They say that every one has their breaking point, and I fully agree with that statement. We can all only take so much in life, and when it comes to that moment when you can take no more, it's what happens after you cross that threshold that matters most. Will you rise to the occasion and put your life back together or watch it fall to pieces.

In the comic book world, we prefer to not see those moments ever happen because we expect our heroes to be better than us, to always rise to the occasion and inspire. But last night on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. all bets were off as Phil Coulson crossed a line we never expected him to and all hell broke loose in the process. Now before we go any further, it's important I mention that today's recap will be a little bit different than usual, simply because there were some key plot points that are still burning in my mind from an episode that was filled to the brim with action and excitement.

The first thing we need to sit down and have a discussion about...is Jemma's decision to turn Andrew/Lash loose because holy cow, that ended up being an ugly little twist to the plot, because her decision turned out to be disastrous. Sure he killed the Hydra foot fodder that walked into his holding cell...but he also killed ALL the Inhumans saved by the ATCU and what's worse is that he is out on the loose again and while yes, it helped ensure Jemma was safe from Hydra, would she have escaped on her own without his help? That's a question that I think will be in the back of her mind for the remainder of season three along with what will clearly be some serious consequences for this moment of weakness.

But the most incredible moment from last night that keeps running through my head is what Phil Coulson did to Grant Ward. After all these years of cat and mouse games between these two men, of being pushed in incredible ways, everything fell to pieces last night when Phil finally had the upper hand over Ward in battle, had the chance to grab him and imprison him for however long was necessary...but instead let his fury over losing Rosalind get the better of him...and he killed Grant Ward. It was something I really didn't see coming, but Phil had clearly reached his breaking point with Ward and did exactly what he felt he needed to do. 

Yet, while this showdown has been brewing since the first year of the show, I think somehow we expected something more because I hate to say it...Ward's death felt a little hollow. Now I say that not because it wasn't a powerful moment...it most certainly was. In fact it was stunning on every level. But how it went down, with Phil acting solely on revenge and the fact that quite frankly, Grant Ward went out with a whimper gives the whole thing a sour taste and while I'm sure that was the intention for this all along, Ward's grand finale should have come about in some big time showdown between Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D., not some fist fight on a barren and desolate planet that ended like this. I am sure there will also be consequences for this decision as well, primarily for Phil Coulson, and I'm curious to see where they go with it, especially since the mission in the end turns out to be a complete and utter failure.

After all, the objectives were to save the captured Inhumans, kill Ward and stop the Hydra God from coming back to earth and yeah...none of that happened. The Inhumans are dead and to make matters worse...the being Hydra worships decided to occupy Ward's dead body, just as it did with Will and as we learned in those final seconds...Ward came back home and all of these things made for one stunning and powerhouse midseason finale for the show. There's a lot left unresolved and while I'm excited for Agent Carter to return in January, it means we have to wait a little longer to see these epic plot points handled and I am looking forward to the return of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. next year. Until then.

If there is one particular aspect of storytelling that I don't feel is explored enough in Superhero fiction...it's what our favorite heroes are like without their powers. Think about it for a moment. Their powers are what define them, make them instantly recognizable and really that's all we know them for. Sure there are adventures that explore their inner workings, but without their powers...what kind of man or woman would they be?

It's a question that's always fascinated me and thankfully, Supergirl decided to delve into that territory last night in what was hands down, the best episode this show has offered up to date. It picked up shortly after last week, with Kara dealing with an attempt to recuperate from her burn out battle with Red Tornado. Her powers are still missing and it couldn't come at a worse time when National City suffers from a massive earthquake and there is little that Kara can do.

This is when the episode truly shined, because we finally saw Kara Zor-El for who she really is...a damn good person through and through. After all she came face to face with mortality as Maxwell Lord tried to help an injured man to no avail and It tore her to pieces to see a human being suffering so badly, so much in fact that she was ready to blow her cover in a desperate attempt to help. It was a powerful and poignant moment in the comics/television universe because how often do we see people die like this? There was no last minute return of the powers (that came later) to save the day and she was forced to sit there and watch an innocent life fade away. It was a sobering moment to say the least and one that took Kara's character to a new level.

Because despite the fact she was nursing a broken arm, experiencing pain and illness with none of her powers to rely on, she still put on the S and still put herself in harm's way in one iconic moment that simply blew me away. It was absolutely incredible and inspiring to see her fight through the pain and take the time to find the good in others as she talked down a robber and asked him to do the right thing. At any moment she could have been badly hurt or killed, but to her the risk was completely worth it to not see anyone else suffer or die and it was that moment in this show that Kara went beyond a hero going through growing pains...this was when she became Supergirl and we've never seen her stronger than she was in that moment.

