Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Review: 2×11 “Aftershocks”

Emotions run high as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. kicks off the back half of Season Two. As both Skye and Raina cope with the effects of their Inhuman Terrigenisis, S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA clash in a bloody showdown.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. — As S.H.I.E.L.D. begins to cope with the loss of Trip (B.J. Britt) and HYDRA looks to replace Whitehall (Reed Diamond), both organizations plan their next moves against each other to take advantage of the moment. Meanwhile, Skye (Chloe Bennet) and Raina (Ruth Negga) each struggle with the transformation into something inhuman in their own way. While Skye stews in S.H.I.E.L.D. quarantine, a drastically disfigured Raina is on the run after killing several to escape the temple ruins. Within S.H.I.E.L.D., tensions rise, tempers flair and the stress of seeing her friends fighting triggers tremors in objects around Skye that only she notices. When an angry Coulson (Clark Gregg) hatches a beautiful plan of deception to make Sunil Bakshi (Simon Kassianides) believe factions within HYDRA are planning a coup, Bakshi takes the bait and orchestrates a killing spree to eliminate HYDRA heads that he believes are responsible. By the time Bakshi realizes he’s been played, a huge power vacuum has been created within HYDRA leadership and S.H.I.E.L.D.’s status with the U.S. Government is on the mend.

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Raina and Skye both feel the pain of rejection and fear by those around them as it becomes clear that both have been transformed into something entirely different by the Terrigen Mist. When Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) discovers that Skye’s DNA is dramatically altered, he quickly swaps the samples and vows to help her figure out what to do next. Meanwhile Raina is less fortunate in her pleas to Cal (Kyle MacLachlan) for help, who is fixated only on Skye and revenge against Coulson. With hope lost and suicide seemingly the only option, Raina is saved from S.H.I.E.L.D. agents by Gordon (Jamie Harris), a blind Inhuman that teleports her out of harm’s way. As both Raina and Skye cope with the painful aftermath of their ordeal and Mack (Henry Simmons) and Bobbi (Adrianne Palicki) work in secret toward a goal no one knows about, more questions than answers get raised in this action-packed, emotional Winter Premiere of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.!

A tale of two transformations: pain, rejection and acceptance.

Executive Producers Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen, who penned this episode, outdid themselves. Parallels and contrasts were a continuous theme throughout, but the most vivid was the transformation of Skye and Raina after their exposure to the Terregen Mist.

Both struggled with their transformation and in a brilliant flashback we get to see just how difficult the process it can be, even under ideal circumstances. Terrified and confused, a young, eyeless Gordon teleports violently from place to place within a large room.

At the optimal age to comprehend his Terrigenesis and adapt afterward, Gordon is distraught until Skye’s mother, Jiaying (Dichen Lachman) calms him. Her task, for generations, has been to guide those that undergo the process and she reassures Gordon gently in her arms.

“It’s gonna be okay, beautiful. I’ll show you the way.” ~ Jiaying

Skye, experiencing similar turmoil, albeit without the horrific teleportation, is distraught and strung out. Quarantine and the guilt of Trip’s death weigh heavily on her and an uncharacteristically emotional hard-line by Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) against anything alien or different plants a deep fear that no one will accept Skye if she’s different. Unlike Gordon, she has no one who understands. As it becomes clear her anxiety vibrates objects around her, she knows she is different and is terrified of what she may now be.

As the infighting and bitterness within the team over Trip’s passing and decisions leading up to it continue, Chloe Bennet stunned us with a desperate and gripping emotional performance. Skye’s pain came through loud and clear. Bennet was amazing as Skye struggled with anger, confusion and vulnerability—sometimes in rapid succession.

Skye’s emotions peaked with an equally incredible performance by Iain De Caestecker. In a brilliant scripted misdirection, the shaken Fitz appears horrified by the realization that Skye didn’t survive the quake—she caused it. But Fitz isn’t afraid of Skye. His torture has been his own.

Finally understanding things that didn’t make sense is an amazing relief for Fitz. By protecting her secret, it’s obvious that a deeply relieved Fitz is the one person that would understand and accept Skye as she is. He’s spent months coming to terms with being different and the brilliance of De Caestecker’s performance throughout his entire revelation can’t be understated. He absolutely knocked it out of the park.

“There’s something very wrong with me.” ~ Skye

“No, you’re just different now, and there’s nothing wrong with that.” ~ Fitz

Bennet’s heart-wrenching performance was echoed by Ruth Negga as we watched Raina struggle through much more visceral ups and downs. Raina’s anger and confusion boiled over and even through makeup and prosthetics Negga’s performance was equally as tortured as Bennet’s.

