Man, it feels like an ice age since I last covered this show… So much so that I actually needed that recap to remind me where we were with the current arc. Hell, I even forgot who Vijay Nadeer was until I looked it up after the show finished.

But yeah! It’s a brand new world where HYDRA rules and Inhumans are persona non gratis and all the character we know and love are assholes! Yaaaaay! The episode title What If… comes from a series of Marvel books that explore alternate Earths where the stories you know didn’t turn out like the should, hence we have this alternate Earth where HYDRA revealed itself early and became the world’s security task force. Should make for some interesting scenarios!

Did I say interesting? I meant awkward as fuck! Brett Dalton returns as Grant Ward and I hate his stupid, handsome face already because in a total reverse of the real world, this Ward is the GOOD GUY! Still, at least Daisy’s awkward love life isn’t as bad as Jemma being buried alive! Tough break, Simmons.

Hell, Simmons probably gets it the worst this episode. She has to dig herself out of her own grave, is on the run from HYDRA, fails at persuading Coulson he’s in a simulation and, while not currently aware of it, lost Fitz to Madame Hydra aka AIDA! The girl just can’t catch a break.

While we don’t see everyone, we do get the majority and some interesting lore about this world, like the Cambridge Incident, where the Inhuman girl May saved killed a bunch of people and lead to the rise of HYDRA. I wonder what this Alt-Earth’s version of the Avengers is like…

We end the episode with Daisy confronting Coulson and breaking through the programming enough that Coulson knows her name. That’s a good start to a really interesting plot line and we’ll be seeing more next time when we analyze Identity and Change.

(Quick note to Flash Facts readers; the review for Abra Kadabra will be up later this week, don’t worry!)

The Frenemy of My Enemy has to be the dumbest title we’ve had so far and it really doesn’t make sense. “Enemy of my Enemy” would be apt but as it is, it’s just stupid and I hate it.

Other than that, the episode itself is pretty good! Kicks off with some slapstick too, which got a good chuckle out of me.

Between the dangerous alliance forged by Coulson and the tense situation Skye finds herself in lends to an engaging episode. Cal is being dumped out of the Inhuman conclave and Skye is the only one to realise that this is a really dangerous thing to do. He’s liable to go on a rampage but Jiayang doesn’t care, leaving Skye to come up with the idea of going with him and letting him down easy. This goes about as well as can be expected with HYDRA and Deathlok thrown into the mix. In the ensuing chaos, Lincoln and Deathlok are captured by HYDRA and Skye is whisked away by Gordon just as she and Coulson are reunited.

Grant Fucking Ward. Coulson’s boneheaded decision to go to Ward for help, while tactically sound, is bound to go wrong for many, many reasons. One of which is Simmons hacking Mike’s eye cam and catching Coulson and Ward together. That’s gonna be tough to explain. Still, Brett Dalton is on top form as the charismatic asshole we hate to love. Despite how repugnant the character can be, Dalton has an inherent charm that makes his performance hard to hate.

I like the emerging closeness between Hunter and Fitz. Hunter helped Fitz lose his tail and is there comforting him even as Fitz has to sit across from Ward. These two are going to be a fantastic duo to follow going forward.

Stinger is the ‘Real’ SHIELD showing up to the aftermath only to find Coulson more than willing to be taken in. What does this mean? Probably getting the band back together if the next episode title is anything to go by so be sure to come back next week for The Dirty Half Dozen!