Blindspot 2x20 Review: "In Words, Drown I" (About Time) [Contributor: Jen]

"In Words, Drown I"

Original Airdate: May 3, 2017

Sorry folks! I forgot there was a new Blindspot this week. "In Words, Drown I" is high on action (Ronda Rousey, yaaaaaaaas), and is basically set-up for the final two episodes. But we also finally got moving on some of the dangling Kurt/Jane and Jane/Roman plots. About time.

Also, fair warning: I'm in a GIF-y mood.

CASE OF THE WEEK/TEAM BLINDSPOT

I'm merging sections because the Case of the Week is Team Blindspot. It turns out Zappata wasn't arrested for taking Coach Jones' murder weapon. She's going undercover!

"This operation isn't worth risking your life."

Yeah, okay Gero. You got me. Blindspot inserts a flashback that's actually necessary this time. While the team is out boozing together, Patterson's team sends her a name: Devon Penberthy (isn't that a great name?), played by UFC Champ Ronda Rousey. She's been arrested for transporting weapon across state lines for Sandstorm which means she might know what they are using them for. Initially, Jane volunteers to go undercover to the women's prison where Devon is being held, but Kurt rightly points out that she's too easily recognizable to anyone involved with Sandstorm. So Zappata steps up.

The MVP of "In Words, Drown I" is Zappata and if anything, this episode showcases the wildly talented and sadly underused Audrey Esparza. Zappata is cool, calm, and collected as she heads into the women's prison with a solid plan. Zappata defends Devon against an attack from fellow inmates by putting three women — about twice her size — down hard. Yup, that'll break the ice. Devon eventually reveals that her boyfriend is Parker, the rising-up-the-ranks Sandstorm operative (now that Roman and Borden are gone). Capturing him would be a major break in the case.

Zappata is 100% done with playing defense and goes on offense to beat Sandstorm. I'm really fed up with Team Blindspot always losing and it's nice to see Zappata is too. She decides the only way Devon will lead them to Parker is to break her out of prison. Kurt is wildly frustrating most of the episode, basically coddling his seasoned FBI operative instead of letting her do her job. His concern is sweet, but also a little sexist and a lot annoying. Zappata agrees and orders Kurt to back her play or she's doing it alone. Well.. since she put it that way.

It leads to a pretty fun and action-filled prison break scene, which puts Ronda Rousey to good use. Lots of scenes with her kicking butt, but not a lot of dialogue. Unfortunately, Team Sandstorm is well-briefed on everyone on Team Blindspot. Once Zappata comes face-to-face with Parker, he recognizes her immediately. Devon and Parker kidnap Zappata in an attempt to trade her for Weller.
They strap her to a pressure activated bomb.

It's Kurt and Jane to the rescue, of course, and leads to a hilarious exchange between Kurt and Zappata as Weller tries to use a refrigerator to free Zappata from the pressure-sensitive bomb.

Zappata: You think I weigh as much as a fridge? 

Weller: You see a mini fridge around here? It’ll do.

Zappata strapped to a bomb and still annoyed Kurt correlates her weight to a fridge is why she is my spirit animal this episode. The fridge works, naturally, and Zappata admits, "Okay. I guess I do weigh as much as a fridge." USE AUDREY ESPARAZA MORE, BLINDSPOT. PLEASE.

It finally leads to Jane and Devon facing off — which is the Ronda Rousey versus Jamie Alexander fight Blindspot promoted. Listen, I love you Jamie and I absolutely understand it's your show and Jane is going to win, but we all know the truth. Ronda could put you on the ground while she did her nails.

Parker is a trained Sandstorm operative, so not shockingly, he doesn't just spill the beans because Kurt asks. Zappata — having just been strapped to a bomb — is understandably irritated. She wants five minutes in the room with the guy and the ever noble Kurt reminds her they play by their rules, not Sandstorm's. Zappata isn't interested. She informs Kurt, just in case he missed it, that they are getting their butts handed to them every week because Sandstorm doesn't play by the rules.

I mean... she's not wrong.

