Dichen Lachman

Audiences should consider themselves warned that “SOS”, the two-part season 2 finale of Agents of SHIELD, does not mess around. Five named characters (plus two very unlucky SHIELD redshirts) die, Coulson loses his forearm like Ash from Evil Dead, and Simmons is dragged off Drag Me to Hell-style by that mysterious Kree stone. (Did the writers have a Sam Raimi marathon just before writing this episode?) A few storylines get resolution, like the May-Dr. Garner relationship and Cal protecting Skye, but there is also a lot of set-up for season 3 in the midst of this epic showdown between SHIELD and Jiaying. For everything it is setting up, however, the episode never loses steam for an exposition dump, nor does it rush to resolve season 2’s story arcs. It easily tops the season 1 finale “Beginning of the End”, and really, “SOS Part 1 & 2” are the best two episodes that Agents of SHIELD has produced so far.

In Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America talks about how SHIELD is about saving people and that’s “how SHIELD should work.” While the Avengers are waxing nostalgic about their days at Nick Fury’s SHIELD, remembering the super-cool heli-carrier while forgetting Fury’s secret alien weaponry, present-day SHIELD is not really all that pretty and shiny. If anything, they are dealing with the exact same problems that Tony Stark is struggling with in Age of Ultron and that Nick Fury struggled with before him in Winter Soldier. Plot-wise, “Scars” only ties in loosely with Age of Ultron, but thematically, they should really both be seen to fully appreciate the other.

“The Frenemy of My Enemy” is an episode with a whole lot going on, probably a little too much going on. The return of Ward, Hydra seeking out super-humans, and Cal’s day out with Skye all come to a head in a big showdown in Milwaukee. Plus, Simmons and May are clashing over Gonzalez’s SHIELD, and one of Jiaying’s super-humans goes missing on a camping trip. As a result, everything except for Skye and Cal’s father-daughter date feels rushed, but thanks mostly in part to Kyle Maclachlan’s performance, the episode is still very entertaining despite its minor flaws.

After Bobbi and Gonzalez’s big hero moment and Skye’s escape in “One Door Closes”, “Afterlife” is set up to be a bit of a let-down, or at least a slowdown by comparison. There are plenty of good hero moments like the return of Deathlok and Fitz-Simmons pulling the wool over Bobbi’s eyes. Even with these moments, the episode’s focus on Skye slows everything down to introduce Afterlife and fit in lots of exposition from Lincoln, played by guest star Luke Mitchell (The Tomorrow People).

Last Resort, Season 1, Episode 2: “Blue on Blue” Written by Karl Gajdusek Directed by Kevin Hooks Airs Thursdays at 8pm (ET) on ABC Sophomore episodes can often be a better barometer of a show’s quality than series premieres. It is often understood that premieres are what really draw viewers in, leading to increased marketing …

Last Resort, Season 1, Episode 1: “Captain” Written by Karl Gajdusek and Shawn Ryan Directed by Martin Campbell Airs Thursdays at 8pm (ET) on ABC FX’s cop series The Shield stands as a classic television show, giving viewers complex storylines, three dimensional characters that couldn’t be easily categorized as either good or evil, and performances …