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

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM. YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Mankind’s history is unfortunately filled with some horrible moments caused by horrible people. The kind that have seen millions of lives disappear from planet Earth, and the end result of those costly wars and outright genocide have prompted people to ponder upon a fascinating question. In that, if one was given the opportunity to travel through time and meet those real-life villains before they became an outright monster, would one be able to put them down and save millions in the process? It’s a fascinating question for certain, one that truly forces one to ponder upon some heavy concepts and it is one that is so powerful and poignant that it pops in fiction, often.  
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Because there’s no safer place to explore what the repercussions could be from taking someone like Hitler out before they can rise to power, and it just so happens that this particular idea found its way into last night’s episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as well. Because ‘Know Your Onions’ saw the team debate the fate of Wilfred Malick. Because this really was a grand opportunity to put down someone who would eventually become an incredible monster, and if S.H.I.E.L.D. acted now, they could spare thousands of lives from strife and sorrow when their loved ones died at Hydra’s hands. But as Coulson was quick to point out, such a move would completely and utterly shatter the timeline, depositing everyone into a future that was unknown to them.

Which meant that Malick had to survive and deliver the serum that would eventually give birth to the Red Skull, and for a time it seemed as though the majority of the team was ready to let history play out on its original path. But the thought of letting innocents perish when something could be done to prevent their deaths, was more than Daisy could bear and that motivated her to order Deke to end Malick whenever the opportunity presented itself. Something he was willing to do in the name of the greater good, but his one window to make this happen closed quickly when the Chronicoms arrived and in the midst of a giant firefight between S.H.I.E.L.D. and their new foes, Malick was able to accomplish his mission and meet with Hydra, preserving history after all, making the mission a success but at a great cost.

For unfortunately, Enoch was left behind in this time period, and his vast knowledge of well, everything, is something that will put the team at quite a disadvantage as they continue their journey through time. Plus, the team has a new problem on their hands as well, Agent May. Because we were able to learn in this tale, that while she is alive and well, she’s not herself in the slightest. There are massive gaps in her memory, and the mission now takes more presence in her mind than ever before. To the point where she will fight her own team in the name of completing it, and to top it all off, she is emotionless and detached and it is going to take some serious effort on the team’s part to figure out how to work alongside an old friend that simply isn’t there. 

Either way, this really was quite the entertaining and wild episode for certain. Because not only did it feature a poignant moral dilemma for the team to face, it was also chock full of MCU references and it did a fine job of cementing the Koenig family’s legacy within this storied organization. Plus, this one sets up quite the internal conflict at S.H.I.E.L.D. as well, one that doesn’t involve May. Because Mack did raise a good point, in that, he’s the one in charge. Which means that he and Daisy will likely clash over the fact that she decided to make the call on assassinating Malick and that’s just another headache the team doesn’t need right now. But it’s one that they will have to face none the less, while they try to figure out what they will have to do next, in order to save the future. Until next time.

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