Kurt holds the moral line and Zappata storms off to vent to Reade (yeah!). Zappata has a history of breaking the rules when necessary and it seems like this won't be any different. She's not prepared to play it the FBI's way, which is equally concerning and entertaining. I'm game.

ROMAN AND JANE

Runner-up MVP is Roman because he flat-out asks Jane when she's going to tell Weller about Roman killing Emma Shaw — Taylor Shaw's mother. YEAH, JANE. WHEN ARE YOU?

Jane does the same song and dance about Weller needing time, she's protecting Roman, Kurt worked so hard to get Roman out of prison... blah blah blah. To which Roman responds: "Which is why we owe him the truth."

I'm keeping Roman.

The scene in which Kurt confronts Roman is pretty emotionally charged. It's hard to not feel bad for both men. Roman isn't the same man who killed Emma Shaw and Kurt is reeling from grief. Also, Roman can bench a serious amount of weight plus Kurt Weller. Is it warm in here? Roman says sorry. Kurt tells him to eat it, and that's where we land folks. The bromance is on a pause. The even bigger development is that Roman has one of his extremely convenient memory recalls and remembers Jane is the one who zipped his memories. It doesn't go well. We end the episode with Roman swinging a knife at Jane.

Well... next week should be fun!

KURT AND JANE

Jane finally coughs up the truth to Weller.

This dangling plot is one of the most repetitive, unnecessary, and silliest parts of Blindspot's second half of the season and I was beyond done with it. It just makes Jane look BAD and gives her zero character growth because she's literally repeating the same behavior as season one — which ripped her relationship with Kurt apart.

The scene, however, in which Kurt is told the truth is more emotionally charged than I expected. Kudos to Sullivan Stapleton. The look in Kurt's eyes when Jane revealed she knew this information several weeks ago was heartbreaking. I didn't know Kurt's eyes could well with tears that fast. Kurt so desperately wants to trust Jane. He desperately wants to be with her. Yet every time she does something like this, she chips away at the hard-fought foundation these two characters established, and that is the beating heart of the freaking show.

So can we just NOT do this anymore? I'm over the lying plots, Blindspot. Time to find a new theme.

The good news is that Kurt manages to hold on to the lessons he's learned this year. His anger is justified, but he also recognizes that Jane never does anything without a good intention. Before they head in to save Tasha, Weller asks Jane to be his second in command because: "You’re the only one I trust out there." So, we're not throwing the baby out with the bath water this time around, which is something.

The single best part of Kurt Weller is his compassion. Blindspot hardened him this year in regards to Jane. Between that and Jane's lying, neither character has been particularly likable this season. That is wildly problematic when you're two main protagonists aren't all that much fun to watch. We're headed toward the final two episodes, so it's time to kick it up a notch, Blindspot. I would have liked to have seen a little more softening on Kurt's part in the locker room scene. I also need Jane's apologies to be a lot less about HER and a lot more about the pain she inflicted on Kurt.

The upside is this episode did do a nice job of setting the stage for that softening and eventual reunion. I don't like to make demands on stories, but Blindspot needs to follow through on these two. Jeller fans have done our waiting.

Stray Thoughts:

• Patterson is having some trust issues. And by trust issues I mean slamming a tech up against the wall for screwing up.
• Kurt said Jane compromised the mission because they could have been following up on Emma’s case and the cover-up. That... is an extremely good point. I never thought about that.
• "No no no. This is not ideal!" Said everyone about every Blindspot mission ever.
• "Can anyone really talk to Weller besides Jane?" Accurate statement is accurate, Zappata.

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Supergirl 2x20 Review: "City of Lost Children" (Episode of Lost Characters) [Contributor: Deborah MacArthur]

"City of Lost Children”

Original Airdate: May 8, 2017 

When I read the synopsis of this episode I was genuinely amazed to see the words “Guardian” and “James” mentioned. Like, at all. Do you know what the last episode was to have James in a large enough role to warrant mention in the pre-episode synopsis? Episode 10 of this season, when he was first getting into his role as Guardian and wanted to come clean to Kara about being a vigilante. James Olsen hasn’t had his own plot — even a minor one — in ten episodes, and I’m willing to bet that the handful of appearances he did make during that run probably averaged about five minutes per episode.

