Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Week 7

Episode: The Hub
Original airdate: 11-12-13

It’s that time of week again for another recap of the latest Marvel TV episode. For the first time in several weeks I am not actually wanting to call this the best episode yet. Of course, this isn’t a bad thing because I’ve been enjoying the past several episodes very much and I think the overall quality has improved greatly over the first couple episodes which were good, but not great. All of the characters on the show are starting to flesh out a more well rounded personality, and this episode had a moment that made me laugh out loud, which doesn’t happen all too often and as a sidenote is one of several reasons why you will never catch me using the abbreviation LOL. Last week’s episode gave a lot of time to fleshing out Simmons’ character and this time around Fitz gets his time to shine. We also get to see a bit more of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s inner workings and how the organization operates. And finally, we get yet another hint into the mystery surrounding Skye’s past.

The episode centers around an infiltration operation involving Fitz and Ward heading into a Russian separatist base to disable a high tech weapon called Overkill. Meanwhile Skye and everyone else is being kept in the dark about what’s really going on while they are taking some time on the ground and off of the bus in one of the big S.H.I.E.L.D. compounds called the Hub, as well as a super-quick reference to the Triskelion which I did not know about, but it is a giant island headquarters for S.H.I.E.L.D. The A-story involving Ward and Fitz had the right mix of humor, action, and tension though I still am not getting much of a sense of personality for Ward aside from being the A-1 agent. The B-story where Skye was being left in the dark about the details of the mission was less interesting, though it did have the absolutely funniest moment when she convinces Simmons to help her break into the S.H.I.E.L.D. computer system. I felt like the solution to Fitz and Ward’s situation was a little too easy, combined with a major disregard for the system that’s ultimately met with an “oh well, it worked.” attitude by the higher ups. At least it ended with another clue to the Skye mystery that’s starting to take shape quite nicely, and next week is supposedly a large tie-in with the new Thor movie which I’m happy I did get a chance to see, but am curious how it will hold up to those who haven’t. I also was made aware of the fact that the Captain America release date is unusually early for a summer release, but it does put it in prime position for a S.H.I.E.L.D. season finale tie in? We’ll see. Until next time, this has been Bubbawheat for Flights, Tights, and Movie Nights.