Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D gave service to Marvel Comic fans in last week’s episode with the introduction of Dr. Franklin Hall, and his newly-minted alter-ego, Graviton. This week the action slows down a bit for an intimate story about a mentor and his student, second chances and… yeah… I know. I wish it had more capes, and aliens, and gods, but it doesn’t. The tone of the series is starting to show its true colors, and it feels like last week’s episode will be more of the exception than the norm. As it is, here are the 6 Qs of episode four, ‘Eye Spy.’
1. What is it?
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 1, episode 4, titled ‘Eye Spy.’
2. Who’s in it?
The series regulars, Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet, Elizabeth Henstridge, and Iain De Caestecker. Guest starring this week is Pascale Armand as Akela Amador, an ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent that Agent Coulson once trained, who then went dark after a bungled mission.
3. Who made it?
‘Eye Spy’ was written by Jeffrey Bell; the episode was directed by Roxann Dawson.
4. What is it about?
After a mysterious thief with possible superpowers pulls off a diamond heist in Belgium, Agent Coulson tasks the team to work together and find her. It seems the thief, a woman named Akela Amador (Armand), was once a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent that Coulson (Gregg) himself had trained, and she left the agency after a bad mission and went dark. Coulson has always blamed himself and this case is his chance to reconcile with his failure, to the dismay of Melinda May (Wen), who is growing more and more comfortable with being a part of the team.
As the episode rolls on, the audience learns that Amador is working for a mysterious entity that controls her via a cybernetic eye, using tech that Fitz (De Caestecker) says is beyond even S.H.I.E.L.D. capabilities. The cyber-eye has a fail-safe, so that if Amandor was ever compromised, a tiny bomb would go off in her head. Coulson and his team have to work fast to find the mysterious handler to not only stop his crime, but to also save Amador’s life.
5. Any revelations, tie-ins, easter eggs, etc.?
One reference to the Battle of New York and of Coulson’s “sacrifice.” An allusion that Coulson is not the same person as before, and that he is “different.” There is a plot point late in the episode of a whiteboard and its contents. We see the formula very briefly, but there are mysterious runes that look almost Asgardian. Could someone be trying to tap into Bifrost, the “rainbow bridge” between Asgard and Midgard (earth)? Could be a huge revelation. I could be 100% wrong. We’ll see, I guess.
6. Will we watch next week?
Yes. A lot has been said about how Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is slow going, and I’m starting to figure out why. This show isn’t supposed to be like the Avengers, or Iron Man, or even like CW’s Arrow. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is more akin to, say, TV shows like the 1960s Mission: IMPOSSIBLE, or even The Wild, Wild, West. This isn’t a superhero show. This is a fun, spy/espionage, case-of-the-week affair. When you look at it that way, the appeal changes.
Sure, I want to see Thor swing his hammer each week, but I won’t get that here. After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. is the group behind the scenes, which goes back to Agent Coulson’s introduction in the first Iron Man film. As long as the audience understands that this is a spy drama with humor, fun gadgets, and the occasional comic book reference, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will find–and keep–its audience.
