Oh boy, I don’t know how much of All The Madame’s Men subtext was conceived as a response to the current socio-political climate but it’s hard not to draw comparisons. We even have our own Bill O’Reilly (topical!) in the form of Sunil Bakshi! Simon Kassianides makes his first appearance in the show since his real-world death in The Dirty Half Dozen two seasons ago! If nothing else, this arc is great for bringing back long dead characters who have amazing screen presence.

Speaking of; Trip continues to be awesome and supportive and why did they kill him off again? Same with Brett Dalton, who is killing it as a kind and compassionate Grant Ward and despite how inherently wrong that feels, he makes me root for him. If only there was some kind of magical McGuffey that could make all these digital avatars of dead cool guys into flesh and blood…

Wait a minute! Project: Looking Glass! From what I can gleam from the explanation in the episode, the machine is designed to make machines human but I imagine it’s more along the lines of implanting archived memories and personalities into flesh and blood bodies. In a clever bit of  narrative sleight of hand, we discover that while Fitz has been finalising the design in the Framework, the Superior is constructing the actual one in the real world.

All of which could mean we’ll see not only Mace return but also Good-Ward and Trip! Hell, even Radcliffe and Agnes! Or even Hope, Mack’s fictional daughter! The possibilities are endless.

The episode opened with a cool gunfight, culminating in Madame Hydra getting quaked out of a window! That momentum carries us through the episode as the body cam footage May had is used to undermine the HYDRA regime and ends with Coulson declaring himself an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

This entire arc has been really interesting and very entertaining but all goof things must come to an end so join us next week when Madame Hydra’s plan goes into action, the team scramble to stop her and we say Farewell, Cruel World!

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. continues to be amazing at both giving what the audience wants but dicking with them along the way. Last week we had Fitz go full HYDRA and this week we have a Trip-le bill of shocking developments!

First up, we see why Fitz is the way he is. Like Radcliffe says, it only takes a sentence to change someone’s world but what if there was a whole other person there? Having Fitz be raised by his father instead of his dear old mum has a huge impact as we see them share time. David O’Hara, an accomplished actor who is so Scottish it looks like it hurts him, plays a harsh Alistair Fitz; a man who subscribes to that BS mentality that men should be taught respect through beatings and Fitz is visibly uncomfortable around him. Despite the new reality shaping his personality, even he can see that the way he was raised was wrong on some level.

But in some ways, it’s so, so right because here come dat boi; oh shit, it’s Antoine Triplet! Hashtag Trip Lives! It’s truly astonishing to see BJ Britt return to the show after such a long absence and this kinda shoots my theory that this world won’t last long because you can’t bring back Trip and then go back to the real world next episode! That’s not fair!

What’s also not fair is while one cast member returns, one leaves us as Jeffrey Mace goes out like a big damn hero! At the very least, we got a beast of a fight scene between a temporarily super-powered May and Mace before he sacrifices himself to save the team, Coulson’s students and even May herself. It’s bittersweet to see Jason O’Mara leave the show but he got a badass out, even with the switch to reality as AIDA switches off his life support.

In the wake of Mace’s sacrifice and the revelation that HYDRA authorised a building full of children to be demolished, May turns face and gives Daisy exactly what she needs to escape and bring the Triskelion down on her way out. It’s good to see the two friends reunite in what promises to be a knock-down drag-out fight to survive next episode!

No Regrets offers exactly that with an emotionally engaging and high action episode that ramps up the momentum as we head towards the season finale but for now, we’ll see next week how Madame Hydra deals with this betrayal as she calls All The Madame’s Men.

This alternate universe is boned and I kind of want the show to stay here. It’s really interesting but I bet we’re only going to get two more episodes before we’re back to the real world.

