Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: S.O.S. Parts 1&2

May 13, 2015 6:30 AM - Season 2, Episode 21

S.H.I.E.L.D puts everything on the line to survive a war that blurs the line between friend and foe. Coulson and his team will be forced to make shocking sacrifices that will leave their relationships and their world changed forever.
posted by 2ht (43 comments total)

When they brought back the possibility of the Fitz/Simmons romance, I just said 'welp, one of them is dead'.
posted by dinty_moore at 6:45 AM on May 13, 2015 [4 favorites]

Cal! Yey!
posted by leotrotsky at 6:48 AM on May 13, 2015

I was totally riveted. My S.O. pointed out, "you've been yelling at the TV a lot this episode." Yup.

The only slight disappointment was Cal/Hyde. I really wanted him to go berserk and just tear things up. He did a little damage, but I've been waiting for him to rage out for what? An entire season?
posted by 2ht at 7:00 AM on May 13, 2015

I like that they had enough sense to make Cal a hero (of sorts). Kyle MacLachlan's portrayal is so damn charming and eager to please that I've been rooting for him all season. I guess the writers have as well.

Pair him with Coulson and it's like the Super Dads Super Team.

Which is Awesome.
posted by leotrotsky at 7:34 AM on May 13, 2015 [5 favorites]

This is the third series I've watched where a character played by Dichen Lachman has died. (The other two being The 100, where she played Anya and Being Human, where she played Suren.)

She's a good actress. It would be nice to see her get a role on a series where she survives more than a season.
posted by zarq at 8:02 AM on May 13, 2015

The alien stone down in the cargo hold "ate" Simmons.

Love that I can write that sentence. What a great season!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:03 AM on May 13, 2015 [2 favorites]

The season ended really well. This was my favorite episode thus far, I think.

While I think we are to take that Jiaying was killed in this episode, if you consider that she has survived having all her organs removed, I think there is plenty of wiggle room for them to bring her back later; my impression was just that Cal broke some key bones.

And I know what you mean about the Fitz/Simmons doomed relationship. That had a very Whedonesque Buffy/Angel-now-that-they-are-in-love-one-of-them-will-become-evil-and/or-dead-to-create-tension vibe to it.
posted by tempestuoso at 8:15 AM on May 13, 2015 [2 favorites]

Oh, and LOVED the Mockingbird fight scene. I've been a slow convert to Adrianne Palicki in that role, but I think she won me over last night.
posted by tempestuoso at 8:21 AM on May 13, 2015 [1 favorite]

I like that Raina wasn't necessarily redeemed, but rather transformed to seer, herald, and maybe unwittingly, Pascal lamb. Sorry to lose Simmons, but a surly Fitz is the best Fitz. Note to Mack: you've been wielding an axe too long when everything starts to look like lumber. I've never been a big believer in nutritional supplements, but am really interested in experimenting with fish oil now.
posted by klarck at 8:35 AM on May 13, 2015 [1 favorite]

All future Inhumans will be very health conscious.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:49 AM on May 13, 2015 [3 favorites]

I'm 95% certain Simmons isn't actually dead. Turned evil or something? Certainly possible.

She's a good actress. It would be nice to see her get a role on a series where she survives more than a season.

Hey, she survived all two seasons of Dollhouse!
posted by kmz at 8:54 AM on May 13, 2015 [4 favorites]

Yeah Simmons isn't dead. Either transformed or transported somewhere. One could probably check the internet to see the synopsis for Season 3 and learn whether the actress is scheduled for the season.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:01 AM on May 13, 2015

I've been loving Kyle MacLachlan all season long, but man alive that Hyde makeup did his performance no favors. The creature makeup for the show has always been a mixed bag, from really, really good (Raina the Hedgehog) to serviceable (Dethlok, Agent 33 sans mask) to kind of terrible (Gordon's over-the-eyes appliance), but I'd hoped that they were saving something kind of special for Cal/Hyde's transformation. Instead we got MacLachlan wearing some lumpy leftovers from the GEICO Cavemen TV pilot and just having to do his best with it. Really, adding a little bit of padding under his coat would have visually sold the concept better than sending him out there with just a huge bulgy head and hands like they did.
posted by Strange Interlude at 9:01 AM on May 13, 2015 [3 favorites]

I've been loving Kyle MacLachlan all season long, but man alive that Hyde makeup did his performance no favors.

Seconding that. They really didn't need much CGI on that, given that he was only briefly Hyde. I was hoping for something really over the top.
posted by leotrotsky at 9:10 AM on May 13, 2015

So that thing that ate Simmons - was that Graviton from season 1?
posted by ZeusHumms at 9:18 AM on May 13, 2015

Yeah, that was some bad Eddie Munster look for Mr Hyde.
posted by Catblack at 9:28 AM on May 13, 2015

My best hope for Simmons' survival is her whole subplot where people with superpowers totally freaked her out and she wanted to kill the infection before it spreads. And now she's been sucked into a Kree thing, that's designed for killing Inhumans...
posted by Karmakaze at 9:43 AM on May 13, 2015 [1 favorite]

Me: "Did that ferrofluid just eat Simmons?"

