Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Face My Enemy
October 15, 2014 6:07 AM - Season 2, Episode 4 - Subscribe
Coulson and May go to a party, where they dance and shop for art and it all makes perfect sense.
I enjoyed the heck out of this episode - it was great to see May get some development and lots of screen time, I love the chemistry between May and Coulson, and the fight sequence was amazingly cool and well done
The only bit had a hard time swallowing was that the unflappable, unstoppable Agent May would turn her back on someone and pause during a fight instead of taking the cool mask that just came off the other guy and running like hell with her newfound toy/information. But I guess she had to get captured somehow.
I even liked the Fitz stuff; it's nice to see him coming out of his shell and defensive posture a bit.
posted by nubs at 8:27 AM on October 15, 2014
The only bit had a hard time swallowing was that the unflappable, unstoppable Agent May would turn her back on someone and pause during a fight instead of taking the cool mask that just came off the other guy and running like hell with her newfound toy/information. But I guess she had to get captured somehow.
I even liked the Fitz stuff; it's nice to see him coming out of his shell and defensive posture a bit.
posted by nubs at 8:27 AM on October 15, 2014
This episode was so much fun. The banter felt right, getting to watch an epic May vs May fight (while Coulson watches with hearts in his eyes) was great, the whole team flinching as they listen to May flirt, bonding over exes, and Fitz finally stepping forward to make a tiny step toward joining the group - it was all really enjoyable.
Some kind soul screencapped May's phone and noted that May has Black Widow's number in it - listed simply as "Nat." Eeeee!
posted by PussKillian at 9:12 AM on October 15, 2014 [2 favorites]
Some kind soul screencapped May's phone and noted that May has Black Widow's number in it - listed simply as "Nat." Eeeee!
posted by PussKillian at 9:12 AM on October 15, 2014 [2 favorites]
Here's that screencap of May's phone. My day is made
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:26 AM on October 15, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:26 AM on October 15, 2014 [4 favorites]
Also the 'Mom' on there.
This episode was just fun. The fight sequences were great, the Coulson/May friendship chemistry was spot on with the banter (Coulson limbering up and May just walking through the lasers could have seemed cheap, but it did make me laugh). I wasn't so much in love with the Fitz subplot, but there were still some good moments -the shot of Mack frowning when Fitz was talking about how he was going to have to learn how to do this alone was a nice touch.
Part of me was kind of bothered by the logistics of the electronic face mask, but I also spent a lot of season one wishing that SHIELD was more like the old Mission Impossible TV series... and that entire sequence was totally Mission Impossible. Na-Wen also did a good job of differentiating the two Mays.
posted by dinty_moore at 9:44 AM on October 15, 2014
This episode was just fun. The fight sequences were great, the Coulson/May friendship chemistry was spot on with the banter (Coulson limbering up and May just walking through the lasers could have seemed cheap, but it did make me laugh). I wasn't so much in love with the Fitz subplot, but there were still some good moments -the shot of Mack frowning when Fitz was talking about how he was going to have to learn how to do this alone was a nice touch.
Part of me was kind of bothered by the logistics of the electronic face mask, but I also spent a lot of season one wishing that SHIELD was more like the old Mission Impossible TV series... and that entire sequence was totally Mission Impossible. Na-Wen also did a good job of differentiating the two Mays.
posted by dinty_moore at 9:44 AM on October 15, 2014
Part of me was kind of bothered by the logistics of the electronic face mask...
YES. How did Agent 33 just happen to have the same skin tone as May so that the mask would match seamlessly? As anyone who has gone through several shades of foundation to find one that blends smoothly into one's neck can tell you, this is bullshit.
posted by Jacqueline at 9:56 AM on October 15, 2014
YES. How did Agent 33 just happen to have the same skin tone as May so that the mask would match seamlessly? As anyone who has gone through several shades of foundation to find one that blends smoothly into one's neck can tell you, this is bullshit.
posted by Jacqueline at 9:56 AM on October 15, 2014
Loved this episode. I'm glad AGENTS has finally found its footing.
posted by Arbac at 11:54 AM on October 15, 2014
posted by Arbac at 11:54 AM on October 15, 2014
How did Agent 33 just happen to have the same skin tone as May so that the mask would match seamlessly?
