Agents of Shield: Yes Men
by J.D. Cook
I have said it before but I am saying it again, Agents of Shield has definitely hit it’s stride. I loved last week’s race to save Skye’s (Chloe Bennet) life but this episode upped the ante by bringing down an Asgardian. Two Asgardian’s actually! First came the evil Lorelei (Elena Satine), with the power to ensnare men with a whisper or a touch. Her name was also used by Ric Albano as the title of a song (click here to listen) about a different kind of evil on his album, Imaginary Lines. Second came the mighty Sif (Jaime Alexander), ally to Thor and overall ‘badass’ as Couslon (Clark Gregg) put it. Alright enough with the high speech let’s break this awesome episode down.
I think many people have said time and again that this show really needs a bit more super hero and a bit less procedural drama. Thankfully this episode definitely delivered on that. It really felt like it jumped straight out of Thor: the Dark World. It was much better than the other episode this season that dealt with Asgardians, the Well. That episode was hyped up by ABC and Marvel prior to its release as being almost directly connected to Thor: The Dark World. Unfortunately it really wasn’t connected to the movie at all. It only opened with a scene of the Agents cleaning up after Thor’s battle in London and dealt with a rouge Asgardian and his long hidden artifact. Thankfully this episode, Yes Men, had a lot more to do with the overall Marvel Cinematic Universe.
What’s interesting to think about in this episode is when this is actually taking place. It’s obviously after the primary events in Thor: the Dark World because moments in the film are referenced by Sif in the episode. That said those who saw that film know the ending is pretty mind-blowing.
Spoiler Alert
Ok, if you are still here that means you know that Loki is currently ruling Asgard disguised as Odin. So my question is did this episode occur before Loki took Odin’s place on the Throne or after he took his place. If Loki was the one who wanted Lorelei caught then it could mean we won’t be seeing the last of her. She’s obviously well aligned with his own evil motives. Even though the two of them probably couldn’t co-exist because they’d both want to rule. That said if this occurred before Loki took Odin’s place and sent Sif to capture Lorelei then it’s just business as usual since he’s already a force for good. Before getting to the big twist of this week I should mention that Sif listed the Kree as a blue skinned race when Coulson asked about possible creatures who could have been in the tube he discovered in last week’s episode T.A.H.I.T.I. Not only is this the first mention of the Kree in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but it also keeps my theory about them being the creature in the tube alive!
Ok onto the biggest revelation of the episode! Agent Malinda May (Ming-Na Wen) is a traitor! Alright so maybe she’s not a crazy Hydra style traitor but she is definitely betraying Coulson’s trust. When she changed her mind to join Coulson’s team way back near the beginning of the series it felt fishy and my nose for plot twists was right! My bet is Malinda May has been watching Coulson for Nick Fury or the other Shield higher ups since day one! That’s been her real reason for being present the whole time! Pretty sneaky Ms. May….pretty sneaky.
Alright before I end this rant I have to note how hilarious Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) was as Lorelei’s thrall! The best part of the episode had to be when Coulson started going along with his craziness. One more thing! It strikes me now how close to Firefly this show is. I mean I have noticed all of Whedon’s material bears certain similarities but the fact that this show is centered around a moving plane and the crew’s crazy adventures makes it all the more familiar. I’m not complaining though because I loved Firefly and anything remotely close it is doing a lot of things perfectly.
I’d say check in next week for another blog on the show but once again the show is taking a break…every time they pull me back in…they take another break. It’s not a total loss though because we are getting some kind of Marvel preview special in it’s place! So see ya down the road!
Previous Episodes of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Episode 14: T.A.H.I.T.I.
Episode 13: T.R.A.C.K.S.
Episode 12: Seeds
Episode 11: The Magical Place
Episode 10: The Bridge
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