TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Agents of Shield Season 02 Episode 12: One of Us

This was a really curious episode of Agents of Shield, one that delivered some unexpected twists. And yet didn’t pay off in some ways.

Much of the episode was dedicated to Skye and her Inhuman abilities. Which was great, as it forced Coulson, May, and the others to take stock into what was going on, and how they were going to deal with it. Showing how members of “The Index” were tested to see how they would be handled was a great touch. Not the least of which was going to May’s ex-husband for the psych eval for Skye.

It was great seeing May in such a different light. Too often she’s seen as “The Calvary” and nothing more. Here she was…May, and it was great. Also great was seeing Skye act like a school-girl and wanting to know all about May before she was May…if such a thing ever happened…

Seeing Skye not be comfortable during the psych eval was nice, as she noted she had done numerous ones before during her time in the system. Seeing Garner cut through her defense mechanisms and forcing her to deal with her stress and powers were nicely handled.

As was the ending with her and she’s slowly beginning to focus her powers. Once she gets them fully focused, she’ll a true force to reckon with. Hopefully they’ll a small amount of time to make it happen though, that way she’s not an Avenger or Secret Warrior over night.

Speaking of “secret warriors”, Cal’s journey to bring a super-villain team of sorts together was entertaining, if not somewhat confusing at points. It was clear why he chose certain members. First off, they were dumber than him, which means they could be controlled. Second, they were hurt by Shield in one way or another, and Cal used that to inspire them to help.

Cal’s origin also got revealed, as was the future prospect of him going full Hyde one day. Again, it’s the little details that makes it all work.

Sadly, what didn’t work was the “showdown” between his forces and Shield. On one hand, seeing one of his henchman take down all those students with a scream was intense and creepy. On the other hand, the teleporting Inhuman stealing Cal away, while surprising, felt like a cheat, as it led to the quick capture of the rest of his gang.

The fate of Hunter was revealed, and oh what a twist that was. Having Bobbi more-or-less conscript Hunter, and having Mack show him that they serve “The Real Shield” was a twist that’ll definitely be felt. Very interested to see where that goes.

A small gripe I have about this episode was Simmons…again. She vented to Bobbi how she hated that Fitz lied to her, even though Bobbi acknowledged it was for good reasons. Then, at the end, she willingly accepted Coulson’s SECRET mission for her to figure out how to contain possible future Inhumans like Sky and Raina. Hypocrite much?

In the end, “One of Us” was good in some ways, but weird in other. The buildup to the showdown was well handled…but the payoff was weak. Hopefully next episode will pick up with where this episode left off.