Heavy is the Head

This week's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. continued the good momentum from the season premiere, with an episode that gave the most time to characters that were a bit more on the sidelines in the opener.

Obviously, the title suggests Coulson as the primary character, and we got plenty of him. The changes in Coulson, now that he's running the new and degraded S.H.I.E.L.D., were subtle but definitely there. His trademark humor, usually right at the surface among his team, had retreated a bit now that he was no longer really part of that team. He joked more with quasi-nemesis Talbot than he did with his own people, and couldn't even really say what he wanted to Skye until she'd left the room.

But there was one person Coulson still trusts deeply, May. It's interesting progress for both their characters -- May is absolutely in no way in the dog house for "spying" on Coulson last season. Instead, May's the only one Coulson wants there for his latest investigation into "who and what have I become?"

We also got a more substantial taste of our newest main character, the aptly-named mercenary Hunter. He seems to be starting from the position of an anti-Ward, in that he should be inherently less trustworthy, though the team will be working with him all the same. (Side note: one way to increase caged Ward's longevity is to not use him every week, as they did here.) There's a lot more of Hunter still to explore now that his most significant motivation to this point -- revenge -- is taken care of. Still, I suspect the lessons of season 1 will have taken, and that the writers will develop Hunter rather more quickly than they did the original characters.

I was pleased to see a glimmer of hope for Fitz this week, and also pleased that it really wasn't much more than a glimmer. He was able to make a contribution to the cause, but it was really just remembering a past contribution to the cause. He didn't even fully command the language necessary to convey the idea, either. "I didn't solve this today," was simultaneously empowering and saddening. I had half-worried that in the crazy Marvel universe, the way Fitz might come back altered by his near-death experience might be more physical -- maybe he'd have crazy cybernetic implants now or something. I'm glad it's a very personal and internalized struggle, and one that feels very human amid all the fantastical happenings.

We also get the return of Raina, and the teasing of Kyle MacLachlan (as apparently Skye's father?). He's a fun actor, and should make a big splash on the show in the way Bill Paxton did.

I'd give this episode a B+.