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

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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

So, let’s just be honest here. While it was delightful to see a new season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. kick off last Friday night, and see the team work toward rescuing Fitz from the cold reaches of space and see how Mack is getting along as the new director of this revitalized organization, the only thing on our minds when it comes to the season six premiere was the arrival of the mysterious Sarge, a dude that just so happens to look and sound exactly like the late Philp J. Coulson. Because we are simply dying to know more about this man, and his origins and why exactly he looks exactly one of our favorite MCU characters and thankfully, the series wasted no time in exploring what makes this man tick.
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For ‘Window of Opportunity’ focused heavily on Sarge and his strange buddies and our time spent with Sarge, not only reinforced the fact that he seemingly has no value for life outside of his own, this guy is also fearless, resourceful and willing to do whatever it takes to stay alive and seeing a man that looks just like Coulson threaten innocents with weapons and lie and rob and steal was both fascinating and horrifying all at once, in part because it is kind of cool to see Clark Gregg let loose acting wise and play a character so wildly different from what we are used to seeing from him. But the horror stems from the fact that we eventually came to learn that genetically, Sarge is an exact match for Phil Coulson and this iteration of the man, is planning something awful.

In fact, it would seem that Coulson and his buddies are in essence destroyers of worlds, and they’re in need of some Piezoelectric Gems to power their doomsday weapons and went on an ugly murdering spree at a jewelry store in order to get their hands on some. But, with S.H.I.E.L.D. keeping a close eye on this mess, they were there to respond in record time and that led to quite the interesting little subplot involving Agent May. Because she was compelled to looks this Coulson in the eye, and possibly speak with him, but in order to do that, she had to go through his lackeys and while she was able to hold her own, she hesitated and froze when she laid eyes on the man she loves and thought she had lost forever, and that, combined with the craftiness of Sarge’s crew, helped aid in their escape and for now, S.H.I.E.L.D. is back to square one.

Yet while all of this was going on, in the depths of space, Fitz was doing his best to get by on a freighter bound for the planet where cryo-pods are a regular thing and unfortunately for dear Fitzy, his cover as an everyday member of the crew was blown when he showed his disdain for a particular species of intergalactic snail that is apparently quite the delicacy. But this discovery meant that Fitz and Enoch, who also snuck aboard, were in great trouble. Because the captain of this vessel, Viro, didn’t take kindly to stowaways, prompting Fitz to offer up free repairs and whatever else the skipper wanted in order to stay aboard. And while that did indeed keep Fitz and Enoch safe, it meant that the rest of the crew would die since Viro didn’t have to pay anyone, anymore, since Fitz was more skilled than all of them, prompting Fitz to take a stand and wire the ship up to send the captain out of the airlock instead and in the wake of this little tiff, Fitz ordered the ship to change course to the planet Kitson, so the crew could get a second chance and sadly, mere moments after his vessel changed direction, Zephyr-1 arrived…

Which was just infuriating because Simmons was right after all, and she was so close! But alas, that’s just how things go in the MCU, and judging from the preview for next week, we’re going to spend more time in space as she and Daisy and the gang continue the hunt for their lost friend and well, this really was quite the enthralling episode when all is said and done. And I really liked how this particular tale revealed Sarge’s plan for destruction since it was handled in organic and smooth fashion, and I also love the fact that there’s more to this character than meets the eye. After all, he’s clearly hiding a lot when it comes to his past, since he recognizes the name, Coulson, and while it’s obvious this isn’t the Phil we knew and loved, he’s some kind of multiverse doppelganger, and it should be interesting to learn more about his past and what turned him to the proverbial darkside in the weeks to come. Until next time.

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