Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Review: 3×07 “Chaos Theory”

It would seem there will always be an Inhuman between May and Andrew, just not the one that’s been haunting them both all these years.

CAUTION: SPOILERS AHEAD IN OUR DETAILED REVIEW

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. — As May (Ming Na Wen) struggles with the information Von Strucker (Spencer Treat Clark) has given her about Andrew (Blair Underwood), S.H.I.E.L.D. and the ATCU prepare to work even more closely together in order to find and defeat Lash (Matthew Willig). Invited to meet with The President, Coulson (Clark Gregg) is joined by Rosalind (Constance Zimmer) aboard Zephyr One where a very skeptical Daisy (Chloe Bennet) isn’t impressed. Meanwhile when Melinda confronts Andrew, she gets far more than she feared. Iced and held captive, Andrew pleads his case.

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Back at S.H.I.E.L.D, Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) gives Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) her damaged phone used during her time on the other side. Data it contains may provide clues to unlock the portal and bring Will home, but when Fitz discovers personal messages Simmons recorded for him, emotions flow freely for both of them. When Lincoln (Luke Mitchell) reaches out to Mack (Henry Simmons) with information about Lash’s identity, it becomes apparent that their most feared enemy has been hiding behind S.H.I.E.L.D. walls all along. Emotions and loyalties are put to the ultimate test as everyone converges and the race is on to find May and Andrew before it’s too late this week on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.!

I really don’t know you anymore.

Ming-Na Wen and Blair Underwood got the lion share of attention from this episode and for good reason. Lash’s identity reveal to May in the previous episode explained a great many things and May isn’t the kind of person to take things lying down. It was a curious decision by the writing team to have May confront Andrew by herself, but after a bit of thought that truly fits her modus operandi. May is a bit of a loner and with something so deeply personal she’d want the opportunity to hear Andrew’s side before alerting anyone else.

But as Andrew stunned her and kidnapped her, we all knew that May had underestimated how dangerous Andrew might be. When push came to shove, he did panic. And there lies the beginning of us losing the Andrew we knew. Blair Underwood did a nice job of letting Andrew slowly unravel the deeper into his explanation he got. Andrew seemed to hold on to some level of rationality at first, but as things escalated, his calm demeanor disappeared and Lash took over even before we saw the beast. When Andrew compared himself to May in Bahrain, we knew he’d lost a part of himself that might never come back.

“You saw firsthand what Inhumans were capable of. If you hadn’t killed that little girl, everyone around you would’ve suffered. They all would’ve died. But you saved them.” ~ Andrew

“This isn’t you! You would never say that!” ~ May

“No, Melinda, I know exactly what I’m saying. You and me we’re the same. That’s why I need your help.” ~ Andrew

“I never wanted to hurt that girl.” ~ May

“I know. I know, and believe me, I don’t want to do what I’m doing, either. I have to. I know you think I’ve lost myself. I haven’t.” ~ Andrew

But Andrew was doing just what Lincoln warned us about. The man we knew was disappearing and May understood that better than anyone. Not enough can be said about Ming-Na Wen and Blair Underwood as they struggled with a bitter truth now come to light. Solid performances by both kept us rooted in their struggle. Lash is a killer. But regardless of Lash’s reasons, Lincoln was right about one other thing. No one person should get to make those types of life and death decisions. In fact, Lash’s solution is a microcosm of the larger struggle for everyone over what to do about Inhumans.

The ATCU may have a patchwork solution by putting people in stasis, but as Daisy alluded to, it’s a temporary solution at best. S.H.I.E.L.D. hasn’t had much success either, but they have taken the closest approach that Inhumans themselves created in Afterlife by allowing people to come to terms with who they have become. The big difference of course being that Afterlife harbored willing volunteers and the world now hides an unknown number of Inhumans being changed against their will.

Lash on the other hand represents the farthest extreme. As much as Andrew might try to justify his actions through some larger purpose, he may have very little control over what he’s doing. His “need” to find relief by killing other Inhumans may be much more like needing air or food. He may not be able to stop himself later—if all he has in front of him is Daisy, despite his rational claims now that he would never hurt her. If that does happen at some point we’ll know the Andrew we were charmed by is truly slipping away.

Letters from the other side.

Where one relationship was eroding between May and Andrew, another was finally being given a chance. Fitz and Simmons have a lot of decisions to make ahead of them. With feelings out in the open from both sides, it makes us wonder what hesitation Simmons had all along. What caused her to turn from Fitz in the first place if she’s harbored feelings all this time? Has a deep fear of any relationship always been in the back of her mind? Did opening up to Will finally get her to see that a relationship can be a good thing?

