Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Dirty Half Dozen
April 29, 2015 10:13 AM - Season 2, Episode 19 - Subscribe

The band gets back together, Simmons has plans, Raina does some movie PR work, and what's in the water at the orphanage of St. Agnes?
posted by PussKillian (45 comments total)
 
Another tight episode, recapped by Agent Carter, but did they have to off the Bus? Good plan, but still.

Ward continues to be played very well, you're never quite sure where his lines are. Did he did right by Kara? Or is she a plant of his, to be used later? Hmm...

And Gemma, killing in cold blood. That's certainly a turn, but she did promise Ward that if she saw him again she would kill him. Fitz was a bit taken back, but he didn't try to stop her. Interesting changes for those two.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:41 AM on April 29, 2015


Fury's gonna be pissed when he finds out what they did to the Bus. Losing the wet bar was one thing, this is a whole other deal.
posted by Strange Interlude at 10:49 AM on April 29, 2015 [1 favorite]


To Ward:
Skye: "I'm still happy I shot you."
Fitz: "Yeah, me too."
Simmons: "You should have aimed for the face."
May: "Yeah."

Heh.
posted by zarq at 11:16 AM on April 29, 2015 [6 favorites]


Also, love the look on Gonzales' face when Coulson hands over the tool box and says something along the lines of 'Go nuts... at least until Fury asks for it back.' Gonzales' sudden realization: that a) Fury's alive, and b) he wasn't in charge of the "real S.H.I.E.L.D." after all, was great to see.
posted by zarq at 11:18 AM on April 29, 2015 [2 favorites]


I noticed Lola wasn't in her parking space before the bus took off for the last time - that's a relief. It's nice that the team found an official supplier for their tactical apparel - I just hope Nike doesn't do to SHIELD what they did to the Oregon Ducks.

And what was with Skye's fight scene outside the OR? The camera work and choreography was new for the show and I thought the style was amazing.
posted by klarck at 11:40 AM on April 29, 2015 [7 favorites]


Ha! Suck on that, Skye haters :-) That was an awesome fight scene, more of that please.
posted by Pendragon at 11:46 AM on April 29, 2015 [5 favorites]


Greeaaaat, she's a super powered, super hacker who's on the fighting level of the May, who has decades of experience.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:00 PM on April 29, 2015


It was previously established that Skye's fighting skills benefited from May's tutelage and that she is apparently a quick study. She fought Agent 33 pretty well earlier this season.
posted by zarq at 12:09 PM on April 29, 2015


Well, it doesn't take much to bring down redshirted Hydra agents. Plus she's now got a nifty power May doesn't have, so that helps.

Great lines in this one. Spinning fast and collecting gold rings, Fitz and DarkSimmons, the Hunter/Mack interaction, Bobbi realizing Gonzales isn't as open and honest as he seemed, Gonzales true to form suggesting the guns-blazing approach... and setting up Age of Ultron. That's a lot to pack into an episode. Oh, and still some crazy Cal.

Anyone else suspecting Raina might be a little selective about the information her precog abilities reveals in order to cause trouble? Yeah, pretty much guaranteed.
posted by GhostintheMachine at 12:25 PM on April 29, 2015


Raina's one of the most dangerous people to be a precog. Good times ahead!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:40 PM on April 29, 2015 [1 favorite]


Not sure but looked like the Skye fight was done in one take. Which I loved.

Really good episode, I look forward to watching it again.
posted by the webmistress at 1:44 PM on April 29, 2015


Greeaaaat, she's a super powered, super hacker who's on the fighting level of the May, who has decades of experience.

Three words: Mary Sue Poots
posted by entropicamericana at 2:19 PM on April 29, 2015 [5 favorites]


To Ward:
Skye: "I'm still happy I shot you."
Fitz: "Yeah, me too."
Simmons: "You should have aimed for the face."
May: "Yeah."
The dialog was MUCH snappier than your typical Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode. I'm pretty sure that Joss Whedon had a pass at the script, seeing how it's tied into his movie and all.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 2:40 PM on April 29, 2015 [1 favorite]


Skye gunning down Hydra mooks looked right out of John Wick, just a little bit less brutal.
posted by elgilito at 3:21 PM on April 29, 2015 [2 favorites]


Pretty sure Raina is going to become some kind of prophet leader of the Inhumans, leading Skye and her family to go on the run, and maybe some kind of team-up with SHIELD.

Quite liked Skye's single-take fight. Feels like they're trying to very hard to highlight her potential badassery. You also wonder if they'd seen Daredevil in advance and realised they had to up their game, stat.
posted by adrianhon at 4:01 PM on April 29, 2015 [2 favorites]


People disliked Skye for being incompetent and useless, now they dislike Skye for being competent and awesome. Film at Eleven. Skye was awesome, that fight choreography was awesome, haters can suck it.

