Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Season 2, Episode 12 Review

After last week's promising return to form, Agents of SHIELD goes back more to a Season 1 feel, featuring a special guest appearance from Lady Sif, who has forgotten who she is (save for anything relevant to the plot) and is in pursuit of a Kree, set to collect and destroy all of the Diviners and Inhumans, while Skye loses control of her powers, the team begins to divide and Mack and Bobbi plot incredibly conspicuously.
So yeah, a simple, character-led episode is off the cards this week.
Surprisingly, the various threads of the episode all manage to just about string together. The episode focuses a lot more than previous instalments of Agents of SHIELD this season on a standalone plot building up a bigger whole. The lack of any appearances from Cal, Raina or Hydra also help this episode not feel too cluttered.
Its nicely tied in to not only the rest of Agents of SHIELD's arcs but also into the Thor movies. Last season's Thor crossover episodes were the worst Season 1 had to offer, but thankfully this is a lot better.
That being said, Lady Sif's memory doesn't get as much time and needed (which would have allowed for a more streamlined plot, but does differentiate it from her last appearance), and as for Skye...well, Skye seems to get barely any character focus. Its clear the writers know what they want to do with her, but she gets so little time to do anything or get any focus that Skye hasn't had anything of a character arc this season other than that she gets superpowers. Her training with May has been first class all season with a few throwaway lines and training sequences but nothing of an actual character arc building to this. The lack of introductions for Mack and Hunter also impact this season heavily, with their dynamic having practically no exploration until now.
Agents of SHIELD has lost its character focus as of late, but hopefully should be returning to form soon.
Overall, this episode was a step-down from last week, but an enjoyable further step in the right direction for the series. 8/10

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