For the most part, barring heavy doses of Alien DNA or out right being a monster, we sometimes forget that villains are people as well. They have families, siblings and parents like so many of us, they just happened to turn to a life of you know...murdering and taking over the world and such, and their wild and crazy schemes are what allow us to forget all about their humanity.

Which is why whenever we see villains in their natural, "normal" settings, it can be quite the jarring experience, or a fascinating one depending on the bad guy which is why I think I so thoroughly enjoyed this week's episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. because "Paradise Lost" took us deep into Gideon Malick's life and past while also delivering the best of both worlds; surprising us by giving us a look at the tender side of his home life, while giving us just enough evil to keep him firmly entrenched in that villain realm.  

Yes, that's right, I used the word "tender" to describe the head of Hydra and well...it's the right one to use believe it or not. Malick as it turns out isn't as frosty with his daughter as the show implied a few weeks ago, he loves his daughter, only wants the best for her and she in turn loves her father and respects him deeply and even makes a point of supporting him in his moments of doubt and quite frankly, if we didn't know his back story, you'd respect Malick for being such a good dad. But thankfully, Hive was present in the Malick home all episode long to remind us that Gideon is a murderer and a monster and along the way, teach us that Malick is a coward as well.

Because we also learned last night that Gideon discovered a way to never have to face sacrifice on Maveth by following in his father's footsteps by rigging the selection process. It's a gambit that clearly saved his life time and time again, but unfortunately cost his brother his life and I loved how that wrapped around in the finale when we discovered that Hive retains the memories of all its victims, including Gideon's brother Nathaniel and man that made for one brutal and powerful moment when the Nathaniel version of Hive demanded revenge, and sacrifice by putting down Gideon's daughter Stephanie right in front of her father.  

But what made this little slice in the day of the life of a bad guy so worthwhile, is that I'm starting to wonder if Hive just sealed its own fate. Malick loved his daughter more than anything, so to sacrifice her in that fashion...well it's clear that Gideon is outright pissed about this. The look upon his face in the closing moments of the show pretty much said it all. He was no longer certain in what he believed in, or if it was right and I'm wondering now if Malick will eventually strike a deal with Coulson and the gang to bring down this ancient monster, and that deal may come sooner rather than later since it won't be long before Malick and Coulson are face to face once again seeing as to how Giyera has captured Zephyr One with Phil and the majority of the team still aboard it. Until next time. 

One thing that I have always loved about comic books, comic book movies and comic book television shows, is the fact that at some point in the adventures of the particular hero that we know and love, there is a powerful defining moment for all of them. This is when they go beyond simple everyday hero and become a true protector of the earth and on Supergirl, that defining moment arrived last night.

It was a move that I found incredibly satisfying the more I think about it, simply because we really have spent the last eighteen weeks of the series watching Kara Zor-El grow and evolve. She's gone from mousey assistant, happy to hide her powers from the world and leave its salvation to her cousin to full blown flawed hero, learning on the fly how to balance her life, her feelings and everything in between and now her greatest challenge awaits her since "Myriad" finally gave us all the answers about the mysterious Kryptonian plan we have been waiting for, while setting the stage for one explosive showdown. 

As it turns out, Myriad was nothing more than a mind control device invented by Astra to help save Krypton's ecological problems by forcing everyone on that world to focus on saving the planet over anything else. If that seems underwhelming for an evil scheme, I thought the same thing as well until we saw what Non could do with this device. The fact that he was able to send someone to their death with a mere thought is a little scary and it makes sense why Kara backed down because facing off against Non would have resulted in the end of plenty more innocent lives. But what really drew me in and made this whole evil scheme work for me...is the fact that Non truly believes he is saving this world by enslaving it and doing the right thing and well, the best villainous plans out there have always been the ones where the bad guy thinks their cause is noble and just. 

But my favorite part of last night...was Kara's journey. For the first time on the show she was essentially on her own, with only Cat and Maxwell Lord to serve as her think tank this week and this was a genius stroke of writing. By removing every resource she has relied upon so far it forced Kara to finally make the hard choices and by removing Superman from the equation as well, it forces Kara to step up and save the entire planet for a change and in the process...become a big time hero. But it was the hard choice that Kara faced that really stood out for me. It's not often we see a hero have to decide between sacrificing 300,000 lives to save 7 billion and her decision, with Cat's help, to find an alternate way to save lives was just what the episode needed to not only give the people of National City hope, but also the audience.