But while that was powerful and incredible stuff, the show decided to gift us with more treats this fine evening...the true identity of Hank Henshaw. We've been speculating about it for weeks but last night the truth arrived in the most precarious of circumstances...when an inmate of the DEO, Jemm, escapes from his holding cell and goes on a rampage. Of course Hank takes the lead in bringing Jemm down and when two DEO agents die and Hank disappears...Alex becomes suspicious and takes matters into her own hands, locking Hank in handcuffs and taking on the monster herself until Hank appears to kill Jemm with his bare hands and finally...after all is back to normal we learn the truth. Jeremiah and Henshaw died on the same botched mission. One that started out on a hunt for an alien that was a refugee like Kara and Kal-El, but this being was saved by Jeremiah and before he died he made the alien swear to a promise...to protect his daughter. That alien assumed Hank's identity and revealed his true self to Alex...that he was no other than J'onn J'onzz...THE FREAKING MARTIAN MANHUNTER! 

So yes! Another awesome DC Comics character comes to life before our eyes and my thanks to Dan for spotting this before I certainly did and that means we can expect some cool things down the road. But more importantly, tonight was the night that Kara finally embraced her destiny and we got one of the finest superhero stories that I have ever seen on television and I loved every single second of this episode. It was riveting through and through and I'm so glad Kara has finally found the true confidence she has been lacking and I also hope this finally signals the end of everyone giving her hell. Great job to the people behind the scenes for putting this stellar episode together and her discovery within couldn't have come at a better time since it looks like next week for the winter finale...we finally get a showdown with Astra.

It didn't take long for all of us to learn just how powerful and gritty the new Battlestar Galactica was going to be with the riveting story it set up in both the miniseries and the series premiere. But once you get past a big time opening like that in a show, you have to wonder where the show will go next. After all, it could have stayed focused on the action, but instead the show decided to let all of us know what it valued most...the characters.

Yes, the second episode of this iconic series, "Water" slowed down the story considerably while setting the stage for how the rest of the series would be laid out. Not only did it have a heavy focus on the characters, something the series is still known for, but it also demonstrated its dedication to story arcs and also demonstrated the fact that this was a show about cause and effect and everything the characters did or took part in would have consequences both good and bad to bear. 

Character wise, Sharon was the big focus this episode since her sleeper agent status as a Cylon took center stage, since we are immediately treated this episode to her coming to from a trance, soaking wet and realizing she has done something terrible since she is in possession of an explosive detonator and when she goes to return it finds that others are missing. It turns out that she has planted them inside the ship's water supply tank and when they detonate, the fleet's water supply is sent into the void. It leads to a scramble to find a viable supply and the hunt is led by Sharon, who must overcome another attempt by herself to sabotage the mission to save the fleet.

But in addition to that plot, as I mentioned before, there was a focus of cause and effect and consequences and Lee Adama was the focus of this. Since Lee is still dealing with the horrors of shooting down the Olympic Carrier and is still uncertain as to whether or not he killed a bunch of innocent human beings. It's a fascinating storyline, and while it doesn't take center stage, I love the fact that the show bothered to address the lasting impact of a simple military decision. But let's not get ahead of ourselves and refocus on the fact that while this episode may not have featured BaseStars and tons of action, it's still a brutal episode. Cylon or no, Sharon's journey in this episode is painful to watch. Not because we know she's evil, but because it's clear she is conflicted. 

She's trying desperately to figure out who she is and there is incredible fear flowing through her every step of the way. It wouldn't be the last time we would go deep inside a character's mind and I appreciate the fact that the show was this quick to do it and I also loved this episode over the fact they bothered to address something few science fiction shows ever do...finite supplies of essentials in space. Either way, this episode accomplished a lot for only being the second/third (depends on which episode guide you live by) of the series and after re-watching it for this recap, I have to say I have a new appreciation for it because it clearly establishes so much for the future of the series, making it one important episode.

I always enjoy it when television shows tackle present day issues that permeate our lives because I'm always curious to see what a particular writer or show has to say about our society and the things we do. Yet while it's cool to see, most shows never go near modern day topics and up until last night that included The Librarians. 

That's right, our favorite television show about magic decided to tackle a little slice of real life in this week's episode and while it wasn't exactly an earth shattering societal issue, it was just neat to see them do it...with the Selfie. Especially since they managed to tie it into the dangers of magic at the same time and it was done in the sneakiest of fashion as well, since our intrepid heroes were introduced to tonight's mystery by bearing witness to a young girl flying through the air in London during a night out, looking as though she was just hit by a car.