As a character, James has gone from lead romantic interest to barely a character at all. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a character more thoroughly demoted than James Olsen has been on Supergirl, which makes me wonder what drama occurred behind the scenes. Because you don’t throw out a whole character and his entire established friendship with the protagonist like this on a writing whim.

This week, “City of Lost Children” tries to correct some of the sidelining the show’s been doing to James by giving him stuff to do and a pivotal role in the episode’s main story. But is it a quality effort?

Eh, not really.

JAMES OLSEN AS "SIR FINALLY-APPEARING-IN-THIS-SHOW"

Apparently people in National City are terrified of Guardian now, even though he was so popular that Kara got jealous of him back when she didn’t know he was James. After Guardian saves a lady being attacked, she immediately turns against him and starts begging for her life. James repeatedly tries to tell her that he’s a hero and she doesn’t have to be afraid (which he shouldn’t have to do because — I reiterate — Guardian has been around for months and should be well-known) but she runs off screaming. James is sad.

He expresses his concerns to Winn while they’re out walking in the rain through a park festival. The superheroing business just doesn’t seem very welcoming to him anymore. People fear him. He can’t connect with anyone the way Supergirl and Superman get to connect with the people they save, because James has to wear an intimidating mask and talk in a stupid Batman voice or else people might recognize him. If only the magic glasses that prevent Kara and Clark from being recognized worked on regular humans, then James could slap on a pair of spectacles and rescue to his heart’s content while smiling reassuringly.

Winn gives James some half-hearted encouragement, then the plot comes along in the form of a floating lady with purple eyes, who telekinetically destroys everything around them. James, because heroism does come naturally to him, saves a couple from getting smashed by a flower cart. They don’t thank him. The people in this city are rude. When Purple Eyes brain-waves a car toward a building, Supergirl shows up to stop the flying vehicle. Without confirming that the chaos and danger has ended, the people in the park stop to applaud Supergirl catching a car. Luckily, Purple Eyes has stopped her attack at this point and disappeared, but still. What is wrong with the denizens of National City? Is there something in the water that makes them goofy and awful? Does the DEO need to check into this?

Speaking of the DEO: back at headquarters, we’re informed that the alien species Purple Eyes belongs to is called the Phorian, a normally peaceful race of psychic aliens who would not be attacking National City under any normal circumstances. J’onn rejects James’s request to investigate the Phorian as Guardian, but James lucks into a lead when he stops an alien drug deal and, coincidentally, the alien buying some weed happens to know where the Phorian lady lives.

At the address, James sees no Lady but does find a kid named Marcus, the woman’s son. Marcus doesn’t talk to anyone, even when James takes him back to the DEO and Alex tries to entice him with hamburgers. But then they notice that he seems to be staring at James through the wall and get the idea that maybe James will be the one to get through to him. James gets to play caretaker for the day.

Thus begins the show’s half-hearted attempt to give James a story arc through his interaction with Marcus, jumping off from the “everyone is afraid of me and I’m not making any connections with the people I save” start of the episode and ending with James finally getting Marcus to talk, connecting over the shared loss of their fathers, and snapping Marcus out of the purple-eyed trance he and his people go through whenever their psychic powers are activated.

Disappointingly, “City of Lost Children” would be a pretty good storyline for James if everything they used to establish the slump he has fallen into hadn’t simply been told to us in this episode, not shown over the course of the season. Because the show has spent all season ignoring the existence of James and his identity as Guardian, everything about his character in this episode comes out of nowhere and the resolution is unimpressive as a result. Suddenly learning that a character has problems and then solving those problems, all in the same episode, is not a very exciting arc.

RHEA AND LENA AND BETRAYAL, OH MY!

But what was causing the Phorian telekinetic trances, exactly? It turns out that it was the transporter device Rhea had roped Lena into helping her develop last episode, which sends the Phorians into their destructive psychic states whenever activated. Not that Lena knows her device is hurting people. Even Rhea probably doesn’t know the machine is affecting anyone, but I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t care if she did.

