“Though death is frequently implied in this series, when Chan murders the scientist responsible for the serum, we get to see one spectacularly gory death, thanks to the cold indifference of Reina, the flower-dress girl.” —Zoë DiGiorgio
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. got sexier and more explosive this week. For the first time, the main plot of the episode factored into an overarching continuity, and we make headway on answering the question of Skye’s loyalty.
The episode brought back Project Centipede, the volatile superhero serum from the first episode, and gave it to Ho Yin Chan, whose story is actually slightly reminiscent of the origin stories of several already famous Marvel superheroes, except this one has a horrible ending.
Chan, we later learn, gained super powers for mysterious reasons likely having to do with the fact he lived near a decommissioned nuclear power plant.
Now scraping by as a street performer in Hong Kong, Chan takes back the titular pretty woman in a black dress with white flowers to his apartment after she approaches him about his ability. They talk about his gift of manipulating fire, and the episode almost gets romantic, until the girl sends in men in flame-resistant suits to grab Chan. This is exactly the kind of romance you’d expect from this series.
When the team gets the call about Chan’s disappearance, Skye inquires about “the index,” a list of people and objects with special abilities that S.H.I.E.L.D. watches over. Skye then asks how they monitor these people, and this is when the show practically grabs a newspaper and waves it in your face as if to say, “GET IT? IT’S LIKE THE NSA!”
Very subtle, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Agent Kwan, Chan’s case agent, tells the team that the people who took Chan clearly knew about his ability, and S.H.I.E.L.D. files had been recently hacked “by the same hackers as last time,” The Rising Tide.
Skye quickly goes on the defensive, which at this point just feels redundant, as this is the same back-and-forth game the show’s been playing since the second episode. Ward believes Skye had nothing to hide, and trusts her.
They track down the hacker, Miles, who Skye confronts privately. She was highly involved with him in the past, and he claims to have taught Skye everything she knew. The situation quickly gets sexual. This, of course, sets Skye up to get caught by May and Coulson while she is in her underwear.
Skye tries to protect herself and defend Miles, who she says knows nothing about the information he hacked, but she finds herself in this episode in the position of the apologetic child to the disapproving father, much like Amador was in the previous episode.
The episode doesn’t really delve into Ward and Skye’s relationship too much, though there is a huge contrast between the two playing Battleship at the beginning of the episode and the look of mutual disappointment when Ward handcuffs Skye. It’s powerful, but is just left to stew for the rest of the episode rather than being fleshed out.
The Science Twins continue their streak of weak and cheesy characterization when they are personally hurt by Skye’s dishonesty. If they reminded me of happy Labrador puppies last week, this week they are puppies that are missing their owners, who have been at work far too long for their liking.
These two are cute characters, yes, but they could easily be replaced by funny talking computers and would actually gain more personality that way.
Skye defending S.H.I.E.L.D. to Miles is perhaps the best sign of her loyalty the show has given, though the episode makes it clear that although S.H.I.E.L.D. takes her back for this mission, the loyalty question isn’t going to stop being a major plotline any time soon.
Coulson and Ward take turns being the noble one and take responsibility for Skye. These two don’t have a clear relationship beyond Ward being a younger, more rash Coulson, but this episode was covering so much that their relationship probably will not get tapped into for a few more weeks.
Chan’s origin story takes a dark twist. Though he’s taken a lab like Brice Banner and gets a nickname, the other characters make it clear that this is all a fantasy. They get the Centipede serum working, and when S.H.I.E.L.D. comes to rescue Chan, he gets mad with power and fights back.
Though death is frequently implied in this series, when Chan murders the scientist responsible for the serum, we get to see one spectacularly gory death, thanks to the cold indifference of Reina, the flower-dress girl.
Though the murder was a bit dark, it did showcase the show’s amazing effects. For being a live-action superhero-themed series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has avoided the tacky effects that have marred its predecessors.
The team has also never had to kill a subject before, so Chan’s explosive death was also a first for the characters. However, Reina reappears at the end, hinting to audiences that Project Centipede, like the mysterious eye, will return to the show.
Skye breaks out the SD card she’s been hiding in her bra at the end of the episode, which reveals what Coulson suspected she was hiding. We finally learn why she became a hacker and what she had against S.H.I.E.L.D.; at the end of the day, Skye’s motivation is all because she is trying to learn what happened to her parents.
Despite the teasers for Thor 2, there were no guest stars in this episode. The show won’t be back until November, so we’ll have to wait to find out what happens to Skye in the wake of this week’s revelations.
