In the 19th episode of Agents of SHIELD, we finally meet the cellist that Phil Coulson mentioned he was dating in The Avengers. Unfortunately, she, like almost everyone he knew, thinks he’s still dead. The cellist is played by longtime Whedon alum Amy Acker. The way the episode ends leaves the possibility for a return of the cellist, which I’m all for, as I think Amy Acker is super.
I was really hoping for Coulson to revealhis rebirth to his former girlfriend, if only to see just how he would pull that off. He had a few opportunities, but cold feet held him up.
The theme of this episode could be “I just called to say I love you,” except that in almost every case, the person doing the calling chickens out at the last second. Besides Coulson, Fitz finally works up the nerve to tell Simmons how he feels about her…only to chicken out at the last minute. I have to say, I’m really enjoying the Fitz-Simmons-Triplett love triangle. It’s like Ron-Hermione-Krum all over again.
But the absolute best reveal of the episode? That’s when Simmons reveals herself to be a Whovian.
Simmons wants a TARDIS.
Marvel Comics fans were given a couple of cool nods this week. First Agent Triplett reveals that he’s the grandson of a Howling Commando. I’m guessing Gabe Jones. I’m really hoping for a Captain America appearance in a future episode, with half the episode involving Cap working with Triplett and the rest of Coulson’s team in the present and the other half involving Cap working with the Howling Commandos in the past. Season 2, please?
Second, the villain of the week, Marcus Daniels, is an escapee from SHIELD jail who taps into the dark force for his power. He’s the comic book villain Blackout, a mostly small time villain who plagued the likes of Spider-Man and Ghost Rider in the 1990s. He shoots beams of pure darkness from his hands. In the show, this dark force power makes all the lights go out, stopping electrical flow, including in the human brain. He’s much creepier on the show than he is in the comics.
The dark force itself goes back decades in Marvel Comics. It was huge in the 1980s, which many villains and heroes using it as the source of their darkness based powers.
Coulson, Triplett, Fitz and Simmons save the cellist from Blackout by zapping him with Ghostbusters-esque flood lights. I was really hoping for the cellist to play some Ray Parker Jr on her instrument during this scene.
Who ya gonna call? Phil Coulson!
As for the rest of the team, Skye finds out that Ward is a traitor when she finds Patton Oswalt’s dead body inside Providence. Unfortunately for Skye, Coulson has taken most of the team on a mission, leaving her with Ward and May…and May decides to quit the team and skeedaddle right before Skye figures Ward out. Uh-oh. When Coulson returns with the crew, May is AWOL and Ward has taken Skye and the Bus in attempt to crack Skye’s location-based-encrypted hard drive. As for May, she got a ride from her mom (no, really, she did) and is hunting Maria Hill(!). It’s hard to look bad ass when your mom picks you up, but May still pulls it off.