What I’m Watching: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: Season 2, Episode 7 “The Writing on the Wall” (B)

Whatever I might say about this show, there is an awful lot going on and it’s not an easy thing to manage. We didn’t see Dr. Whitehall or Skye’s father or General Talbot in this hour, and yet quite a lot of ground was covered. An old plotline was also unearthed, as T.A.H.I.T.I. suddenly reemerged and showed a side just as dark as that first time that we saw Coulson with his brain exposed begging to die. The focus on the other revived agents brought two notable sci-fi guest stars, Brian Van Holt and Joel Gretsch. Holt, who just wrapped a recurring stint on FX’s unfortunately cancelled “The Bridge” and appeared a while ago in one of the best sci-fi shows I’ve seen, “Threshold,” was the vicious carver who went around torturing his former colleagues. Gretsch, who was on “The 4400,” a show I haven’t actually watched, and played a priest on “V,” didn’t have nearly as much to do as the family man who couldn’t remember his past and pretty much walked away from the spy life when given the opportunity to return. The home team really has grown in a positive way, with enough people around both not to know anything about T.A.H.I.T.I. and to be able to tail Ward without him recognizing them. That didn’t work out too well, of course, but at least it’s good to see that Ward is being put to good use as a formidable nemesis for S.H.I.E.L.D. who seems to be more interested in exacting revenge on those who have recently wronged him than with aligning himself with Hydra.