Because at its core, this was for all intents and purposes a bleak episode, and a brilliant one at that. After all, for the first time ever it really seems like the odds are truly against Kara. She's going to have to find a way to defeat her Kryptonite covered sister, deal with Indigo and eventually Non with little to no support. J'onn is still badly injured somewhere in National City and who knows if Lord's new plan will work and let's not forget the man still has his Kryptonite bomb ready to go as well. In the end, there's really no better way to set up a season finale than this and I can't wait to tune in next Monday to finally watch Kara deal with Non, save the day, and take her place as one of the world's finest protectors. It's been a long time coming and quite frankly...she's earned it. Until next time. 

As the villains in Hell’s Kitchen are starting to gain power once again, the Hand has been able to locate the five patients that were taken away from them.  Ransacking the hospital, Claire is able to defend herself, but losses a co-worker in the fight. Daredevil is there to help and keeps most of the hospital staff safe from the stealthy ninjas, but knowing that another life has been lost to this crew, he will not rest until they are defeated. While Claire is already being watched by the higher ups in the hospital, she is given her second strike for taking in the patents, but that does not disturb her as much as the hospital trying to cover-up what has just happened. Seeing a dead body on the coroner's table that had already been autopsied, and now with the loss of her friend, she decides that this is no longer the place for her and turns in her badge and tries to walk away from her life there.

While telling the police what happened at her apartment, Karen is taken into protective custody, but she still has other things to take care of.  Sneaking out with Frank Castle, the two stop at a local diner to get some coffee and she finds out more about the new vigilante in her life. Seeing that he is not just a gun for hire, Karen is told to leave as a couple gunmen are about to enter the diner. Frank is ready for action and to find answers about who the man in charge of the massacre that killed his family really is. Being able to defeat his two attackers, Frank is given directions to the pier where the ‘Blacksmith’ supposedly works out of. But nothing is what it seems, especially when Frank Castle is around.

Matt Murdock is looking for answers as well and talking to Karen at the police station, he finds out what she has been doing on the side. Finding out that Frank was not behind the killings of the District Attorney and the coroner, he will have to find some answers on his own. Talking to the Assistant District Attorney, Matt hears that Madame Gao is still hanging out around the city and goes to her to get what he needs. Although Madame Gao does not know who her direct competition is, she knows that everything that the ‘Blacksmith’ is bringing in is coming by boat. Being able to track the gunfire on the pier, Matt is able to find that the Punisher is back to his old games.

Trying to stop Frank from killing another innocent man, Matt is out matched by his skills, but is still able to get the gun out of his hand. While Frank wants justice, Matt knows that his way is not working in Hell’s Kitchen any longer and for this one time, wants to cross the line and use the Punisher’s method to stop the ‘Blacksmith.  But Frank knows that his friend Red will not be able to go through with it and when the support team for the boat shows up, he kicks Daredevil overboard. When gunshots are released, the boat turns into an inferno with no sign of Frank anywhere and when the police show up to investigate the scene, all they find are dead bodies littering the streets. Frank has gotten away once again and will continue to light up Hell’s Kitchen until he finds the man responsible for his family’s death.
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It might not be my favorite episode this season, but it is starting to get all of the storylines pulled together for the season finale.  While Elektra is on the war path after killing an assassin that Stick sent for her, she has the prize in her sights. Matt has little to no interaction with his friends and the only time he tries to reach out to Karen, she shuts him down completely. Foggy is getting wined and dined by his ex-girlfriend Marci who wants to give him his life back with another law firm. Karen gets used as bait while Frank is trying to find out where the Blacksmith is operating out of. But the kicker of the storyline for this episode is the love Karen really has for Matt as even the Punisher is able to see it. Her reaction to this is just fantastic and there is no way for her to hide her feelings from one of the only men that she trusts. Well, two episodes left and time is running out for Frank to find the man that killed his family and for Karen to get the answers that she is seeking…oh yeah and for Stick to talk Elektra down from trying to kill him. Yikes.

