"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." Recap: "Afterlife"

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

I'm starting to see a deep rooted theme this year on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and it's one I'm starting to see more often, especially with these transitional episodes that are popping up between the big storylines, and that theme is fear. I'd love to say that it is a specific kind of fear, but it's not. Every single character on this show is terrified right now and last night it was front and center in "Afterlife".

This episode split our attention between two major storylines this week, what happened to Skye after Gordon took her and the fallout of the coup d'teat at S.H.I.E.L.D. and while the scenes with Coulson and Hunter on the run from the group they were trying so desperately to heal were both fun and fascinating, especially their decision to go after Ward...Skye's story was the best part of the night for sure. But, the civil war in S.H.I.E.L.D. had its important moments as well. 

After all, Simmons for the most part seemed to finish her transition to the darkside by agreeing to help out Bobbi and the "real" S.H.I.E.L.D. crack the code to Fury's toolbox. A decision that essentially seemed to completely end her friendship with Fitz in heartbreaking fashion since he decided to leave the organization altogether. But it was nothing more than a ruse it would seem since after he left, he found the toolbox stashed in his bag, courtesy of Simmons. We also learned a lot about Gonzales last night, mainly that his heart really is in the right place, and he does believe in the core values of S.H.I.E.L.D. but his fear of seeing it all fall to pieces once again has him pressing for a different and dangerous direction. 

But all that aside, let's talk about Skye and her new temporary home in the middle of nowhere. She has been transported to a safe haven for people with her abilities and the plan, according to her new found friend, was to allow her time to explore her powers and learn to control them. But all of that went to hell when she discovered that Raina and Cal were in the same complex as her and well...Skye damn near killed Raina after confronting her. The only thing that saved the monster in the flower dress? Skye's mother. Yes. We all thought she was dead, but here she was on full display, badly scarred but willing to try and help her daughter, even though Skye doesn't quite know who she is yet.  

But, like I said, this was an episode filled to the brim with fear. Gonzales' motives are driven by the fear of watching S.H.I.E.L.D. fall once again, specifically at the hands of "Power People" as he calls them. Coulson is afraid for Skye's safety and the future of the organization and well, Skye is absolutely afraid of the unknown. All that terror made for some fascinating character development and I have to say I'm intrigued by the twist of Skye's mother returning from the dead and who didn't enjoy the return of Mike Peterson last night?  But at the same time I'm hoping the show doesn't start sliding into a mix of action and then transition every other week. This is a show that found its groove with breakneck storytelling and I hope it gets back to it soon so it doesn't lose any momentum. Until next week.

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