Once Winn and the other nerds at the DEO figure out that an atmospheric change is causing the Phorian episodes (though they don’t realize that the atmospheric change is caused by the Lena and Rhea transporter) they come up with a machine that can dampen the effects and then get Marcus to lead James and Winn to his mother. To their surprise, it’s not just the mother hiding out — at least a dozen Phorians are with her, which is far more than what the DEO machine can cover, and this is where James’s connection with Marcus saves the day and proves he’s a true hero.

In contrast, at the same moment James is learning he’s a hero, Lena is learning that her new friend is a villain. Just like pretty much everything surrounding Lena, her mentee/mentor relationship with Rhea — who offers her true, encouraging advice about her intelligence and how she shouldn’t live in Lex’s shadow — is heartbreaking to watch unfold and then unravel. Lena seems to be someone who genuinely wants to change the world not because it’s a way to gain power or glory, but because changing the world is the right thing to do. We learned in the episode with her ex-boyfriend that she once worked on curing cancer, and this episode we hear that her priorities for the transporter device are all about solving hunger and water crises and ending human suffering.

Then Rhea betrays Lena, knocks her out, and uses the transporter to let hundreds of Daxam ships into Earth’s atmosphere. I’m just saying, if Lena does turn evil it’s probably going to be because of all these trust issues she’s developed.

Other Things:

• The Kara/Lena lunch at the beginning just made me wish those two could have a whole episode of adventures together.
• Even in the episode that’s supposed to pull him back into the main plot, James still has only one scene with Kara. Nice job, show.
• Rhea says something to Kara that’s like something Mon-El has said to her (about Kara’s ego and a need to be the hero just to feel adored) and for a moment I thought the show was self-aware regarding the questionable goodness of the Mon-El character. Alas, no.
• I can’t even tell you how much I wish Mon-El had shot his mother when he had the chance. It would have made him and his role on the show so much more interesting if he was the sort of person who would shoot his evil mom to save Earth/Kara.
• J’onn J’onzz calling the Danvers sisters his family is something I need more of.
• CAT GRANT IS COMING BAAACK!

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The Flash 2x20 Review: "Rupture" (Plan for the Worst) [Contributor: Deborah MacArthur]

“Rupture”

Original Airdate: May 3, 2016

Who’s ready for some fun The Flash shenanigans! Haha, just kidding — this show hasn’t had shenanigans in weeks. It’s hard to shenanigan when Zoom is hanging around, since the guy’s real superpower isn’t super speed, it’s being a huge buzzkill. Harrison Wells is a pretty big buzzkill, too, come to think of it... And Barry hasn’t exactly been a barrel of laughs recently, either. Caitlin’s sad all the time, and Cisco’s wonderful quips have been reduced significantly. You know what? Let’s just retitle the show The Buzzkills.

This week on The Buzzkills, Barry and the team are still trying to stop Zoom, and Barry is debating on whether or not he wants to let Harry recreate the particle accelerator explosion on him (around him?) so he could, maybe, get his Speed Force powers back. Cisco is checking up on his brother, whom I forgot existed, and his storyline seems like it was mostly included for character development. Which is fine because I’m A-okay with more Cisco screentime.

In the grand scheme of things, “Rupture” was a pretty great episode that did a lot to set up what’s to come. It took the dark turn of season two and ran with it (pun totally intended), creating a lot of intriguing questions that will be answered as the season concludes, and without sacrificing the intelligence of its characters (unlike some OTHER recent episodes). It even made Zoom more threatening than he was before, which is really saying something for a former serial killer turned superpowered serial killer bent on conquering the multiverse.

(Also: sigh, no, I won’t be calling the show The Buzzkills throughout the whole review. Because, in the end, I am just as much a buzzkill as any of these characters.)

THE RAMON BROTHERS

At first, I thought that Cisco’s storyline — he gets a vibe of who he thinks is his brother, Dante, and then gets attacked by Dante’s Earth-2 doppelganger — was going to be the equivalent of the “metahuman of the week” plot, and I was really disappointed. The Flash occasionally makes the mistake of throwing unnecessary metahuman trouble into the mix, when — especially in episodes that should be focused on the season arc — splitting up screentime is the last thing they need to do. So I was pleased when Cisco’s storyline was woven into the Zoom A-plot pretty seamlessly.

