Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Review: 2×10 “What They Become”

An emotional, gritty and shock-filled Winter Finale drops multiple bombshell reveals and for the first time, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. may be setting the stage for Marvel movies instead of the reverse.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. — In the gripping Winter Finale, Director Coulson (Clark Gregg) leads his team in a race to destroy the ancient city before Hydra and Whitehall (Reed Diamond) can use The Diviner to create an extinction level event that could destroy mankind. While one S.H.I.E.L.D. team led by Coulson, May (Ming-Na Wen), Hunter (Nick Blood) and Bobbi (Adrianne Palicki) work to stop Hydra’s drilling operation to enter the city, a second team of Tripp (B. J. Britt), Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) set explosives to destroy the city for good. Meanwhile, Skye (Chloe Bennet) is delivered, as he promised, by Ward (Brett Dalton) to finally meet her father, Cal (Kyle MacLachlan) face to face.

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In an emotional and tense meeting, Cal reveals details of Skye’s past and his lifelong plan to find her and exact revenge upon Whitehall for killing Skye’s mother. When it’s realized Skye can safely touch The Diviner, things are set in motion for an explosive confrontation between Skye’s father, Cal, and her father figure, Coulson, amidst the battle for control of the ancient city. When an emotional Skye saves Coulson from Cal’s rage, she realizes she may be the only that can stop Raina (Ruth Negga) from unleashing The Diviner’s power. The two meet at the city’s temple and the events that follow will send Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. into wild new territory within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Not everyone will survive to see the new world opened up by Raina’s actions, so let’s dive into the earth-shattering details of this Winter Finale!

Tortured souls and a painful reunion make for the best day—ever? Not likely. We’re pretty sure this father and daughter pair won’t be exchanging gifts this holiday season.

While millions watching were still collectively recovering from the spectacular opening escape where a diving Bus deftly evades the attack of Hydra quinjets, this episode hit us broadside with a surprisingly poignant meeting between Skye and her father. Seriously, was anyone else leaning, tensed in the gut and trying to “will” the Bus to safety? Based on the blur of activity on Twitter, it sounded like we weren’t alone and despite some expositional scenes in between, we also weren’t the only ones still trying to catch our breath when Skye and her father finally set eyes on each other.

We have no idea what behind-the-scenes connections led to Kyle MacLachlan being cast as Skye’s father, but we raise a glass to whoever made that happen. His quirky and unstable performance of The Doctor has been a gem in Season Two. And his emotional, strained first meeting with Skye was a fantastic payoff for the season and a half of mystery surrounding her origin. We’re fairly certain that most people watching went through the same array of emotions displayed by Chloe Bennet during the intense initial meeting.

Bennet deserves the praise she’ll receive for showing incredible range of emotion playing off of MacLachlan. He definitely stole the show, but that would have been weakened if not for her fantastic reactions to every nuanced, bit of crazy he displayed. Apprehension, disgust, anger, fear, empathy, sadness, shock, trust and eventual heartbreak for Skye, complemented the brilliance of MacLachlan throughout, but exceptional dialogue by veteran Writer Jeffrey Bell to pull her—and the audience—through all those emotions can’t be understated.

“My God. You are beautiful. Well, I don’t know what you know about me..” ~ Cal

“You’re a monster, a murderer, a trail of death wherever you go.” ~ Skye

“Those are all true. But you need to understand. My little girl was- You were taken from me, and my world fell apart. It was the worst day of my life, losing you, but I didn’t lose you. I wasn’t careless! I didn’t forget! You were stolen from me!” ~ Cal

Watching Bennet and MacLachlan weave in and out so many different emotions as the story unfolded was a giddy pleasure. So many questions and plot lines converge into complex emotions as Skye came to grips with the murder of her mother and the realization her father was clearly unstable. Years of anguish and torturous events made this father and daughter reunion one that could never fulfill the hopes and dreams that either of them might have harbored through the years. Bennet and MacLachlan both deserve props for bringing that complexity to life in a series of scenes that were highlights of this episode. Seeing Cal gleefully off to kill Whitehall after a reunion years in the making was simply icing on the cake.

“I’ll make plenty of time to answer all of your questions. But first, now that he’s served his purpose, I’m gonna kill the man who destroyed my life. Best day ever!” ~ Cal

Let’s face it, no one does crazy quite like Kyle MacLachlan and we love him for bringing such depth to this show.

Despite such big reveals, this episode still found time for all the little moments and planted a number of seeds for the future.

