As the fallout from Captain America: The Winter Soldier becomes less of a shock, and more part and parcel of Agents of SHIELD, it makes sense for the writers to explore something other than the immediate effects on the team.  It can’t all be about Ward’s true motivations and who the team can trust; it also has to be about what happens when everything that SHIELD was keeping hidden away gets back into the light of day.

In this case, the problem is Marcus Daniels, better known in the Marvel Comics as “Blackout”.  His origins may have been streamlined into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the net result is the same.  Marcus has control over a mysterious “dark force”, and that makes him one of the first ultra-comic-booky villains on the show.  Even Lorelei was a bit more grounded in a lot of ways.

Surprisingly, Coulson’s mission to save Audrey, the once-mentioned cellist referenced back at the beginning of The Avengers, wasn’t quite as full of revelations as one might have hoped.  It did reveal that for Coulson, this latest turn of events is just another example of how his life has been turned upside down; it’s actually hard to remember that he was really dead and the rest of the world still believes that to be true.  Coulson’s struggle with how to help Audrey and subdue Marcus, and therefore uphold the ideals of SHIELD, is a near metaphor for the struggles of the entire team.

I felt the worst for Fitz and Simmons.  Simmons is really having a hard time with her faith in SHIELD, and there’s no doubt that she is wondering why she’s still with the team.  The confidence that she’s built over the course of the season is giving her a solid foundation for wondering if she wouldn’t be better on her own.  Fitz, on the other hand, can’t even begin to imagine a world without Simmons, and I think it’s increasingly clear that uncertainty in the rest of the world is making his feelings for Simmons all the more certain.  And that’s just not going to end well.

I’m a bit sad that Agent Koenig died, since I was hoping that he tied into the mystery of who really oversaw Coulson’s resurrection.  But if he had to go, I suppose it was in service to something interesting.  It changed up the conventional progression of Skye buying into Ward’s interest in her and made it something that would have to prove, once and for all, that she was a worthy agent.  It wouldn’t be all that grand if Ward sacrificed himself because of genuine feelings for her, but this little turn makes it more likely that the writers won’t go there.

If I had to guess, the attraction between Skye and Ward is going to make the final showdowns all the more tragic.  Because Skye is the only one who knows the truth right now, and is also trapped with him, Skye will likely have to maneuver him into some kind of trap to survive.  How knowingly she manipulates him will be the deciding factor; I’d enjoy it a lot more if Ward, the best agent since Romanoff, wound up being outmatched by Skye.  And if her oft-mentioned mysterious origins and nature are somehow activated in the process, maybe that wouldn’t be so bad, either.