Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Know Your Onions

Coulson: "Aren't you at all surprised? I mean... I was dead."
May: "You still are."

Ouch.

May is not herself. If the May of earlier seasons tried her best to suppress her emotions, this incarnation doesn't feel at all. What is going on with her? Does she have brain damage from being dead for a few minutes? Or was it her trip to the realm of Izel that did this to her? I'm not sure how I feel about this particular character arc, and I have to be honest that I didn't really connect with it. Her interaction with Enoch was fun, though, but that was mostly because Enoch is a hoot and has good chemistry with basically anyone.

May aside, this episode was essentially part two of the premiere: the Chronicoms trying to kill Wilfred Malick, S.H.I.E.L.D. trying to protect him. I liked that the agents only needed a quick conversation to decide whether or not they should stop Malick from co-creating Hydra. From the perspective of that time period, it could be a good intervention, saving many people from Nazism, but as Simmons said, they wouldn't know what they would come back to in the future if they changed history. That's why I didn't understand Daisy's perspective when she told Deke to kill Malick. That decision came out of nowhere, only to add conflict to an underbaked final act.

Another element that came out of nowhere was the countdown to the time jump. So, the Zephyr is programmed to make a time jump automatically when a window opens. Why wouldn't Simmons tell everyone about that as soon as they landed in 1931? That is basic information for this mission. Why don't they have individual clocks that warn them when a countdown has begun? Again, it is an element that creates tension, but it is not earned.

I get the plot logic behind it, though. Or, to be more accurate, why the plot needs that rule. If they are going to visit new time periods on an episodic basis, then they need a limited, temporary window to justify why they don't stay in a certain time period forever. It limits the villains' actions, for they also need to jump before the window closes. Or do they? Chronicoms don't age, couldn't they just stay in 1931 and make sure they accomplish their mission? Are they running out of Hunters to carry this mission?

Poor Enoch was left behind, the look on his face when the Zephyr left was heartbreaking. And again with ABC spoiling the moment in the season trailer. I shouldn't have watched it. I'm sure we will see Enoch again, though. I absolutely adored that he became friends with Koenig, who was lots of fun in this episode. Hey, maybe Koenig's grandchildren are LMDs after all.

Intel and Assets

- Yo-Yo froze and wasn't able to use her superspeed when needed. I liked that Daisy confronted her about it right after. Is Yo-Yo going through some kind of inadvertent, emotionally-provoked power block or is there something else going on?

- Nice character development bit for Yo-Yo: before understanding how it could damage the timeline, she suggested they stay for a while in 1931 and educate Malick into being a good person. She's come a long way from slitting Ruby's throat.

- Good twist with Malick not being the innocent young man he pretended to be. He might have faced some difficulties after his father died, but he had a privileged, entitled kid who doesn't care two cents about other people written all over him.

- Mack and Deke are great together.

- There was another hint that Simmons and Fitz were away for a very long time.

- I love that Enoch introduces himself as the best friend of Fitz.

- Why were they using that type of radio? It didn't exist in 1931, so why not use a more advanced one?

Quotes

Ernest Koenig: "Just what I need, a dead body in here because a dame..."
Simmons: "I'm a doctor, not a dame."

Enoch: "Perhaps you should be getting some rest."
May: "I'll rest when I'm dead."

Simmons: "Freddy Malick is about to deliver the key ingredient used to create the Super Soldier Serum."
Koenig: "You give a name like that to your juice, it better have a helluva kick."

Koenig: "Hell's Harbor, where the double-crossers go to double-cross the double-crossers."

Enoch (to May): "Since we are at war, I took the opportunity to upgrade to the Hunter Level Combat Skill Package."

May: "You don't have the guts to pull that trigger."
Enoch: "No, I may not have an intestinal digestive system, but I am very capable of applying pressure to..."
May: (punches him)


There were a few inconsistencies, but this was another fun episode. Two and a half out of four bottles of juice.
--
Lamounier

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