The Honeymoon

Ever since Ruby was introduced to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and revealed to be a moody teenager, it was only a matter of time before she'd turn against her mother, General Hale. The particulars may have been up for grabs (could Ruby turn good? would she out-evil her mother?), but the fuse was definitely lit. Sure enough, that plot twist blew up in Hale's face this week, and in the process felt like a big piece of this story arc's conclusion.

Elsewhere, love was in the air. FitzSimmons made a "honeymoon" of their raid with Yo-Yo. There was a lot of fun to be had in this story line, from Fitz's acknowledgement of how far he's come since season one (with regards to jumping from airplanes), to the pair's initial certainty of their invulnerability wavering in the face of overwhelming odds. The one contrived beat in the story was that Yo-Yo had never tried using her powers before this moment. Even accepting the conflict between Inhuman abilities and robotic arms as a worthy plot point, the discovering of it in these conditions felt like a cheap writers' trick. I think suspense would have worked just as well as surprise here -- having Yo-Yo discover this problem earlier, then having to go on this raid knowing her speed wasn't available to her.

Love also served as the peak moment in the "rescue" story line this week. Coulson and Talbot were brought back into the fold, setting up a showdown between May and Coulson about his reckless behavior. That May "shut him up" by declaring her love for him was the perfect punctuation on the scene. I remain unconvinced that the show is actually working toward killing off Coulson as they've repeatedly telegraphed (or that an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. without Coulson could carry on without having lost something vital), but I do at least like the way the May/Coulson relationship is playing out as they pursue this story arc.

During Coulson's rescue, Deke got shot, ultimately leading to the third thread of love in the story, Deke's drugged-up post-operation confession of feelings for Daisy. Totally cliche, but if you're going to do a cliche, best to reveal it in a broad comedic moment like this. Actor Jeff Ward certainly had fun with the scene.


The tag on the episode was the reveal of Talbot as a good old-fashioned "Hail HYDRA" sleeper agent, which should provide fun tension for an episode or two on our way to the finish line. That, along with FitzSimmons' capture, could serve to make next week a less action-y, more suspense-filled affair.

As for this episode? I'd give it a B.