Despite this being very much Skye’s story in this episode, a number of side stories still moved forward leaving us with thoughts and questions for the second half of the season coming in March. Bobbi is clearly hiding an agenda from Hunter. We have no idea what it is, but we do know that she has shared that information with Mack and would like Hunter to remain in the dark. When Hunter finds her rummaging through the mess left in the garage of the Bus for a thumb drive, he still supports her despite realizing she’s trying to hide the drive from him.

“I want to trust you, Bob. I really do. So I’m gonna assume that whatever’s on that drive has nothing to do with you and me.” ~ Hunter

What secret she holds isn’t revealed, but we’ve been reminded of it two episodes in a row so a payoff is coming. Bobbi and Hunter certainly have fireworks when things are working well and their banter has been priceless. But despite their attempted trust, we suspect a serious wedge is about to lodge firmly between them and we’re anxious to see how edgy these two get when things fall apart. We have a feeling those fireworks may have a bigger bang and in the end, have more devastating effects.

Fitz and Simmons seemingly put their bitter feelings toward each other behind them for the greater good and despite it being obvious there is much still unresolved, they worked well as a team in this episode when it mattered most. Fans clamoring for their reunion will no doubt see hope in their final scene together as the temple shakes and both cling to each other for safety. What becomes of these two, who have been so intimately linked, is still unknown. But if this show stays true to its pattern and doesn’t shy away from it’s emotional realism, there’s still a long road ahead to repair what is broken between them.

When Whitehall does realize Skye is Cal’s daughter and that Ward reunited them in a personal agenda, things go sideways quickly. When S.H.I.E.L.D. attacks the facility and interrupts Whitehall’s plan to experiment on Skye and kill Cal, it’s Ward that frees Skye once Cal leaves to seek his revenge on Whitehall. In a stunning moment where Ward’s feelings toward Skye seemingly let his guard slip, Skye doesn’t hesitate to fire four shots into Ward’s back.

“Never turn your back on the enemy. You taught me that.” ~ Skye

Skye has come a long way in the year and a half since this show began and this moment proved that any notion of reconciliation with Ward was likely not something she’ll ever entertain no matter what he did to earn her favor. After being left for dead in such a surprise moment, we’re not certain what Ward’s next moves will be and what will motivate him, but when Freaky Fried Agent 33 finds him wounded, he offers her a chance at freedom for her help in escaping. The question that swirled in our heads was how he survived in the first place. Was that body armor that saved his life and how did it get there? Or did he just pull a Bruce Wayne circa Batman 1989?

It was interesting seeing Dalton and Wen in this odd role reversal. What started with Ward and May as loyal members of S.H.I.E.L.D. in Season One, now has evolved into an odd pairing of these two alter ego outcasts that no longer have a home or purpose other than survival after Hydra is left in disarray. We’re sure a new head will pop up to lead Hydra, two always do when you cut one off, but in the mean time Ward and 33 are on their own. We don’t know about anyone else, but we’re curious to know where these two may go and how they may support each other in the future. Ward does know a thing or two about being brainwashed, but will these two stick together?

We have no idea where all these smaller plots are headed, but they make for a lot of material to explore in the Spring. We’re certain of one thing, there’s more to each story and we’ll be eagerly awaiting the twists and turns ahead for all these stories that moved along so well in this episode despite a much bigger arc at play.

A tale of two fathers and the painful birth of super hero. Nothing will ever be the same after this episode.

When Cal and Whitehall do finally meet and it becomes clear that a violent confrontation is about to take place, it’s Coulson that changes things in the span of two shots to the back—killing Whitehall before Cal can do the same. A simple twist of fateful timing drove an even larger wedge between these two men. Denied of the vengeance he’d sought for 25 years, Cal becomes enraged and a bitter fight with Coulson ensues. When Cal finally gets the upper hand in the bloody struggle, it’s Skye that stops the violence by holding her father at gunpoint.

“I’m not gonna change or transform or whatever the hell you think is gonna happen.” ~ Skye

“Why can’t you see it’s a good thing?” ~ Cal

“Maybe it’s all the dead bodies laying around or the fact that Hydra wants it. I’m gonna make sure The Obelisk never gets down into that city. And you’re gonna leave. This is your one chance to walk away, or I will kill you.” ~ Skye

Before Cal does slip away, he reminds Skye that when she changes, he’ll still love her even when no one else understands. When it’s just the two of them, a visibly distraught Skye breaks down over the battered Coulson pleading for his forgiveness that she couldn’t kill her father. The payoff of all the earlier conversations was both emotional and admirable. Bennet lived up to the weight of the moment both in her confrontation with Cal and the heartache of letting one father figure down by not being able to kill the other. We don’t know the directions this show will take in the Spring, but we’re certain that this moment will be revisited.