The real question might be if Simmons would have ever truly admitted her feelings for Fitz if he hadn’t recovered the files from the phone. Then again, something tells us that she knew if anyone could retrieve those messages it would be Fitz. She knew what she’d said in those recordings and perhaps letting him hear those recordings was better than any conversation she could have had. No explanation could replace hearing how she felt in real time while she was away. Fitz would know things she expressed about him now would be the truth.

“So when you said all those things about–I mean, you were tired and dehydrated.” ~ Fitz

“I was as clearheaded then as I’ve ever been when I said all those things. What do you think we should do about it?” ~ Simmons

“For now let’s just watch the sunrise.” ~ Fitz

Is there a chance for FitzSimmons still? Time will tell and these two will have much to discuss, but their moment watching the sunrise after all of Fitz’s discoveries from the phone was a beautiful exchange between the two. Iain De Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge have wowed us all season and the small acknowledgements of much deeper emotions in the glow of a sunrise was a moment that FitzSimmons shippers have pleaded for. There was finally—hope.

You shot me first.

Ming-Na Wen has had her fair share of fine performances on this show since it began its run three years ago, but her portrayal of a struggling May through this process was definitely one of her best. While not quite the shocking breakdown of the episode “Melinda” where we learn the truth about Bahrain, Wen certainly gave us all the subtle clues we needed to understand where May was coming from in this episode. Sometimes the most difficult performances are the ones where a truly stoic character like May lets some emotions slip through the cracks and Wen certainly earned praise for her work doing so as May came to the painful realization that Andrew may be lost.

Coming off a story in the previous episode where May was the voice of reason for Bobbi, we wondered if some of May’s own advice might come back to haunt her as she confronted her own experience from Bahrain once again. Was Bahrain simply experience too? The answer isn’t a simple one. Anything and everything a person goes through is certainly part of the sum of who they are, but some things create much deeper scars than others.

Andrew’s specific plea to May that he was making a very similar choice to what she did shooting the little girl in Bahrain certainly must have struck a nerve. As the confrontation became violent and other lives were at stake something inside of May seemed to snap back to that moment with that little girl so long ago. Andrew had become a threat and as May stepped between Lash and Lincoln we couldn’t help but have Bahrain flashbacks ourselves. May might be the one person that could still tap into the man behind the beast, but could she make the same excruciating choice twice?

“Go on. Might as well. I’ve thought about my death enough times the different ways that I could go. I just never thought it’d be you. I never knew why you married me. I was never as kind and empathetic as you. That’s why it was so easy for me to walk away. Why I gave up on you. I lost something when I left you. I won’t do it again. But you have to stop this.” ~ May

[May shoots Andrew knocking him into the containment module]

“How’d you know that wouldn’t kill him?” ~ Coulson

“I didn’t.” ~ May

Blair Underwood was equally impressive in his struggling portrayal of Andrew both before and after Lash rampaged through everyone but May. Andrew has been a rock-steady support system for so many and to see that persona crumble beneath such thin justifications for his horrific behavior was unsettling. He’s obviously been struggling with his own Inhuman status for some time. Much longer than any fish oil cases began emerging if he was exposed by Jiaying’s journal just a few weeks after the second season ended. That would mean he’s had considerable time to study the journal and calculate his moves carefully.

That would also mean he’s had a long time to formulate the thinly justified defense of his behavior that he may have very little control over in the first place. Last but not least it brings up another big question. What has he learned about Inhumans from the journal that he’s not yet shared? More specifically, are there dark secrets within the journal that would have skewed Andrew’s opinion of Lincoln and others within the established Inhuman community? There may be much more to that journal that we haven’t yet seen.

Even though May shooting Andrew would seem to have temporarily ended Lash’s one-man traveling judiciary and executioner side-show, we certainly have not seen the last of Lash, his secrets or the deep emotional scars shooting him will leave on both their hearts. May confronted her own mortality in facing him down and in the end she made the nearly the same sacrifice she did in Bahrain. She carved out a piece of her soul and left it behind. Not only was she willing to end her relationship, she was equally prepared to end Andrew, or even herself, to stop him and that’s a bit more damaging than just experience.

