Big things happen in the fifth episode of Agents of SHIELD. Centipede returns! Skye’s loyalty is seriously questioned!
Centipede has returned! You knew it was only a matter of time. Centipede not only returns, it also makes substantial progress in its Extremis-based super serum. Debbie, the Centipede scientist from the pilot episode is here in this episode. She definitely comes across as being lower in rank in Centipede than I originally thought, and I don’t think we’ll be seeing her character again in the future. Being engulfed in flames with do that to you.
“Okay, fine! You don’t have to call me Scorch!”
We’re introduced to two new important Centipede members this episode. Ruth Negga plays Raina, the episode’s titular character, the girl in the flower dress. Seriously, that’s all she ever wears. She seems to have gotten a bulk discount on the same dress in different colors. Raina definitely exhibits sociopathic tendencies in her emotionless handling of Scorch and Debbie. In the scene after the credits, Raina meets with a jailed Centipede member. At first it seemed like he was a higher up, but by the way Raina was talking to him, I get the feeling is mid-level at best. I don’t expect him to be in jail for long.
Someone likes floral prints.
Skye’s loyalty is called into question this episode, and for good reason. She lets a fellow Rising Tide hacker friend know that SHIELD is coming for him. She’s then caught in a compromising position by SHIELD in his apartment. Her betrayal hits both Coulson and Ward very hard. It’s hard to tell who it hits harder. Coulson gave her a fresh start by inviting her into SHIELD, despite Ward and May telling him it was a bad idea. And while Ward didn’t originally like or trust Skye, that’s definitely changed over the course of the season, with the two of them spending their downtime together playing Battleship at the beginning of this episode.
Battleship? Really, Coulson? Such a high tech plane and you couldn’t get some Catan or Ticket to Ride up in there?
There was no cameo by Nick Fury, Maria Hill or any of the Avengers this week, but viewers were presented with a just under a full two minutes of Skye in her bra and panties. I was surprised by how long she was shirtless in this scene. But if your goal is get people to keep their eyes on the screen and get returning views on Hulu and abc.com, this is one way to do it. Showing a bit of gender equality, Miles, Skye’s hacker friend/fuck buddy is shirtless for this entire scene as well. Random thought: Bearded Austin Nichols looks a lot like bearded Henry Cavill.
The special effects in this episode were top notch. I think the production values here were the highest they’ve been so far this season. With ABC now signed on for a full season, maybe the budget will be increased. If so, I expect the show’s effects will continue to improve.
What I really liked about this episode is that we’re shown that there are people out there with powers who SHIELD is keeping track of. It’s not all just weird artifacts and the Avengers.
The SHIELD agents are getting a week off next week. There’s no new episode until November 5th. Looks like I’m watching Brooklyn 99 live this coming week.