“Principia” or as we would like to call it “The Search for Gravitonium,” gave off the vibe of a cool-down episode. As for story-wise: We got to meet a new Von Strucker and a old pal of Mack’s. Yo-Yo’s journey to recovery continued and Deke found a new family member.
Maybe I was wrong. Instead of a cool-down episode, this maybe was a slow boiling episode. Like when you get you start pre-heating your over to cook dinner. Things are warming up but the main course still has some time left to be done. It won’t be too long though, for things to start heating up.
That heat comes in the form of not just General Hale but her little demon-spawn Ruby and their newest recruit – Alex Von Strucker. Alex is a typical lad- you know, threatens his shrink and displays a very strong memory. The young sociopath awakens in a room and after a meet and greet with Ruby, knives are pulled and Alex wants a meeting with the head honcho.
General Hale invites him to join “Team Psycho” but Alex is as hesistant to join up as the CW is to give the female characters on their super hero shows story-lines. So Mommy Dearest ends up going to Ruby to convince Alex to join up “by any means necessary,” aka sex. We all know she’s talking about sex. Even though Ruby tells Alex everything, that she’s there to convince him to side with them, Alex doesn’t listen. He listens a little when she tells him they can be the future- a powerful future. But Alex’s mind gets made-up with just a little touch of Ruby’s hand to his thigh. Because while he is interested in what she is saying, he is after all a man. Men are stupid and Alex is ready to do some evil stupid things for Ruby’s pretty but sinister face.
So add another one to General Hale’s Anti-Shield team. The members now are Ruby, Alex and a very ripped Crusher Creel. The scariest part for our team of Agents is that while Hale is building up her team, Coulson’s team couldn’t be anymore distracted with so many different things at once.
OLD FRIENDS IN FLOATING SHIPS
As for the main story, the team is still dealing with that big hole in the basement that connects this world to the “Fear Dimension.” There’s a band-aid on it now thanks to Coulson, but the thing about those is they can stick so long before they fall off. In that, I speak from a ton of experience. So the plan is to get more gravitonium. Pure and simple. So who do we know has a ton of the stuff?
Well Coulson and the team did deal with the stuff before a long long LONG time ago in season 1 with Cybertek so the team goes hunting for the scientists who created the stuff. With the help of a old friend of Mack’s named Tony Caine, they are able to find one of the scientist.
More on that story in a second but let’s talk now about what has become the new normal for the team and a lot of the individual characters.
Yo-Yo – As much as she’s putting on a brave face to everyone, especially Mack, the cracks in her facade are slowly fading away. Think about it: What would your life be now if you had lost both arms at once? Yes, people would be around to nurse you but eventually you would get sick of it. Lash out or bury the pain inside. Neither option is very much enjoyable.
Mack – I have no doubt he wants to be the caring, loving boyfriend but also inside the man is a lot of rage. Mack knows that no matter how much he tries to help Yo-Yo , he feels like he failed her. That’s just the type of person Mack is. But instead of sorrow, Mack wants to let that rage out.
Coulson, Daisy and May – The three of them talk about how the gravitonium could be used to save Coulson’s life. The two women that Phil cares about the most in his life want to save him but Phil doesn’t want anymore second chances like that anymore. Coulson is amazingly zen about death coming for him. I guess it’s because all of this: the years with the team, meeting Daisy, more time with May…it has all been almost for free for him. This wasn’t supposed to happen after dying to Loki. He’s just happy to experience his last days with his family.
Daisy and May…….they aren’t listening though. They make an agreement to try to save Coulson’s life even if Coulson doesn’t want them too. They love him to much to see him die. So, once again, the ladies are going to have to pull Coulson’s butt out of the fire like they always seem to do.
Deke – Our out-of-time wonderer is still trying to adjust and matters get less comfortable for him when Fitz is assigned to baby-sit him. As families do (Especially when they don’t know they are family), they argue and argue till Deke heads back down to the basement. Deke is upset until he see his mother appear. Yes, the fear dimension strikes again but this time it lets us get a little insight into Deke and his mom aka Jemma/Fitz’s daughter. Especially a little saying Deke’s mom heard from her mom…
“it’s not the size of the steps you take, but that they’re in the right direction. “
We won’t get into how Deke sees her get stabbed by a Kree yet again but focus about a little later when Jemma tries to help Deke and quotes that same line word for word. Now Deke isn’t the smartest man in the world, but even he can make 2+2 =4 and figures out that Jemma is Grandma Simmons to him. This leads to Deke helping Fitz figure out where the ship is – it’s not at the bottom of the ocean as the team expected but thanks to the gravitonium the ship is floating up in the air.
The team is able to grab the stuff in a cool visual of Mack putting the gravitonium in a box to contain it.
Mack Hammer needs no reminder.
Can't touch this. #AgentsOfSHIELD pic.twitter.com/VidEHvWxv9
— Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (@AgentsofSHIELD) March 17, 2018
Inside the ship, however, are a few of the “Mechas” aka robots that made up Ruby’s goon squad. Now finally Mack has something to let out his aggression on and oh boy does he do just that. Now there was a whole thing about only having a few minutes to get out but there was no chance that they weren’t going to succeed in this mission. The team needed a big win and they got one. And thanks to Mack, Fitz has a few new robot arms to use for Yo-Yo’s new cybernetic arms.
So we continue the collision course between S.H.I.E.L.D and Gen. Hale’s Group of Evil. (Better Name to be announced later probably). It feels like there might be some more pain and suffering coming for our team of agents as they still have to patch up that Fear Dimension as well. And who knows what might come out of there next…..
QUICK THOUGHTS:
- Like you thought I wouldn’t talk about the newlyweds: FITZSIMMONS?? What have you been reading these last year then?? Jemma and Fitz have a nice scene together where they admire their wedding rings and can’t stop calling each other “Husband” and Wife”. It’s a cute, lovely scene with that perfect FitzSimmons awkwardness when Fitz suggest they hyphenate their last names via Simmons-Fitz. Sorry Fitz but FitzSimmons rolls off the tongue a lot better.
The look of “huh?” on Jemma’s face and the cluelessness in that last gif of Fitz’s face is just one of the reasons we all love them so much
- Fitz calling Deke “Scrappy Doo” was hilarious.
- As was Deke calling Fitz “Grandpa” as Fitz really does act like a grumpy old man so no one would bat a eye at that comment.
- “This has my two worst fears combined : Drowning and Heights!” Poor Mack.
- THIS.
Too legit! #AgentsOfSHIELD pic.twitter.com/ozySXmrG4r
— Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (@AgentsofSHIELD) March 17, 2018
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D airs on Fridays at 9 pm on ABC.