‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Episode 2.5 “A Hen in the Wolfhouse” (7 out of 10) Created by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen; Starring Clark Gregg, Chloe Bennet, Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton; Tuesdays on ABC.
Poor Raina. Walking around in those flowery dresses, thinking she’s got it all figured out, only to fall victim to the old double agent trick.
Spoilers ahead, friends!
Skye’s Father is Terrifying
There’s a whole lot of mystery built up around Skye’s Father (Kyle MacLachlan), and though seeing him in this episode didn’t feel totally climactic, MacLachlan played him with dose of megalomania that was fun to watch. As the episode progresses, we learn that Raina is somehow involved with him, and was soliciting his help to get her out of hot water with Whitehall. When Skye’s name is mentioned, her father seems to have some genuine affection towards her, and he’s none too happy with Coulson. It’s here that I must make a prediction—what if SHIELD kidnapped Skye from her cosmically-powered father, and upon reuniting them, Skye has to make a life-altering decision? It’s totally something old school SHIELD would do, and it could create some uncomfortable conversations between Skye and Coulson.
The show concludes with Skye’s Father taking the Obelisk to Whitehall in an effort to forge a supervillain alliance. I can understand that both evil dudes have beef with Coulson, but I’ve never quite understood the villain trope of destroying the world. What good is power with no one to rule over?
Agent Morse
Jemma is still undercover with HYDRA, and she’s been able to discover that Whitehall is interested in the Obelisk because of its extra-terrestrial origins. While she’s updating Coulson with this info, Raina spots her and hatches a last-ditch effort to gain some protection against Whitehall. It’s a tense scene when Raina threatens to send an email of Jemma betraying HYDRA throughout their offices—especially since the badass head of security Bobbi Morse (Adrianne Palicki) has promised to crack down on their mole problem. Not only is the countdown to Jemma’s doom ticking away, but Raina has dropped some info about Skye’s Father, which Skye could hear. May practically has to put Skye in a sleeper hold to keep her from blowing their cover, and Coulson just lets the timer run out—a pretty sweet moment as Raina’s venomous smirk is obliterated by Coulson’s complete lack of expression.
Aficionados will recognize the name Bobbi Morse as the alter-ego of a Marvel character named Mockingbird, which is fitting since she’s totally infiltrated HYDRA and positioned herself to rescue Jemma when Raina’s email goes live. In perhaps the best scene of the evening, Morse beats the hell out of some HYDRA agents, only to grab Jemma and leap off of their office building onto the wings of a cloaked quinjet. If there was a scene that could beat this one out for supremacy, it would have to be the one in which Hunter and Morse confront each other in SHIELD HQ—they used to be married and they totally hate each other. When Coulson announces that Morse is now part of the team, the promise of witty, sexually-charged banter between these two made me happy.
Verdict
Tonight’s episode felt like it was built for functionality over flashiness. We had a few new characters introduced, and Jemma’s removal from HYDRA means that we’re no longer privy to their secret schemes—a pity, since they’re likely to become much more interesting with the arrival of Skye’s Father. I like the idea of Raina becoming a kind of dark horse—she has no real loyalties to anyone, and that could make her very dangerous. Part of me wants to see her help SHIELD take down Whitehall. Since we’re also venturing into the possibility of alien technology, does that also mean we’re venturing closer to a “Guardians of the Galaxy” tie in? Probably not. But it’d be cool if we were.