The Earth-2 version of Dante Ramon ("Rupture" — hey, title drop!) is working for Zoom but wants to kill Cisco as a side project, because he thinks Cisco killed Earth-2 Cisco. Team Flash decides to focus on trying to stop this much-more-stoppable-than-Zoom adversary, working under the idea that removing some of Zoom’s players might help to “weaken” his assault on Central City/Earth-1. They’re very wrong about this.

Oh, sure, they stop Rupture just fine by using a hologram of the Flash and some good timing from the CCPD. But Zoom is actually perfectly okay with disposing of his failed subordinates and kills Rupture himself. The sight of seeing his brother get murdered — regardless of whether he’s actually an evil double from a parallel world — freaks Cisco out so much that he declares that he wants to get to know Dante again. The scene where the two Ramon brothers hug is touching; surprisingly so, since we as an audience have such little investment in Dante as a character. Carlos Valdes sells it, though.

THE ZOOM PROBLEM CONTINUES

Everyone wants to stop Zoom. That’s a pretty unanimous decision that becomes even more unanimous when Zoom takes over CCPD and declares the city his, making the already pressing matter of “stopping Zoom” even more pressing. The problem, though, is that Team Flash is without their star player and has resorted to a very clever hologram ruse to keep people around Central City thinking the Flash is still protecting them. Correctly, the team thinks that keeping the hope of the city alive is incredibly important. A city that thinks it’s still under the protection of its very own superhero is one that’s not panicking, and a city that’s not panicking is one that can be kept safe.

Zoom is not a fan of this whole “keep hope alive” idea. He’s also not a fan of clever holograms, or metahumans failing to accomplish the goals he sets out for them, or Caitlin (still being held captive by the evilly enamored Hunter Zolomon) surreptitiously texting Rupture’s attack location to her friends so they can plan a defense. Legitimately crazy and angry, and generally not a guy anyone wants to make angry, Zoom reacts exactly how you’d think a former serial killer and current supervillain would react: he kills a bunch of people.

The scene in which Zoom super-speeds around and snaps the necks of every reporter and Central City police officer in residence (except for Captain Singh, who is spared to deliver Zoom’s threat, and Joe, who is spared because Caitlin likes him) might be the most chilling thing that The Flash has ever put on screen. Honestly, the way it’s done — with Zoom zipping around and heads turning, followed by a pause... and all the bodies falling to the floor — is something more in line with a horror movie than the fun, lighthearted show this started out as.

I know I complain a lot about how dark The Flash has gotten, but this is not one of those complaints. It works to elevate Zoom as a villain and push the heroes into the desperation they need to be in for the final episodes. In the short term, it works to motivate Barry into making the decision he needs to make. Unlike darkness for the sake of darkness, it’s a critical element to telling the story the show wants to tell.

PARTICLE ACCELERATOR EXPLOSION PART II: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

After Zoom proves that tricks and cleverness can’t be the way to take him down, Barry finally agrees to step into Harry’s newly made particle accelerator and try his whole “re-create the explosion” plan. It’s a pretty huge decision, as Iris said earlier in the episode (in a scene that was TERRIFIC because Candice Patton is just fantastic at emotional acting and because the show made the clever decision of having Iris confess her feelings for Barry, rather than the — more customary, for shows like this one — reverse), and Barry only makes it because he thinks he has no other choice. Which he really doesn’t.

Harrison Wells is absolutely sure that his plan will work. He’s made all the calculations, prepared all the chemicals and evaluated all the possible outcomes. Cisco’s job is to recreate the lightning. Harry says he’ll handle the rest. He assures everyone that there’s no way this contained particle accelerator explosion could go wrong.

... Eh, well. The best laid plans of mice and overconfident scientists often go awry.

Barry is disintegrated. Like, literally we see his tear-stained face turn to dust in the blast, and everyone is horrified when the particle accelerator (NOT contained, by the way — the blast hits Jesse and Wally, running through the S.T.A.R. Labs halls, and I wonder what the result of that will be...) winds down and Barry is gone. Zoom shows up to gloat, of course.