Doing his best to keep the police involved in what is happening around the city, Daredevil gives an anonymous tip about the people he has freed that are being drained of blood. With Detective Brett Mahoney on the scene, Daredevil is able to give him a warning. Wanting to protect these people from whatever is happening to them, nobody must know where they will be taken for treatment. Brett agrees and callS upon Claire once again to keep things under wraps until everyone is on the same page and knows what is really happening on the streets of Hell’s Kitchen.

After word hits the police scanners about Frank Castle escaping from prison, Foggy, Karen and Matt are reunited at the capitol to talk to the District Attorney. After all of the hardship she has put the team through during the case, she needs their help. But to get any information out of the Nelson and Murdock team, she will have to give some as well. Coming clean about the cover-up and what went wrong on the day that Frank Castle’s family was killed, she is beyond caring about her job any longer as a calling card from the Punisher was left in her daughter’s backpack. Only wanting to keep her child safe, Reyes is gunned down in her office and the team of Nelson and Murdock will have to jump into action once again to find out who is behind the shooting since all evidence points to the Punisher.

Matt has his hands full when watching over the patents at the hospital and now he is faced with finding out that Frank Castle escaped prison. Hearing that he was supposed to be in the same cellblock as Wilson Fisk, Matt’s mind automatically connects the two. Getting time to talk with Mr. Fisk, Matt throws out the allegations, but when he brings up Vanessa’s name, he is able to get Wilson to show some sort of emotion. Seeing that Mr. Fisk is in charge of the prison, Matt starts to feel that everything he has done is for nothing and confides in Claire that he is ready to give up since the system does not work, no matter what he does. Being alone and preparing for the biggest fight of his life, he will have nobody to fall back on for help and even Claire is not able to convince him to be a friend for just a little while.

After witnessing District Attorney Reyes being murdered in front of her eyes, Karen is on the hunt to figure out who will be the next target and who the killer really is. Not believing that Frank is behind the current hit on Reyes, the next person on the list is the coroner that played a part in the cover-up. Seeing that he has been taken out as well by a barrage of bullets, it does not fit the Punisher’s style. Needing to get her files to find out who else crossed paths with Frank, Karen is sent home with an escort by Ellison, since he thinks she might be in trouble as well with the new killing spree. And Ellison was right, Frank is searching for Karen and while talking to his only friend in the outside world, a storm of bullets tear apart her apartment. A copycat is running wild on the streets trying to frame Frank and with everybody in the dark about what is happening, only one man seems to know everything that is happening, from inside ‘the big box.’   

I was hoping that they would utilize Claire a little bit more this season and of course when they do they put her in a situation that she did not want to be in. While checking up on her new patents, she notices that they no longer have finger prints, but more importantly, they have been receiving infusions as well as being drained, but the infusions were of toxins. Matt wants to break all ties with everyone that he has ever cared about to keep the complications to a minimum, but really he is afraid for their safety, especially after Foggy gets shot in the shoulder. Being able to get the truth out of Fisk, Matt knows that the Punisher was released on his word, but has no idea the Frank is not behind the killings that have just started up again. Karen is desperate to know the truth and when showing her hand in Reyes’ office, it is obvious she is very good at digging up the facts. Now, after being shot at with Frank in her apartment, there is another player on the streets that the group needs to find before more people get hurt.  The show does not even give you time to take a breath, wow.  With only three episodes left, I am dying to see how this season gets wrapped up since there are a ton of loose ends right now.  Deep breath……………..exhale. 

Fighting off a member of the Hand, Matt lies on the ground and sees that Elektra is still the same woman he knows she was.  Watching as she has slit the throat of the attacker, Matt may have asked her to do something that she cannot. After the cleaners leave the apartment, Matt has to put an end to what is going to happen in the relationship and pushes Elektra out the door since she enjoys killing and will not be able to change her ways. Already having a bad morning, Foggy enters the apartment to talk to his old buddy, but Matt is not in the mood.  Basically telling Foggy that he should move on without him, Matt has distanced himself from everyone that used to consider him a friend. With the war coming, Matt may be preparing for a battle he cannot win, especially alone.

