S02.E04: I Will Face My Enemy

[Cranberry]

While on a mission to learn more about the secrets of the mysterious writing, Coulson finds himself attacked by the only person he can trust: Agent Melinda May. The rest of the team is trapped in an explosive situation, and it's up to Fitz to save them.

 

[Lantern7]

Does Ming-Na Wen get paid extra for playing two roles?

[AimingforYoko]

I hate when you know something personal about the actors, because it colors the whole performance. Like in this case, all I could think of as I watched this episode is, "Ming-Na Wen is fifty!" She really is greater than any special effect.

Edited October 15, 2014 by AimingforYoko

[Stardancer Supreme]

Agent Melinda May. I flove her! I really do.

 

Amazing that people just won't do their proper research when planning to impersonate someone.  The imposter will almost always do one thing that the real person would not do, say, or eat.  

[Guest Accused Dingo]

Agent Melinda May. I flove her! I really do.

Amazing that people just won't do their proper research when planning to impersonate someone. The imposter will almost always do one thing that the real person would not do, say, or eat.

Well this really wasn't a study op and learn every last bit of intel about a person to impetsonate them for a period of time this was more a hit someone on the head and steal their face to trick their boss into coming back to the evil hotel room of evil kind of mission.

[Actionmage]

Another girl-crush deepened! (May and SpyMommy from Alias!)

 

Just so much awesome. I checked the clock once and it was only 20 minutes in! I was making sure my tray was in it's upright position because the ride was only going to get crazier. I was not let down.

 

If you supposedly knew so much about May, why tie her to a wood chair? That's all on you Rico Suave Hydra Guy.  As May mentioned, you did not know what you were starting. The fancy twist-in-the-air-then-make-her-eat-coffeetable? Yeah, badass. And ouch!

 

Raina? Geez, while "Flowers" isn't my favorite character, she's one of my favorite gray characters. I am concerned for her safety. I hope she comes to Coulson and Co. for help. That tech looked like the opposite of a picnic.

 

I loved how everyone already is over Hunt's stories. There is honest tiredness, but more ribbing. I do believe we will be seeing the ex, unless she turns out like Norm's wife, Vera, on Cheers. I am sort of hoping for that situation, but he's gone on and on about her, so I am almost resigned to her appearing.  If they quit having him talk about her, we might forget just long enough to be surprised if she shows.  I also liked that Mack's dark time = quinoa! *g*

 

I like May and Coulson's relationship. It's pragmatic, but May's one soft spot is Phil. As long as they can keep that secret ( hard with Agent 33 or whomever knowing what Phil said in the car), May's still a very effective asset.

 

Everything about May and the team's reactions at the gala were high comedy! Especially Fitz's " That is disturbing." *G* 

 

Talbot's reaction to the news of his impersonation was great as was Coulson's " To be fair, we're not that close." *g*

 

The guys being all bond-y was great and I am glad that Fitz joined in. His contribution seemed very pull-the-Band-Aid-off. I am sad that he feels that way about Jemma.  Still, for them to be stronger when/if (when, I am hoping) Jemma returns, having a bigger circle of friends will be good for Leo.

 

Just another very strong outing for the show. Love it and everyone!

[JayKay]

Just got the title. Cute. I found the first half of the episode dull but things picked up once the imposter got on the bus. And when May got loose everything turned awesome. Did you *see* the look on Torture McHydra's face when she came running at him? I died. I've always said I wanted more May, so I can't complain.

Got kinda worried about Fitz when he was all broody instead of palling around with the gang. He's certainly darker this season but so far so good. I'm glad he's moving on from his romantic feelings for Simmons.

Still not a fan of Coulson in the field. But the ending cabin conversation was worth it. I hope that May and Coulson don't ever get together, but their friendship is lovely. I just love May so much.

It was mostly filler but still better than most of season 1. Looking forward to more actual Simmons next week.

[benteen]

You can never have too much May as this episode proved.  It's hard to believe Ming-Na is fifty years old.  She looks great and continues to do a great job on the show.

 

Good episode.  I'm glad Talbot didn't turn out to be Hydra.  It would have been too predictable and I like the role he has on the show.  He's the pain in the ass government guy trying to catch Coulson and company but it has a fun A-Team vibe to it.