When Skye does leave Coulson to stop Raina from reaching the temple with The Diviner, Tripp races against everyone’s better judgement to stop the explosives before Skye and Coulson are killed in the blast. Once the explosives are disarmed, The Diviner however has different plans and activates on its own trapping Skye, Raina and Tripp in the temple center and encasing Skye and Raina in stone. Thinking fast to save Skye, Tripp destroys The Diviner only to catch shrapnel from the blast and slowly turn to stone with his last thoughts likely about his failure to save Skye from the same fate. While a physically altered Raina emerges from her stone casing and slips into the darkness, Skye blasts her stone casing apart only to realize the pain of Tripp’s death. As her emotions bubble over at the loss of someone she’d come to trust and admire, she finds herself at the center of a shattering earthquake that rocks the entire city and everyone above.

The emotion of Skye’s transformation is something we hope will be explored throughout the second half of the season. In a show that started off under the guise that not all heroes had superhuman abilities, we’re anxious to see how things play differently when one of those heroes becomes super. Especially when that transformation is marred by the emotional death of someone she cared for deeply. How will the writing team connect the painful loss of Tripp as Skye grapples with who she has become? His loss will be felt by the audience as well. As a fan favorite, many will struggle with the same conflicted feelings as Skye. As painful as that may be for an audience that loved him, Tripp’s death has the potential to carry us through the same emotional journey as everyone on this show that admired him. Killing him was a bold and risky choice by the writing team, but one that has the opportunity to create an emotional experience for the audience that mirrors Skye’s conflicted feelings in a way that we’d never understand if we didn’t love Tripp as a character. Despite our own sadness, we do admire the chance the writing team took and we’ll be curious to see if they can make this emotional gamble pay off through the characters and the audience as the season continues.

We’re also fascinating to see just what physical transformation Raina underwent as the second half of the season gets underway. She’s long sought this destiny, but will the physical change be more than she is able to endure? And what ties does the mysterious stranger (Jamie Harris) at the end have with the next steps of this show and the larger MCU? Only time, and more episodes, will tell.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ends it’s first half of Season Two with a mind-shattering Winter Finale that drops bombshell reveals and opens the show to limitless story possibilities for the future with the birth of an Avenger.

To say the Winter Finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was an intense roller coaster of emotion and action would be a monumental understatement. Ratings for this series are on the rise for a reason—Agent’s of S.H.I.E.L.D. is opening ties to the larger Marvel Universe left and right through fantastic writing and unbelievable performances. Simply put, the first ten episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Season Two culminated in a Winter Finale that kicked serious ass.

We’re hoping this is the start of a long run for MacLachlan in the MCU now that we know who The Doctor is from the Marvel comic universe. The Executive Producers Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon revealed after the episode via Marvel.com that Skye is indeed Daisy Johnson and her father on this show is the same as her father in the comics—Calvin Zabo a.k.a Mister Hyde. Those two bombshell reveals change everything moving forward and continue to delve deeper into the larger Marvel universe with ties to known characters in the comic mythology.

Writer Jeffrey Bell (The X-Files, Angel, Alias) delivered a script worthy of this emotional, game-changing Winter Finale. Sharp, witty dialogue gave even the characters not in focus, moments to shine, while not diminishing the gravity of the more intense and even sinister main plot moments between Skye, Cal, Raina and even Whitehall. As Cal lays out the brutal murder of Skye’s mother at the hands of Whitehall, it’s clear that he’s used Hydra to find his daughter and fulfill what he believes is Skye’s destiny through what is all but confirmed to be an Inhuman origin story for Daisy Johnson a.k.a. Quake. As a dedicated S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and one-time Avenger, the addition of Daisy is a huge step for this show to introduce the Inhumans to the masses well before the MCU Inhumans movie slated for 2018.

Daisy Johnson from the comics has the ability to create focused vibrations of objects and even earthquakes. Was the massive quake at the end was a result of her power unleashed? Ultimately Daisy adopts the alter ego Quake and becomes a member of The Avengers. Mister Hyde is a character of brute force and strength, but with a warped mind and sense of morals. Time will tell how this version of Daisy or Mister Hyde will affect the MCU, but with the confirmation that there will be at least some tie to The Avengers: Age of Ultron premiering in the late Spring and the announcement of the Inhumans movie, we know that parts of this series will now influence the movies instead of the reverse. It is indeed all connected.

