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

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: Season 2, Episode 19 “The Dirty Half Dozen” (B)

It is undeniably fun to see the team back together again, especially with the new twist of everyone hating Ward and one of them actively trying to kill them. Ward’s apology to the team seemed sincere, sprinkled with passive-aggressive threats from them during it, and I could have seen him sticking around to rejoin them again on a full-time basis. Instead, he opted to disappear to preserve his own well-being, and left Agent 33 to be accepted back into the fold, something about which she will not be excited. Reina having a vision of Skye saving the day was useful, and it looks like S.H.I.E.L.D, finally unified thanks to Gonzales leaving group decisions to a vote, has struck a decisive blow to Hydra. Escaping in what looked like debris was clever, and Simmons holding her disintegrating bomb to use it against Ward came in very handy to take out Dr. Bakshi, whose compliance wasn’t serving anyone well at that point. I had forgotten this show’s enduring loyalty to the film franchise that created its main character, and therefore ending the episode with an appearance by Cobie Smulders’ Maria Hill and an important reminder to go see the new Avengers movie was fitting. I guess that means I need to make time for “Avengers: Age of Ultron” one night next week before I watch next week’s episode. I hope that this show can still sustain itself and not feel like it needs to be considered TV leftovers of a far more exciting film series.