Also, from my comment on last week's episode:
I'm enjoying this season but I'm completely ready for The Band To Get Back Together
Thank you for your quick response, TV writers.
posted by Justinian at 4:45 PM on April 29, 2015 [9 favorites]


I assume the reference to "The Twins" will pay off in Age of Ultron?
posted by Justinian at 4:47 PM on April 29, 2015


Yes, The Twins figure into AoE.

Skye is ok. But not interesting enough to justify the amount of screen time she gets.

Ok, May is training. Maybe May should train all of them?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:30 PM on April 29, 2015


People disliked Skye for being incompetent and useless, now they dislike Skye for being competent and awesome. Film at Eleven. Skye was awesome, that fight choreography was awesome, haters can suck it.

Quoted just because I can.
posted by the webmistress at 5:45 PM on April 29, 2015 [5 favorites]


Yes, those were some awkward tie-ins to Age of Ultron. Nothing that isn't featured in the first 10 minutes of the film, or that very awkward tie-in webcomic. (Which I can't believe they are charging $3 for.) I was personally hoping Age of Ultron would tie into Ant Man more. *cough*Hank Pym*cough*

But I liked that they got the old team together, even if it was briefly. I can't wait to see the next two episodes!
posted by Catblack at 7:24 PM on April 29, 2015


I hope they don't spoil to much Age of Ultron stuff. I plan to go to AoU in a couple of weeks. last season spoiled the Winter Soldier for me :-(
posted by Pendragon at 12:52 AM on April 30, 2015


Yep, same here. I'm not watching any more episodes until I catch AoU.
posted by insert.witticism.here at 2:29 AM on April 30, 2015


Ok, May is training. Maybe May should train all of them?

Perhaps she does. They've previously shown her practicing with Agents Coulson and Ward.
posted by zarq at 4:10 AM on April 30, 2015


Yeah, next week's episode deals with some aftermath of AoE, but of course nobody knows what exactly.

This is one of the downsides of having big crossover events, even in comics. I've been wondering if having such annual events on the tv side will eventually turn out to be a negative, instead of fun.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:43 AM on April 30, 2015


I was in awe of the one shot Skye fight. I simply did not expect that level of commitment on a tv show. Major probs to the choreographer of the scene and Chloe Bennet for pulling it off. That had to take a fair bit of practice. It was also a nice touch to have her use her powers, but not rely entirely upon them.

The scene of the falling Bus debris was gorgeous with the flames and purple sky. Again, something I wouldn't expect from a tv show. AoS may suffer restrictions due to budget, but when they do hit it up, they make it look good.

It seems like the safest thing to do with Agent 33 would be to wipe her mind and give her a nice life. There is something of a trust issue with Shield at the moment that might make her employ problematic.

Spoiler alert. It's fascinating what Gonzales' reaction says about Fury's presence and force of will. There's really no reason at all that his branch of Shield has to turn over command to Fury, but his face implied that it was simply a foregone conclusion. Fury is the Director of Shield, no ifs, ands, or arguments.
posted by Atreides at 8:52 AM on April 30, 2015 [1 favorite]


A couple of quick observations:

- Day-um Gemma. No apologies, no regrets, no hesitation, eh?
- Echoing what everyone else has said: the choreography of Skye's fight was terrific!
- So was the quinjet-as-faux-flaming-chunk-of-debris; major props to May's mad piloting skillz.
- Skye's parentage is now (very loudly) out of the bag, thanks to Cal, and Raina is starting to gather a following. Perhaps democracy--or at least a management shake up--is coming to the Afterlife.
- Speaking of democracy, Coulson and Hill's "Voting LOL" exchange in the last scene was amusing, although I have a hunch that might come back to haunt them. Or at least end up being a major continuing theme throughout the MCU. When is there a chain of command and when is there a vote and who gets a vote?
- Nice symmetry with Coulson's primary/secondary mission objective at the base and Black Widow's primary/secondary objective in Cap 2. May is less accommodating than Cap, however.
- Fitz gets tasty mozzarella with pesto aioli sandwiches; Coulson gets Hot Pockets.
- I suspect that Kara is an unwitting sleeper agent planted by Ward.
- Bobbi did not look on-board with Gonzales' plan to imprison Skye and Lincoln. And seriously, how is Gonzales planning to keep these folks contained? He witnessed Skye's mojo in action and he still thinks he can keep her on the base against her will? What does he know that we don't know?
- Finally, I liked the evolution of the personal relationships between the various team members as we now see them back together again.
posted by skye.dancer at 1:21 PM on April 30, 2015 [2 favorites]


