Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Season 2, Episode 6 Review

Who can Coulson trust? (Image © Marvel.com)
Wow, something really did hit the fan this week in Agents of SHIELD. At long last, this season seems to be really going in a new direction, exploring these different characters, their interactions and motivations.
First of all we have the complex relationship of Skye and Ward, and the wonderful scene towards the end showing the parallels of Grant and his brother Christian was a clear standout of the episode. You just can't tell who's telling the truth, let alone whether Skye or Coulson believe either one. Brett Dalton is fantastic, doing his great performance as of yet in SHIELD. The look on his face when Skye tells him that he will be sent to his brother is just that of pure dread and horror. This is what I hoped we'd get to see several episodes ago, but better late than never. In fact, the cliffhanger ending with Ward killing his captors was perfectly paced, acted and directed. Just the look on his face. This guy truly means business, and both Christian and Skye are in deep trouble...
Ward and Skye have such great moments, with Skye seeming to suck up to Ward's tales, manipulating him into explaining the story of her father just before telling him that he's being sent to his brother. It shows that she knows how to play him, but also that he knows how to play her. Its incredibly interesting to see unfold on screen and both Chloe Bennet and Brett Dalton sell the hell out of it all.
We also get to explore more of Hunter and Morse's relationship after the slightly obvious reveal that she is his "she-devil" ex-wife. It all seemed to be played for laughs, and while it did seem like the least interesting of all the character interactions of the episode, at least it provided some levity with the amount of death and rather grim elements of the episode.
Fitz and Simmons also got more to do and actually had a proper conversation after their near death experience at the end of last season. The truly heart-breaking scene where Simmons tries to explain why she left him was a truly standout moment of this season, with Fitz's cry of "I needed you!" being perfectly delivered.
The acting and writing truly shone in this episode, and while everything else worked as well, they were the two main points that I have to admit worked.
While I do think that Agents of SHIELD is improving, its still not quite perfect yet. Few shows get to the perfection level, but its a shame that Agents of SHIELD has had only three episodes that really stood out this season as being more than "watchable", and there are still way too many characters cluttering around this season, not to mention the 301 plot threads dangling around. 9/10

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