Husband: "uh, yep"

Me: *stands up violently from couch* "WHUT??? NOOOOOOO! Who's going to make Fitz his favorite sandwich???"

That's when I realized that our household desperately needs Agent Carter to come back and punch the patriarchy out of my face again. Hearing it was coming back for a second season is pretty much the only thing that stopped me from throwing pillows everywhere after the credits rolled.

Am I the only one who's sad that Raina's apparently dead now? :(
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 11:35 AM on May 13, 2015 [7 favorites]

'Agents of SHIELD' Season 3: [mild spoiler], Terrigen Crystals' spread and Simmons answers

The article does not have any concrete spoilers but does answer the casting question.
posted by Karmakaze at 12:41 PM on May 13, 2015 [2 favorites]

Am I the only one who's sad that Raina's apparently dead now? :(

Nope, I am too. Her character arc was one of the more interesting ones.
posted by homunculus at 1:07 PM on May 13, 2015 [1 favorite]

Interesting questions there with Raina. If she could see the future, could she change? If so, why allow herself to be killed? Obviously because it would shake (haha) Skye's faith in Jaiying. But maaaaaybe wear a thick collar or something? Or did she feel as though her sacrifice would fulfill what she thought was her in destiny, but in a good way? If so, that must have something she wrestled with a bit.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 1:35 PM on May 13, 2015

Brandon, it seems to me like Raina was in a lot of physical pain after her transformation and still struggling psychologically with the ramifications of her new "gift" and changed outward appearance, even while hidden away in Afterlife.

It's possible she just went, "Fuck it -- I can't kill myself, you won't let me lead the Inhumans or trust my advice, so here's a good place for me to get off this ride while I still can." That, or she saw that taking a martyr role for the cause would be her one shot at redemption amongst the Inhumans, which may indeed have been her destiny.

RIP, Raina's weaponized femininity. Your character will definitely be missed.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 4:15 PM on May 13, 2015

Oh I think Raina did change. She decided to accept her fate, because she knew Skye witnessing her murder was the only thing that could bring Skye back to the other side and set about fixing all the things Jiaying was going to break.
posted by localroger at 4:34 PM on May 13, 2015 [1 favorite]

WAIT WAIT WAIT

"IT'S A TRAP"
WE CAN RULE AS MOTHER AND DAUGHTER
COULSON'S HAND
SIMMONS IN CARBONITE

THE ENTIRE SECOND SEASON FINALE IS AN HOMAGE TO THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
posted by leotrotsky at 4:41 PM on May 13, 2015 [26 favorites]

>THE ENTIRE SECOND SEASON FINALE IS AN HOMAGE TO THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

Maybe, but Iron Man 3 is definitely Lethal Weapon 2.
posted by Catblack at 5:03 PM on May 13, 2015 [2 favorites]

Well, that was the most ominous last five seconds of a season finale involving fish oil EVER.
posted by kythuen at 6:22 PM on May 13, 2015 [13 favorites]

I could personally have done with less Bobbi torture & trap bait and more Bobbi fucking shit up, myself.

The slide from Skye's mother being maybe a decent person, to Machiavellian schemer to holy crap evilitude was quite good.

So that thing that ate Simmons - was that Graviton from season 1?

I don't think so- I don't remember it ever looking all Monolithy.
posted by BungaDunga at 6:56 PM on May 13, 2015

That was not Graviton. This is an alien device, looks totally different.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:39 PM on May 13, 2015

"...and more Bobbi fucking shit up, myself."

Amen. The writing and acting have done a good job on making her very believable and compelling as a very competent agent and very tough, skilled fighter. Extraordinarily so, in a way that's arguably comparable to May but in a very different mode. I absolutely loved when she freed herself and attacked Ward and the fight was very well choreographed. Brutal in a way that reminded me of Daredevil, and that's a good thing, especially for those two characters.

"Well, that was the most ominous last five seconds of a season finale involving fish oil EVER."

I felt like that was very well done, from a technical standpoint. The shots they chose, the editing, the choice of music. It had just the right dramatic effect.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 9:03 PM on May 13, 2015 [1 favorite]

Well, that was bonkers. A new high point for the series, here's hoping they can keep in up in season 3.

Kyle MacLachlan really brought his A-game throughout the season. I hadn't seen him in anything since "Twin Peaks", except for "Sex and the City" where I found him really dull. Apparently this is a guy who's best deployed playing somebody at least little bit crazy. Or a lot, as in this case. I don't why I found it so funny the way he kept addressing Coulson as Phil, but it was killing me.
posted by Ipsifendus at 4:25 AM on May 14, 2015

WE CAN RULE AS MOTHER AND DAUGHTER

I didn't pick up on the other things, but this was on loud speaker for me, "O HAI VADERESS!!!11"

With the ruthless nature that Jaiying displayed at the end, I'm kind of surprised there was any real threat to her position among the InHumans, as alluded to when Skye first arrived. Incidentally, did they intentionally kill off the teleporter in a similar manner to Nightcrawler (rematerializing around an object in the chest)?