This series has seemed to maintain a laser focused commitment toward wit, fun, action and emotion throughout this season and it’s showed. Every episode has had highs, lows and a whirlwind of mystery in between. The Winter Finale had all those things, but was clearly about Skye, her father and an evolutionary leap in her arc. Veteran Director Michael Zinberg delivered a jaw-dropping final episode of 2014 to tell Skye’s story and leave us to theorize and wonder what’s next as we wait for the Spring chapter of Season Two to begin. High praise must also be given to Director of Photography Feliks Parnell and the entire production crew for so many unique camera angles and the wonderful mood created by rich greens, blues and warm colors throughout the entire episode’s 43 minutes. At times this episode felt very much like a feature film and not television.

With a world of possible new stories to tell, the sky is definitely the limit and we’d expect no less than the continued tapping of Marvel comic characters that could influence the MCU and it’s mythos as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. progresses. The Winter Finale did exactly what an episode should do when a show pauses for a mid-season break. It thrilled us with special moments, but left us with questions and a deep curiosity to learn what’s ahead. This show has smartly included more characters and ties to the Marvel comics to please hardcore fans, but done so in a relatable and organic way that casual fans can enjoy because the show is simply fun to watch. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has seen a nice bump in ratings from the positive buzz and the release of Season One on Netflix at the end of November has certainly allowed some to go back and catch up with all the hype that Season Two has rightfully generated. We have no idea where it’s all headed, but when Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns in the Spring, we have no intention of missing a minute of where this show goes next!

In the mean time, we’ll get a back story on the origins of S.H.I.E.L.D. in this same time slot with the seven-week television event, Marvel’s Agent Carter starting with the 2-Hour premiere on January 6th. Don’t miss it!

Questions, Comments, Concerns and My Reaction on Twitter…

• LOL A Hunter Koenig sandwich.
• Damn right that was Fancy Tripp!
• What are you hiding on the thumb drive Bobbi Morse?
• Mom and dad #Philinda worried about Skye hits the feels.
• Hmm. How is this daddy/daughter moment going to go? My guess is there’s a *twist* coming.
• Nervous? Dude, you’re sweating bullets. Almond flowers & cookies won’t fix your issues.
• Okay. Daddy “Cal” was making a smidgen of progress ’til the Destiny part.
• A birthright. A change that has to happen .. My MCU radar just went into SPIN mode.
• “I know what you’re doing.” Tripp to Koenig. Hahaha!!!
• “I hope—you’re as special as your mother.” Whitehall, you just messed in your Wheaties buddy.
• Still have my sh*t. But prepared to completely lose it. lol RT @ChloeBennet4: Okay hi. How is everyone holding up?
• Props to Kyle MacLachlan .. he’s killing it this ep. (maybe for real later??)
• “I have a feeling, that in time, I can make you comply.” ~ Whitehall. Ward’s smile says try it asshole.
• “Another 50 men?” ~ May. “I was gonna say a dozen, but I like your idea better.” ~ Coulson. Damn right!
• Splitting up?? WTF?? NOT a good idea Fitz!!
• Always good idea-NOT. lol RT @GrantMenmuir: Let’s split up in the ancient ruin with a possible crazy guy on the loose.
• “You’re welcome.” ~ Coulson sarcastically to Cal after killing Whitehall. It really sucks when someone kills the guy you were about rip limb from limb.
• HOLY SH*T SKYE!!! She shot Ward??
• He said DAISY!!! Cal called his daughter Daisy. Daisy Johnson??
• Persistent little flowered woman isn’t she. RT @clarkgregg: You gotta admit Raina is determined.
• I’m NOT okay with there only being 12 minutes left #AgentsofSHIELD in 2014.
• TRIPP!! Oh hell no! Trying to save them cost him.
• I’m glad Mack is seemingly okay, but I’m NOT happy with the loss of Tripp! Grr. He went a superhero in my book.
• Was that TV?? RT @GrantMenmuir: HOW GOOD WAS THAT!
• “There’s someone new.” ~ Mr. No Eyes. I’m freaking out right now. I’m literally freaking out.
• Lets see @Marvel comic fans .. Who in our universe has a connection to the Terrigen, Quicksilver and has no eyes??