 

Liked the interaction between all the team members and good stuff on the Fitz front.

[DeLurker]

Nitpick: guy carrying surfboard on South Beach. Can't surf there - not a surfing beach and you only get waves there in a hurricane.

Reality should never so rudely intrude on a comic book based show.

May fighting Hydra May was a thing of beauty.

[thuganomics85]

Damn, Ming-Na is just smoken!  She was rocking both of those dresses, and totally kicking ass, and taking names.  Loved it!  It was great seeing Melinda get plenty to do in this episode.  Also loved her undercover, and everyone else being so stunned that she was laughing and being charming to the party-goers.  And, that fight scene between the "Melinda's" was pretty sweet, especially the times they got her face on both characters at the same time.

 

I'm glad it was a fake-out, and Talbot wasn't part of Hydra.  I like him as a thorn in Coulson's side, but I don't want him to be flat-out evil. I loved the real Talbot's reaction to finding out what happened.

 

You know, Hydra, I get brand recognition, but your logo on folders?  Even if you didn't just happen to get busted by a peeking SHIELD agent, that's just an over-kill.  What's next?  License plates?  Pens?  Energy Drinks?  You are so corporate, Hydra.  Maybe that's why Raina is against Whitehall.  He's selling them out to the man!

 

Glad Fitz saved the day and finally open up with Lance and Mac.  Poor guy needed some kind of victory.  I still hope the real Simmons will show up soon, because those two really need to sit down and talk.  Until then, I continue to like how supportive Mac is, and how Lance brings in entertainment for the group, even if it's at his own expense.

 

Skye is digging into what Coulson is hiding, and Triplet is volunteering to help.  Yeah, you should have expected this, Coulson.  Skye's not someone who is just going to be kept in the dark like that.

 

Loved the episode; Melinda is the best.

[benteen]

Forgot to add, May vs May was a GREAT FIGHT.  I might have to put it up there with the fight between Sydney and Evil Francine from the Alias Season 2 finale.  And yeah, Ming-Na even a slip was nice too.

[Chicago Redshirt]

Lots to like about this ep:
 

May going undercover, smiling, kicking ass, and looking sexy as hell.

May and Coulson have nice chemistry. I'm totally convinced they did it back in the day.

Fitz making a big step back to recovery -- he saved the day and spoke what seemed to be his first few non-stuttery sentences 

No Hannibal Ward -- we really don't need to see him every week

Relatively minimal Skye

Raina and Whitehall: is it me, or does Whitehall confirm that she is gifted and can confuse/mesmerize people?)

A few more Whedonesque touches -- May just being like "F trying to flip through the laser grid" and a few of the jokes

Mac -- he's the one new character that I like. Which unfortunately probably makes him another dead man walking

The use of probably more spy tech than we saw in just about any episode last season (the chameleon mask, the retina duplicator, the plane sabotage device, the tracer/pain compliance thing)

And call me naive, but I got fooled by "General Talbot."

 

Things I'm not so psyched about:

May and Coulson totally talking openly about their spy stuff while at the party

 

I'm over the MacGuffin of the alien writing

 

I'm over using icers in general and not killing people what's need killing. I know it's an ABC show and all that, but Fake Talbot and Agent 33 needed to be killed.

Especially when now Agent 33 knows that Coulson's the director of SHIELD

 

The notion that Hydra purportedly does not have any idea who the director is also bugs. Especially when there are only so many candidates. From what we were told, there were not very many high-level agents who even survived the emergence of HYDRA. One would think that Hydra would have some notion of who he was and who his team is.

[Jediknight]

Everything about May and the team's reactions at the gala were high comedy! Especially Fitz's " That is disturbing." *G*

Absolutely, everything about the gala was fun.  You had Mack wanting to work on Lola, the whole world knowing what Lance was talking about, May laughing along with the team's reaction, May speaking a lot, and Skye wanting to hear Lance's story.  All in all just a fun episode.

 

A spy show on ABC, and Coulson says "May doesn't like coffee.", I'm taking that as a shoutout to Alias.  So massive props.

