Dammit, show, you fooled me.
SPOILERS AHEAD
This was a terrific episode but all anyone is going to be talking about is the final reveal that Rosalind is working for Gideon Malick/Hydra and she’s setting up Coulson in order to turn him over to Malick and Ward.
That’s a great twist, especially considering Coulson (and the audience) were starting to believe Rosalind had a heart. It’s a bummer too, because there’s genuine heat between the two characters. Is it possible that Coulson is aware of Rosalind’s duplicity and plans to turn the tables on her?
Always possible, given he’s still holding back information about the Obelisk. But it doesn’t appear likely.
In any case, betrayal is our order of the day for this episode, which centers on Andrew/Lash and May. Flashbacks show us that Andrew turned Inhuman when he was enveloped by the terrigen mists hidden in one of Skye’s mother’s journals. That’s why Andrew turned away from May after their reconciliation on Maui.
We see that reunion, too, and because we adore May, it hurts when they toast “to new beginnings.” May, now armed with the suspicion that Andrew is Lash, comes back to SHIELD headquarters and checks out Andrew’s travel plans to confirm the theory. Without telling anyone, she heads off-site to where Andrew is evaluating Joey, the Inhuman from the season 3 premiere.
Joey’s made great progress and even likes his powers now, especially as it gives him the ability to create things out of metal. Or destroy them, Andrew points out, and it’s a scene dripping with tension because we’re hoping that Andrew/Lash won’t kill Joey. It would be bad form to kill off the show’s first gay character.
No worries, as May cuts the evaluation short and confronts Andrew about Lash. May lets her guard down and is taken prisoner. When she wakes up, Andrew tries to explain it all to her. He tells her that he had to kill some of the Inhumans because they lack control over their abilities. He even throws the cavalry incident at May, the one in which she had to kill a young girl who was literally killing people with her powers.
That is a not a good thing to throw in May’s face, Andrew, and viewers can see the moment she begins to doubt the man she loves.
Meanwhile, Lincoln has also figured out Lash must be someone with S.H.I.E.L.D. and he calls Mack. Why? Because Mack and Lash fought each other earlier this season, thus proving Mack isn’t Lash. Good reasoning, kid, and this episode is the first one where I’ve liked having Lincoln around. His anger at Lash and his need for vengeance come through loud and clear.
That eventually leads to Coulson, Mack, Daisy, Rosalind and her team converging on where Andrew is holding May. Coulson wants to talk Andrew down and put him in containment. Lincoln is having one of it and attacks. In the battle that follows, Daisy saves Rosalind’s life. Rosalind seems grateful, which makes her sudden but inevitable betrayal hurt all the more later.
But it’s May who takes down Lash. She talks him down, he reverts to Andrew, and she shoots him, several times, to drive him into the containment room.
“How did you know that wouldn’t kill him?” Coulson asks.
“I didn’t,” May answers. Ouch.
May agrees to put Andrew in stasis until a cure can be found, especially since if the Inhuman change isn’t arrested, Andrew will become Lash permanently. That puts Andrew under Rosalind’s control which is certain to come into play later.
Two other couples had reconciliations that worked out much better than May and Andrew. First, Fitz is able to pull up audio and video from Simmons’ broken phone and watches her messages to him while she was stranded on the alien planet.
Once I got past the “why the heck did Simmons hold onto the phone for so long?” I was able to enjoy the feels of Fitz watching Simmons record how much she loves him and how she has faith that he’ll find her eventually. This leads to a sweet scene as they watch the sunrise together, as well as leading to a possible new plan to get back to the planet and rescue Will. Left open is the question of just who Will is, given the patch on his uniform doesn’t match any NASA patch that exists.
Hunter and Bobbi also have a heart-to-heart. Bobbi yells at Hunter for wanting vengeance above all else. “I don’t want to lose you or lose ourselves,” she tells him that she’s worried about them both turning into monsters. Perhaps this is setup for their spin-off.
Aside, I love their dynamic, especially that Bobbi is taller than Hunter, so I’ll watch the spin-off if it happens. Meanwhile, parts of the audience conclude that they’ll totally watch the spin-off if it has more scenes with Bobbi wearing a sports bra.
The episode ends with the reveal that Rosalind reports to Gideon and with Ward firmly in place as Gideon’s creature.
Best scenes of the night:
- Andrew telling Simmons that “secrets will eat you up inside,” before his identity as Lash is revealed.
- Daisy and Rosalind’s episode-long debate on whether Inhumans are inherently dangerous or not. Daisy: “Admit it, you’re afraid of people like me.” Absolutely, Rosalind replies. “For every Daisy Johnson, there’s a Lash, and it’s ignorant for you to think otherwise.”
- Fitz listening to Simmons’ recordings. “I’m scared, Fitz,” and “I’ll always be with you, Fitz,” she tells him in the recordings while talking of their lives together. Hits you right in the feels.
- When Andrew says “I’ve only killed those who deserve it,” May’s face is so full of sorrow that it hurt to watch.
This is a terrific season.
