S.H.I.E.L.D. Exposed – “One of Us”
I scream, you scream, we all scream WHAT THE HELL, MACK!
One of Us sees Calvin Zabo, Skye’s dad, bring together a team of his own to take revenge on SHIELD while Skye deals with her newfound abilities with the help of May’s ex-husband and Mack finally reveals who he and Bobbi are working for!
Cal’s recruits are a motley bunch of nobodies and no-names, the star being Angar the Screamer and you know we’re dealing with the shit-tier when Angar the Screamer is the big bad for this week (though his jaw is pretty freaky/cool looking). I think the team he put together never had a chance to begin with. They might have had powers but SHIELD only had three people (admittedly, three of their big hitters) and the villains got their asses beat hardcore, especially after Calvin is kidnapped mid-encounter by Gordon.
Skye’s emotions are the meat of the episode and how they relate to her powers and she seems to have a handle on it, actively stopping a quake after she triggers one while sleeping. I question how she made the plane shake when the interrogation room is made of vibranium, which absorbs shockwaves/sound but fuck it, they’ve fudged the details on other stuff, I can let this slide for the sake of drama. The big help here is Andrew Garner, charismatic therapist consultant to SHIELD and May’s ex-husband.
I love the dynamic between guest star Blair Underwood and Ming-Na Wen. It’s a fantastic look into the softer side of May and it’s pretty entertaining to see the team’s reaction to both Andrew and May’s reactions to their curiosity. It even cues a slight lapse in Fitz and Simmons’ distrust with some not-so-subtle subtext.
Mack is revealed to have taken Hunter to a safe house. Hunter is naturally pissed to have been choked out like a bitch and then chained to a sink but he makes it clear that he’s having none of their secret BS and when the truth is finally revealed, he looks as confused as, I assume, the audience was. The ‘real’ SHIELD? Like, as in a UN backed version like in The Avengers or something else? We know that secret council at the top of SHIELD were no fans of Fury’s cavalier attitude and general disrespect so it makes sense that if THEY restarted SHIELD, that they’d look down on Coulson’s operation and want what Fury gave to him. I guess we’ll just have to see where this goes!
Stinger reveals what happened to Calvin, as Gordon enters a trashed guest room to ask if he’s done with his tantrum. Cal demands answers and Gordon, in no uncertain terms, makes it clear that Cal is not Inhuman and he has no say whatsoever in what they do. Cal asks what’s going to happen to him and Gordon implies that someone higher up the Inhuman hierarchy will decide his fate. King Black Bolt, maybe?
Overall, an entertaining episode that sets Skye on the path to becoming a super-powered Agent but next time we’ll see what plans this other SHIELD has in Love in the Time of HYDRA.