But for now we get to enjoy the family dynamic of the Mackenzie family! Ol’ Mack-Daddy is everything I imagined it would be. He has a fantastic arc this episode, when he reluctantly sells out Daisy to HYDRA-May and turns to the resistance to help. Now, I might be projecting a bit here but does Hope, Mack daughter, remind anyone of the Inhuman super-genius Moon Girl? Maybe it’s just the hair and technical prowess but that’d be an interesting way of including the character!

Speaking of Inhumans, we get to see more of the Nazi-esque checking of papers and see the cramped conditions that the rescued Inhumans suffer in the Resistance base, led by Mace! I have to wonder if Mace is actually Inhuman in this world and if there are other active Inhumans. They need some serious firepower if they’re going to take on HYDRA.

In the HYDRA camp, the almost mind-rapey manipulation by Madame Hydra continues as we see the depths of her infatuation with Fitz. It’s so cringe-worthy, having shades of Hive-Ward controlling Daisy. It’s like she made this bizarre fan fiction world just to be with Fitz and she’s probably treating him the worst out of everyone.

Then again, Jemma always gets a kick to the quad when Fitz proves her entire emotional speech to Ward wrong by straight up murdering Holden Radcliffe’s ex-girlfriend. It’s a horrible scene to see Fitz go dark but even worse when you think about what that’ll mean when he’s freed from the Framework. In the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. comic book, Fitz is actually a HYDRA double-agent so maybe this is the first step towards having him turn heel!

With the stage still being set, we can only wonder what this wicked world will reveal next and we’ll just have to wait until next week and hope we have No Regrets.

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!)

Maveth is the winter finale for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and it has to be the most tepid, predictable episode we’ve had in a while.

And honestly, I don’t think I was expecting more. It’s paint by numbers but all the numbers are 1 and the colour is beige. Hands up everyone who guessed Will would be evil in some way? How about that Ward (suddenly and inexplicably drunk on HYDRA kool-aid) would die/get stranded? Two for two. Okay, how many saw this coming?

Okay, that wasn’t expected but that’s mostly because it’s stupid. Seriously, who built that? It’s not like this dirtball has any cities or anythi–

… Son of a bitch! But you know what the worst part is? That we still don’t get to find out what go damn planet this is! I need more lore in this show set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and I am not getting what I signed up for!

The attack on Castle WolfenHYDRA is the c-plot and while there’s a few fun lines here and there (Nick Blood, you make every scene you’re in golden), it’s mostly taking a back seat for the meat of the episode.

Will is revealed to be possessed by the mysterious creature HYDRA wants to find and it’s a slug. Thing. I’m getting REAL tired of this show and it not giving me what I want. I was expecting something I knew. Something that looked like something from the comics. Still, kudos to Fitz for setting the guy ON FIRE.

On the flip side, the bastard is dead! *Ode to Joy plays* But it still felt… Unsatisfying somehow. Ward was bound, full of bullet holes and high on sudden indoctrination so no matter how metal his death was (and lets face it, getting his chest crushed by Coulson’s robot hand is pretty fucking metal!) it still felt… Empty. Hollow, even.

Which is how Coulson must feel right now given his face. This is what a broken man looks like. Even when he found he was a resurrected science experiment, he was still Coulson but everything he’s dealt with for the latter half of season 2 and first half of season 3 has finally taken it’s toll. He’s not Phil Coulson anymore and that’s just sad… There’s not much made of the fallout of Fitz killing Not-Will but I’m sure they’re saving that until the second half.

Well. This is going to be a thing, isn’t it? On the one hand, I’m interested to see Brett Dalton play something decidedly un-Ward but on the other, we’re not going to have the same despicable asshole we love to hate. Guess we’ll just have to see how it goes.

For a winter finale, especially as a tease for what’s coming up, I can’t say it does a good job of getting me excited for the latter half of the season. If anything, the constant adverts on-screen about the two-hour premiere for Agent Carter got me excited for an entirely different show!

What did you guys think of this season so far? Let me know in the comments and I’ll see you all next year for more S.H.I.E.L.D. Exposed!

