After starting the season with loads of serious material, it was time for Agents of SHIELD to add a little levity to the darkness.  Despite the initial impressions, this isn’t necessarily a light-hearted romp.  By the end, there are serious implications for the future, not the least of which is the fate of Director Coulson.  The mystery of the alien writing is going to have to be solved sooner rather than later.

 

The real joy of this episode, however, is the prominence of Agent May.  I’ve made no secret of my appreciation for Ming-na Wen since the very beginning, and this episode was designed to prove out everything that I’ve been saying.  It’s one thing to keep telling the audience how strong and lethal a woman might be, and quite another to demonstrate it.  Not to mention that her relationship with Coulson shows a depth of emotion that a lot of similar characters wouldn’t retain.

 

Like so much of the show of late, it capitalizes on elements from The Winter Soldier.  It’s great to see that face-matching tech come back into play without falling into typical mistaken-identity tropes.  The writers came very close,  but it’s always fun to wonder exactly when someone picks up on the truth.  These are spies, after all, and part of the game is walking into a trap with eyes wide open.

 

This was also a huge episode for Fitz, though I will be a little disappointed if he makes a full recovery.  He’s carrying a lot of scars, after all, and while it may be a little cruel to say, those scars have made him a much more compelling character.  But he can learn to find a way to live with those scars and still make a solid contribution, and this episode is a good step in that direction.  Doing it without Simmons is equally important, because it avoids the codependency problem.

 

With Whitehall taking control of Reina for the moment, as well as the revelation that there is someone else out there leaving carvings in alien writing, events seem to be rushing towards a major confrontation.  I doubt it will be remotely the end of the current crisis, but after all these warnings about Coulson’s status, they need to address it sooner rather than later.