Even with the Trial of the Century behind her, on the losing side, Karen is still looking into the cover-up that has taken place surrounding Frank Castle’s family. Finding a picture from the crime scene, Karen sees the picture of John Doe who was supposed to be forgotten. After seeing that Foggy has given up the fight on finding the truth, she has to turn to someone that will care. Going to see Ellison at the paper, he is intrigued by what she has found and asks her to follow up, if even just for the story. Talking to the coroner once again, the two find out that John Doe was an undercover officer giving them more pieces to the puzzle. Returning to the office, Karen is given Ben’s old office to continue her research and find out what is really happening behind the curtain. 

Now onto the meat of the episode, Wilson Fisk’s rise to power.  On his first day of arriving in prison, Fisk is approached by the Kingpin of ‘the big box’ and told to keep to himself during his time. The advice of his lawyer is to keep his head down and stay out of trouble while his appeal is filed, but Fisk is never one to not be seen as the boss.  Securing a crew, Fisk has a plan to take out his rival Kingpin and take over the prison to call his own while his time is served, and with Frank Castle making it to the cellblocks, it may be very easy to complete this.  Spending the last of his reserve to get a meeting with the Punisher, Fisk is able to appeal to Frank with the mystery of who killed his family to make Castle do what he wants.

Giving the Punisher a name and safe passage to the cellblock, he is now on the hunt for the truth.  Being able to talk to Dutton, the man behind a blown drug deal between the cartel, Dogs of Hell and Irish, Frank finds out what really caused the firefight that killed his family. An undercover agent’s cover was blown during the exchange and everyone with a gun used it killing anyone that was in front of it.  Knowing part of the story now, Frank wounds the soon to be former Kingpin, but he has been double crossed by Fisk and left to die in the cellblock as the other inmates are released.  Being able to fend for himself, Castle makes quick work of his opponents and is transported to another cell to be further dealt with.  But what he finds will make him question his actions to this point, but the war is far from over in his eyes.

This has to be my favorite episode thus far of the season. Watching as Fisk is thrust back into power is just great and how he is able to manipulate the Punisher to do his dirty work, glorious. Karen is just getting better and better as the episodes move on and now with her drive for the truth in full swing, she is given some additional resources. I cannot wait to see what she uncovers next, just hopefully she is ready to fight when she finds it since this seems to be a touchy subject.  Matt is on his own and he will have to defeat the Hand by himself, at least for now. Finding the drug operation of the Hand, he stumbles upon something else, I would expect that it is the Black Sky, but will have to wait to know for sure. With all kinds of people being bled out for whatever is in the sarcophagus and Matt seeing an old foe that should be dead, he might need to start to listen to the stories Stick has been telling him and putting the pieces together before it is too late. I would be lying if I said I did not love this show and every episode continues to drag you in deeper until you cannot see the light any longer.

I have to admit that when I sat down to watch this week's episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I found myself nervous. After last week's strange turn of events for the characters and their respective personalities I was hoping that the show would find a way to redeem itself big time this week and not let any more of that ugliness pop up at all this go round.

As it turns out, last week was indeed a one off because "Spacetime" is exactly the redemption I was hoping for. This was an episode filled to the brim with fascinating storylines. We saw our new villain in action, we had a moment of heartbreak, heck we even saw this story set up an important plot point or two for the rest of the season. But what mattered most, is that the team was unified for the first time in a long time against what appeared to be impossible odds and that was perhaps the most impressive part of the night. 

After all, it really looked like Daisy's life was in incredible danger, and I give the show big time credit for weaving such an intricate story by making it appear that Daisy was facing down her final hours on this planet. By giving us a quick look at her vision of the future you were instantly drawn into the experience and every single time we saw a flash from the vision come true...you simply had to wonder if Daisy was indeed watching the clock countdown to zero. But the best part about Daisy's story last night was that she was willing to do anything and everything to save a life this week. That's the Earthquake we have come to know and love and that alone helped wipe away the bad taste of last week.

