After the last episode preceding a short hiatus, I asked if Agents of SHIELD had turned a corner with the series and was past all the stupid, insipid episodes and on to bigger and better things. This week, they answered with arguably one of the best hours of TV this season. Of any TV show this season. Excellent storytelling, a compelling plot, stuff actually happened that furthers the story, and an ending that was shocking and moving and simply incredible. I am now a fan again, and I was close to giving up. Real close. Keep it going, folks. For the first time all season, I can’t wait until next week.
1. What is it?
Agents of SHIELD Season 1, episode 12, titled ‘T.R.A.C.K.S.’
2. Who’s in it?
The series regulars, Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson, Ming-Na Wen as Melinda may, Brett Dalton as Agent Ward, Chloe Bennet as Skye, Elizabeth Henstridge as Simmons, and Iain De Caestecker as Fitz. Guest starring this week is J. August Richards as Mike Peterson; David Conrad as Ian Quinn; Carlo; Carlo Rota as Russo; T.J. Ramini as Carlo Mancini; and Stan Lee as The Creator of All Things Marvelous.
3. Who made it?
‘T.R.A.C.K.S.’ was written by Lauren LeFranc & Rafe Judkins; the episode was directed by Paul Edwards.
4. What is it about? (**Spoilers Ahead**)
‘T.R.A.C.K.S.’ is the most uniquely shot and presented episode of the series so far, using an overlapping technique to show the same events from different perspectives as they are picked up by the characters that are participating.
The show opens with Level 7 being briefed on their next mission by Agent Coulson (Gregg) in which a high-value target is being moved across the Italian countryside on a train, and the team has to work as a unit to discover and track the HVT to its destination: Ian Quinn (Conrad), the financial benefactor of Centipede and the only link that Coulson has to the mysterious “Clairvoyant.”
It seems that Quinn has paid a large sum of money for the item, developed by a company called Cybertek, and he is using ex-military mercs to move it.
Level 7 breaks into groups, each with a mission to accomplish and very quickly, things turn south. Coulson and Ward (Dalton) jump off the train and Cybertek operatives use a device that seemingly makes the train disappear.
Coulson and Ward go back to the bus to try and find what happened to the train–and Ward also confronts Coulson about his ongoing fling with May, which causes Coulson to lay some ground rules. The Italian head of the investigation, Russo (Rota) shows up after claiming to have been compromised, only to get a knife in the back by Melinda May (Wen).
Here we learn that May was compromised shortly before these events and she too vacated the train. Her story picks up shortly after as she finds Coulson and Ward–victims of the “night-night grenade” for lack of a better term, and helps to aid the two men before she herself is captured by Russo and his thugs. He tries to torture her and, well, nobody tortures the Calvary, and she escapes, chasing Russo before he can take out Coulson and Ward.
Back on the Bus, Coulson patches May up as Ward tracks down the train. It is stopped dead on the tracks miles from its intended destination, and the remains of Level 7 investigate only to find Simmons (Henstridge) in a cargo car. No one knows where the others are.
Here we pick up Fitz (De Caestecker) and Skye’s (Bennet) story as we learn what happened to them once Cybertek discovered the operation and took out each team of SHIELD Level 7. As their cover is disintegrating, Simmons finds them and takes the full brunt of a night-night grenade. Fitz and Skye hide the unconscious body of Simmons under some luggage and continue the mission, tracking the HVT all the way to Ian Quinn.
At the Quinn estate, Skye decides to go in, while Fitz is to dismantle the guards–and their vehicles–outside. Skye infiltrates the house and makes her way downstairs, only to find the package, as well as Mike Peterson (Richards), who is lying in a hyperbaric chamber. Quinn shows up and Cybertek’s Carlo Mancini (Ramini) captures her. They revive Peterson from the chamber and Mancini attaches the contents of the package–a strange piece of tech–to Mike’s leg stump. The device opens up and becomes a new-formed cybernetic leg. Quinn plays a game with Peterson and Skye, testing Mike’s resolve, and when Mike refuses to kill Skye, Quinn takes the gun and shoots her–twice.
Here the stories all converge as Level 7 regroups outside the estate as Peterson singlehandedly wipes out all of Cybertek’s people. Coulson and Ward capture Quinn as Peterson is told by the Clairvoyant–via his cybernetic eye–to “Not engage SHIELD.” Peterson leaves as Coulson finds Skye, barely hanging to life. To save her life, Simmons commands the team to put Skye into the hyperbaric chamber. They place the tube on the Bus as get into the air, racing to get her medical help. Ian Quinn is in custody, but at what cost???
In the post SHIELD scene, Peterson is seen hanging around a school, watching the children play. He writes a note asking the Clairvoyant if he can please see his son and the message from his eye is “Not Yet.” As Mike crumbles the note and it drops to the ground, the camera pans down and we see that the tech on his leg has a plate and the name on the plate states that Mike Peterson is part of something called Project: Deathlok!
5. Any revelations, tie-ins, easter eggs, etc.?
Coulson mentions Asgard; Emil Blonsky, who became the Hulk villain The Abomination–last seen portrayed by Tim Roth in 2008’s Incredible Hulk–was mentioned; Cybertek is an organization from the Marvel Comics; And of course, Deathlok!
6. Will we watch next week?
Seeing as this is easily the best episode of the series, of course I’ll be back next week. Skye’s life is hanging in the balance; Coulson finally has Ian Quinn in custody; and Mike Peterson is now Deathlok, and he will do ANYTHING to protect his son, even kill members of Level 7–as long as he is ordered to by the Clairvoyant. Needless to say, this show just got incredibly interesting. I hope they can continue this streak, because Agents of SHIELD is fun to watch right now, and it can only get better.
