TV Review: AGENTS Of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Season 2, Episode 9: Ye Who Enter Here

ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Ye Who Enter Here TV Show Review. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., season 2, episode 9, ‘Ye Who Enter Here,’ might have revealed the second season pace to be a little too fast, for comfort; but I’m not prepared to complain, just yet.

Director Coulson (Clark Gregg) had an advantage, regarding the Secret City, and he was keen to act on it. Not so keen on having Skye (Chloe Bennet) anywhere near it, though, so she got to bring in a relevant loose end. As this came on the tails of a lucid dream, where Skye witnessed her infant self being abandoned by Coulson & May (Ming-Na Wen), her farewell hug to Coulson might mean more than just reconnecting, after the kind of dream that could really mess with how you look at the people next to you. Of course, something should be said about the fact that dream Skye was in flower dress….

Raina (Ruth Negga) had gone back to her street urchin roots, traveling underground, one mark at a time. Shadow operative Raina knew how to deal with a surprise visit from May. Not so much, when it turned out to be Agent 33 – most of Agent May’s face still fused to her head. Nothing like a genuinely hairy moment to warrant some cool & amusing gee-wizardry, so: Agent Koenig (Patton Oswalt).

As cool as his rescue method was, some passerby should have noticed his magic curtain come down, then blink out. Likewise, someone should have noticed Agent 33’s Mock May act – her looking like something out of the original V, like she was.

Still, the Koenig bros. (all 13 of them – haww!) really earned their keep. No mere comic relieving custodians, handing out lanyards (another running gag), they brought mild mannered skill, and cool headed charm, to the team, that belied the image of Patton Oswalt, as a secret agent. Take that, all youse that dismissed his season one role (as “the shorter one” – tee hee). Until their running gag antics played a role later on, on the bus, they were to keep Raina cool until Skye & Hunter (Nick Blood) could collect her. Cue boss fight, between May pupil, Skye, and Mock May.

Hopefully, this is the most morbid note I make (at least with The Walking Dead on break), but you really don’t see enough bloody noses & battered faces coming out of broadcast TV fist fights. Points to Agents for scuffing Skye up, a bit; maybe more focus will go to her field skills, than her aesthetic value. Maybe it was just me, but it seemed like some care went into defining their respective skill sets. Agent 33 came across as the better stand-off fighter; Skye getting the upper hand by keeping things grapple close, but losing the edge when her last minute plea put daylight between them. Enter Hunter, for the save.

No shame in Skye losing a fight to Mocking May; but tipping off Raina was kind of a bone-headed move. Skye should not have missed Raina’s double cross light coming on, when I’m pretty sure most viewers caught it. I guess the writer had that in mind, because her attempt to cash in, on her new status, was capped by more sudden violence, from off screen, left. There was some Looney Tunes appeal to it, but it was Raina being a sport about her prospects, either way, that sold the moment (and her every scene, going forward).

Oddly enough, the ramping up of Agents‘ violence, seemed to bring a new resonance to more family friendly moments. Moments like the one between Coulson & Bobbi (Adrianne Palicki), on the streets of Puerto Rico, talking the evils of collateral damage, and the virtue of not being Nick Fury.

Side note: try the crab & fried plantains.

The threat of more sudden, brutal violence has also brought a new level of tension to foreshadow moments, like the alluded to back story to Mac’s (Henry Simmons) concern, over the thawing of Bobbi & Hunter’s relationship; while Raina’s new found playfulness bore a heart stopping revelation, about Coulson’s Secret City mission. That potent tension has also made season two something of a deathwatch, with fans openly speculating which members of the extended cast has been sporting a Red Shirts. Personally, I thought the only thing keeping Mac around was Fitz (Iain De Caestecker). With Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) finally reaching out to him, and Fitz responding (though not necessarily in the manner she had hoped), all that deathwatch chatter tolled for an underrated favorite of mine. Dang it. The fact that a Kree Sentry was not a part of the payoff, only made it a much more tragic cost. On the bright side, shamefully enough, a certain someone may be free to be casted as Steel (should a certain outfit ever get around to it).

Fitz has a plan to get his groove back, and Simmons is not a part of it, for the time being. I’m hoping that her positive influence will remain kept at bay, only because of a hypothetical I heard. Before Fitz-Simmons fans start breaking out their Home Inquisition sets, I’ll say it had something to do with M.O.D.O.K.. If you don’t know who/what that is, then… carry on – nothing being said, here. The very notion does bring a whole new perspective to Fitz’s every scene; allowing him to generate a level of tension pretty much impossible, for the character, a year ago. An unlikely scenario; but still fun to have in mind, watching his slipped wheels turn.

Of course, the combination of ultimate poker face, and some pretty horrible acts, in his wake, makes Ward’s (Brett Dalton) every move a tension builder. His new association with Whitehall (Reed Diamond) was put to action quicker than I expected; but not nearly as quickly as his playing the Skye hand. So much for working the room – I kinda expected him to toy with the two agencies, for at least a few episodes, before springing the trap I’m hoping he’s had in mind. Well, now he may be on the White-out list.

‘Ye Who Enter Here’ may not have presented quite the Dante-esque picture its title suggested; but considering the outcome, it’s just as well. Season two’s accelerated pace seems to cusping on terminal velocity, and that’s a good thing. Only thing is, now I have to start wondering (if not worrying) about what/ who will be left standing at the end. I think it was Einstein that formulated a massive cast, plus extreme velocity, equals a big bang. It may hurt to get caught up in it; but going boom is always fun, if you can walk away from it.

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