‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Recap: ‘Out of the Past’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

For the most part, television shows tend to play it safe storytelling wise and understandably so. Because once they’ve established a formula and have a following, keeping the audience and the hardcore fan base happy, is paramount to maintaining the status quo. Which is why the final season of a television series can be quite fascinating for certain. Because some shows understand the opportunity that is being afforded to them in their final year, in that, they can now go for broke and take some chances storytelling wise, and try some things that the show never would have in years’ past and for proof that this is a creative reality, then look no further than last night’s episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
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Because ‘Out of the Past’ truly bucked the norm for this particular series. For rather than stick with the usual high-stakes, serialized style of storytelling, the writers’ room saw a grand opportunity to do something special and unique within the framework of the Marvel Cinematic Universe; by resurrecting the wonder of 1950s noir. Something that was accomplished by focusing the story through the eyes of a slightly damaged Phil Coulson. For his scrambled circuits allowed for us to enjoy a story grounded in black and white, wherein Coulson took the time to offer up some classic noir narration, the kind that helped to set the stage for a tough mission and a moral dilemma, one that involved the fate of Agent Daniel Sousa.

For the particular day where this particular tale is set, just so happened to be the day that Sousa died according to the history books, once again leaving the team with the prospect of having to watch history unfold in what could be considered to be an unjust and cruel fashion. Because while Sousa’s passing would inspire generations of agents since they would look fondly upon his bravery and his sacrifice, how his death came to be is what didn’t settle well. Because the team came to learn that Daniel discovered the truth about S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra’s entanglement and was going to expose it all. Which means it was Wilfred Malick and his boys that put Daniel down and well, that’s what brought about the moral dilemma in question. Because there was real concern that letting such a good man die on their watch would haunt them forever, which motivated them to do something quite sneaky.

In that, they let the mission play as out needed. Which means that an item that Sousa was to deliver to Stark arrived exactly as it was supposed to, and the police found the body of Agent Sousa later that evening. Or at least, they thought they did. Because Mack and the team figured out a way to save Sousa, by having Coulson take his place as the victim, preserving the timeline and saving a life and that is quite the brilliant way to handle an incredibly complex historical problem. But while it would seem that all is well and that Daniel will get a chance to do great things in the future, there are still problems brewing for the team behind the scenes. For Wilfred Malick received a visit from the Chronicoms in this tale, and they warned him of a future where Hydra was no more, and that such a disappointment could be avoided if Malick listened closely to their instructions.

But what matters more here, is that this episode turned out to be a lot of fun. Because this really did feel like an old school Mickey Spillane story with a Marvel twist. Since it was filled to the brim with intrigue and danger and double crosses left and right. And it was also quite cool to see Deke and Malick come face to face once again simply because that’s a wonderful way to bookend the moral dilemma that Deke faced a couple of weeks ago. But all of that aside, it’s just nice to see a Marvel series truly let loose for a change and try new things that aren’t beholden to the norms and to see a greater strategy coming together for this final season since the Chronicoms are getting ready to play dirty. And now that the team has a new member and a new time zone to work with, it should be interesting to see what surprises await us next week when these intrepid agents set foot in the groovy 1970s. Until next time.  

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