Harry's cocky, happy arrogance early on in the episode, contrasted with his bewilderment and sadness when he sees what he's inadvertently done? Thumbs up. In fact, thumbs up for everyone's reactions at the end: unshed tears in Joe's eyes, Henry genuinely collapsing in despair, Iris absolutely sobbing, Cisco's confusion and shock... It was all WONDERFUL. Yes, we know that Barry isn't really dead, yes we know they're going to find a way to bring him back — but it doesn't matter that WE know that. It matters that the characters think Barry's death is real, and that we believe in their loss and their hopelessness.

When shows attempt a storyline like this, they assume a suspension of disbelief in their audience and we, as an audience, have to assume they're neither trying to trick us nor think we're stupid. Part of storytelling is understanding when to let the fictional universe live on its own. With good actors — which The Flash certainly has — it's possible to kill off your main character and, through the characters left behind, convey the drama necessary to push the story forward. We feel for what's happening on screen, in the "reality" of that universe, without the logic of OUR reality (in which a TV show does not kill off its titular character) getting in the way. It’s hard to get right, but (in my opinion) this episode manages it well.

So, that was fun! Next time, we have an episode called "The Runaway Dinosaur," which has definitely earned a place in my list of Favorite The Flash Episode Titles.

BARRY ALLEN PUPPY GIF OF THE EPISODE:

NERVOUS FIDGETING PUPPY

Other Things:

• I really liked the hologram idea. It's such a clever solution to the whole "the hero is gone, but we have to keep up appearances" problem that these sorts of shows inevitably run into, and it's so quintessentially Team Flash — so quintessentially Cisco, actually — that I found it immediately charming.
• I love that Iris acted as Barry's mime interpreter. Like, how aces would that team be on the Team Flash Charades Night?
• Kudos to Tom Cavanagh for his "I have your Wells's data..." speech, because that sounded like a lot of technobabble for the guy to get through. Also, it was some of the rare lines he gets to say above a whisper.
• "Garrick?" "Garrick, yeah, why?" "My mom's maiden name." And then Barry just ignores the fact that he could possibly be related to Jay Garrick. What?
• "I'm sure there's something out there that will satisfy your need for speed and helping people." Ha!
• Grant Gustin's "nervous, slightly nauseated fidgeting" acting is top notch.
• I can't put my finger on why, but I find Teddy Sears to be a much more interesting actor when he's playing Zoom/Hunter Zolomon than I did when he was playing Jay Garrick. There is just something appealing about the casually unhinged way he plays the villain.
• I think I ship Wally and Jesse. Are they around the same age? Eh, who cares. Shipping it.
• "You must have me mixed up with somebody else, Inigo." Sometimes I can't even handle how perfect some of the line readings are on this show. The Flash is full of AMAZING talent.
• “Ramon, do you have the wand?” “The one I made for Mark Martin?” “No, the one you built for the Harry Potter convention — yes, the of course, the one you built for Martin!” “How do you know about that Harry Potter convention?”
• Cisco yells “Expecto Patronum!” when he generates lightning for the particle accelerator and basically, he’s the best. He’s the actual best.

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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 2x20 "Scars" [Contributor: Alice Walker]

"Scars"

Original Airdate: May 5, 2015

It all comes down to control, in the end. For generations people have been trying to control... everything. Other people, natural elements, the world. It's a way of feeling powerful, but more than that, it's a way to not feel scared. We want to feel like we're in charge of our destiny. That our actions matter, our impact matters.  We get up every morning thinking we are in charge of our own fate, until the universe decides otherwise.

The need for control is everywhere this week on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as everyone scrambles for footing in a world that's becoming more and more unstable. Suddenly HYDRA isn't the only enemy; they've now got aliens to deal with. Aliens of unknown origin and strength, numbers and powers. We're thrust fully into the world on Inhumans (said, I believe for this first time in this week's episode after much fuss over powered people) and everyone in S.H.I.E.L.D. is trying to control what happens next.

Coulson certainly is fighting for control. His solution to S.H.I.E.L.D. 2.0's coup is a simple one, and proves why he was such a successful agent. He diplomatically agrees to have a council watch over him, help keep is power in check. But is he in control of himself? He'd like to think so, but that's the thing about being taken over by aliens -- you can never be too sure. His resurrection has been sidelined lately with all of the Inhuman action going on, but that's the question we continually return to with Coulson.