Jaysus… This week was FEELS City in SHIELD… Seriously, this was an emotional rollercoaster of an episode. Woo-boy…

Fitz continues to work on the Will problem for Jemma, even though it’s killing him inside. Thankfully, he recovers the data from Simmon’s sim card and, as well as finding information on the planet and getting a working theory on how to bring Will back, he finds the videos addressed to him and Iain’s performance in this scene is so damn compelling. All the doubt fades and his love and resolve galvanises in that one scene.

Also, Fitz and Hunter agree that Will has a hog face. BROS! BROS! BROS!

After last week’s stunning revelation, the fallout sees May struggles with her emotions in a way we’ve never seen before. This is genuine terror, not only because of what Andrew is but also what that means for them. It’s heartbreaking, really.

Quick side-note, shout-out to Jack Guzman (aka SHIELD Agent #1) for being the second (of three) Power Rangers alumni to appear in Marvel Cinematic productions so far. Seriously, we had Nikolai Nikolaeff as Vlad in Daredevil, Guzman here and Eka Darville in the upcoming Jessica Jones! It’s pretty weird seeing them for me.

And then we come to the knife-twisting. Rosalind is affiliated with HYDRA. FUCK. And we find this out after her and Coulson have hooked up. DOUBLE-FUCK! God damn it, writers! Stop blowing holes in my ships! What does this mean for our resident father-figure? Nothing good, count on it.

Chaos Theory is an exercise in puppy-kicking and if you’re not emotionally spent by the end of it, you’re probably dead inside. God knows what the writers have in store next week in Many Heads, One Tale.

The second episode  kicks off in a big way as the team rush to Fitz’s side as he keeps screaming at the monolith. His desperation is at it’s zenith but just as he begins to lose hope, he finds what he needs and when he calls, the team answers. It’s great to see the team so focused.

While Andrew returns to assess the new Inhuman, we get a look at what May has been doing and she’s been playing golf with her dad! It’s cute to see a Mulan reunion on-screen but, seriously, it’s nice to see more of May’s past. Her childhood love of ice-skating, her dad calling her Millie (or Mellie, James Hong’s accent is thick) and how protective she is of her family.

Peter MacNicol makes a return as the affable Asgardian, Elliot Randolph, who busts out of jail to help the team. After a little coercion from Phil, naturally. He’s a welcome addition to the team for the episode.

There’s also some adventure with the delightful dickbag that is Grant Ward and Brett Dalton is killing it as usual. A bit weird to see him recruiting Baron Von Strucker’s son into his new Hydra but will that lead to more children of villains? Will we see Victor Mancha, the son of Ultron?

Obviously, the biggest plot point for this episode is Fitz and Simmons. Two of my favourite moments result from this and I’ll share them with you.

Fitz didn’t even flinch! I love that.

The actual mission to rescue Simmons is a bally shambles, between using rickety old tech and Fitz going full Big Damn Hero and leaping into the portal himself and I have to admit that I was sceptical that we’d see Simmons, let alone that she’d actually be saved but with the help of Daisy pushing herself to breaking point, we get a happy reunion.

That’s the face of a man who spit in the face of common sense, science and the whole goddamn universe to save the woman he loves. Pure joy. Now we await the fallout because Simmons will no doubt be suffering PTSD. Maybe the worst is yet to come but for now, I’ll leave Hunter to channel the audience’s feelings.

Purpose in the Machine is a great follow-up to the season premiere, re-establishing the status quo for the team and giving plenty of hints to what we can expect soon.

Nothing Personal starts out strong as we get Cobie Smulders return as Maria Hill, seemingly attending similar hearings as Black Widow at the end of The Winter Soldier. Cobie is a welcome sight, as her performance is spot on. Throughout the episode, Cobie brings her A-Game, effortlessly being the most Whedon-esque character in any given scene. A casual name-drop of Man-Thing later and Maria comes face-to-face with May and, again, two very strong performances.