It leads the group to discover that the girl had just left the nightclub, Effigy and she is not the only one to suffer an accident after spending time within its walls. At least seven other people suffered some kind of calamity after hanging out in the club, including a young man who looks like he suffered from a drug overdose...despite the fact that he was working all night at a nearby restaurant, never did drugs a day in his life and only visited the club for a whopping five minutes for a delivery before finding himself in the hospital as an OD victim.  

But since the external investigation has yet to turn anything up, there's only one way to discover what's really going on in the club...they have to get inside and that's when the episode gets really special. Not only do we get some quality laughs since Stone gets denied entry repeatedly and Cassandra finds herself drunk because of the magic within, but we get an unexpected villain this week...Dorian Gray. Yes, it turns out this fictional character was real all along and he is using the Selfies being taken in the club and pictures from his staff photographer to build a new portrait to keep him young forever. The only way to defeat him, is to rework the portrait to resemble someone else to rob him of his power...something Eve is willing to do to finally put an end to Dorian's wicked plan. 

So when all is said and done, I have to admit this actually turned out be a darker than expected episode. Sure there were some laughs, in fact there were plenty of those, sure the episode made Selfies interesting for the first time in the history of ever and it gave the show a neat little modern day tie in. But what made this episode so dark, was the last five minutes where we basically came to the sobering realization that the Librarians and their Guardian are quite expendable. In fact it was Ezekiel that pointed out just why they were chosen, they had no ties outside of here. Several episodes now have ended in this darker fashion and even Jenkins made mention of a big battle ahead so one has to wonder...will the showdown with Prospero be far more costly than we ever imagined? Are we going to lose a major character somewhere along the way? I certainly hope not...but this is the first episode in memory that showed us a much more dangerous side to magic. Time will tell I suppose, until next time. 

This episode is hard for me to recap. The ending of last night’s episode really didn’t go over well with me. Still, it wouldn’t be fair to completely ignore that last night happened. The rest of the episode was really good after all. With the Dark Ones out and about town, there’s a lot of unsettling things to cope with. But the Dark Ones aren’t after specific things, instead of attacking or causing chaos, they’re walking through people, literally, that’s it. What’s going on? It seems that in order for the Dakr Ones to wander around freely, they have to trade places with another soul. The living people they pass through are given a mark. Those with the marks will be taken to the underworld…and there, well, it’s not pleasant.
 
This, of course, includes Emma’s family, Regina, Robin, and the Dwarves. The first thing they all do is hit the library, there has to be a way out of this, but finding what they need is proving way harder than it should be, so instead Snow decides that they need to spend their last few hours together. Emma isn’t so sure about this, she is a Dark One and isn’t about to let her family be taken from her. That’s when she finds Regina. The plan is simple, get Excalibur from Rumple, channel all the Darkness into Emma…and destroy it for good. Sadly, it would cost Emma her life, but she can’t lose any more people, so it’s something she is truly willing to do. Rumple willingly hands the sword over, which was a bit odd, but hey he’s changed right?
 
Hook, however, can’t let that happen. Guided by Nimue, he visits Emma, the two fight a bit, and Emma is willing to stop Hook if she has to, until Hook turns into Henry and takes the sword from her….and then leaves. What’s gone so wrong that the man Killian was is no longer there? Or is he there? Regina did talk to him earlier, and he shut her down pretty quick. It seems back in the day when Regina was still evil and Hook was still a pirate, she’d hired him to do a job, kill her mother, but first she needed him to confront and kill his own father. Before we really get all sad, Hook’s dad was kind of a cowardly jerk. The man sold Killian and his brother Liam into servitude in order to escape authorities. Killian survived, but Liam was not so lucky. Regina brings him to a pub where Killian is able to confront his father…the man tells Killian that he’s sorry, and has changed, that he had met someone, fell in love, and she made him see all he’d done wrong. Killian agrees to get him a letter that will get him out of the town. Turns out Daddy had a kid with his other wife. It isn’t until the next night that Killian goes to bring his dad the papers that he discovers his half-brother is also named Liam. Killian rightfully loses it, and well, in his anger, stabs and kills his father. Justified or not….I mean…the guy kinda had it coming. I’m just saying. That was messed up.
 