If you know which of your enemies going to be at the party, bring along one of your own that's of similar build, complexion etc.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:22 PM on October 15, 2014
If you know which of your enemies going to be at the party, bring along one of your own that's of similar build, complexion etc.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:22 PM on October 15, 2014
Great episode. Huge fun from beginning to end. Loved it.
A question: yesterday afternoon, Patton Oswalt tweeted this:
Nice little Easter egg on tonight's @AgentsofSHIELD. You'll spot it.
But unless I'm missing it, he's never chimed in to say exactly what it was. Any ideas?
posted by jbickers at 12:57 PM on October 15, 2014
A question: yesterday afternoon, Patton Oswalt tweeted this:
Nice little Easter egg on tonight's @AgentsofSHIELD. You'll spot it.
But unless I'm missing it, he's never chimed in to say exactly what it was. Any ideas?
posted by jbickers at 12:57 PM on October 15, 2014
If you know which of your enemies going to be at the party, bring along one of your own that's of similar build, complexion etc.
I was thinking last week how similar in general appearance 33 was to May.
posted by nubs at 4:54 PM on October 15, 2014
I was thinking last week how similar in general appearance 33 was to May.
posted by nubs at 4:54 PM on October 15, 2014
If you know which of your enemies going to be at the party, bring along one of your own that's of similar build, complexion etc.
That's not enough to get a face/neck skin match unless you're absurdly lucky. The same shade of foundation won't even match the same person's neck skin tone year-round unless that person never goes outside! There's a reason most major makeup companies offer literally dozens of different shades of foundations and concealers -- that shit is really hard to get right.
Yes, of all the implausible things on the show and in the MCU in general, this is the one that's bugging me. :P
posted by Jacqueline at 5:50 PM on October 15, 2014
That's not enough to get a face/neck skin match unless you're absurdly lucky. The same shade of foundation won't even match the same person's neck skin tone year-round unless that person never goes outside! There's a reason most major makeup companies offer literally dozens of different shades of foundations and concealers -- that shit is really hard to get right.
Yes, of all the implausible things on the show and in the MCU in general, this is the one that's bugging me. :P
posted by Jacqueline at 5:50 PM on October 15, 2014
Yes, of all the implausible things on the show and in the MCU in general, this is the one that's bugging me. :P
Hehe. I've talked about this exact thing before.
posted by mordax at 7:42 PM on October 15, 2014
Hehe. I've talked about this exact thing before.
posted by mordax at 7:42 PM on October 15, 2014
Funny - I also complained about the mask thing. When the agent was preparing to put the mask on, you could already see how differently she filled out the dress as compared to May.
posted by MsVader at 8:31 PM on October 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by MsVader at 8:31 PM on October 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
Hehe. I've talked about this exact thing before.
You should tell your friend to watch Outlander. The hair is very believable.
posted by Jacqueline at 8:57 PM on October 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
You should tell your friend to watch Outlander. The hair is very believable.
posted by Jacqueline at 8:57 PM on October 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
That's not enough to get a face/neck skin match unless you're absurdly lucky.
Yay, the villains got absurdly lucky, nice change of pace as it's usually the heroes who get absurdly lucky.
But unless I'm missing it, he's never chimed in to say exactly what it was. Any ideas?
Probably that her phone has the Black Widow's number on it. I can't think of anything
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:58 AM on October 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
Yay, the villains got absurdly lucky, nice change of pace as it's usually the heroes who get absurdly lucky.
But unless I'm missing it, he's never chimed in to say exactly what it was. Any ideas?
