Episode Title: “The Hub”
Writers: Rafe Judkins & Lauren LeFranc
Director: Bobby Roth
Previously on “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”:
The mantra of “The Hub” is “trust the system.” And while that’s meant as an informal motto for the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization itself, it also seems to apply to the fans watching “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” at home.
This series has a stellar creative team and the full backing of Marvel Studios and ABC. In theory, this should be a great show. But sometimes it struggles just to be good. For every instance that “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” demonstrates its potential there seems to be a corresponding moment that brings everything back down to Earth.
We’re meant to buy into the idea that this show will eventually become the series that we all want it to be. So far, only the pilot episode really scratched the surface of this series and “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” hasn’t quite been able to match that level in the six episodes since then.
“F.Z.Z.T.” was a step in the right direction because of some engaging character interaction between Agents Leo Fitz (Ian De Caestecker) and Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge). “The Hub” continues that positive streak this week, thanks in part to its strong continuity ties to the previous episode. Fitz is still fuming that Agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton) beat him to the punch and jumped out of The Bus to save Simmons before Fitz could do it himself. Thus when Fitz is assigned to go with Ward on a Level 8 mission for S.H.I.E.L.D., he goes out of his way to prove himself as an agent.
There’s also some movement on the resurrection of Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and the mystery of Skye’s (Chloe Bennet) parents. “Tahiti is a magical place” has been a running gag for fans of this show, but now even Coulson seems to realize that it’s some kind of conditioned response.
Full spoilers lie ahead for “The Hub!” If you missed last night’s episode of “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” then you should probably skip this review or else Ward will dispose of your sandwich.
The most immediate improvement in “The Hub” was the sense of scale. Just bringing Coulson’s team within the confines of a S.H.I.E.L.D. base made the series feel like it belongs in that larger Marvel Universe that we see in the feature films. S.H.I.E.L.D. is more than just the six people who live and work on The Bus. It’s a fully staffed international peacekeeping force.
To help bridge the gap between the TV show and the movies, Maximiliano Hernandez reprises his role as Agent Jasper Sitwell and Saffron Burrows makes her debut as Victoria Hand, a fairly recently created character who has a much bigger role in the comics. On “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” Hand may serve as a substitute for Nick Fury as an authority figure. If Samuel L. Jackson is too busy making movies, then Coulson needs to take orders from someone else.
Hand’s early interaction with Coulson suggests that she’s one of the few who know the truth about his resurrection. Hand didn’t even react when Coulson said the control phrase about Tahiti. However (if you’ll pardon the expression), she overplayed her hand. Coulson was already growing suspicious and that may have been the moment he decided to more actively investigate what happened to him.
But a more pressing issue was Hand’s omission about the nature of Fitz and Ward’s mission. Namely that they weren’t even given an extraction plan. According to Hand, this was primarily to keep Fitz from freaking out ahead of time. However, that doesn’t excuse what she did. It looks like Skye is right. Everyone is expendable at S.H.I.E.L.D., especially the low ranking operatives.
While Skye is being set up as the heroic figure in this episode, it’s actually her reluctant partner, Simmons who shines through some of the funniest moments of the hour. Simmons’ awkward scene with Agent Sitwell really showed off Henstridge’s comedic talents. Simmons has no command of her sexuality, so her attempts to distract Sitwell by flirting with him were doomed to failure. Fortunately she had her “Night Night’ gun to knock him out.
With Simmons’ help, Skye is eventually able to hack into the Hub’s computers and locate the redacted file about her parents before choosing to focus on the status of Fitz and Ward. Naturally Coulson catches Skye in the act, but he isn’t nearly as angry with her as he should be. Perhaps because he’s already angry that Hand sent two of his teammates into a dangerous situation without even telling him that they had no extraction plan.
Putting the focus on Ward and Fitz in the field was a good way to change up the character dynamics. We haven’t gotten a Ward spotlight episode yet, so he’s still one of the least developed characters on the show. But we at least get some sense of history from Ward as he tries to utilize his contacts to get himself and Fitz across a border.
It was nice to see that both Fitz and Ward were presented as capable agents in the field, albeit in different ways. Fitz may have had something to prove to Ward and to himself, but he still showed some bravery as he dismantled the enemy superweapon and even assisted Ward in taking down one of the guards. I did get a few laughs out of Fitz’s false swagger as he tried to portray himself as a veteran agent. Subconsciously or not, Fitz is still measuring himself against Ward’s standard and he can’t live up to it. And why should he? Fitz’s mind is every bit as impressive as Ward’s physicality.
Back at the Hub, the remaining members of Coulson’s team stage their own rescue for Ward and Fitz… and it was a little bit too easy, especially after all of that buildup. But the team choose solidarity over secrecy, so this was the world’s worst bonding exercise. Effective, but deadly.
Finally, Coulson shares what he knows with Skye: she was left at an orphanage by a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who may or may not have been her mom. For a few seconds I thought Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) might be unmasked as Skye’s mom. But instead we learn that Coulson wasn’t entirely truthful with Skye. Her mother may have been murdered by a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. If so, the next question is “why?”
Overall, “The Hub” was a fun and fairly acceptable episode. Wherever “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” is going, it hasn’t gotten there yet. But I’m trusting the system… for now.