Clearly, Coulson takes it as a foregone conclusion that everything SHIELD-related will be restored to Fury's command, but I didn't necessarily get that impression from Gonzales. If the Real-SHIELD people are truly convinced that Fury's leadership style had been a problem, they may not readily accept his authority when he returns. I think it would be interesting if Gonzales and Democracy-SHIELD do reject Fury; at least for a while, until events force them to recognize the value of Authoritarian SHIELD. (A theme which actually bothers me quite a bit.)
posted by insert.witticism.here at 1:45 PM on April 30, 2015 [2 favorites]


And what was with Skye's fight scene outside the OR? The camera work and choreography was new for the show and I thought the style was amazing.

Maybe they watched Daredevil and felt like they needed to step up their game? I'm certainly not complaining, whatever the reason.

I think it would be interesting if Gonzales and Democracy-SHIELD do reject Fury; at least for a while, until events force them to recognize the value of Authoritarian SHIELD. (A theme which actually bothers me quite a bit.)


Me too, but honestly, Gonzales hasn't been nearly as open or democratic as his speechifyin' would suggest. I'd like to see Bobbi push for him to live up to his professed ideals a bit better.
posted by mstokes650 at 8:20 PM on April 30, 2015


Yeah, I wonder if Daredevil inspired that. If it did, it's pretty great that they went in a completely different stylistic direction.
posted by brundlefly at 3:15 AM on May 2, 2015


Skye and Matt went to the same orphanage so clearly the nuns were into epic fisticuffs.
posted by PussKillian at 12:07 PM on May 2, 2015


So, did we find out what the they protocol was in the avengers movie? I don't think so but I might have missed it.
posted by double bubble at 5:35 PM on May 2, 2015


Those of y'all who have seen the Avengers movie: will I need to go see it before watching the next episode of AoS? (I do intend to see it, but I want to know if I have to see it soon...)
posted by Weeping_angel at 5:50 PM on May 2, 2015


No - you don't need to be caught up on AoS for the movie.
posted by double bubble at 6:10 PM on May 2, 2015


I'm sorry if that was unclear. I am caught up on AoS. I want to know if I should watch the movie before the next AoS episode.
posted by Weeping_angel at 7:45 PM on May 2, 2015


I'm waiting for someone in Afterlife to remember what they did to get in and out before they got a teleporter.
posted by Pronoiac at 11:13 PM on May 2, 2015


Weeping_angel: we'll let you know after the next AoS ep.
posted by Pronoiac at 11:14 PM on May 2, 2015 [1 favorite]


Fair 'nuff. :-) (I just can't go ask in the Avengers thread because spoilers! Thanks.)
posted by Weeping_angel at 9:22 AM on May 3, 2015


Were my wife and I the only ones who were bummed out that this whole season looks like an ad for ovaltine an extended trailer for Age of Ultron with the end of this episode? Instead of "tune in next season for the gripping conclusion to this season," they'll punt any closure to the movie, despite having another ~3 hours of this season to go?

That said, this episode had some great moments and dialog, as others have noted upthread, and pulled from the A.V. Club review:

“He’s like Candyman.”
“And Ward, just…no more talking…to people.”
“She’s manipulative, dangerous, deceitful. We had good times.”
posted by filthy light thief at 10:44 AM on May 3, 2015 [1 favorite]


Raina's vision at the end of the episode was probably just the trailer for Ultron.
posted by lilac girl at 7:59 PM on May 3, 2015 [1 favorite]


She saw the movie before everyone else!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:32 AM on May 4, 2015 [2 favorites]


I loved the Skye action scene - it was well lit, and for once I actually [felt like I] understood everything that was going on.
posted by tomboko at 2:49 AM on May 5, 2015


I thought the Skye action scene was astonishingly good. I need to watch it again. It was Black Widow-esque.
posted by idb at 2:03 PM on May 5, 2015


Watched it again, and yes, that fight scene is a single shot.
posted by idb at 5:01 PM on May 5, 2015


I want to know if I should watch the movie before the next AoS episode.

Clark Gregg was asked the same question on Twitter and indicates tonights episode will be movie-spoiler-free.
posted by mstokes650 at 5:06 PM on May 5, 2015


Having seen the movie and the episode after the movie:

If you're the type of person who avoids watching "Next Time on [show]" clips, then you probably should hold off. There's some place names, vague references, and some inferences you can make about the outcomes of certain plots in the movie based on what isn't discussed in the now-aftermath. You could make the same inferences based on the commercial structure of the franchise though, so it's not saying much.

If you're comfortable watching trailers and previews, then there's nothing in the episode to worry about.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 10:33 AM on May 6, 2015


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