Coming out of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, it was clear that there would be significant impact on the progression of Agents of SHIELD.  In fact, it’s impossible to discuss this episode without also commenting on the events of the film, so this is definitely one of those circumstances where a SPOILER WARNING is warranted.

 

As listeners of The Critical Myth Show might recall, when Agent Garrett was first introduced, I tossed out the suspicion that he was actually The Clairvoyant.  I’d be patting myself on the back right now if it wasn’t for the fact that The Winter Soldier presented a far more logical candidate.  Zola’s activities and abilities (predicting future events based on past data) were far more in line with the semi-mystical way that characters like Reina referred to The Clairvoyant in the past.

 

On the other hand, this episode made it very clear that Coulson’s team is so out of its element that they could be drawing questionable conclusions.  And if there was one misdirect with the identity of The Clairvoyant, why not two?  Nothing about Garrett suggests he has the resources and the mental acuity to be who he claims to be.  But for the purposes of the plot, I would say it no longer matters; “The Clairvoyant” was little more than a smokescreen for the existence and actions of Hydra.

 

For similar reasons, I’m not sure that Ward’s betrayal is entirely what it seems.  Killing the two guards and Agent Hand makes quite the statement, I admit.  However, Ward and Coulson share a look that makes me wonder if this is all something that they planned as an extreme response to the Hydra infiltration and the need for survival.  And there was that odd stinger at the end of the episode that suggested his motives are less clear cut than simple allegiance to Hydra.

 

If Ward is a traitor working for Hydra, then this is about as bad a scenario as one can imagine.  Granted, it’s a matter of degree; Hydra already has enough control over SHIELD assets to make control of The Fridge a relatively minor addition to the overall concern.  More worrisome is that Hydra’s mission statement is insidious enough that a lot of people could be convinced that it’s all for the greater good.  It’s a thin line between the extra-legal security intentions of SHIELD and the world domination of Hydra.

 

Ward’s turn makes the apparent romantic undertones of the show and the supposed love triangle of Ward, May, and Skye and makes it a lot more insidious.  Keeping in mind the apparent scope of what The Clairvoyant could predict or foresee, was Ward’s decision to forge a relationship with May meant to monitor or influence her actions?  Then making a play for Skye, thus putting May off her game a bit, works as a retrospective interpretation, but I’m still not entirely sold.

 

All of that, however, is a form of binary thinking; it paints Ward as either a good guy working a difficult undercover assignment to undermine Garrett’s activities or a bad guy whose every action was designed to undermine Coulson’s team.  The truth is likely somewhere in-between, which is a lot more intriguing, especially since if Ward really is Hydra, Coulson’s team seems completely unaware of it.

 

In the more comprehensive sense, by the end of the episode, the state of play around the world is terrifying.  What used to be SHIELD is now engaged in a civil war, and the impact on the rest of the world is going to be very interesting to see.  How Agents of SHIELD manages to portray that civil war, and personalize it beyond the Team Coulson vs. Team Garrett dynamic, could very well determine if the series gets a second season.