Instead of the beautiful and divine creature she expected, Raina had become something painful and hideous. As she lashed out, leaving a wake of dead and injured in her path, her emotions came to a heartbreaking crescendo during a dockside meeting with Cal.

“You have to find a way to fix this.” ~ Raina

“There’s no fix. There’s no reverse. It’s your lifelong dream. It’s…lifelong.” ~ Cal

“I can’t live like this. My insides feel like gravel. I cut myself when I move. I can’t live as this repulsive creature.” ~ Raina

“Then don’t.” ~ Cal

The rejection by her mentor is the last straw and Negga conveyed the desperate sorrow even through makeup and effects. She was brilliant in the use of her eyes, voice and posture. Raina’s pain was clear. Convinced she can’t continue, she stepped into onrushing traffic to end her life but finds herself surrounded by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents instead. At the very end of her rope, Gordon flashes in, takes her warmly in his arms and teleports her away mirroring the words of Jiaying.

“It’s okay, beautiful. I’ll show you the way.” ~ Gordon

Bringing Skye and Raina full circle was a first step toward healing, but only time will tell if others will accept them too. Contrasting both paths simultaneously was brilliant writing and captivating performances by Chloe Bennet and Ruth Negga brought the intertwined stories to a beautiful conclusion. Someone finally understood.

Two houses divided. Which will fall first HYDRA or S.H.I.E.L.D.?

In addition to the Skye and Raina parallel, the stark differences between HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D. took center stage. Both organizations are coping with losses, but it’s how each deal with the aftershocks of the events in Puerto Rico that made for outstanding plot twists and the kind of juicy action that’s become a staple on this show.

Clark Gregg has shown his fiery side much more often in the second season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and we’ve enjoyed seeing him expand Coulson to new places. Convinced Trip died a hero, an angry Coulson realizes that everything Trip stood for was exactly the opposite of HYDRA. Coulson is out for blood and Gregg made us believe it.

In a beautifully planned ruse, Coulson, May (Ming-Na Wen) and everyone transporting Sunil Bakshi to General Talbot (Adrian Pasdar) are seemingly killed. A lone surviving HYDRA agent, whisks Bakshi to safety only to turn on him once contact with HYDRA upper management is made. Lance Hunter (Nick Blood), complete with an American accent, is that agent. Begging for his life, Bakshi promises Hunter a rich rewarded for safe passage and the game is afoot.

The stunt, special effects and pyrotechnic teams did this action spot proud. When the semi slammed into the SUV containing Coulson, May and Bakshi, we’re not sure what was more jarring, the impact or the surprise. The gunfight and shocking deaths of Coulson and May were equally stunning. That is until Coulson’s last cheesy line. Once Bakshi was gone and the gag revealed, the humor hit as hard as the truck.

“‘You’ll never take us alive!’ Really? A little over the top, don’t you think?” ~ May

“I only had a day to come up with this whole thing. Besides, if I let you write the script, no one would say anything.” ~ Coulson

Coulson is likely right. May is a woman of few words, but later, in a beautiful moment, she brought the entire episode, and the contrast between HYRDA and S.H.I.E.L.D. full circle in a monologue to Skye as a heart-broken Coulson delivers Trip’s personal belongings to his mother (Donzaleigh Abernathy).

“For Coulson, Trip was the embodiment of the principles he wants S.H.I.E.L.D. to be built upon compassion, loyalty, heart. And that is S.H.I.E.L.D.’s strength. And Trip’s death reminded Coulson that HYDRA doesn’t have that, and that is their weakness.” ~ May

In the following sequence, hauntingly scored by Bear McCreary, Bakshi falls for the ruse hook, line and sinker. The ensuing bloodbath ensured HYDRA will need a few more heads after competing leadership was taken out by their own internal counter measures. Once Bakshi realized he’d been played, it was too late. Coulson had used HYDRA’s own paranoia against them to perfection. Well played Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen.

Say it ain’t so Mack!

This show has been built on secrets. It is a comic book secret agent show after all. The show’s secrets probably have secrets. But through a season and a half, we’ve come to learn that secrets, the really spicy ones, rarely come to much good.

Bobbi and Mack are up to something and to this point, no one knows about it but us and Lance Hunter. Mack and Bobbi have shared knowing looks and made vague references for some time. We have no idea about what, but the Winter Premiere dropped a bombshell the writing team has probably been giddy about for quite a while.

Mack’s outstanding mini Lola was a Trojan Horse. As the episode comes to a close and it reveals the location of Fury’s toolbox in Coulson’s desk to Mack, we can only imagine this kind of secret, whether evil or not, can’t be good karma for the team holiday party once it comes to light.

