Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Review – “A Fractured House”

I am prepped and ready to go with my #NoWardRedemptionArc propaganda. Did I need it for this episode? Let’s dive in!

Not-So-Short Summary: After several consecutive weeks of action upon action, plot point upon plot point, this week’s episode calms things down just a bit. We open with Colonel Talbot discussing The Avengers with the UN, how there were aliens, how they trusted S.H.I.E.L.D. blindly. Honestly, he makes it sound a lot like Civil War. Italy stands up and wants to know where the proof is that S.H.I.E.L.D. is something to fear. Of course, HYDRA agents come in wearing S.H.I.E.L.D. gear, claiming that they are done hiding in the shadows. Italy gets decimated, even though no one ever says Italy.

Our S.H.I.E.L.D. compatriots hear about the UN attack and Coulson sends May, Bobbi, and Hunter to take care of it. It’s annoying to see S.H.I.E.L.D. being thrown under the bus again, being Public Enemy #1, but we have to know that it’s not going to last. We get a glimpse of Talbot…not exactly threatening a senator, but definitely reminding him of how much he knows. It’s Christian Ward, Ward’s older brother we’ve heard all those awful stories about. Christian is putting forth a proposal to wipe out S.H.I.E.L.D. for good.

May, Bobbi, and Hunter head to Okinawa meet Toshiro Mori, who Bobbi has HYDRA connections with. While her cover is blown after about two minutes in his presence (enough to say that HYDRA definitely has the Diviner/obelisk now), the resulting scene of Hunter and May busting in to help her out are tense, then hilarious. The dynamic between Bobbi and Hunter I thought would be much more annoying, what with all the she-beast/devil-woman stories Hunter was telling, but it’s obvious they both still have some good will toward each other. It makes their scenes together awkwardly hilarious.  This is brought out even more when they head to Bruges into a HYDRA trap and fight side-by-side.

And of course Hunter has the best entrance line when he swaggers into the compromised safe-house, a bottle of beer in his hands. “Whoa, whoa, woah, Hail HYDRA, guys. Hail HYDRA.”

Skye has to visit Ward to get some intel on his brother. While Skye doesn’t seem to get much–Ward says his brother gets joy from hurting people and that’s why he’s going after S.H.I.E.L.D.–the conversation turns abruptly to her own father until Coulson intervenes. Of course, Skye visits Ward later when Coulson isn’t there, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

One of the better scenes of the episode was Coulson in Christian Ward’s office. The showdown between the two is very interesting because the whole time we think Coulson is threatening Christian with Ward’s identity reveal when he’s actually trying to cut a deal (with the hilarious line of, “I’m telling you I have your brother in my basement”). Christian gives us the big reveal that Ward is actually even darker than we previously believed. “I know what I am, but my brother… he’s worse,” he says. All those stories Ward told about his brother making him torture his youngest brother? That’s just Ward deflecting it off on his brother to convince everyone around him that he’s still the golden child. But who is lying?

With Coulson gone, Skye heads back down to talk to Ward, cameras off, because she wants to talk about her father. He gives her a lot of grandiose, broad statements, how all the people who died in her village were actually HYDRA agents, how her father lost everything that day and all he wants is to bring his family back together. But he refuses to tell Skye who his resources are now that Raina is out of the picture. Skye puts on the teary-eyed, doe-eyed look to get Ward to trust her completely, but she plays him, an echo of Black Widow vs. Loki. She says it’s time to get him out of that cell: They’re giving custody of Ward to Christian because he will reverse his anti-S.H.I.E.L.D. proposal.

#NoWardRedemptionArc!!!!

Coulson puts it all out there when it comes to Ward: “The only reason you’re alive is because you’re of use, and the only reason you’re being transferred is because your brother is of more use.” As Ward is marched out of HQ on display for everyone to see, I could only think of The Green Mile. The worst parts of this scene were seeing Fitz’s expression (heartbreaking) and hearing Simmons utter the line, “If I ever see you again, I’ll kill you,” because you hear in her voice that she means it. Coulson warns the guards not to give Ward an inch.

What do they do? They give him an inch: he breaks the bone in his hand to slide out of his handcuffs and kills all of the guards escorting him. It cuts to black, then fades into a sneak peek at Avengers: Age of Ultron, and might I say, holy crap. I won’t discuss it here because Steve has you covered over here.

Badass Moment of the Week: My personal favorite was the gunfight in Bruges. The dynamic with Hunter and Bobbi reveals so much more about their characters than what little quips can give us. Likewise, May is badass as always.

Best One-Liner: “I guess being a douchebag runs in the family,” says Skye about the clan Ward.
“Are you surprised?” replies Coulson.

Fun Theory I’m Making Up Right Now: May and Bobbi have a slight heart-to-heart about ex-husbands. Apparently May was married before. And when Bobbi asks if she still talks to him, she just gives the patented May look. Theory: She killed her husband because he was undercover for some other organization. You know she would do it. This “theory” section will actually be expanded upon in the very near future to its own article posted a day or two after my recaps. Because we need a place to mull over the possibilities of what this show can give us.

Since last week, there is a lot more of the Skye/Coulson dynamic, and it’s very nice to see Coulson kind of getting back into the game of things, not keeping as many secrets. Completely unrelated to that, but my brother brought up a good point over the weekend: Ward looks a lot like NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson with that beard. It makes me laugh, then makes me wonder about Johnson…

I haven’t even covered FitzSimmons! Their dynamic is the awkward one this time around, but it’s fitting for all they have gone through. Simmons is trying to help Fitz by encouraging him, trying to fill in the blanks, much like her imaginary counterpart used to do, but she gets it all wrong and it frustrates Fitz. He bares his soul to her, upset that she left, upset that she left him alone and didn’t help him get any better, and she can’t answer him why she left in the first place. Later on, she sees the easygoing dynamic between Fitz and Mack and talks to Mack afterward.

He tells her how it is: He never knew the old Fitz, this is the only one he’s known. Sure, he’s a little off, a little weird, but he’s still healing. And Simmons makes him worse. “Why do you think I left?” she says, voicing what she was unable to tell Fitz. That old FitzSimmons from season one will never return, and that’s upsetting. I applaud the writers for making this FitzSimmons thing so complex. It’s more than just Fitz being spurned for his feelings; it’s the fact that his best friend can’t do anything for him, can’t even help him. I love it. I hate it. It makes me angry. But I do love it.

So who do you think is telling the truth and who do you think is lying in the Ward family? I know Ward is bat-crap crazy and manipulative, but he does bring some good points up about his politician brother. And everyone knows how this country feels about politicians. That being said, I think Christian was telling the truth, especially since he seemed to bare his soul about Ward being HYDRA to the public and promising to bring justice to him…only to have Ward escape. That’s gonna have some backlash, eh?

And in case you missed all of the epic news yesterday, check out Steve’s article over here laying out all of Phase Three. Because holy crap (which was my phrase for Tuesday, apparently). And we got our first commercial for Marvel’s Agent Carter. They’re calling it an eight-part miniseries, and I hope this miniseries has multiple seasons.

We have a reprieve next week, but never fear! There’s a Marvel special on instead, Marvel 75 Years: From Pulp to Pop!, and I’ll be here to take care of all your Marvel fangirling needs.