In the present they’re all brought to the lake where they’re about to be taken. Emma runs up and hugs her family, she begs Killian not to do this. To stop this. Nimue is the one to silence Emma, choking her with her dark powers. In that one moment, Killian finally realizes what he’s done. He takes Excalibur and pulls all the darkness into himself….and then asks Emma to do something that he can’t. She does……though it literally breaks her. I have to admit I turned this off for a while. There are just some things I can’t handle lately. Eventually though, I got around to finishing the episode. Emma hears whispers and is brought to Rumple’s shop. In the chaos of all this, he’d given Belle a way to safely get out of town and see the world. She’d come back after everything had happened and declared her love for him, as he’d selflessly saved her. Not all is as it seems. Rumple isn’t redeemed, it turns out he made a new dagger, and with it, transferred all the powers of every Dark One into it. That’s right, Rumple is once again a Dark One, and a lying coward. Emma uses this to her advantage though. She threatens him, forces him to take her and her family to the underworld. They’re going to bring Killian back….whatever the cost.
 
And with that, we’re left waiting until  March for the Second half of the season to pick up.

Jessica Jones has been thrown into the middle of a murder investigation and even though she understands what happened, she does not understand the why.  As she is being questioned about Hope Shlottman’s sanity since she killed her parents in cold blood, Jessica is also being questioned about her work on the streets.  Having many photos of her new friend Luke Cage, the police are taking their questions to him as well to get to the bottom of where Hope got her gun.  Jessica tries to smooth things over with Luke, but he has been trying to fly under the radar and having the cops around him makes him a very upset individual. 

Jessica is trying to get Hope a good lawyer and turns to Jeri Hogarth, but Jeri will not take the losing case as it stands.  Knowing that Kilgrave is behind what the young woman did to her parents, Jessica has to find proof for Jeri that he can control other people’s minds.  Although this may not be an easy thing to do, she takes to the streets and tries to locate more of his victims.  Also, she is determined to see how her past tormentor is still alive.  Being able to locate the people that were brought into the local hospital on the fateful night of the accident, Kilgrave was not one of the patients, but that leads to more questions than answers.  Finding out that there were two ambulances on the scene and only one made it back to the hospital that night, Jessica needs to find the other driver and is shocked when she sees the state that he is in.

Trish is not backing off of her crusade to bring Jessica back to the living and is trying her hardest to make sure that her best friend is doing the right thing.  Wanting to help protect Jessica from her impending threat of Kilgrave, she offers Jessica a bed at her house.  Jessica is not willing to put her friend in harm’s way and knows that the power Kilgrave possesses can hurt anyone and everyone that gets in his way.  Trying to be nice, Trish flips the bill for a new door to Jessica’s home, but when the former hero sees someone in her apartment, she takes action into her own hands.  Not knowing what is around every corner is killing Jessica and she needs to know why Kilgrave is back from the dead and what he wants from her, especially since he is starting to haunt her thoughts once again.

This is a brilliant episode with so much troubled emotion.  As Jessica’s research is taking her back to the past, she still has plenty to see in her future.  As her investigative work has uncovered that Luke has been shacking up with a married woman, Jessica sees that power that he has been trying to hide from the world first hand.  Luke also gets to see what Jessica brings to the table and it is far from a sob story as she helps him in fending off a husband and his rugby team.  Trish wants nothing more than to make sure Jessica is ok, but her friend keeps pushing her further and further away. 

The only way for Jessica to return is to find Kilgrave again and see what he has planned for Hell’s Kitchen. You have the worst feel bads for Hope, as she has been locked away for a crime that she in reality did not commit, but she is trying to take her frustrations out on Jessica and until her innocence can be proven, it just might start to take its toll on the private investigator.  On to the next one now that Kilgrave is out and beginning his hunt for something that is only known to him and possibly his new hosts.

Everything comes around full circle and hell hath no fury like a Coulson scorned. Those are the two biggest takeaways I gathered from this week's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and I'll be damned if they aren't some important lessons because last night's episode was absolutely bonkers and filled to the brim with Coulson's fury as every single plot line introduced this season was brought together in "Closure".

But why all the fury from Phil? Well because the episode wasted no time in getting right down to punching us straight in the gut when a lovely dinner between the now absolved of evil Rosalind Price and our favorite Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. ends in horrific fashion when Grant Ward decides to put a bullet into Miss Price as revenge for having his lovely lady die at the hands of S.H.I.E.L.D. late last season. It leads to a frantic escape for Coulson from the clutches of Hydra and a quick decision from him when he returns to home base...the time has come to take out Grant Ward.

In fact I cannot remember a time I've ever seen Coulson this angry and determined to bring anyone down and after brainstorming with the team as to how to put an end to this monster, he sets his plan into motion, temporarily handing over director duties to Mack before sending teams out on his revenge run. He takes Hunter and Bobbi on a special extraction mission while Fitz and Simmons are sent to the Distant Star facility with Banks to figure out where Hydra may be preparing to return to the alien planet, now known as Maveth, when things go horribly wrong. The Inhuman that gave Bobbi and Hunter trouble last time returns to kill Banks and the S.H.I.E.L.D. escort before taking Fitz and Simmons to see Malick.  

