S.H.I.E.L.D. Exposed – “S.O.S Parts 1&2” SEASON FINALE
An action-packed season finale that sees war, plot twists and Coulson saving SHIELD single-handedly!
So here we are, ladies and gents! The Season 2 Finale for Agents of SHIELD, or S.O.S parts 1&2. I was honestly wondering if they could keep me entertained for the full runtime but god damn if the creative team didn’t craft an intense and engaging 80 minute feature.
Jiaying’s plan is to cause war between the Inhumans and SHIELD and she succeeds, using the staged attack as a catalyst to take the SHIELD carrier and lure every other SHIELD agent there to kill or convert them to Inhumans. It really says something for this show that the roles between Jiaying and Cal have been swapped. Both in terms of their standing as good guy/bad guy in the show but also in terms of the typical gender roles that this story would represent. Jiaying has been broken for a long time, the scars on her face a superficial crack in the porcelin to show that she’s more damaged than she appears. Her actions are also well in line with the new Marvel mandate of Inhumans being the new Mutants, with Jiaying playing the Magneto perfectly. Plus she’s basically got the powers of Morbius The Living Vampire so that makes her SUPER evil!
Speaking of Cal, we finally get his Hyde transformation and while it’s subdued (he’s nowhere near the Hulk-ing monstrosity I’m used to seeing) he’s definitely a more twisted, hunched monster form than his regular self. Kyle MacLachlan brings his bestest A-Game in this two-parter and firmly cements himself as both a cool character and a fantastic actor in my mind. I’d already liked his performance for most of the season but he just delivers an immensely fun performance here, even when trying to be a monster.
HAHAHAHAAAAAA! Fuck you, Grant Ward! Fuck you and any redemption/happiness the Tumblr fan girls think you’re worth. The grooming sumbitch finally gets his comeuppance, both in the form of an ass beating from Bobbi and killing his new girlfriend because she looked like May. Whoopsie! Still Brett Dalton continues to be super charismatic, despite being a total psychopath. We’ll see what the future holds for him as a new head of HYDRA.
Skye faces off against her mother (after having a VERY impressive fight with Alisha, a super hot redheaded Inhuman who can clone herself) and Cal comes in to save them both, in a way. To save Skye from having to kill (or be killed by) her mother and to save the woman he loves from her own path to vengeance. Coulson, Mack and Fitz stop Gordon from releasing Terrigen mist all over the ship, only for Coulson to lose a hand in the process. Who’d have thought SHIELD would mutilate it’s lead better than The Walking Dead could. Some serious balls shown here!
In the aftermath, lots of things happen including but not limited to; Cal going through the Tahiti procedure and given a new life as a vet, Bobbi considering quitting the team, May actually leaving and Skye being given the opportunity to build her own team of metas under the codename “Caterpillars”. Fun fact: Caterpillars is the codename for the Secret Warriors, a team that Nick Fury created in secret which included Daisy Johnson/Skye. Should be interesting to see what Coulson’s efforts and her leadership will build.
In the stinger, we even get a little FitzSimmons resolution and even the promise of a blossoming relationship, something that fans have been wanting since the beginn–
WELL THAT WAS PANTS-SHITTINGLY TERRIFYING
Season 2 comes to a close in a genuine shocking manner and establishes a lot of threads that Season 3 can run with. It’s been a pretty damn good season and it’s been a pleasure to watch and thank you all for coming back, week-to-week, to see me ramble on about this show. I hope to see you again soon for more S.H.I.E.L.D. Exposed!