Probably that her phone has the Black Widow's number on it. I can't think of anything
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:58 AM on October 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
I really enjoyed watching Ming Na physically play two different Mays. At one point they did a long shot of real-May walking down the hallway, and real-May, who is obviously most comfortable in pants and flats, was sort of lumbering in a "how do skirts work? god I hate high heels" way. I paused the show just to point that out to my husband - "see, that's how most women would walk if you put them in that dress!" And then we saw fake-May, who sashayed fluidly along with no trouble. If Coulson knows May as well as we think, he didn't *need* the coffee part to tell this wasn't his partner; that was just his gotcha.
posted by Hold your seahorses at 8:13 AM on October 16, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by Hold your seahorses at 8:13 AM on October 16, 2014 [5 favorites]
May is so, so perfect. I'm thrilled to have actual evidence for my previously existing headcanon that she and Nat are drinking buddies.
Also, did I miss it or did Mack never mention the genders of his exes? Could he be gay or bi? That would be cool!
posted by a hat out of hell at 2:41 PM on October 16, 2014 [2 favorites]
Also, did I miss it or did Mack never mention the genders of his exes? Could he be gay or bi? That would be cool!
posted by a hat out of hell at 2:41 PM on October 16, 2014 [2 favorites]
Great episode. It's nice to see this show find its footing after being dull as dishwater for so long.
Ming Na was clearly having a ball here and her chemistry with Coulson is really good. And that fight scene! Really well done.
posted by brundlefly at 12:56 AM on October 18, 2014
Ming Na was clearly having a ball here and her chemistry with Coulson is really good. And that fight scene! Really well done.
posted by brundlefly at 12:56 AM on October 18, 2014
I came into this episode half-way to figure out if I wanted to watch this show again and it was great. It made me go back and get caught up. Im satisfied that they're not wasting all their time on the Star Wars tax embargo inside baseball obscure stuff anymore. I like the humane elements like fleshing out May and Coulson's past more. I'm loving that they're dealing with the fallout from Fitz's experience in a realistic way. Well, I don't actually know enough about that kind of brain injury to know if it's realistic but I was worried that there would be no effect at all and everything would just reset. I can't get interested in a sitcommy universe like that.
posted by bleep at 9:54 PM on October 19, 2014
posted by bleep at 9:54 PM on October 19, 2014
It was an enjoyable episode and there were few things for me to personally nitpick about (though I agree about the obvious issues with the fake May and skin ton/body shape). I did wish that Coulson had caught the fake May in a question that was based on information admitted earlier by May, such as how much she "loved" dancing or heels, something like that. (Did she mention her hatred for coffee earlier and I just missed it?)
And...it was just good seeing Simmons integrating back with the group, even if it was done completely awkwardly. I'm also glad they're easing him back, instead of waving a hand and old Simmons is back like new. Vunderful!
And...Hydra Nazi vs Skye's Dad, who's more frightening? Flower Dress lady will decide!
posted by Atreides at 9:03 AM on October 20, 2014
And...it was just good seeing Simmons integrating back with the group, even if it was done completely awkwardly. I'm also glad they're easing him back, instead of waving a hand and old Simmons is back like new. Vunderful!
And...Hydra Nazi vs Skye's Dad, who's more frightening? Flower Dress lady will decide!
posted by Atreides at 9:03 AM on October 20, 2014
Behind the Scenes of May's Kick-Ass Fight... with Herself. Total puff piece but some amusing bits about the costume design. I think May is the best thing about the show so I loved this episode.
posted by Nelson at 7:48 AM on October 21, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by Nelson at 7:48 AM on October 21, 2014 [4 favorites]
But unless I'm missing it, he's never chimed in to say exactly what it was. Any ideas?At the start of the scene where Trip walks in on Skye looking at her laptop he walks past the door in the background.
posted by fullerine at 6:43 AM on November 5, 2014
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I'm glad to see Fitz is getting better! :D
posted by Jacqueline at 8:20 AM on October 15, 2014 [2 favorites]