'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' Recap: 'The One Who Will Save Us All'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

When it comes to last night’s episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., I have to fully admit that there was a sense of dread in my heart when I settled in to watch it. After all, I think we all knew deep down that General Glenn Talbot’s transformation into a being that can harness the power of Gravitonium was going to end in heartbreak, wherein that kind of power would corrupt his soul and well, that’s a shame. I actually like Talbot. Sure, he’s brash and full of machismo, but he always tries to do the right thing and that’s really how the best villains are born, out of fear for the safety of others, and because they truly believe they’re making the world a better place.
 
If anything, my dread was justified because yes, Talbot indeed slipped to some ugly places in last night’s tale, ‘The One Who Will Save Us All’, but before we get too deep into discussing Glenn’s fall from grace, let’s take a moment and talk about the fact that this particular story, also took the time to show us that the team is in essence splitting apart at the worst possible moment. Because Daisy and Yo-Yo came to blows over their respective views of one another’s bad decisions and Mack even took the opportunity to lecture Fitz for his actions as well and in all honesty, I’m not sure what it’s going to take to unify the team, but they need to figure their crap out and fast because…Talbot is quickly becoming one hell of a threat. 
 
Because this entire hour featured an incredible downward spiral for this once proud American hero, one where you could trace every single change in his personality and his trek down this slippery slope began once he and Coulson boarded the Remorath ship, since the reception of this duo, wasn’t exactly warm and despite Phil’s best efforts to handle this whole mess in cool and peaceful fashion…Talbot saw the opportunity to exert force and used his powers to crush another alien, which to his credit…did get everyone’s attention. But the fact that he wields such power with a flick of his rest, made Talbot drunk with it and he immediately demanded a meeting with the rest of the Confederacy to negotiate the terms of a better deal for Earth than Hale did.
 
This unfortunately led to more opportunities for Glenn to flex his newfound muscles, even going so far as to absorb a member of the Confederacy and for his efforts, he found himself inadvertently manipulated by an alien with the surname…Kasius. Because this predecessor to the jerk we met in the future, suggested that Glenn harness the untapped veins of Gravitonium buried beneath the surface of the Earth to make him invincible and it’s an idea that Glenn thought delightful and the potential of becoming that powerful, is what finally put him over the edge. Because he killed Hale when she tried to use his Hydra programming on him, and he nearly killed Phil and knocked Daisy out without giving it a second thought and well, it’s obvious now that General Talbot is going to do whatever he deems necessary to save the world, and sadly…this decision may doom the entire planet.
 
If anything, it was just devastating to watch Glenn fall from grace like this, and equally as chilling to see chunks and segments of the Prophecy coming to life before our eyes and it just seems like moment by moment, the end of the world draws near, and I haven’t a clue how the team is going to alter the future’s course, especially with all the infighting going on. Either way, this was a solid episode through and through, an edge of your seat affair if you will, and kudos to the Writer’s Room for the solid and subtle tie in to Infinity War in this one, but all fan service aside, the situation really is grim and it’s going to be fascinating to see how this incredible storyline comes to its end, since we are only a couple of episodes away from the season five finale. Until next time.  

---