I guess Multiple Man was tied up with the Muntant franchise with Fox? It was cool to see the power represented, though with the "Ginger Ninjas."

Props for Lincoln coming around.

Coulson hand chop. NICE.

If there weren't plans to introduce Captain Marvel in the cinematic Marvel universe in the near future, I would almost wonder if they were thinking of turning Simmons into a Captain Marvel-like character, being transformed by the Kree technology. Are there any hypothesis yet on what the result will be? If one wanted to take a very dark reading of the scene, Fitz believed that Simmons was rejecting him again, so he purposefully unlatched the door (GREAT DESIGN PEOPLE) with the expectation that she would be killed.

The MacLachlan transformation....was pretty lame. It looked like the first stage or so of a werewolf transformation.

Ward becomes Hydra...but without the philosophical underpinnings? "I'm taking over an evil organization because.....I'm lonely." Someone buy him a robot dog or something. Nice touch by May tricking Ward into killing poor ol' 33.

Overall, I enjoyed the conclusion of the season. With the fish oil setup, we now have a better idea of how the events of Civil War can begin to unfold.
posted by Atreides at 6:54 AM on May 14, 2015

Re: Empire Strikes Back, evidently it's really a thing: "Somebody gets their arm cut off in every Phase Two movie," Feige said. "Every single one."
posted by tempestuoso at 7:08 AM on May 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

As I remember it, Graviton / gravitonium was a shifting chrome roughly spheroid, not forming a black-ish stone. It's similar CGI, but not the same.

This is such a nerdy comment.
posted by Pronoiac at 11:45 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

Yeah, Franklin Hall is presumably still trapped in that gravitational after-effect from the Gravitonium generator. He's probably bored out of his mind. THIS is a nerdy comment
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:21 PM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

Wow! Can't wait to see what happens next!
The setup for "power people," i.e. Inhumans, to be anonymous and hidden looks like that's going to be the focus of Civil War.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 12:06 AM on May 15, 2015

I loved what they did with Cal this episode. Felt they brought that character through to a true solid ending. He really is just a loving father, poor man.

I'm also glad they paid off the Inhumans plot. But also annoyed at the whole thing. I mean aren't the Inhumans basically the X-Men? Mutated humans with special powers, misunderstood, dangerous but well meaning, fearing and at genuine risk for being exterminated. Where have I seen that story before? Oh, on the big screen, brought to you by Marvel Comics. I don't read the funny books so I don't know how the Inhumans play with the X-Men, for all I know they are entirely different universes forever separated by IP licensing arrangements. Just annoying to see the same lovely but well-worn story trod again.

Also sad about Raina disappearing. She was such a great character in the first season, and I thought they brought her around really well after the transformation. That strange doublecross she did with her own death and Skye's witnessing it was about 90% of the way to a really great story, it felt like maybe a scene was cut. And now she's just.. Gone? Too bad.

Finally Mack comes into his own.
posted by Nelson at 10:14 PM on May 15, 2015

I'm really uncomfortable about the fact that May's locker number is 33.
posted by redsparkler at 6:59 PM on May 16, 2015 [5 favorites]

Mutants are just the natural result of human evolution, where as the InHumans are Kree Tampered Humans. For the most part, and I know very little about the InHumans, but I believe the InHumans are a relatively small presence in the X-Men/Marvel universe. More of a group of people who exist out there, but they don't have the same presence as AoS or as appearing to be planned.
posted by Atreides at 2:21 PM on May 17, 2015

where as the InHumans are Kree Tampered Humans.

And a Kree Tampered Dog.
posted by homunculus at 4:08 PM on May 17, 2015 [3 favorites]

I was actually not sure if Lockjaw was a Kree tampered dog or a Kree tampered human that mutated to look like a dog, and then everyone just treated Lockjaw as if he were a dog because they're kind of awful. Good to know!
posted by dinty_moore at 10:31 AM on May 18, 2015

I'm really uncomfortable about the fact that May's locker number is 33.

Was beginning to think I was the only one who picked up on that.
posted by entropicamericana at 2:24 PM on May 18, 2015

gosh, as many things that irked me about this season (triplett, come back!), i thought the little coda with cal was just pitch perfect. and of all the things i saw coming or had a bad feeling about or whatever, man, that took me by surprise and i just loved it. i found it so unbelievably touching!
posted by oh really at 4:59 PM on May 18, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'm just now binging through the series and I don't know if anyone will ever see this but I need to record this somewhere:

As someone who first saw Ming-Na Wen on ER over twenty years ago, seeing her blast through a door pushing a gurney and barking out a crashing patient's vitals was fanservice of the absolutely highest order and I really can't describe how delightful it was that they did it.
posted by range at 9:08 PM on October 28, 2017 [2 favorites]