Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Season 4, Episode 17 Review

Following on from the last episode, "Identity and Change" introduces us to the Framework version of Mack, who finally gets to live a normal life with his daughter Hope in a Hydra-dominated society. The way the episode tells his story as someone just trying to live a quiet life in a totalitarian state is brilliantly eerie, and arguably brings in some real-world influences - and perhaps not just historical ones too. His ultimate betrayal of Skye/Daisy is a heartbreaking moment, but the episode allows him a chance at redemption by the end of it all. Actor Henry Simmons gives a standout performance in the episode, and really does shine.
It's also worth mentioning the Framework version of Fitz, nicknamed "The Doctor" for his cruel experiment on Inhumans, working under Madame Hydra (this world's Aida). The romance they set up between the two is an interesting element to add in, and while it could be seen as just dragging out Fitz and Simmons' relationship will-they-won't-they, the moment when Fitz sees Simmons cry out to him is a brilliant little character beat.
We also get to see what happened to Radcliffe, trapped on an island with Agnes, who tries desperately to plead with everyone around him. His isolation has clearly done him no good, as he begs for Fitz to not murder the love of his life. Ultimately though, in a horrifying moment, we are reminded that this is not Fitz, and he kills her. While I think we needed to focus more on Radcliffe's reaction to this moment, as I said earlier the way Fitz and Simmons look at each other in the moment is just brilliant stuff.
Also, I love this new teacher Coulson, who's just so pleasantly overwhelmed with everything. His conspiracy theories about brainwashing soap, and his desperate attempts to find the life he once had are great moments for his character, and Clark Gregg is clearly having a lot of fun. We even get to meet a more damaged Mace in the episode - who, while not revealed to have super-powers - is in full Patriot mode, saving the world with an underground SHIELD team.
Overall, "Identity and Change" follows nicely on from "What If..." with more cracking world-building and some incredibly tense and eerie sequences. Great stuff from Agents of SHIELD.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015) - Movie Review

Image
The Mission: Impossible franchise has experienced a mixed reception across its four prior installments, with the most popular being 2011's Ghost Protocol. I'm not entirely with the series, only that its pretty much Tom Cruise and co pulling off dangerous missions with some cool action and a catchy theme music, although I did end up watching Ghost Protocol one random night. Despite this, I have very little recollection of the actual film, and it obviously didn't leave much of an impression on me. Suffice it to say though that Rogue Nation is the first Mission: Impossible film I saw the trailer for, liked the look of and went to the cinema to see it, and my expectations were pretty reasonable - cool action, good stunts and an entertaining watch. I guess I got what I expected. The story follows the disassembling of the IMF, while Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is pursuing The Syndicate - a rogue nation that causes havoc across the world. Hunt teams up once again with Benjamin Dun
Read more

Doctor Who: The Power of the Doctor (2022) - Review

Image
And with that, the Thirteenth Doctor's era has come to a close. It's easy for regeneration stories to be overshadowed by the programme's future - understandable given the show's constant change and renewal - but suffice it to say that The Power of the Doctor makes for a fitting conclusion to this era of the programme. Kicking things off with a heist on a space train, we're reintroduced to the Cybermasters, returning from The Timeless Children back in Series 12. It's good to see them return, even if their ultimate roles in the narrative serve mainly as cannon fodder more than anything else. Their Cyber-converted planet, which I'd speculated to Gallifrey, was a nice idea even if it served as a backdrop to the events unfolding rather than playing a significant role. Quite why Ashad and his Cyber Warriors were brought back, other than fan popularity, I'm not sure. An off-hand comment about the Master cloning Ashad doesn't quite resolve the character'
Read more

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Season 6, Episode 1 Review

Image
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns for its sixth season after what seemed to be it's definitive ending last year. Whilst I felt that Season Five was a rather small-scale season to go out on - more because of the low production values than the story - and that a definitive, planned-out ending would be better than running the show into the ground, I was encouraged by the news that a sixth season would only consist of thirteen episodes, and be set after Coulson 's death in the Season Five finale. About a year later, Season Six has arrived in the UK, set to be followed by a thirteen episode seventh season next year. ' Missing Pieces ' is very much a slow-build episode, pulling together a few strings and setting multiple ongoing storylines in motion, making it a rather uneventful self-contained episode but no doubt an integral part of Season Six. I felt very much underwhelmed by this opener, but that's mainly because of how little it can really achieve in f
Read more