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

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

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.

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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.

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