Tension is thick in the A Plot as Skye and Ward are heading towards the location Skye needs to decrypt the data drive.  Skye, fully aware of Ward’s deception, acts FAR too cagey not to tip off a supposed specialist like Ward watching her but they do point it out a little later on, so at least they address it. The over-hanging dread in these scenes are like watching an abusive relationship play out.

And that’s kind of the point. Ward is a psychopath. All of his actions to date have been all about lying and killing. He kills and injures several Police officers in this episode alone and then has the gall to tell Skye that his love for her is real. She rejects him in disgust and rightly so. I know I bang on about it but Ward doesn’t deserve redemption, he’s too far gone and I know someone is going to point at the scene where Skye finally gives up the information after Deathlok stops Ward’s heart. I don’t think that was her love for him, that was basic human decency. Just like Mike said: “Yes, he’s a murderer. Are you?” She’s been betrayed, kidnapped, hurt, and almost killed but she still values a human life, any human life, more than vengeance.

Meanwhile, in the B Plot, the rest of the team discover Ward’s betrayal and are ready to head after them when General Talbot shows up at Providence, led there by Maria Hill. She led him there to hopefully get Coulson to join the private sector but Coulson manages to talk her round and soon her and the team are heading off. Talbot (played by Adrian Pasdar) is the perfect gung-ho military blowhard, fitting for someone who worked with Thunderbolt Ross.

Coulson manages to John McClane himself onto the Bus after a distraction from Hill. He rescues Skye, barely escaping Deathlok by driving Lola out of the back of the plane. It’s great to see the old girl in action. The team bunker down in a Motel 6 and May returns, having literally dig up the secret behind project TAHITI.

I don’t want to spoil it because it is such an amazing reveal but it’s bloody chilling and, in perfect Whedon fashion, topped off with a laugh.

Two episodes to go and things don’t show any sign of getting brighter or easier for our team. I’ll see you all next week for Rag Tag.

Tensions were riding super-high last week and I was fully prepared for this week to be less intense and I was correct. The tension in this episode, following the revelation and return to the fold of Hydra double-agent Ward, is much more subdued as Ward is left to skulk around the secret base while the rest of the team is off hunting a Fridge escapee and Coulson’s ex-girlfriend.

Amy Acker guest stars this week as Coulson’s cellist love interest that was mentioned in Avengers. Now, I’m going to let you in on something, dear viewers. In the lead up to this episode, I was discussing who the cellist is, the actress and how she’d appeared in the pilot with TV buddy (I have one of those, don’t judge me.) My friend was throwing out theories to what this all meant and when it came to the episode, I had a stunning realisation that warranted a pausing of our [DVR’d] viewing. In a bizarre Crisis on Infinite Whedon-Earths, my brain had transplanted Amy Acker’s scientist character from Cabin in the Woods and put her into the pilot of Agents of SHIELD. Why? Best I can figure is because Ron Glass was in the episode, an alum from ANOTHER Whedon project. I am IMMENSELY stupid sometimes.

Anyways, the team (Coulson, Triplett, Fitz and Simmons) head off to save Audrey Nathan (Acker) from a super-powered stalker by the name of Marcus Daniels, aka Blackout. I think I saw this villain once in a big event book but I know nothing about the character other than what is exposited in this episode. Mainly that his powers are drawn from the Darkforce (Which I DO know as the source of power for Darkhawk and Darkstar. Much dark. Very force. Meow.) He shoots thick ropey strands of darkness and can drain the life out of humans with a touch, so yeah, pretty big deal. He sees Audrey as his Only Light in the Darkness which is a nice title reference so he stalk her upon his escape.

Audrey is played perfectly, as both frightened victim and staunch defender of SHIELD. Her revelation of a past relationship with Coulson shocks the team but none reveal his rebirth to her. Coulson has his reasons for not doing so himself and I agree with his mentality but it’s still pretty awesome to go full-on Ghostbusters on Blackout with a gamma flashlight and reassure a mostly unconcious Audrey before she wakes up.

