SHIELD Exposed shieldfeat

Published on April 15th, 2015 | by Sharp-O

0

S.H.I.E.L.D. Exposed – “Melinda”

“I would say that was the cavalry, but I’ve never seen a line of horses crash into the battlefield from outer space before.”  

Melinda is an odd horse, pulling double-duty of continuing the Inhuman story of Skye and focusing on May’s past and her current investigation. I don’t know what it is about this episode but I am completely ambivalent towards it. Maybe it’s because I’m coming off the best 13 episodes of superhero television I’ve watched in a very long time (aka THE FUCKMOTHERING DAREDEVIL) or that the story is chugging along at a steady/sluggish pace and I just want MORE to happen…

In the present, May is put in charge of the Playground and is running an investigation into Coulson’s clandestine Theta Protocol, which the ‘Real’ SHIELD know about but May has had no knowledge of. Clearly, Coulson’s up to some shady bullshit and Mack believes its to do with hiding powered people but whatever his agenda, we know Coulson is doing it for good reasons. Right?

tumblr_nmupqkSqMc1upvr5ao1_540 tumblr_nmupqkSqMc1upvr5ao2_540In the past we learn of May’s infamous mission to Bahrain where she earned the title “The Cavalry”. They throw in a mother/daughter Inhuman tag team to keep the story relevant (I guess) but it’s quite interest to see the dichotomy between her past and present selves. Her charming home life with Andrew, her cheerier outlook and her compassion are on full display and we get to witness all of that stripped away from her by an ultimately forgettable encounter (from out perspective) with a nobody character (though the little girl’s reveal as the creepy fear monger is quite cool).

tumblr_nmur7y9Lbo1qzw0zeo2_500Over with Skye; her new guide, Jiaying, is helping her “hear” the vibrational frequencies and tunes in on a mountain and causes an avalanche and later creates a continuous tone with wine glasses, showing her focus increasing tremendously shortly before she shatters all the glasses. This leads to a little more about her trust issues and her time at St. Agnes (the orphanage Matt Murdock also spent time in) and laments that she doesn’t even know her birthday, only for Jiaying to tell her the truth and reveal both Skye’s birthdate and that she is Jiaying’s daughter. It’s not a bad resolution all together, and solid reasoning is given as to why their connection should remain secret (tying into May’s plot nicely). Jiaying pleads with Skye to give her father some small measure of time for at least tracking her down and leading her to her heritage, but this “happy” family reunion is quite disturbing as Lincoln walks in and realises this is what Raina saw in her nightmares, revealing her power to be precognition.

tumblr_nmuru5MLOM1s9h0fco4_500 tumblr_nmuru5MLOM1s9h0fco6_500Stinger catches up with Fitz, who is being tailed by SHIELD and has holed himself up in a dinner bathroom and activates the Toolbox, gaining contact with Hunter. He admits that he’s in trouble but still wants to join up with them and Hunter offers some reassurance like a supportive dad. Clearly he’s been taking lessons from Coulson.

So yeah, Melinda is a fine episode but I need the show to give itself another, much needed, kick up the arse as we head into Age of Ultron. Come back next week for THE DUMBEST title for an episode to date with The Frenemy of My Enemy. Hngh.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,


About the Author