But as I mentioned before, we finally saw Hive/Ward do his thing and if anyone was wondering whether or not a little bit of Grant Ward was still alive in that rejuvenated corpse...the answer is now clear, Ward is dead and gone and what remains is ruthless and terrifying. If anything it was bone chilling to watch Hive encourage Malick to take a life, and equally chilling to see Malick enjoy doing it and while this week may not have featured their grand plot to take over the world...it's clear S.H.I.E.L.D. has met its match. The saddest moment of the night however, came by way of Andrew's goodbye to May. Last night featured his final transformation into Lash and it was tough to watch these two finally hash out whatever bad blood was left between them before Andrew faded away forever.

Yet, despite everything that this episode threw at us and our feels...it did bring forth a lot of questions as it set up the rest of the season. For starters, why do I get the funny feeling now that Lash is not the villain we thought him to be...but a misguided hero? All this talk about how each Inhuman is created to bring about a balance, perhaps Lash is the only being that can stand up to Hive and perhaps his murdering spree was designed to remove dangerous Inhumans that would have helped Hive in his mission to take over the world. It may take some time to get all the answers on Lash, but I really do feel as though he will redeem himself by the end of the season. The other question in my mind...is what exactly is coming for the team with the return of that image of a Quinjet burning in space? Is there indeed a death coming for a member of S.H.I.E.L.D.? Or can the future be changed after all? Only time will tell. Until next time.

After locating a giant hole that the Yakuza were protecting, Matt and Elektra are ambushed by another group of highly trained shadow fighters.  Being able to hold their own, even when Matt is unable to hear the fighters heartbeats, a moment of distraction changes the battle for the worse.  As Elektra receives a sword across the torso, Matt is put down in the fight while trying to protect her.  When all seems lost, a friend from the past comes and helps the two youngins out as Stick is hiding in the shadows as well.  Knowing that it is only a matter of time before Elektra dies from her wound, Stick gets his free pass back into Matt’s apartment.

Waiting at the courthouse, Foggy and Karen are concerned that they will have to once again go at the District Attorney alone.  When Foggy remembers that he yelled at Matt to stay away from the case, it is not really a surprise that he did not show up.  Questioning Castle’s Colonel from the war, the Colonel comes clean about what kind of man he had in his unit, a hero, a man that he owes his life to for what he was able to accomplish in battle. Also putting a neurologist on the stand, the man who saved Castle’s life after being shot in the head, he believes the injuries that this man suffered must have driven the Punisher mad.  Stating that Castle is reliving the moments just before his family was killed over and over again, there is no way that he could possibly be in his right mind.  As the day comes to a close, Foggy needs to have Frank take the stand to talk about that terrible day that changed his life.  But Foggy will need Matt to do the questioning, since the two men are so much alike in their extra activities, he will be able to bond better with the jury.

As Elektra is bleeding out, Stick knows what it will take to cure her.  The swords had poisoned blades and she will die off if Matt does not allow him to work his magic.  Being able to counteract the poison, Stick needs to talk to his old trainee about the war that is coming to Hell’s Kitchen.  Matt has heard the stories before, but has not heard one fact come out of his mentor’s mouth concerning it. An ancient group called the Hand is back and starting to lay claim to the city and are looking to unleash something called Black Sky upon the world. Even though he does not know what it does, Stick is scared to death about this and has spent his life training others to pick up arms against the Hand to keep it from fulfilling its purpose.  Matt is shocked to see that even Elektra is a student and is following her master into battle as well.  Needing to make a change, Matt offers his ex a way out of her situation, but that means betraying her teacher and putting her old ways in the rearview mirror, but can she really change who she has been trained to be.

While Frank Castle is being brought to the stand, the hatred can be felt all around the court. Matt is ready to start his questioning and wants Frank to talk about the day that he lost his family, but Frank stays quiet, so Matt has to try another tactic.  Trying to appeal to the jury, Matt talks about how sick the city has been, how the corruption has overtaken the streets and how he applauds anyone that is willing to take a stand against evil.  Making sure that everyone knows what the District Attorney’s plan is to rid the streets of vigilante justice, the police do not have the ability to stop every evil doer, so the world needs…Heroes. Being a great speech, Frank wants to be heard as well and goes off the deep end, saying he would do it again if he had to and his killing spree is far from over.  With the defense’s case thrown out the window, Matt has to find a way to get his team back as they are truly on the outs.

