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

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

You know, I have to fully admit, that I was a touch nervous to settle in and watch the next episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. simply because, there was a fair chance it was going to evoke more feels than my heart was ready to bear. Because this was it, this was the moment when ‘Phil Coulson’ returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ and you know darn well, that wasn’t going to sit right with a lot of people. For Phil was a father and a beloved leader to so many and seeing Daisy and the others have to interact with this angry and vengeful version of Phil might cause more harm than good. But as it turns out, ‘Toldja’, ended up being an episode that actually brought out the best in the team as they faced this strange twist of fate, and it even dropped a surprise or two in our laps along the way.
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But, before we dive into those, let’s spend a little time discussing how the team held their heads high when dealing with Phil’s doppelgänger. Because this really should have broken all of them, in record time. However, a simple conversation with the man, and hearing how he speaks and how he looks at people was enough to shatter the mystique of the face that Sarge and Phil share, and it allowed for the team to quickly realize, that this is not the same man, this is some angry and twisted version of him, and that he’s dangerous, which made locking him up a little easier. But getting the man to talk was a whole different story. Because Sarge wanted nothing to do S.H.I.E.L.D, and what it stands for, he just wanted to complete his mission and made a promise to Mack that he’d be running the place by the end of the day.

Which, was something that Mack was happy to scoff at, because he truly believed that his agents could handle anything thrown their way, and to prove that point, he moved forward on a mission to capture a pair of people infected with the Shrike, in order to figure out how to stop them and needless to say, that did not go well. Because the Shrike know how to quickly make life dangerous for anyone that captures them since they can connect with one another and build their strange crystalline latticing, which meant, Zephyr-1 was now in a bad place, and the only person that could help the team was Sarge. Of course, he had some demands first, in that he needed his freedom and the freedom of his team before giving Mack the intel he needed and well, wouldn’t you know it, the man was right after all. Because Mack gave him what he wanted, and he thusly saved the day, and found himself in charge.

Yet while all of that was fast paced and intense in its own right, the story found a way to break things up with a little lighthearted storyline involving Fitz and Jemma and Enoch, since we found out where the transport ring took them in this tale and it just so happens that they ended up right back where they started, on Kitson. Which, posed quite a few challenges because, it sure isn’t Earth and they need money to navigate this place, and they’re also wanted for causing all kinds of trouble, prompting them to try and sneak out to the ship that brought Fitz and Enoch there in the first place. But alas, the purveyor of this planet, Mr. Kitson, felt it best that this trio pay their debts off first before leaving, possibly with their lives, so it’s quite the wonderful thing that a stranger named Izel paid for their freedom since she has business to tend to on Earth…

If anything, this was a pretty solid episode when all is said and done. Which is quite the surprise when one considers the fact that this was a transitional episode designed to wrap a few things up and set a few things up as well. Because we really did need Fitz and Simmons to get back to Earth so they can properly help with this unsettling new threat and well, I think we all knew it was only a matter of time before Sarge and S.H.I.E.L.D. teamed up to battle their common foe, so it was nice to see the team get to know the new mission leader before the fight against the Shrike gets underway. If anything, the only questions hanging over the ending of this episode, are whether or not Sarge can in fact, play nice with others when necessary and if he can value life for a change and well, thankfully we don’t have to wait too long to find out, since the next chapter in this stellar season is but a few hours away. Until next time.  

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