"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." Recap: "The Frenemy of My Enemy"

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

Oh man...last night's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was a beautiful work of art. Every little thing came together ever so sweetly last night, and for the first time one of Coulson's well crafted plans ended up blowing up right in his face. But what mattered most, was that there were some amazing moments for characters to develop last night, and that's what we are going to spend most of today talking about since relationships were the focus of "The Frenemy of My Enemy".

So where do we begin? Well, with the central and heartbreaking story of Cal and Daisy/Skye/Earthquake/Too Many Nicknames For Her as she grapples with the decision that her mother wants to send Cal away forever. Skye sees the danger that is entailed with this, after all, the chances of Cal taking this well are slim to none so she asks to travel with him to soften the blow and that's when the show took its sad little turn. In fact for the first time I truly felt pity for Cal. This is a guy who wanted nothing more than to have the absolute American Dream family wise. I mean he even said it himself tonight, imagining taking Daisy to a charter school, seeing her off at dances, all those lovely things and well...we know how the story ends. 

In fact I would venture to say that tonight's episode was about those we love and how sometimes the things we do to protect them or help them...can backfire horribly.  Take Coulson's storyline for example. His quest to save Skye and keep her safe went to hell pretty quick. Surprisingly Grant Ward was not the big problem last night...it was the grander plan that blew up in Coulson's face, specifically capturing Bakshi and using him to draw out the senior leadership of Hydra. Because as it turns out, Bakshi is not as brainwashed as Ward and Kara thought...he was all about some revenge last night and getting back into Hydra's good graces by kidnapping Mike and Lincoln when things got ugly.

It was a calculated risk on Coulson's part and we saw a lot of character development from him as well. We learned just how much Coulson believes in what he is doing and the lengths he will go to make sure his team is safe and whole once again. I think we have always seen hints of his nobility, but to promise Ward to be free of his ugly memories in life and to see the heartbreak on his face once Skye left with Gordon and Cal...makes you love the character all that much more. Not to mention, perhaps there is unity coming to S.H.I.E.L.D. at last, now that Bobbi and Mack seem to be figuring out that perhaps Coulson is not the enemy Gonzales has made him out to be.  

Either way, I love how this episode tied everything together so neatly. One by one all of the plot threads are coming to a head. We know that Hydra is still looking for gifted individuals, which may explain why Coulson is trying to assemble them as well...he could be trying to protect them. We know that there are cracks in the new S.H.I.E.L.D. as we see them now questioning exactly what they are fighting for and as the season two finale closes in, I get the strong feeling all of these things will be resolved, and if it is done in the same masterful fashion as last night's episode, we are in for one hell of a treat. Until next week my friends.

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