Aftershocks Review

So Coulson managed to trick Hydra into decapitating itself. All he had to do was trick Bakshi into thinking Hydra agents had kidnapped him in order to get to other higher-ups. I find it interesting how there was already a protocol in place to kill the Hydra leadership using their assistants. Only in an evil organization do you have a plan for half of the leadership to kill the other half. This operation would probably have had more gravitas for the audience if we had been introduced to these characters earlier. Instead, they we only met them at the beginning of this episode, leaving us little time see what their actual role is in the organization.

Jemma is certainly not helping Skye feel comfortable with her new powers. In the last episode, Cal told Skye that nobody would accept her after she changed and that she would be forced to come back to him for her own safety. Now, Jemma is talking about how superpowers are a plague and Raina should be put down. We clearly saw Skye overhear the conversation about Raina, which was a direct factor in be hesitant to reveal what happened. Fitz, on the other hand, seems to understand what she's going through, and is helping to cover up her abilities until she's more comfortable with them. Of course, we saw from the trailer that she's not going to be able to hide them for long. I suspect that when Coulson finds out, he's going to be upset that Skye didn't trust him enough to reveal what really happened to her.

Cal has revealed his plan to target Coulson for revenge using a team of superhumans. According to the synopsis, this is going to happen in next week's episode, so for now, it's just foreshadowing. The only motivation for his actions we've seen so far for Cal's actions have been wanting to be a father to Skye and  Coulson stealing his revenge. We know he has anger issues, so the revenge-stealing is probably a pretty big factor. However, I think he's also jealous of the fact that Coulson has been more or less Skye's surrogate father for the past season and a half.

I'm rather curious to see what was in Fury's "toolbox". Whatever was in there seemed to be able to help Coulson revive SHIELD. My personal guess is that it's some sort of hard drive filled with data that Fury kept from the rest of SHIELD. He may even have inherited it from Peggy Carter. It's probably got stuff like locations of all SHIELD facilities, any technology so advanced that it was just buried rather than disassembled, alien races they've had contact with, moles SHIELD has in other organizations, and other extremely sensitive data. I'm also rather curious to who wants to get their hands on it. If Bobbi and Mack really are Hydra, then chances are they already have at least some of the data. So it's possible they're working for another intelligence agency, like the CIA, MI6, or maybe even SWORD.

I was actually under the impression that SHIELD actually knew how terrigenesis worked. However, the fact that they think that Skye actually contagious seems to suggest otherwise. The only people who area affected by the mist are those of inhuman ancestry. The only was someone else on the team could have been affected is if Skye still had some of the gas on her. In that case, all they would have had to do is run her through a decontamination shower and burn her clothes. Instead, they're keeping her in quarantine like she has some sort of virus. I guess I must have gotten mixed up as to who explained what to who. Cal explained at least some of the process to Whitehall, but I guess I thought SHIELD had access to the same information.

Aftershocks Sneak Peek 2

IGN has got a clip from tomorrow's episode of Agents of SHIELD.

Aftershocks Sneak Peek

ABC has released a clip from the mid-season premiere of Agents of SHIELD, due this Tuesday.

Aftershocks Promo Pics

Marvel has released 18 images from March 3's episode of Agents of SHIELD.

Aftershocks Synopsis

Marvel has released the synopsis and cast details for the mid-season premire of Agents of SHIELD, due on March 3 at 9/8c.

After discovering an alien city with ties to his resurrection, Coulson and his team destroyed it before the forces of Hydra could claim its secrets, eliminating the villainous Whitehall (Reed Diamond) in the process. But new threats to the world have arisen, including Skye's father, Cal (Kyle McLachlan), who now seeks retribution against Coulson for stealing his revenge against Whitehall; a disturbing alliance between former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Ward (Brett Dalton) and Agent 33; the enigmatic Raina (Ruth Negga), who struggles with her transformation into something inhuman by the alien Obelisk and seeks vengeance; and Skye (Chloe Bennet), who developed mysterious new powers from the Obelisk but whose lack of experience with her new abilities may threaten the safety of those she loves.

Meanwhile, Bobbi (Adrianne Palicki) and Mack (Henry Simmons) begin the next phase of a plan which seems to have grave repercussions for Coulson and his team, who are unaware that there's another mysterious force moving against them. And as Hunter (Nick Blood) is forced to make the biggest choice of his life, Coulson will find his mission threatened by this shocking endgame.

In the midseason premiere, "Aftershocks," Coulson's team must deal with the consequences of their war with Hydra as shocking revelations threaten to tear them apart, and Hydra makes a dangerous move that may involve a traitor in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s midst.

"Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." stars Clark Gregg as Director Phil Coulson, Ming-Na Wen as Agent Melinda May, Brett Dalton as Grant Ward, Chloe Bennet as Agent Skye, Iain De Caestecker as Agent Leo Fitz, Elizabeth Henstridge as Agent Jemma Simmons, Nick Blood as Lance Hunter and Adrianne Palicki as Bobbi Morse.

Guest starring are Henry Simmons as Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie, Ruth Negga as Raina, Adrian Pasdar as Brigadier General Glenn Talbot, Henry Goodman as Dr. Levy, Kyle Maclachlan as The Doctor, Jamie Harris as Gordon, Simon Kassianides as Sunil Bakshi, Donzaleigh Abernathy as Trip's mom, Philip Labes as young Gordon, Dichen Lachman as Jiaying, Alvin Ing as Yat-Sen, Fred Dryer as Octavian Bloom, Kathryn Leigh-Scott as The Baroness, Joel Polis as The Banker, Kyle David Pierce as accountant, Maz Siam as The Sheikh, McKay Stewart as scientist #1 and David A. Jansen as agent.