As they are whisked away, Phil's plan goes into action as he and Hunter kidnap Ward's little brother and use him as bait. They need to know where Ward is, and by threatening the last of his family and letting him talk on the phone with his baby bro they are able to trace his location before letting Thomas Ward go home. It turns out that Hydra has set up camp near the castle where Fitz was sent through the portal a little while ago to bring back Emma and their evil plan is simple. Re open the portal, send a team through and bring back the evil Inhuman waiting on the other side. But of course they need information from Fitz and/or Simmons to accomplish the mission and through a lot of torture, specifically of Jemma, the knowledge they need is revealed and Fitz agrees to go through the portal with Ward.

But not before a grand setup. Knowing that Coulson, Fitz and Simmons are no doubt in deep trouble, Mack activates every man and woman left standing at S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ, including Lincoln and Joey to head out for one incredible mission to rescue them all and we also learn in this moment that hey, Mack's a pretty badass leader to say the least. But before he can save the day the episode ends in thrilling fashion. For Hydra gets the portal open, the Quin Jet carrying Coulson's squad is under attack and knowing that he only has mere moments to stop Ward, who reluctantly has gone through the portal as Hydra's lead for this mission...Coulson dives out of the jet and through the portal mere seconds before it closes.

That's where the episode leaves us. With S.H.I.E.L.D. literally scattered about the galaxy and two enemies ready to face off on an alien world and man I loved this episode. In fact credit needs to go where credit is due, this was an absolutely phenomenal performance from Clark Gregg this week, he took Phil Coulson to new heights with his acting chops and showed us a darker side of the man we never knew existed. Plus, the cat and mouse interaction between Coulson and Ward, well it was simply magnificent and if you didn't already hate Ward with pretty much everything in your heart, you should now after what he pulled last night. Either way, what an amazing setup for next week, this one almost felt like it could have been a season finale on its own and I cannot wait to see what happens on Maveth for the midseason finale. Until then.

Originally, this particular recap of last night's episode of Supergirl started off with a little irritation on my part. Something about this episode simply got under my skin and initially I thought it was freshman growing pains for the show, something that eventually they would get away from storytelling wise. But then it hit me, the show is doing something magical every week and the fact that it did get under my skin means they are doing something right.

In fact today's recap will be a little different than I am used to doing for this show because it's high time we praise what's happening here because it's simply brilliant, the fact that the show is teaching us a certain level of respect for well...everyone around us, especially women by taking us right into the heart of Supergirl's plight of being a modern woman week in and week out. I wrote a few weeks ago about how I was sick of the characters constantly telling Supergirl she needed to be protected or that she shouldn't be out there risking her neck and that it needed to stop and well, I should have known that was the beginning of the show accomplishing its mission. 

Because this week, well it got worse. This week it was all about how no one could trust her, that she was an alien that could unleash her temper and well, it took me aback that Supergirl was receiving zero respect from so many people. She's put away quite a few villains, saved lots of lives in National City and she's still getting hell? I sat there thinking to myself, why on earth does the show keep putting this poor character through all this, why can't they just give us a show where everyone actually respects Kara for a change and that was when it hit me...this was simply a slice of everyday life for a lot of women out there, something that Cat was even quick to point out. The fact that it is uncouth for a woman to show a range of emotions in the workplace.

Not to mention, this episode even took the time to address Kara on a level we don't often see for super heroes. It's a lonely job and life she has chosen and she points that out, that she would like to eventually find an equal, someone who can love her for her and she's terrified of the possibility she may never find that. But the cornerstone piece of this episode was Kara dealing with the anger in her heart over the fact that her life will never be normal because of her abilities and how the decision to become Supergirl has forever changed her life. It was a wonderful stroke of storytelling to give her that depth and point out how hard this whole thing is for her and to see her confront her anger and use it in a productive manner rather than let it tear her down was simply incredible to watch.

This is at its core a show about respect, for not only women, but for everyone around us, since hey, James Olsen made a poignant remark about being an "angry black man" and this episode blew me away for the fact that it bothered to address such issues of equality and perception in such glaring fashion. It was brilliant, it was poignant and well, I respect the show even more for having the guts to tackle such topics like this head on. It makes it one of the most relevant super hero stories in years and I'm looking forward to a day when Kara gets an episode where she is respected and revered...without question.