TV REVIEW: FTN reviews Agents of SHIELD S01E16 “End of the Beginning”

Since SHIELD’s inception, many people have criticized it’s lack of consistency, both in terms of story and how it’s been scheduled on the TV. However, with “End of the Beginning”, we’re truly seeing everything that Season 1 has built come together, and we’ll see it continue right up until the end.

The hunt for the Clairvoyant kicked into high-gear in this episode. Which started off with the return of not only Agent Garrett, but a new and improved Deathlok. This was an exciting beginning to what would be an excellent episode.

Coulson called in all his chips, in this case every major SHIELD agent we’ve met so far, from Sitwell, to Blake, to Hand, and of course Agent Garrett in an attempt to stop the Clairvoyant once and for all. It was totally epic seeing these five SHIELD agents together all at once. Especially since they have only been seen once or twice the entire season. This epic “get-together” also brought some interesting information, and a promotion.

Skye is now an agent!…..this couldn’t possibly be a bad thing. I kid, it is a nice little boost to her character, especially since she’s been on the sidelines a lot recently. The real nugget was the list of people who might actually be a clairvoyant. Why is this relevant? First, it shows off how seriously SHIELD takes matters of potentially superpowered beings. Second, it shows that even though it’s never been confirmed, there is a possibility that a psychic does exist out there. And much, much, more.

It was also fun to see Coulson expand his horizons and believe a clairvoyant could exist, citing his recent encounters with Asgard as proof. With the pieces in place a plan was set in motion to catch the Clairvoyant. Yet as they say, no battle plan survives contact with the enemy, or in this case…Deathlok! Though short, the second fight with Deathlok was powerful, not only in what happened to one of the agents, but also in how Mike Peterson admitted that he wasn’t Mike Peterson anymore. The machines are really starting to take him over.

A lucky though led to what may have been the worst part of the episode, if it wasn’t for a clever twist. We met “The Clairvoyant”, a man who had been tested for psychic powers but was ignored because of a catatonic state, which was shown in full effect here. The computer voice was a nice touch, and the speech given by “The Clairvoyant” was also well done. Which lead to a few interesting bits of information, not the least of which was that it was “seen” that Skye would die giving something to “them”. And that “he” was still out there. This all lead to the first jaw-drop of the night…

Ward shot “The Clairvoyant”. Why? How could he do that? Was that really the end of the story? Thankfully, it was not. If it was, this would’ve gone down as yet another consistency error by Agents of SHIELD, to build up a villain for months then kill him off once we meet him. What we got instead was something much, much, better.

What is Clairvoyance? Is it really the ability to see the future? Or is it just the ability to know enough to predict certain possible events? And if it was the latter, how would you get such information? Did you hack systems to get it? Did you buy and sell it? Or did you just have…clearance to it. Once it went off everything started to click. The “Clairvoyant” was an Agent of Shield. This was solidified when the plane shifted course, and a certain “ally” ordered the death of the entire team…save for Coulson.

Oh, and May? Well, there’s not much to say as of yet. But now everyone knows she’s not exactly what she said she was. Loyal. Or maybe she is, but to whom?

With Deathlok and the true “Clairvoyant” still out there, allies slowly turning into foes, and one mystery after another building, this is what many expecting from Agents of Shield. With the countdown to the first season finale now on, this is going to be an adventure you’re not going to want to miss. Especially with a certain movie coming out this week…

4 out of 5 nerds