Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. S:02 E:19

Episode Title: The Dirty Half Dozen

Original Airdate: 28-4-15

With the phase 2 culmination of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe releasing May 1st, the latest episode of ‘Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ pushes forward with its own story, while setting up some cool Avengers plot points. With Lincoln, the Inhuman, and Deathlok captured by H.Y.D.R.A., Coulson confronts Gonzalez with a plan to infiltrate H.Y.D.R.A. and deal them a severe blow. The episode entitled, ‘The Dirty Half Dozen’ brings together the original ‘Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.‘ team from Season 1, while tying in some of its more recent Season 2 storylines into the upcoming ‘Avengers: Age Of Ultron’ movie.

With the help of Jamie Harris’ Gordon, Skye returns to unite with Clark Gregg’s Coulson and her friends to help rescue Lincoln & Deathlok, while Coulson enlists Brett Dalton’s Ward’s help in doing so. After an uncomfortable apology speech by Ward, the team succeeds in their mission, while Coulson has a different mission of his own. This episode finally refocuses on the threat of H.Y.D.R.A., after a few weeks of this other S.H.I.EL.D. and Inhumans storylines. While the Inhumans stuff was great to watch unfold, the bureaucratic tension that between Edward James Oleos’ Gonzalez brought to the show with his doubting of Coulson and instigating a small coup and rift between all the major characters, was a little distracting from the rest of the storylines. After all that, we’re finally back on track while seemingly all S.H.I.E.L.D. characters bury the hatchet. Seemingly.

The coolest thing about ‘The Dirty Half Dozen’ is its tie ins to the upcoming ‘Avengers: Age Of Ultron’ movie. The show acknowledges that the biggest H.Y.D.R.A. threat right now is a Baron Von Strucker, who definitely has a key role in ‘The Avengers’ sequel. There are also references of ‘the twins’ whom we know to be Aaron Taylor Johnson’s Quicksilver and Elizabeth Olson’s The Scarlet Witch who will appear in ‘Age Of Ultron’ as well. Coulson’s secret mission seemingly also has importance in the film as a familiar face of the franchise makes a cool cameo, with the promise of another long thought dead character returning to the fold. The episode ends with a direct tie in to the sequel as Ruth Negga’s Raina has a vision that directly deals with Ultron himself.

‘Half A Dirty Dozen’ also sets up some new conflicts within the show itself, as we get an almost murderous Simmons trying to kill Ward; Gonzalez planning on interrogating Skye and Lincoln about the other Inhumans, culminating in a showdown as it seems based on next week’s preview. As well as Coulson’s secret involvement with Fury, now known to be alive. Despite being mostly talk, the episode has awesome exposition and a mind blowing action sequence by Chloe Bennett herself. In a single take shot, Skye takes out a room full of H.Y.D.R.A. Agents with some great ‘John Wick’ style gunplay. This is the kind of sequence that I expected from director Kevin Tancharoen, instead of the mediocrity we got from his last episode.

‘Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ is proving to have a formidable season 2. While Season 1’s inferior and convoluted story was rescued by the release of ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’, the events of which continued in the series, this season doesn’t seem to be relying on that as evident by the trailer for next week’s episode as can be seen below. ‘The Avengers: Age Of Ultron’ releases May 1st.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV41FmgnWtY