[8.2/10] Holy crap, that was pretty intense for an episode of Shield. I know the show stepped up a notch in terms of having mature themes and the like with the move to Fridays, but I tend to think of crushed skulls and slit throats as the realm of Twin Peaks and Dexter much more than my live action but cartoony little superhero show.
But AoS went whole hog this time out. In one corner, you had FitzSimmons being tortured by Ruby in order to make the particle infusion chamber or whatever. Then you had Ruby going through mental and physical torture while being infused with the gravitonium (which, apparently didn’t give her super acting abilities since her squawks were pretty unconvincing). Then you had her crushing the head of Strucker Jr. by accident, which was a pretty shocking image in and of itself. And then you had Yo-Yo bursting in and taking her out when Daisy and Hale were trying to talk her down.
That’s a lot. I appreciate the tragedy of Ruby being raised for this but not prepared to handle it, while Hale has to watch her suffer, and Daisy knowing the struggle of what it’s like to have powers that you feel you can’t control while needing someone who won’t give up on you. I also like Yo-Yo having been traumatized by seeing her future self and thinking she’s saved the planet by killing “the destroyer of worlds.” Everyone’s motivation is set up well in the scene.
Then on the other side of the episode, you have Talbot having gone full Manchurian Candidate and taking Robin hostage. That’s its own kind of intensity, and the stand-off between Talbot and Coulson is well done. Particular kudos are owed to Adrian Pasdar, who totally nails being out of sorts and unsure of himself and feeling out of control. While a bit predictable, the scene where Talbot turns the gun on himself is harrowing because you feel for this man who wants to do right but isn’t in charge of his own mind anymore. Pasdar sells the hell out of that, and while an easy out, Coulslon using the “you will comply” stuff to help Pasdar and then using the good ol’ icer is a nice way to resolve the situation.
Last but not least, you have a couple of pretty cute scenes between Coulson, Mack, and Deke, where each reveals that they’re hardly experts on relationships, while Deke tries amusingly outdated (er...future-dated) methods to woo Daisy.
Overall, a strong episode that pulls the trigger on some big time stuff the show’s set up in this arc, and doesn't shy away from serious themes and intense images in the process.
Shit. That ending took me completely by surprise. I can't believe Yo-Yo did what she did. Okay, Ruby was a total psychopath with a knack for violence, but in her final moments, she really was just a scared kid who was in way over her head. In some way, I felt bad for her. She had no chance from the beginning, spent her whole life getting indoctrinated by HYDRA and being pushed beyond her limits. If she wasn't crazy before, fusing with Gravitonium definitely would've driven her insane. I get that Yo-Yo truly thought she was saving the world and there was no other choice, but I have a feeling that she's only made things worse.
I was 100% convinced that Talbot would really shoot himself. Smart move on Coulson's part to use HYDRA's programming to stop him.
Deke's crush on Daisy is annoying, but the lemon thing made me laugh. We should totally start confessing our feelings like this.
I'm seeing Infinity War in 3 days. I can't tell you how terrified I am. It's going to be a total game changer for the entire MCU, and I'm sure that it will impact the show in some way. And I'm even more scared because this episode had the lowest ratings in the show's history, plus the show has already crossed the 100-episode mark, so Marvel might decide to end it here. I want to cry just thinking about it. All I want is one more season, even a shorter one. I want a proper ending and closure. We deserve that.
Review by AarsBlockedParent2020-07-17T07:05:03Z
Daisy does the bare minimum as team leader and everyone is like OMG YOU ARE THE BEST LEADER EVER, like what??? So far she hasn’t made any good or groundbreaking decision, and obviously she’s just mad that fitzsimmons and elena aren’t following her blindly.
I feel like fitzsimmons were a little selfish in fixing the machine so easily, like of course they tried to stall them, but they had this mindset of yeah the earth might quake apart but we will still be together, I mean I don’t blame them.
I actually don’t think that what Elena did was wrong (fictionally speaking only), this season she’s suffered the hardest out of everyone in the team (maybe fitz too but it compensates with him having jemma), and obviously she didn’t make a slight choice and she thought it was the right thing to do to save the world, Ruby was out of control as it was and now she was in pain and a danger to everyone, Elena did the right thing and I hate that everyone in the team is gonna judge her when everyone has done something like that.
Dove Cameron was an amazing villain and Ruby was a cool character, I’ll miss her!