Should you watch it, wiki it, or wait for the recap? Definitely watch it.
SHIELD faces its greatest threat from within, and with shifting allegiances all around them, can Coulson’s team restore order to the esteemed spy organisation, or will they be a casualty of suspect loyalties?
As if the previous episode wasn’t exciting enough, “Turn Turn Turn” ups the ante in this semi-two parter, tying in wonderfully with the Winter Soldier’s release. The best part of this isn’t just the action and references, but the fact that it has you doubting your assumptions about every single character in every other scene. It opens with a climatic bang, and closes with a horrifying revelation.
Highlights:
You suspect everyone’s allegiances
Thanks to intriguing dialogue, careful pacing, and skilful cuts, you end up wondering who’s loyal and who’s not and each turn. This doesn’t just apply to our main characters, but to the supporting characters as well. Even after allegiances are confirmed, you’ll still walk away thinking wondering about their loyalties.
An even better twist ending
If you thought the previous episode had a great cliffhanger to end the episode, this one’s going to shock you even more. It might not be the visual spectacle of the previous, but it challenges your implicit assumptions of the show, and reveals that everything was just a giant fake out.
Ward & Skye
I’ve shipped Ward & Skye from the very beginning. Just look at their lingering looks and double entendres. Ward & May was a strange detour that completely did not work. And really, where is the Skye-May showdown over Ward? But enough of that romantic sidetracking. Here, they finally pay it off with a kiss between Ward & Skye.
HYDRA title card
It might be spoiling the ep a bit (but then, how could you not have known this) but the HYDRA title card replaces the SHIELD ending title card. I think it’s a great visual reminder of the totality of the betrayal, and raises the stakes for the last story arc. Our agents have their work cut out for them if they’re going to restore SHIELD.
Letdowns:
The final betrayal
Maybe it’ll be explained in the next episode. But the grand twist at the end doesn’t feel like it’s in character, more that it’s placed there for the shock value. Hopefully the next episode clears up some doubts, otherwise this will be a twist for the sake of having a twist.
This is probably the best episode of Agents of SHIELD so far, hands down, both for the self-contained story, and for the advancement of the overall arc for the season. And the betrayals! You really don’t know how they’re going to get out of this one.
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