Oh My Goodness, Stick is BACK!  That just made me happy inside, even though he and Matt are not on the best of terms, I really like this character and he does provide a purpose.  Watching as he takes care of his kids, he knows that only the strong will be of use in the upcoming war and I cannot wait to see it begin.  This was a tough episode for the Matt, Foggy and Karen friendship for sure.  As Karen has been kept in the dark about all things concerning Matt, she does not know if she can trust him at all and calls it quits.  Foggy needs his friend to be by his side during the biggest case of his career and when it finally happens, nothing goes right.  Blaming Matt for Frank’s outburst, Foggy knows he could have done it all on his own with no problems, but Matt is trying to make sure that his friend knows someone got to Castle before he took the stand.  Some old friends are being brought back into the story now and I hope to see more of them since it has been awhile since the first season.

While waiting for his stay of execution, Frank Castle is doing his best to keep his appearance up, but that will not be enough to prove that he is not the one to blame for his crimes.  As the jury is selected for his trial, the defensive team of Nelson and Murdock are formulating their own attack. When reading the coroner’s report about Castle’s family’s autopsies, the group finds out that there are more things about Frank’s past being covered up. Knowing that the report has been changed, the defense team might have something to plead their case with and as long as they are able to prove this in the court, they have a fighting chance for the Punisher.

Since Karen is the only one that Frank talks to, she is sent to the prison to ask him more questions that could be used in his defense. Getting upset about the PTSD defense, their tactic will have to change drastically for the man of honor. But this is not the only reason why Karen is talking with Frank, as she made him a promise to find out who was the one behind the killing of his family.  Back at the office, Matt is trying to prepare for the greatest opening statement of his career when Elektra gives him a call.  Finding out who is behind the codes in the ledger, she is ready for another house call and Matt needs to be there to help find out what Roxxon is hiding.

Beating the truth out of the professor behind the encryption, Matt and Elektra venture out to the train yard in search for a specific car.  Finding that it is filled with sand, they have fallen into a setup and have to battle their way back to freedom.  Both taking a beating as well, Elektra winds up with more injuries than she is used to and Matt is more than happy to sew her back up.  As the night flashes by quickly and morning has come, Matt is late for the trial leaving his team in the weeds. Knowing that what he did was wrong, Matt is able to break the coroner on the stand, but in the process finds out that he was visited by someone else as well.  Fighting a never ending battle with his ex-girlfriend, Matt is forced to go out again, only to find out what the Yakuza are really trying to hide.

With Matt being absent when the trial begins, Karen and Foggy are forced to come up with a game plan of their own.  District Attorney Reyes does not pull any punches when it comes to what Frank Castle has done in her city and is calling for his head on a platter from the jury.  Not being prepared, Foggy is forced to make the argument of his own to save the ex-marines' life.  Going off script, he is able to appeal to the human side of the crimes that were committed and captures the hearts of at least a few people in the courtroom. But when day two of the trial is at hand and the coroner takes the stand, he comes clean without a question about falsifying the Castle’s autopsies.  As the mention of two men in dark suits comes out again surrounding Frank, the cover-up of his past is getting deeper, but whomever these men are, they are not on trial, the Punisher is.

Talk about a difference of opinion being expressed in this episode, wow!  The part that grabbed me was when Karen asks Matt about what he thinks about the Devil and if what he is doing is wrong. With no true response, Matt finds out that Karen is starting to think that vigilante justice might be justified if the situation warrants it. Then Foggy taking a stand against his best friend in the world for not doing his job for the firm in lieu of going out and fighting criminals at night. The blowback of not being truthful with his friends is coming back to haunt Matt once again and coming clean about Elektra being back in the picture does not help matters as well. Matt has his hands full trying to live his double life, but if he is not able to pick which one is more important to him, he may end up losing more than his business, he could lose his life overall. Like I said, the episodes keep getting better and better as they go on and this one is full of emotions and opinions that need to be checked before Nelson and Murdock will be able to work together again.