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

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: Season 2, Episode 11 “Aftershocks” (B)

Its “Agent Carter” spinoff has finished taking over its timeslot for the first few months of the year, and now this show is back after its monumental fall finale for its first admittedly messy episode of the season. This show functioned pretty well in crisis mode for most of this season, but now it’s trying to put all the pieces back together and nothing is exactly where it should be. The only casualties were Tripp and Whitehall, both of which are extremely significant. Tripp was a very positive addition to the show, and fortunately we still have Hunter, Bobbi, and Mac around to enhance the cast. Whitehall’s death is important because of what it means for Hydra, which is having some restructuring issues of its own in the power struggle for who gets to taken over their late leader’s ruling role. Reina’s new state is not an enviable one, and it looks like she’s made a friend in the man with no eyes, who happens to have interacted with Skye’s mother. Skye has also undergone a transformation, one that only Fitz really knows about, and it’s going to be problematic going forward since she can’t control her abilities. I am still intrigued to see where this show goes from here, but I think this installment wasn’t anchored well enough to any one plotline, instead involving too many moving parts, none of which feel like they’re being given the attention they deserve. Over the next few episodes, I think this show should be able to set itself back on the right track.