 

May was great this episode.  And HYDRA you know how much of a badass May is, did you really think that was going to hold her?

[Actionmage]

Jediknight, Hydra thought it was hype!  "They weren't overselling her."--Agent 33, re: Agent Melinda May

[henripootel]

So, does Hydra brand all their software and stuff so that everybody knows they're Hydra?  How long have they been doing that ya reckon?

 

Also, is anyone else getting the impression that Hydra could do better if they just marketed some of their tech?  I mean it wouldn't be as much fun as being evil and all but legitimate business can be profitable, and Hydra people do retire.  Factor in evil health care, evil taxes, dental and all, it adds up.  Somebody should speak to them about their business model before they get bought by Microsoft.  

[Statman]

Amazing that people just won't do their proper research when planning to impersonate someone. The imposter will almost always do one thing that the real person would not do, say, or eat.

To be fair it is not like Agent 33 had a lot of time to actually figure out Mays backstory because it didn't appear to me that she had any intention of actually impersonating May because Fake Talbot wanted Coulson to appear at the meeting.

I would love to be in a special operations program where you had time to study the back story of everyone that you may possibly imitate on the possibility that you wold be in a position of putting on a mask that made you look exactly like him/her.

Edited October 15, 2014 by Statman

[Minneapple]

Dayum, when did this show get to be so good? That was possibly the best episode yet. Melinda May rules. Of all her awesome moments in the episode, my favorite might have been her fake smile and "My face hurts" to Coulson. Plus her fake flirting (and nice touch with the security guy rolling his eyes in the background).

The team bonding with Skye, Mack, Tripp and Hunter was also good. It's stuff like that that I really wanted to see last year -- that easy kind of camaraderie when the team is just hanging out, talking about nothing. Last season it all just felt so forced and unnatural.

But oh, Fitz broke my heart. "To moving on..." Sob. There will be MUCH ANGST when Simmons rejoins the team (and she will rejoin the team, because I refuse to live in a world where she doesn't).

I was glad to see Fitz dismiss Ward's stupid excuse about his actions.

I think they've done a good job fixing a lot of the issues from last season. Cut down on Coulson's speeches, make Coulson and May more partner-y, roll back on the Skye as special snowflake nonsense. Good job, SHIELD writers.

[FineWashables]

I wanted to see Fitz withhold oxygen from Ward for exactly the same time that he  -- Fitz -- went without it.  Clearly it would leave Ward exactly as damaged as Fitz, which means he'd still be able to transmit all his secret Hydra info, just would need to write some things down.  I was disappointed that Fitz stopped before doing the damage.  Why?  There's no good reason why Ward needs to be at full brain capacity.

Edited October 15, 2014 by FineWashables

[Primetimer]

Tracking the traditional mix of clumsy exposition and nearly-Whedonesque dialogue that makes up an episode.

Read the story

[DeLurker]

 

Clearly it would leave Ward exactly as damaged as Fitz, which means he'd still be able to transmit all his secret Hydra info, just would need to write some things down.

Brain damage isn't so strategic.  The effects on one person going through exactly the same cause of damage (even for the exact same incident) are not equal.  And recovery rates are wildly inconsistent and age and gender biased.  Pays to be young and male.

 

Have they addressed why they can't just shot him up with a truth serum?

 

ETA:  I loved how May's voice and face instantly flipped from her normal seriousness to all light and smiley in a heartbeat.

Edited October 15, 2014 by DeLurker

[AzureOwl]

One detail left me wondering. At the end Coulson says that the painting is 500 years old but the writing is only a few years old, meaning there's another person out there doing the trance engraving thing.

 

But how does that account for the painting surviving the church fire in the first place? Does that mean that the engravings provide some measure of invulnerability on themselves? Or was the survival of the painting an actual miracle and nobody noticed?

 

I hate when you know something personal about the actors, because it colors the whole performance. Like in this case, all I could think of as I watched this episode is, "Ming-Na Wen is fifty!" She really is greater than any special effect.

 

I know!! She has barely aged since she played Chun-Li... 20 years ago... when I was in the 6th grade!!!!!

