'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' Recap: 'The Force of Gravity'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

​I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; when Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. feels the need to tell a powerhouse story, the show delivers in spades and that’s precisely what the audience was treated to with last night’s episode, ‘The Force of Gravity’. Because this particular tale was quite the epic jaw dropper, since it not only posed one of the greatest dilemmas that the team has ever faced, but it also featured some top-notch storytelling through and through, since we were also treated to plenty of action and adventure and fun, and a true tragedy when it comes to Glenn Talbot’s storyline.
 
In fact, let’s start there today, because that plot line was downright heartbreaking to watch on so many levels since we in essence finally saw Talbot’s fall from grace come to its logical completion by way of a pair of disturbing moments. The first one, involved the death of Carl Creel since Talbot took the time to absorb him without giving it a second thought and the other moment in question was when Glenn went to visit his family, wherein he terrified his son by using his powers on his wife after she questioned the state of his mental health and well, what made this so hard to watch was the sheer fact that Glenn really does believe he’s doing the right thing, and he’s better than this. But the pain of seeing his career fade away and the doubt from his family is driving him to do questionable acts because he refuses to deal with any of his demons, he’s instead convinced that saving the world is the only way to make internal peace and that makes him about as dangerous as they come.
 
But, as I made mention of before, there was some fun and adventure to be found in this tale, and all of that took place aboard the Remorath ship. Because while Glenn tried to convince his family that he’s a true hero, May and Coulson were trying to figure out how the hell to escape the cell they shared and thanks to an assist from Deke, they were able to do so, and this sequence was filled with some satisfying moments since it also brought about the end of the annoying Remorath, in explosive fashion no less after May took the time to smack their leader around. But truly, the highlight of this segment, is the sheer fact that Coulson finally broke down and admitted his feelings for May by way of a big ol’ kiss and let’s be honest, this is something the fans have been waiting for and Daisy made it all the more magical with the giddy glee she expressed over the fact that Coulson and May finally made out.
 
However, the fun and the joy simply wasn’t made to last in this episode, because we learned in this tale that the Remorath’s weapons carry a nasty little surprise, in that, if you’re cut by these blades, you’ll continue to bleed despite medical treatment, and you’ll be poisoned by whatever nasty agent the metal is coated in, and that matters, because Phil is dying after being sliced on the arm by one of these weapons, which brings us to that all important decision the team will have to make. Because it would seem that FitzSimmons have figured out how to use the Centipede Serum to help Coulson, and in the process of tinkering with it, they also figured out a way to defeat Talbot using the serum as well. But the problem at hand, is that they only have enough of the serum to make one of those things happen and the question that now hangs over their heads…is do they save Coulson, or do they save the world?
 
So, yeah, that’s where we leave the team, with one ugly dilemma in front of them and this really does set the stage for one incredible season finale next week and at this point, I really don’t have a clue where the story is going to go from here, and there is truly a strong possibility that Phil isn’t going to make it out this season alive and I honestly don’t know how I feel about that right now. So instead, it’s best to just sit here, stunned at the gravity at this tale and hope for the best in the back of mind. But make no mistake about it, the stakes have never been higher on this show and if anything, I get the strong feeling that next week’s finale is going to be an incredibly tough episode to sit through. Until next time. 

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