been having conversations that for the duration of the episode appeared to be with Simmons until the final minutes where it was revealed that he was imagining her and actually talking to himself. With Ward in custody as an information source and the 084 still abroad this week’s episode should be another high paced adventure.
The opening scene shows the car wreck from last week and Agent Hunter telling Agent May that the Absorbing Man has the 084. May goes after Creel, the Absorbing Man, and leaves Hunter to be arrested by Talbot’s soldiers. Coulson calls off May’s pursuit of Creel to try and track him to whomever his calling the shots. The Soldiers drop Agent Hunter off the side of a county road where General Talbot flies in and picks him up in a helicopter. Back inside the base Fitz comes in while they are dissecting the stolen cloaking device from the Quinjet they stole in the last episode. Fitz shows distress at trying to explain the science behind the device and awkwardly makes his exit.
Talbot and Hunter are shown in a helicopter while Talbot tries to bribe Coulson’s whereabouts from him and it appears they come to an agreement. Skye tries to compel Coulson to let her on the inside of what is going on and send her back in the field to help May. Coulson denies her and we go to a scene of Fitz and Simmons (imaginary Simmons) discussing what Fitz can do to help the team. He sees a research printout of Creels DNA and shows intrigue on trying to find a way to stop him. Meanwhile in a dinner, we see Creel waiting for someone when a waitress accidentally touches the 084 and May rushes in only to witness the waitress die. Hunter shows back up at the base and informs Coulson that he deceived Talbot but only because Coulson will reach Creel first. He informs Coulson that after they bring down Creel he is leaving the team.
Fitz has is first major interaction with a team member when Agent Mac confronts him and treats him like a regular person instead of babying him. Fitz opens up to him about his work stopping Creel and you see a trust building up similar to his and Simmons. Hunter opens up to Skye about his and Hartley’s relationship and the reason why he has taken her death so hard. Creel is shown back at his van and is shown to be unable to control the 084 that is infecting his powers. Reina (Flower Dress Lady) appears from the side of his van and informs Creel that they have pressing matters.
Creel turns Reina down after she makes an offer for him to join her and leaves a sample of carbonite with him. Reina then contacts Coulson and informs him that she no longer is working with Hydra and tips off Coulson the sample she left with Creel has a tracking chip implanted. Mac helps Fitz figure out that the answer to Creel is something he has already come up with and their team work is starting to become solidified. While waiting on the exchange between Creel and Hydra to take place Hunter shoots both May and Skye with stun rounds in the back. Next Hunter takes out Triplett who was positioned as team sniper with another stun round. He then takes the armor piercing round loaded sniper rifle and tries to shoot Creel with it, who turns to Iron before the bullet makes it to him. The Hydra agent searches for the 084 only to see Reina walking away with it. Creel is about to kill Hunter until Coulson intervenes with the device that Fitz designed. Hartley receives her military funeral thanks to Director Coulson and Hunter is recruited by Coulson to join S.H.I.E.L.D. on a permanent basis.
Back at the base Fitz is shown having another conversation with Mac who appears to be filling in the role of Simmons for him. Skye and May have a back and forth reflecting on the changes of the team that have taken place. May is shown Coulson’s office while he goes into carving mode again of the symbols in his head, showing a bond between them as she watches over him. The closing scene shows Reina in possession of the 084 and she touches it without any side effects. She asks a man to show her its secrets that replies bring me my daughter and ill show the both of you.
We get a great follow up to last week’s episode and we see the cast gel a little better into the new role each of them have taken up. This is no longer a small team in the big picture of Fury, now they are S.H.I.E.L.D. and it is an adjustment period for both the agents and the show. The numerous amounts of questions that are still yet to be answered along with the handful that seems to pop out of every scene will keep fans looking for answers with each episode. Agent Hunter being added to the team should bring back the loner edgy role that Ward filled for the first season, while Mac filling into Simmons role with Fitz was nice. I was missing Fitz a lot more than I realized once I finally got to see him contribute in a meaningful way. The show and the team will have to find a new path in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and it’s looking like we all get to be along for a good ride while they do.
Episode Rating: 9