'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' Recap: Return of the Kree

Robert Chan
·Writer
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Warning: This recap for the “Failed Experiments” episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. contains spoilers.

Ward’s plans for turning the entire planet into Inhumans is wonderfully insane and exactly the sort of thing Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. needs to head into the final episodes of the season. Ward is such a complete villain, in fact, that the appearance of two Kree warriors was a bit underwhelming in comparison.

The Plot
Ward recounts his origin story — Kree reapers experimenting on a prehistoric hunter — and he plans to recreate the experiment. The experiment fails because it needs living Kree blood to work, so Ward activates the device he stole: It’s a beacon for the reapers. Meanwhile, Fitz and Simmons have an antitoxin that could fight Hive’s parasites, but are wary of testing it. Lincoln, frustrated at his inability to help Daisy, tests it on himself, but Simmons tells him it didn’t work. S.H.I.E.L.D. has tracked down Hydra’s hidden town and prepare to invade. The mission is to kill Hive, but Mack thinks he can save Daisy. Daisy subdues one of the reapers to drain its blood and runs into Mack who believes some part of her still wants to escape. He fails, but destroys the Kree body. Hive kills the second reaper, so has no blood for the experiment, but Daisy offers her own blood — which contains blood from the T.A.H.I.T.I. Project.

Predictability
Being predictable isn’t always a bad thing. Agent May pretending to be a Hydra agent, sweet-talking James (Axle Whitehead), then clobbering him with a pool cue is completely predictable — to the point that Mack even says, “I was just wondering if there was a chance this guy doesn’t get his ass whupped” — and it was possibly the high point of the episode. Sometimes, though, being predictable can be the worst thing. Long close-ups of Lincoln made it certain that he’d try the antitoxin without asking anybody, which is just plain stupid. Just because you went to medical school doesn’t mean you know how much experimental serum to inject, doc. May: Predictably awesome. Lincoln: Predictably dumb.

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The Season Finale Deadpool
It’s always a tough call: Do you let characters die unheralded so the shock makes a bigger impact – like Rosalind? Or do you announce that a character will die so people tune in – like Ward? Well, it wouldn’t be a S.H.I.E.L.D. season finale without a little blood, so calling the last arc “Fallen Agent” is kind of a no-brainer. Who will it be?

Coulson and Daisy are untouchable — they’re the core of the show and they’ve already played their “Kill and Immediately Bring Back” card this season. Fitz and Simmons are all very unlikely to die as is May, though Ming Na is one of the bigger names originally signed to the show, so it’s possible she has a backdoor built into her contract if she decides she wants to bow out early. Joey and Yo-Yo would be too easy to kill — they’ve only been in a few episodes, so we’re not invested enough in them. Bobbi and Lance are already gone, so that only leaves Mack and Lincoln. Mack is beloved, but also dispensable in terms of team duties, a double-whammy. Lincoln has a self-destructive streak a mile wide and his super powers are probably the most expensive to do CGI for, so he’s also likely to go. Who would you rather see die?

S.H.I.E.L.D.ed Thoughts

  • Line of the Night: “If I wanted a boyfriend who agreed with everything I said, I never would have broken up with Milton.” While it’s clear Fitz has a say, it’s also clear that Simmons is 100 percent the boss of this relationship.

  • Why are all the Kree dressed up like a Smurf version of Mad Max: Fury Road? Not that it’s S.H.I.E.L.D.’s fault — all the Cinematic Universe Kree look that way.

  • If they kill off Mack, then the show will have killed or sidelined all its black characters (Andrew, Trip, and Deathlok are the others). If they kill of Lincoln, Daisy will be spending most of next season bearing the guilt of his death and the show becomes Arrow. How can we possibly choose?

  • Wow — did they really just give up on crossing over Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. with the Captain America movies completely? That’s disappointing.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on ABC.