‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Recap: ‘Leap’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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Normally when it comes to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the fans have some idea of what to expect as the season rolls on. We know that a big showdown is on the horizon, we know plenty about the enemy our intrepid heroes are facing and we’re basically enjoying the ride as we barrel toward an epic season finale. But season six of this storied series is changing up the formula in ways that I never thought possible, since the last episode in essence, left us adrift and in the dark as to where the heck this story was headed. Because it seemed like everything was wrapped up in a neat little blow. For Izel was defeated and of course, Sarge died in that story as well, in a manner that outright betrayed everything that May stands for.
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But thankfully, the show wasted no time in helping us to understand the mystery surrounding Sarge’s death and Izel’s plan since ‘Leap’ answered all kinds of incredible questions and well, what we learned was stunning to say the least. But, before we dive too deeply into all of that, let’s talk about the incredible atmosphere that this episode put together. Because we quickly came to learn in this tale that Izel survived the attack on the freighter, and that she has been hiding within people’s bodies and controlling them along the way, and that’s how May was able to get to Sarge and shoot him, and since Izel was running around the Lighthouse in disguise, no one knew how to draw her out into the light, and that made for one tense story, one that basically paid homage to a horror classic.

In fact, this one was reminiscent of John Carpenter’s The Thing, since the evil in question was hiding within man and no one could trust their teammates since that person could in fact be Izel, and this was a true stroke of genius storytelling wise when all is said and done. Because the scene where Mack and the senior leaders of S.H.I.E.L.D. tried to smoke Izel out, kept the audience guessing over and over again since we never quite knew which body she was inhabiting and well, once she was revealed, the darkness of this tale was only further amplified. Because she felt the need to make the depth of her power clear, and was willing to kill Davis to hammer that point home and while this entire sequence was stunning and heartbreaking in its own right, it paled in comparison to the surprise I made mention of a moment ago.

Because this particular tale finally revealed that Sarge survived his wounds and he made a full recovery before continuing his quest to bring Izel down and that quest, revealed all of his secrets. As it turns out, Sarge is in essence, a genuine duplicate of the late Phil Coulson, one that was created by the Monoliths and one that was sent to a world of non-corporeal beings wherein Coulson merged with a being named Pachakutiq, and this alien’s ability to garner a body, inspired Izel to create her own form and set out to bring flesh to her kind. But the complication at hand is that Izel and the Coulson-hybrid used to be close, and the weirdly resurrected Phil no longer trusts her or believes in her, since Coulson’s memories are creating great conflict within his mind, meaning that this unique being is going to have to make quite the choice in the days to come.

In the end however, I was truly impressed with this particular episode. Simply because, it caught me completely and utterly off guard with its reveal of Sarge’s sorted past, and the reveal of his relationship with Izel and her overall plans were handled in organic and smooth fashion and well, I have to admit that this particular tale actually managed to invest me further into the overall story. Because Phil Coulson is in essence, alive and well, and while he’s not exactly his old self, the conflict Sarge is experiencing is fascinating to say the least and I am truly dying to know whether or not the good within Phil will take hold and let him rise to the occasion, or if the darkness within will take over instead. Which makes the wait for tonight’s episode all the more difficult, since I’m sure this upcoming story is going to address that little conundrum. Until next time. 

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