Meanwhile, in the Bunker! May quits the team, narrowly missing Ward’s attempted assassination. Koening gets garroted by Ward and the show loses Patton Oswalt. Boo-urns! He was a great character! This leaves only Skye and Ward alone in the bunker and I could hear the moistening of a thousand SkyeWard shippers from here. Again, I would like to point out that this motherfucker has killed dozens of people, even people we actually knew! Fancying Skye does not a road to redemption make. Thankfully, Skye realises Ward is a double-agent so that should put a stop to THAT nonsense. Hats off to Chloe Bennett for her amazing acting during her later scenes. She pulls a Romanoff and manages to convince Ward that all is well but I feel she might have left something for the team to help her.

Stinger for this week is a bad-ass May hiking all the way to a highway near Ontario before her transport arrives. She called her mum! That’s hilarious and sweet on so many levels. Her mum appears to have been apart of some other government agency (Possibly a Chinese equivalent of SHIELD?) and is a pretty sweet old lady. I really liked this scene, it added some much needed levity.

Overall, another fantastic episode leading into the finale in just THREE WEEKS TIME! I’ll see you guys next week!

This week’s  episode doesn’t pull it’s punches. In the wake of SHIELD’s decimation and Ward’s heel turn, we’re thrown into a mostly villain-focused episode as we see Team HYDRA free Raina (The Girl in the Flower Dress) and eventually free a bunch of prisoners from The Fridge (the super-jail mentioned on a number of occasions) while the Team SHIELD are scrambling for cover with the American government on their collective asses.

This is a damn strong episode for character moments and most of the cast get something to chew on. Raina comes face-to-face with her dear Clairvoyant, Coulson’s resolve is shattered, Fitz and Simmons relationship is straining under the weight of recent events and the SkyeWard shippers desperately try to make excuses for the villain who has been in our midst from the very beginning.

Seriously, I’ve seen people give shit to May about reporting on Coulson and are ready to lynch her while Ward kills about a dozen people in cold blood over the course of two episodes in the name of FUCKING HYDRA and they’re quick to excuse his actions and desperately cling to the idea that he’s just a broken hot guy who can be fixed with love. FUCK OFF! He’s manipulated everyone from the beginning and even mocks the team for trusting him. Doesn’t matter if he has feelings for Skye or not, he’s THE BAD GUY. He’s not coming back from this.

What I do love is Raina’s return. The enigmatic Project Centipede leader returns and meets the Clairvoyant in person. Naturally, meeting Garrett and finding out he has no innate gift visibly shakes her beliefs to their core and I have a sneaking suspicion that we’ll see her face turn by the end of the season. Her interactions with Ward are also notable for the subtle way she gets him to open up about his motivations.

Coulson is broken. It’s as simple as that. After everything that’s transpired over the course of the season and with even his own team questioning his actions, he finally explodes. Ranting about how much he still believes in SHIELD and that despite the agency crumbling around him, that being an Agent of SHIELD still means something. We’ve seen Coulson suffer so much and it’s good to see him finally vent and get it off his chest.

We have three brand new characters introduced in this episode. Adrian Pasdar (of Heroes fame) as Glen Talbot. His comic book counterpart worked with Thunderbolt Ross so we have a Hulk character for a change! Patton Oswalt as the bizarre reclusive agent in charge of Fury’s secret safe house, Providence, (Title drop!) and a quick glimpse of Marcus Daniels as he escapes The Fridge. Looks like we’ll be talking about him next week so I’ll leave it there for now. Pasdar plays douchebag army colonel pretty well and Patton Oswalt is always great so I’m glad to see him appear and add some levity to an otherwise HEAVY episode.

Stinger for this week has Garrett, Raina and Ian Quinn gathered around the Gravitonium that, presumably, still houses the conciousness of Franklin Hall. And with Ward returning to the team at their new secret hideout, things aren’t looking good for our heroes and things look to get worse next week! See you then!