Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Recap: Devil May Care

It's part of the problem of a show that has this many spinning plates in the air at one time. Deathlok (J. August Richards) works for The Clairvoyant, but "The Clairvoyant" we meet this week might not actually be The Clairvoyant; on top of all that, Agent May (Ming-Na Wen) is hiding something huge, and Agent Hand (Saffron Burrows) is hiding something huger. And smack dab in the middle of all this is the ongoing issue with Skye (Chloe Bennet), and what, exactly, she has that The Clairvoyant wants. And yet, even with all these mysteries swirling about, I still mostly enjoyed "End of the Beginning" for what it was, a tightly-paced hour of action-oriented TV that kept the focus squarely on the evolving ensemble, and just whom among this cast we can actually trust. I doubt the resolution to these mysteries will be all that stunning, but am I the only one who actually enjoys this far more for the ride than for the payoff? Yes, payoff matters, but I feel it's less of a priority in what is basically an adventure show. This isn't to say a lame resolution should be excused, but "End of the Beginning" didn't frustrate me nearly as much as it probably should have, since S.H.I.E.L.D. agents fighting a cyborg isn't really something we had on primetime network TV before now.

Credit: ABC

"End of the Beginning" centers on the hunt for Deathlok, who is still doing the bidding of an increasingly desperate Clairvoyant, who fears S.H.I.E.L.D. is getting too close to discovering his (or her) true identity. The S.H.I.E.L.D. team is being aided by fellow agents Garrett (Bill Paxton) and Triplett (B.J. Britt), along with Agent Felix Blake (Titus Welliver) and Agent Victoria Hand, who seems to have a permanent scowl etched onto her otherwise lovely face. The team all comes together in recognition of Skye, who is made an official S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in a ceremony that's surprisingly touching, simply for how Coulson (Clark Gregg) insists that she's earned this honor. I know Skye hasn't exactly been the most dynamic character on the show, but there's something strangely interesting about the notion that she spent the first half of the series fighting the system, only to become a part of that same system upon realizing that it wasn't the megalomaniacal evil she'd assumed it to be. And yet, she reaches this conclusion in the very same episode where Skye's former suspicions about S.H.I.E.L.D. are ultimately proven to be correct, since S.H.I.E.L.D. seems sketchy, at best, by the end of the episode. At worst, they're straight-up duplicitous. But more on that in a bit...

Credit: ABC

The team splits up: May and Blake in one group; Coulson and Garrett in another; Skye and Fitz (Ian De Caestecker) in a third; and Ward and Triplett forming the fourth. It's this latter pairing that sets us up for what's to come later, as Triplett reveals his hunt for The Clairvoyant is deeply personal, since the evil mastermind is responsible for the death of his partner. He tells Ward that he needs to stay out of the way once they find The Clairvoyant, prompting the traditionally by-the-books Ward to note that their mission is to "take [The Clairvoyant] in, not take him out." However, Triplett responds by suggesting Ward would have the same taste for blood if Skye hadn't pulled through. And it's this relatively straightforward suggestion that has Ward taking stock of his motivations, as he gradually comes to recognize just how much Skye means to him. In many ways, it's an internalized conflict that drives the story forward, occasionally in a frustrating way, since Ward's actions later make getting clear answers a bit more difficult.

Credit: ABC

So Deathlok gets the jump on May and Blake, and although May is able to make it out relatively unscathed, Blake has his ribs crushed by the cyborg after the agent appeals to what little is left of Mike Peterson in that cybernetic skeleton. For Deathlok, there really is no way out, since death is just a button-press away from The Clairvoyant. And so we have a man who, while not fully committed to evil, is certainly committed to his mission to bring down S.H.I.E.L.D., and his attack on Blake leaves the agent clinging to life in the infirmary. Compelled by this turn of events, the team tracks Deathlok and The Clairvoyant to their base of operations, and it leads to a pretty effective action sequence, with Deathlok's new, wrist-mounted rockets being a particularly effective visual effect for broadcast TV. Seeing Deathlok in action is far more potent than seeing him brood, since the look of the character is profoundly underwhelming, meaning that the menace of the character needs to be communicated in other ways. I felt this mostly worked, and it led to a pretty great climax, as the S.H.I.E.L.D. team finally tracks down "The Clairvoyant".

Credit: ABC

"The Clairvoyant" (Brad Dourif) is a wheelchair-bound, virtually-catatonic man who communicates, Stephen Hawking-style, with the aid of a computer. What follows is your standard supervillain monologue that threatens and teases the heroes, with The Clairvoyant invoking the name of Skye, and saying that what they want from her will result in her death once they get it. However, he doesn't explain what exactly he needs from Skye -- because he never gets the chance. Ward, in a fairly surprising turn of events, shoots The Clairvoyant in cold blood after deciding he's heard enough of his smack talk about Skye. And this is where things start unraveling for the S.H.I.E.L.D. team: not only has Ward prevented them from getting any further answers from The Clairvoyant, but Fitz's discovery of an encrypted line on the S.H.I.E.L.D. plane means that The Clairvoyant isn't a clairvoyant at all -- it's merely someone with a high level of security clearance. Basically, The Clairvoyant (or whomever is working for him/her) is an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Credit: ABC

Naturally, Ward is the prime suspect, with Coulson theorizing that "The Clairvoyant" who died wasn't the real Clairvoyant, since there was no way of knowing that the man in the wheelchair was actually controlling the computer that spoke. Coulson suggests that Ward killed the fake Clairvoyant on the orders of the real one, as a way of making S.H.I.E.L.D. think they'd got the real deal. Ward is absolutely incensed by this accusation, and protests his innocence, and although Coulson doesn't exactly give him a pass, he soon has bigger fish to fry, as May realizes that Fitz has discovered her encrypted line and decides to chase after him with a freezer gun, looking for all the world like The Terminator of his nightmares. It all culminates in a standoff in which both Skye and Coulson have their guns trained on May, who insists that this isn't what it looks like. But, because this is a mystery we can't have the resolution to just yet, for whatever reason, May says that she can't exactly tell them what's going on either. This only fuels Coulson's suspicions, as he angrily shouts threats and accusations at her, which essentially makes Coulson the most unhinged character in the entire episode simply for how he allows his mistrust and paranoia to seep through. It's somewhat telling that he'd suspect a member of his own team before he'd even bat an eyelash at the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents that joined them for this mission, since their arrival is what marked everything going wrong. And, sure enough, we see Victoria Hand commanding from S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, ordering that once the S.H.I.E.L.D. plane lands, she wants everyone onboard killed. So this begs the question: is Hand actually The Clairvoyant, or is she merely just another pawn? It's mysteries all the way down, man.

Credit: ABC

And yet, I don't mind. I found this to be a mostly fun, fast-paced hour that kept the story moving. Maybe we're only getting narrative progress in increments, but I still think the show is hitting an encouraging groove, finding a balance between its "action-adventure serial" style, and its "mythology-heavy genre drama" leanings. I'm genuinely looking forward to the light Captain America: The Winter Soldier crossover, since it promises to be the sort of event episode that represents Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. at its most ambitious. "End of the Beginning" may not have been anywhere near as bold, but I'd argue it was an enjoyable ride, all the same.