[kitlee625]

Good episode.  I'm glad Talbot didn't turn out to be Hydra.  It would have been too predictable and I like the role he has on the show.  He's the pain in the ass government guy trying to catch Coulson and company but it has a fun A-Team vibe to it.

 

Agreed. I was surprised when it looked like he was on Team Hydra, but I'm glad that the writers decided to keep the universe large with four sides: Team SHIELD, Team US Government (Talbot), Team Hydra, and Team Aliens (Raina and The Doctor). I think it makes the universe seem larger, and plus it gets rid of the simplistic notion that "everyone against us is Hydra." Plus I love how Director Coulson plays the line of reluctant allies / sometimes enemies with Talbot.

 

You know, Hydra, I get brand recognition, but your logo on folders?  Even if you didn't just happen to get busted by a peeking SHIELD agent, that's just an over-kill.  What's next?  License plates?  Pens?  Energy Drinks?  You are so corporate, Hydra.  Maybe that's why Raina is against Whitehall.  He's selling them out to the man!

 

Haha. I love that humorous touch. Now we know who was the mastermind behind the SHIELD water ... a Hydra mole!

 

I'm over using icers in general and not killing people what's need killing. I know it's an ABC show and all that, but Fake Talbot and Agent 33 needed to be killed.

Especially when now Agent 33 knows that Coulson's the director of SHIELD

 

The notion that Hydra purportedly does not have any idea who the director is also bugs. Especially when there are only so many candidates. From what we were told, there were not very many high-level agents who even survived the emergence of HYDRA. One would think that Hydra would have some notion of who he was and who his team is.

 

I got the feeling that they would have done something with Agent 33 - like take her back to the bus to de-brainwash her, since they know that she's a SHIELD agent who was kidnapped by Hydra (they mention Coulson trying to talk to her in the prior episode), but because of the Hydra agents storming the compound, they had to flee without her. Which I like - our heroes had a nice victory, but it was only a partial victory because they are still outgunned and outmanned. It really did bother me though that apparently they know that Coulson has this connection to the alien writing - I think Fake-Talbot says something about Coulson being able to understand it better than most - but that they have no clue who is in charge of SHIELD. Even Talbot knows that!

[kitlee625]

Have they addressed why they can't just shot him up with a truth serum?

 

The truth serum was just a gimmick in the pilot. There is no real truth serum. Coulson only pretended that he gave that to Ward, so that the two of them could get Skye's trust. Ward confirms this is 1x03. Otherwise it doesn't make any sense why they wouldn't use it later on (interrogating VanChat, when Coulson is suspicious of May, interrogating Ward, etc etc). It also doesn't make sense why Coulson would give Skye, a known member of a terrorist organization, access to unlimited SHIELD secrets in the form of Ward. They had just met, and he had no way of knowing for certain that she wouldn't exploit that information. (Also note that she doesn't get anything out of him except for some stuff about wanting to go back to Paris, his grandmother, and not liking Coulson.)

Edited October 15, 2014 by kitlee625

[missbonnie]

I wanted to see Fitz withhold oxygen from Ward for exactly the same time that he  -- Fitz -- went without it.  Clearly it would leave Ward exactly as damaged as Fitz, which means he'd still be able to transmit all his secret Hydra info, just would need to write some things down.  I was disappointed that Fitz stopped before doing the damage.  Why?  There's no good reason why Ward needs to be at full brain capacity.

Some character, I forget who, asked Fitz that question. His reply was " because I'm not a killer."

[Spartan Girl]

I'm seriously starting to ship May and Coulson.  There is something more than platonic going on there...

 

I hate when you know something personal about the actors, because it colors the whole performance. Like in this case, all I could think of as I watched this episode is, "Ming-Na Wen is fifty!" She really is greater than any special effect.

 

 

To be fair, I was thinking the same thing.  Let's not forget that this lady was the voice of Mulan too.  She is ten thousand kinds of badass.

 

Once again, poor poor Fitz.

[FineWashables]

 

Some character, I forget who, asked Fitz that question. His reply was " because I'm not a killer."

You're right, missbonnie, and I heard that too, but I didn't understand Fitz's answer -- or maybe I found it to be an unsatisfying response.  I'm not talking about killing him.  I'm wondering why Fitz wouldn't withhold the oxygen just long enough not to kill, but to inflict the same permanent damage he suffered.  If Fitz had done that, it wouldn't have made him a killer.