Mack has that same question and leaves the company he has dedicated his life to because he fears Coulson doesn't have control. Mack has seen firsthand what aliens can do, and he's honest enough to admit that he needs to stay away. When Coulson claims to have never lost control (his biggest fear? I'd put money on it) Mack simply responds with, "Skye is living proof that you did." Oh Mack, I'll miss you. I'll miss your big arms and your big feelings. Come back any time.

Raina is looking for a little control herself, leaning into her powers and letting herself embrace the new her. She might be less beautiful, there may be thorns on her skin but her core is the same. She needs power; she needs to control others. It appeared, for a moment there, that Gordon was her ally, but these people aren't so easily fooled and Jiaying has been running things for a while now. What do you do with someone who can tell the future, but can never give anyone an honest answer? Raina may just find that out.

While everyone else struggles with keeping their footing, Skye is busy walking a fine line between worlds. This story has always been about Skye: her identity, the quest for her family. She's picked up each with S.H.I.E.L.D. and now found her own with the Inhumans and it's time for her to make some hard choices. Her interaction with May (who, for all intents and purposes has served as a mother figure to Coulson's fatherly one) as she revealed the truth about Bahrain was heartbreaking. May's face was shocked and frozen, then angry. Everyone wants Skye to choose a side, but most assume she will side with the Inhumans. She seems to think so too, though I am not so sure. Something tells me she won't be giving up her badge, especially as she learns more about what her mother has done.

Skye might be trying to play both sides, but Lincoln knows how dangerous him being there is. His alarm at being in S.H.I.E.L.D. was telling for how the Inhumans refer to agents, and I just do not think it is a coincidence they shot a close-up on Simmons as he woke, searching for danger. Is she the new big bad? We've entered into a whole world of grey here.

The danger that Lincoln so feared brought itself right to the doorstep of the afterlife, as Gonzalez searches for the order of the Index. He wants to control the unknown by putting them on a list, writing down their names and information while tracking their behavior and making sure all is proper. Alphabetization - that's control. Information is power and Gonzalez wants all of it. Is he wrong? His speech seems innocent enough, but we all remember what HYRDA did with the Index, how quickly that power can turn against you.

Skye's parents exert their control in their own ways, both to protect their Daisy. Cal, for once, can protect his family by turning himself in. Jiaying can protect her family by... starting a war. I'll admit I was nervous throughout her entire scene with Gonzalez. I was tense, waiting for him to pull out a gun or weapon and kill her, maybe as Skye watched. When she showed her hand, when she revealed how far she was willing to go to protect her people, I was surprised. I didn't picture her ever being the one to kill him, though in retrospect I should have seen it coming. She has seen firsthand what organizations like S.H.I.E.L.D. can do, and she is not impressed. It's funny, having Skye's dad be the bad guy was an easy sell, but seeing her mother in that same light it harder to believe. Jiaying is a force and she needs to remain in control.

It looks like she'll go to war for it.

Assorted thoughts:

• In an anti-climactic turn, Theta Protocol turned out to be the helicarrier. Well okay then.
• I covet Agent Koening's sock collection, hard.
• Coulson prevented Ultron from killing everyone? 
• Did anyone else think the alien rock was the plutonium from season 1? 
• I'll admit I didn't see the face/off play coming. Ward and Kara continue their master plan of overcoming their identity crises, but I'm not ready to get off the Ward train yet.
• Even kidnapped Bobbi's hair is flawless.  
• Seriously what did Bobbi do to get HYDRA to trust her? That's a flashback I want to see. 

Noteable Quotables:

• Cal: "This power that she has, it lets her control you." 
• Lincoln: "The indexing? They just asked a lot of questions. I'm sure you guys already have my blood from when I was out, right?" 
• Coulson: "It's protocol." 
• Lincoln: "HYDRA said the same thing."
• Coulson: "I think we've been spending too much time together."
• Skye: "Our ancient ancestors called themselves Inhumans and we just want to be left alone."

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