To make matters worse, Bobbi is lying to Lance about whatever is going on and we know that won’t likely end well either. He knows her well enough to know something is happening and even that Mack is involved. But according to him, he has no idea what.

“Yeah. We have a secret.” ~ Bobbi

“I know.” ~ Lance

“We’re in a support group, okay?” ~ Bobbi

[Hunter breaks into laughter]

“See, this is the reason I didn’t tell you! We dedicated our lives to an organization that went to hell. Our friends turned their guns on us. We needed help coping, Hunter.” ~ Bobbi

We don’t know if Hunter bought that fantastic little story or not. We certainly didn’t. Nick Blood and Adrianne Palicki were charming as ever together, but something tells us that a clever throwback to earlier in the season helped Bobbi fool the one person that knows her best.

Coulson’s advice to Simmons when she was undercover was true. The best lies are the ones closest to the truth. There may very well be a group, but what that group is and what Bobbi and Mack are doing within it will only be revealed as the season plays out.

FINAL VERDICT: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. set a lofty bar in the first half of Season Two, but a highly emotional and intelligent Winter Premiere proved this series has no intention of slowing down.

We have no idea who takes on what responsibilities when the husband and wife team of Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen tackle a script, but whatever mind-meld these two have mastered in that process kicks out a script that packs an emotional punch to the gut more often than not. If we ever get the opportunity, we’re certainly going to ask these two if there are any ingredients to their secret sauce they can share. Inquiring minds would like to know.

Said script, no matter how good it may be, is just words on paper unless you have an entire cast and crew to do their magic and make that script into something special. That’s just what happened with this episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Billy Gierhart orchestrated a fantastic episode full of surprises and twists. Dynamic performances by Clark Gregg and Ruth Negga might steal the show on most weeks, but Chloe Bennet and most especially Iain De Caestecker earned that honor this time around. Bennet was outstanding in her emotional portrayal of Skye and if De Caestecker isn’t nominated for at least some award for his performance this season, it’s a crime.

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This show just keeps getting better. We, along with many others, had our doubts as Season One lost steam and viewers early on, but once the release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier in theaters changed everything for this show, its level of quality has been on the rise and doesn’t show signs of slowing. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has overcome early problems and now, after 33 episodes, this show is something special. With the official introduction of the Inhumans, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has also cemented its legacy by introducing an entire array of canonical elements into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

In addition, the core cast of characters, who aside from Coulson were unknown when the show began, are now all rounding into complex, entertaining and valuable members of the MCU. That was never clearer than the final scene as the entire team bid farewell to Trip with fond stories and memories. With HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D. locked in a constant struggle and plenty of random elements like Cal and Raina on the loose, the story ideas are endless. We honestly have no idea where things will go for Skye, Raina, Coulson and others in the weeks ahead, but you can bet we’ll be in front of a television every week to find out!

Questions, Comments, Concerns and My Reaction on Twitter…

• 1983. Wow. I’m trying. But I can’t. Holy cow.
• He died a hero. This is bludgeoning my feels. @iambjbritt
• I’m gonna make somebody pay. I’m with you Coulson.
• Let the Survivor: HYDRA begin.
• Any bets the white suited dude at location X marks the bloody spot was regrettably wearing red under that suit?
• Leper? I think you’re a rock star. Hell yes she is! @AdriannePalicki @ChloeBennet4
• Alien crap. Um. I think Mack is still a bit angry here.
• Holy hell this is intense!!!!
• Well, that plan went sideways in a crushing hurry.
• That’s what it means — It means I’m gonna do that.
• Besides, if I let you write the script, no one would say anything. Hahaha! True dat! @MingNa @clarkgregg
• The Avengers wouldn’t be necessary if WE didn’t unleash alien horrors. OMG this is killing me. @Lil_Henstridge
• What the hell did I [Raina] become? Uh. A lil prickly inside and out it seems. #JustSayin o.O
• You always did like flowers. Not helping Cal.
• But eventually eradicated. Simmons is taking a hard-line here.
• No. That’s Inhuman. Boom! @ChloeBennet4 @IdeCaestecker
• I think we ALL need a hug after this.
• If there was anyone who would understand different, it was Fitz.
• Okay. That was one hell of an entrance AND exit. Damn!
• You are crushing our hearts. But we love you for it. Wow. RT @MoTancharoen: Well… what did you think East Coast?
• I’m having an amazingly hard time processing all that I feel from this episode. I’m dazzled & hurting at the same time.