[AzureOwl]

You know, Hydra, I get brand recognition, but your logo on folders?  Even if you didn't just happen to get busted by a peeking SHIELD agent, that's just an over-kill.  What's next?  License plates?  Pens?  Energy Drinks?  You are so corporate, Hydra.  Maybe that's why Raina is against Whitehall.  He's selling them out to the man!

 

I guess now we know who was behind S.H.I.E.L.D.'s old habit of prominently displaying their eagle logo on every freaking thing that they owned. A habit that's been noticeably missing since they shed their HYDRA baggage.   

[ChelseaNH]

Given the promo, I kinda figured that it would be a May double attacking Coulson.  So when "Talbot" called Hydra, that just sealed the double deal.

 

When Mac said that he was on good terms with all his "exes" -- without qualification -- I decided that he can be our first gay character.

[Actionmage]

I'm wondering why Fitz wouldn't withhold the oxygen just long enough not to kill, but to inflict the same permanent damage he suffered.  If Fitz had done that, it wouldn't have made him a killer.

 

But Fitz told Ward that he felt like his Old Self is dead. Leo feels that how he was, pre-deprivation, is gone and irretrievable. That Ward "killed" Fitz, in essence if not in actuality.  That is why Fitz wouldn't do the exact same thing to Ward.

[Sakura12]

The May vs May fight was probably the best fight scene on this show to date. As for Ming Na-Wen being fifty, I'm Asian too and we never know how old anyone is. 

 

Does anyone get the feeling that May and Coulson hooked up at some point in the past or almost did? 

 

I like that Fitz was able to save the day even if he needed help. I'm glad that Fitz didn't buy Ward's excuses for what he did to him. I also liked that Hunter included him and bought him a beer. He's okay, but they really need to stop hitting us over the head with his ex. We all know she'll show up at some point, so we don't need to hear about her all the time. 

 

I still want to Raina is and if she's the same as Skye and her father. 

Edited October 15, 2014 by Sakura12

[Sandman]

I know!! She has barely aged since she played Chun-Li... 20 years ago... when I was in the 6th grade!!!!!

 

I remember her first as Lien Hughes on As The World Turns in 1988. She didn't look that different at the age of 24 than she does now.

 

I think Fitz's "That's very alarming" might be my favourite line reading on this show ever.

 

I didn't think Talbot was (knowingly) HYDRA. But I did wonder for a moment whether he was in communication with Whitehall without realizing that he was colluding with the enemy. (I don't think we saw the now-omnipresent HYDRA corporate logo on his end of the communication.) It could have been interesting if Talbot's blind spot was such that he was actually becoming the traitor he fears and loathes. But, no -- it was your basic Latex Perfection trope, with the optional digital upgrade.

Edited October 15, 2014 by Sandman

[Traveller519]

I think I could feel my own eyes rolling when they teased that Talbot was Hydra. And then subsequently felt my own smile when the mask shifted the first time. You got me show. I'll forgive the Mission Impossible style mask fake out for affirming that Talbot is solely just Military nothing else.

 

Between that and Fitz moving past his problems, and Hunter being something more of a normal person/helping Fitz work through his shit, I felt pretty good about this episode.

[Sandman]

I'm not talking about killing him. I'm wondering why Fitz wouldn't withhold the oxygen just long enough not to kill, but to inflict the same permanent damage he suffered. If Fitz had done that, it wouldn't have made him a killer.

 

Except that there's no practical way of gauging how long someone can go without oxygen without dying. The effects of oxygen deprivation vary with each person, and "just long enough to damage, but not kill" is not really a workable distinction, except by luck. Fitz himself nearly died. Deliberately asphyxiating someone is attempted murder, at the very least. I'm okay with Fitz putting himself outside that category. (Even the old genre standby of bonking someone on the head hard enough to knock them unconscious, but not hard enough to do any permanent harm isn't really a thing that can happen in real life.)

