The Singularity

I love the fact that in an episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. titled "The Singularity," that title refers not to some kind of science fiction Macguffin, but rather is the name Fitz and Simmons themselves used to refer to finally sleeping together. Their story line was the most compelling to me this week, for several reasons more than them crossing this irrevocable line.

Their undercover mission together made for a lot of fun, as they both worked hard to be cool under pressure and out of their element. Their page from Bobbi and Hunter's book, going dark to get personal was a great scene for them, and a nice nod to the lasting impression those missing characters leave on the show. Then, separately, each had a memorable and tense final showdown -- Fitz being threatened by Daisy, and Simmons coming face-to-sort-of-face with Will. And Ward. When that moment came, Simmons was thrown for a loop -- but still put several bullets into Hive.

Another great character scene came when May called out Coulson for making her do his dirty work. Theirs is a relationship that's been essentially unbreakable all along, and so it's perfect for May to point out that the one relationship that Coulson values more is the one he has with Daisy. Daisy gets a full-blown rescue attempt and Lincoln gets a "murder vest?" Point made, May.

Also welcome is that even in an ongoing story line that involves brainwashing, the series still made a point of respecting character. Daisy is under Hive's sway, but that control ends (mostly) at Hive's direct commands. She'll still stand up to him and insist to be called Daisy, not Skye. She still is in search of a family, and a father figure in particular. And she'll stop short of killing one of her friends... this one time only, if we take her at her/Hive's word. I hope this isn't going to lead to a cliche "fight him, Daisy!" moment down the road, but putting this idea in the mix adds dimension to what's happening. It will also, later, make it harder for Daisy to wash her hands of what she did because "it wasn't really her," because that won't be 100% true.

The one big misfire for me this week was the sudden, unearned, and basically off-screen eradication of Hydra. If Hydra is really just gone now, just like that, what a majorly anti-climactic end to a threat (and plot) that's been running on the show for two years. And if they're not actually gone now, what was the point of even wasting episode time on suggesting they are? Are Hive and Hydra so intertwined in the minds of the writers that they think beating one requires beating the other? I really just don't understand why the hell such a major moment (as Coulson even called it in the episode) seemed tacked in as an afterthought.

But overall, the Hive story line continues to develop in interesting ways. I'd call this episode a B+.