After an uneven episode last week, this week’s Agents of SHIELD focuses heavily on Hydra more than the previous two seasons have ever been able to do before, as Gideon Malick reveals an expanded side of the villainous organization that has been established in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for several years now.
Whether it’s the writing, acting, or both, “Many Heads, One Tale” really showcased that Rosalind Price is one of the season’s weakest links, as she feels completely stiff and wooden, which is unfortunate. After the reveal that she has been working with Malick this whole time, one would assume that maybe this would show a more intriguing side of her, even if it means that she is a bad guy. Sadly, that is not the case here. We do learn that Rosalind had been tricked all along too by Malick, whose goal is to activate as many Inhumans as possible, which is just a part of Hyrda’s bigger, more elaborate plan. But even that, along with Coulson’s humiliation of her – which was appreciated because if he had fallen for her, it would have been out of character for Coulson — made Rosalind just look very weak, and even though the ATCU and SHIELD. are now on more common ground, Rosalind is just not interesting as a character.
However, someone who is an interesting character is the glory that is Grant Ward. Ward may not have had as much screentime in this first half of the season as one would have hoped, but anytime he is on the screen, it is 100% entertainment. Ward is becoming of the MCU’s most charismatic baddies of all-time; at some point, they need to put him in one of these Marvel films, just to see how fun it would be to have him interact with some of the Avengers or other heroes. In this week’s episode, he gives into Malick’s proposal of the Hydra plans that have already been set in motion, and in final scene of the episode, Ward puts Andrew through torture that will bring the monster out, whether he wants it to or not.
As a comic book fan, it’s hard to say whether or not this is a good idea by the writers to extend the history of Hydra so much and now, once again, have a season where Hydra is the big bad. On the bright side, though, at least we may still get a “new” Hydra, thanks to Ward, but also thanks to the fact that the organization is seeking this important dangerous Inhuman that was apparently on the same planet as Simmons. The thing that would be really good on the writers’ part is if they actually brought in something from the comics, something that hasn’t been introduced in the films before that Agents of SHIELD. can sort of make its own or give birth to. It’s safe to assume that this powerful Inhuman is the cloaked creature we saw a few episodes ago during Simmons’ adventures on that planet.
Overall, despite the lackluster character that is Rosalind, this was a very solid episode of Agents of SHIELD., where the villains are coming together very nicely, May had a good heart-to-heart with Lincoln, AND Bobbi and Hunter’s comedic mission provided a lot of entertainment.
Agents of SHIELD will return with its two remaining episodes of the first half of Season 3 on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 9/8c on ABC.
[Photo credit: John Fleenor/ABC]
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