[Hana]

The whole episode was good, much better than the last two, but my favorite part was Coulson's face when the two Mays are about to fight, and his "I can't believe I am the only one seeing this" comment. I had a very similar reaction, in an "everybody stay calm, this is HAPPENING, EVERYBODY STAY F***ING CALM /end Steve Carell's voice" way. And they did not disappoint one bit. Kudos, AoS, major kudos.

Edited October 15, 2014 by Hana

[Traveller519]

The overall watchability changed so much post-The Winter Soldier. This episode was the highlight in terms of characters for me. Definitely not plot, but everyone seems to be settling in to a well developed, not over the top character now.

[FineWashables]

Good job of explaining, Sandman.  I get it now.  Given what you said, I now agree with you and missbonnie.

[Tryangle]

It was an amazing episode indeed, with great lines, and of course some major Ming Na rocking.

 

And ends with Whitehall catching Raina? Whoa-oa-oa. Absolutely spicy.

 

Agree that the Hydra Marketing team are going overboard with their branding. Clearly a bit overzealous with their budget.

[Sandman]

Maybe their summer intern got them locked into this bulk rate deal on corporate branding, and it became a whole thing? Damn incentives program!

[FurryFury]

So, how the hell did Ming Na and her stunt double manage to film the fights in that dress without flashing their underwear all over the place? I used to think Magic Skirt was just an anime trope...

[KittenPokerCheater]

I must be a show killer, because I started watching this summer and now I'm on board.  Is it as brilliant at the movies- no, but it's great tv and I don't feel like it takes itself so seriously (as some other shows do), and I have a soft spot for the actor who plays Coulson.  I thought it was a solid stand-alone episode.  

 

The MingNa/May scenes were beautifully choreographed/edited.  Emmy bait.  

 

It was nice to see Fitz bond with his new teammates.  So sweet.   The actor is breaking my heart, and it's nice to see his character change.

 

Raina just bores me to tears.  I guess she might have some comic canon thing going on, because I know that a lot of folks out there adore her.  I hope I will understand why someday.

 

And the General is awesome.  Best (sort of) villain ever.  I hope we continue to get more of him and Coulson snarking at each other.

[Minneapple]

 

Agree that the Hydra Marketing team are going overboard with their branding. Clearly a bit overzealous with their budget.

Maybe they got a deal on promotions from one of those websites that gives you all that branded crap for nothing. The easiest way to find out if someone is Hydra is to check their keys to see if they have a Hydra keychain.

[kitlee625]

I really enjoyed the episode. I felt like the pace was slower, which was good because we got to take some time to see how the characters are handling all the action of the season. We have Fitz, who is struggling to feel like part of the team, Skye who is getting tired of being a good soldier and trying to find answers on her own, May who is struggling with how to handle Coulson, and Coulson who has pretty much given up hope and is trying to prepare May for taking over once he's gone. What's nice though is that last season an episode like this would have been clunkier, with awkward dialogue - looking at you "Repairs" - but this episode managed to be fun and action packed, and to still feel connected to the greater arc regarding the alien writing / Obelisk. I also like the old school spy vibe, as well as the fun they had with that.

[Sandman]

I agree with all of the above, but especially about the old school spy vibe; maybe it's just the doubling / mask plot,  or the "Infiltration flirtation! Excuse me while I practice spycraft while dancing the tango backwards and in heels" scenes, but this episode made me think of Mission: Impossible -- in a good way.

Edited October 16, 2014 by Sandman

[tankgirl73]

I really enjoyed the episode, for many of the reasons already stated here.  But I must be the only person on the planet, apparently, who was underwhelmed by the May-May fight.

 

First, I was constantly distracted by the fact that there's just no way that Agent 33 would last that long against May.  I mean, sure, she's a trained SHIELD agent, but she's fighting *Melinda F-in May*.  It took Ward to be nearly a match for May's fighting skills, and Ward was considered one of the Very Best.  Generic Agent #33 wouldn't stand a chance.  Even if she somehow incorporated some of May's strength from the magic mask, she did not get her *knowledge* -- as evidenced by how Coulson caught her out.  Most of high-level skill fighting is in the technical application of knowledge -- strategy, learned skills -- rather than brute strength.  

