Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Recap: Injection Connection
Recap and review of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Episode 14 - T.A.H.I.T.I.:
I'm glad Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is back. Don't get me wrong. But so much about "T.A.H.I.T.I." is deeply problematic, and this is largely due to the fact that not enough groundwork was laid to make the story completely work. The bonds for this team are still forming, and while that formation is coming together quite nicely (not only are they starting to feel like a real team, they're starting to flourish as individual characters as well), I don't think the show has solidified the bonds to where the fate of Skye (Chloe Bennet) carries the weight it probably should. The show helps somewhat by making the point of acknowledging that this team hasn't been together that long. Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) notes that she hasn't known Skye for more than a few months, as if to acknowledge how uncommon her level of attachment is. This helps keep the narrative from feeling insincere, since it doesn't feel like these characters care about Skye because the script demands them to, but rather because they actually do care about her. But we haven't had enough bonding moments with these characters for their sadness and desperation to really have any resonance with us, the audience (at least in my opinion). More troubling, the script then places the team in a series of situations in which Skye would have been useful, yet until this point, she's never been pegged as essential to the team. Useful, sure. But not essential. And I suppose that's a problem with how they've written Skye, that we've lost her for an episode and our immediate thought isn't to wonder how the team will function without her, but rather to wonder how they're going to bring her back, since she's clearly not going to die.
Credit: ABC
Yet with all that having been said, here's why I didn't actually hate the episode: say what you will about the decision to even go with a "Skye in peril" storyline in the first place, it's clear the series is using it as a springboard to further investigate Coulson's (Clark Gregg) past, as well as to serve as setup for the continuing crossover with Thor (and a probable tie-in with Captain America: The Winter Soldier. By the way, check out the latest TV spot for that movie here, it's fantastic). Granted, that doesn't really excuse a central storyline that jogs in place for as long as the plot for "T.A.H.I.T.I." does, but I feel as though the episode progresses the line just far enough to be worth investment. Especially since it looks like we're in for a hell of a back-half to the season. I'm not sure if the show will ever be the "primetime version of a Marvel blockbuster" that people expected it to be, but it seems like the show is taking strides towards being a more coherent show, with a deeper mythology and a cast of characters that is developing by the day.
Credit: ABC
The main plot of the episode features the team searching for the compound where Coulson was brought back from the dead. More specifically, they're looking to obtain a vial of GH325, the secretive cellular regeneration drug that revived him. The hope is that the drug will get Skye's vitals working again, since the doctors have done all they can do for her. Joining in on the mission is John Garrett (Bill Paxton), Coulson's former S.O., who attempts to pull rank and take Ian Quinn (David Conrad) from his custody, since Quinn is responsible for members of Garrett's team getting killed. This leads to a stand-off between Coulson and Garrett, as well as Ward (Brett Dalton) and one of Garrett's men, with both pretty much warring for the right to make Quinn's life a living hell. And caught in the crossfire is Ian Quinn, who's been beaten to within an inch of his life by an infuriated May (Ming-Na Wen), and is threatened with death if Skye fails to pull through. Of course, it's hard to feel bad for the guy, even though he tries to claim that none of this is his fault, but rather, the work of The Clairvoyant. Everything he's ever done has been on the orders of The Clairvoyant.
Credit: ABC
Quinn tells Coulson and Garrett that everything that's happened, from Skye getting shot to Garrett's team getting wiped out, as been the result of The Clairvoyant's predictions. Apparently, The Clairvoyant has seen all -- except for how Coulson was revived. This was why The Clairvoyant had Quinn shoot Skye, not because she was getting too close to Project Deathlok, but because The Clairvoyant knew that Coulson would use whatever methods were used to save him to save Skye, thereby exposing the secret. It's an interesting plan, though somewhat convoluted, and relying almost entirely upon Coulson reacting exactly in the way The Clairvoyant expects him to act. This wouldn't be a problem, except for the question: If The Clairvoyant had Skye shot because he foresaw Coulson reacting this way, then wouldn't he also have seen how Coulson fixes the problem, thus eliminating the need to have Skye shot in the first place? This is the problem with predestination storylines, although it's a minor plothole, since we really don't know the extent of The Clairvoyant's powers. Maybe he/she is a charlatan without any real powers, but rather a talent for deduction reasoning and prediction.
Credit: ABC
So, long story short, the team is able to track down the compound, at which point they enter, guns a-blazin'. Fitz (Iain de Caestecker) finds the vial of GH325, and the team books out of there...but not before Coulson enters a room labeled "T.A.H.I.T.I." and finds, encased in one of the same med tubes that housed Mike Peterson-as-Deathlok, a being that looks a bit like Dr. Manhattan from Watchmen. Basically, he's a bald, hairless being that glows incandescent blue. However, he's different from Dr. Manhattan in two significant ways: the permanent scowl affixed to his dead (?) face, and the whole fact that he's missing the lower half of his body. His entrails are pretty much just hanging there, and it's hard to really know what any of it means at this point. Is GH325 distilled from this body? Is it an extraterrestrial (a la Thor) or a mutated human (a la The Hulk)? Is he an interdimensional being? It's hard to know right now. Within the Marvel lore, he kind of looks like an Atlantean, but I'm hesitant to make any real predictions, since the storyline remains obtuse even within the show's universe, as Coulson doesn't actually tell anybody about this encounter. He tries to stop Simmons from giving Skye the GH325 serum, presumably out of the fear that it will change her for the worse. But it actually does the opposite, pulling her out of death's grip and restoring her vital signs. It looks like Skye is going to pull through, but at what price? It's an interesting story, nonetheless, since we already know that Skye is the first (and only) human OA4. So who knows how her body will react once the dust settles?
Credit: ABC
But the episode doesn't end with Skye's recovery, as we get a brief post-credits scene detailing the sudden arrival of Asgardian sorceress Lorelei (Elena Satine), a seductress who uses her charms to hypnotize men into doing her bidding. She's so effective that she convinces a newlywed to ditch his wife and give her a ride out of the desert. The world of Thor is once again colliding with the world of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and while I don't know if the show can get away with these "limited event series" crossovers more often than two-to-four times a season, this certainly bodes well for what's ahead. It's an ambitious storytelling tactic for TV, and indicates that we could be getting stories of greater scope in the future. "T.A.H.I.T.I." isn't a bad episode per se, just underwhelming. But I'm keeping the faith in this series, if only because there aren't many adventure shows like it on primetime network TV, and it's a genre I'd like to see thrive. This is a series that needs a chance to grow and find its footing, and I trust it can do just that with a bit more leeway (which is a lot to ask, admittedly, but I've seen iffier shows than this that took longer to grow into something truly outstanding. And my confidence in Joss Whedon goes without saying).