It also wasn’t lost on us that as Fitz and Simmons watched hope emerge with a sunrise, May simultaneously watched her dim hopes fade away with a sunset. That moment was a very nice touch of contrast by the writing team and everyone involved with the production to make it happen. Unlike Fitz and Simmons who see potential for the first time, May made the hard choice to lose Andrew instead of jeopardize others. In many ways, it was Bahrain all over again, but will she take her own advice she gave Bobbi the week before and learn from her experience or will this be the moment her soul fades into obscurity? Time will tell.

FINAL VERDICT: Secrets and inner truths are revealed that shake everyone to the core on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Loyalties and relationships are put to the ultimate test and the results may leave deep, emotional scars.

Relationships amongst almost all the major characters were the heart of this episode. It seemed that at almost every turn one couple or another was struggling with how to handle their feelings for each other after things had become exponentially more complicated. And while Coulson and Price didn’t exactly fit into that group just yet, we can only imagine how complex their relationship will become if the ATCU and S.H.I.E.L.D. eventually don’t see eye to eye.

Others however are dealing with far more complex issues right in front of them and everyone is going to have to decide what is ultimately more important. Their personal feelings or things outside their relationships they can’t control. Bobbi (Adrianne Palicki) and Hunter (Nick Blood) definitely found a little common ground when she put her foot down about letting things go with Ward. Revenge will change a person and she can see as well as we can that Hunter is slipping away in his blind effort to eliminate the man who hurt them both. Something inside of Bobbi has softened and changed. She can do her job well, but she won’t scar her soul for it and that may make her the only person that can bring Hunter back to a similar place before he’s too far gone.

Veteran Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Writer Lauren LeFranc gave us a lot to think about concerning the bigger picture of Inhumans and anyone that might be considered an outsider to humanity through the personal stories of this show. We don’t know how the meeting would have been at NORAD if Coulson hadn’t been pulled in another direction by Lincoln and Mack connecting the dots between Andrew and Lash, but Rosalind’s stance that there could be as many good as bad Inhumans will likely resonate with many.

Inhumans exist and not all of them will be good. That could ultimately drive a deep wedge between two sides of the issue and sow the seeds that grow into the Civil War we’ll later see erupt between Captain America and Iron Man. That’s well done by LeFranc for giving us a compelling personal crisis between characters we care about to illustrate the divide that could split relationships and friendships right down the middle. If May can shoot the man she loves, what does that mean can happen between Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) who have never quite been on the same page in the first place?

Director David Solomon orchestrated a well constructed ensemble portrait of the struggle that relationships go through in this episode. From the emerging attraction between Coulson and Price, the reconciliation of Bobbi and Hunter, the hope of Fitz and Simmons or to the emotional heartache of May and Andrew, we saw almost all phases of relationships play out simultaneously. In particular we witnessed the rise and fall of May and Andrew through a divide they may not ever be able to get past. Though Daisy seems to have plateaued a bit in her development and Lincoln was predictably rash in his attack on Lash, the episode as a whole had challenging moments for nearly everyone and the cast and crew once again delivered another solid episode in this now much more mature show. We don’t know how this will all play out. Only time, and more episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will tell and we’ll be watching next week to find out!

Questions, Comments, Concerns and My Reaction on Twitter…

• To new beginnings. Just not .. the ONE you were expecting.
• See mom! Library is bad! (JK .. Keep reading kids. Books don’t ooze gas).
• Secrets .. can EAT you up.  From the inside. Says the expert.
• I’m worried about Fitz recovering data from that phone.
• Uh oh. Lash connection made. @MingNa @BlairUnderwood
• I have SO much more control now. YOU do. Does someone else NOT??
• Wow. Bobbi wears that .. scar .. really well.
• Holy VFX @MarkKolpack! That was SWEET ship-to-ship docking!
• Phone. Fitz. Feels. Arggg.
• For every Daisy Johnson there’s a Lash. And it’s ignorant for you to think otherwise. Well, that made SOME sense. :/
• Oh Andrew. You’ve gone & done it now buddy.
• I’m cursing that battery life now. That ripped my heart out and stomped it into little bitty pieces.
• May I. Oh crap. Daisy isn’t gonna like this moment. At all. #PhantomPain #OldLook
• You and me. We’re the same. Damn. Bahrain just WON’T go away. #KeepsHaunting
• That’s a pretty poor interpretation of a therapist. Just a little warped yes.
• Andrew. We’re friends. Okay, maybe acquaintances. Where’s the laser finger!!
• Little rash in your thinking there Sparky?
• Do it. This is brutal on the feels tonight.
• For now, let’s just watch the sun rise. The feelings are taking a beating tonight.
• OMG!! OMG!! OMG!! That kinda sums up the last minute of that episode.