 

But even more importantly, it just looked bad.  It was obviously concentrating on hiding the women's faces so we wouldn't see that one was a stunt double -- like when Kirk fought Kirk.  And half the time you could tell which one was the stunt double anyway, because her hair was just *wrong*.  It was thicker, longer, puffier, ropey-er.  There was one bit where the stunt double started a leap or something and then there was an edit cut to her finishing the leap, and it was the stunt double before the cut and Ming-Na after the cut, and the hair just CHANGED.  I don't usually notice these kinds of continuity things on first watch, so if it really stuck out like a sore thumb to ME, it must have been really bad.

 

Plus, May moves with a beautiful cat-like grace.  The fight looked *clunky*.  The way they were standing, the way they were moving -- it was like an amateur kick-boxing show, not professional kung-fu/jiu-jitsu blend.  Maybe that was on purpose to show that it was only one May, and one 33... but it wasn't nearly as gorgeous as a May/May fight would be -- and that takes me back to point #1 of course -- if #33 does not have May's skills, she wouldn't have lasted that long.  

[Turtle]

Well this really wasn't a study op and learn every last bit of intel about a person to impetsonate them for a period of time this was more a hit someone on the head and steal their face to trick their boss into coming back to the evil hotel room of evil kind of mission.

 

I died.

 

I've long been a Clark Gregg fan, and last week when he rolled up his sleeves I did in fact swoon, but my lurve went to a new level tonight.

Didn't see the Talbot twist coming, and was pretty surprised how happy I was with it.  So, that was fun.

 

More fun?  Every single thing about May.  I love what the writers and the actor have done with this character.  So many times the "badass woman" character is a trope, with no depth and almost 1-dimensional.  Not the case with May, and it's fantastic. 

 

You know, Hydra, I get brand recognition, but your logo on folders?  Even if you didn't just happen to get busted by a peeking SHIELD agent, that's just an over-kill.  What's next?  License plates?  Pens?  Energy Drinks?

 

Beer koozies.

 

And Sakura12, I am sure that at some point Coulson and May hooked up.  I doubt they did anything resembling dating, but sex?  Yeah.  (Baum chicka bow wow.)​

Edited October 16, 2014 by Turtle

[Statman]

I thought this was a great episode. When I saw the preview and I saw the dancing segment I thought it was going to be boring as hell.

However this is episode was full of character building moments and I think that's really important because it makes us as viewers really care about each individual character.

I'm a bit depressed that it's not getting very good ratings right now but hopefully we'll get out that the show has been much improved since the Hydra plot.

[dwmarch]

I am pretty sure Raina's superpower is that leather skirt she was rocking. It definitely had me hypnotized and under her control. Strangely enough, it's the exact same skirt Margot Robbie wore in The Wolf of Wall Street. Raina must be a fan.

 

The dueling Mays reminded me of They Live and that ten minute long brawl.

 

Glad to see Talbot isn't with Hydra.

 

Did Fitz actually give his imaginary girlfriend shit for letting him down?

 

Convenient of Agent 33 to be exactly the same size as May in addition to having the exact same hair. Face/Off was the same idea. Change the face and everyone is fooled, despite the million other cues that should send up red flags. Although in all fairness, it's probably something one would be least expecting. Unless one was an Agent of SHIELD of course.

[Texasmom1970]

I definantly need to find out Ming Na Wen's diet and exercise secrets because dayum she looks amazing! I did watch her every move in that dress thinking surely she was going to have a wardrobe malfunction.

I forgot last season fid Fitz actually tell Gemma how he felt? Was she all like no I just want to be friends? I dont remember that happening.

[Sandman]

I loved May's approach to the laser grid. While Coulson's all "Why are there always laser grids?" and stretching his neck, ready to limber up, May just stomps on through. (My appreciation for this scene may in fact be influenced by my loathing for Vincent Cassel, and my utter conviction that the scene in Ocean's Twelve where Toulour disco-twists his way through a laser field is quite possibly the stupidest, most soulless bit of nonsense ever filmed. Ahem.)

Edited October 16, 2014 by Sandman

[paigow]

Does anyone get the feeling that May and Coulson hooked up at some point in the past or almost did? 

 

 

He was probably showing her his Captain America card collection and the situation developed from there.