TV Reviews: FTN Reviews Agents of Shield Season 2 Episode 2: Heavy in the Head

After a promising start with the Season 2 Premiere, Agents of Shield kept the ball rolling by expanding upon both the new characters to the show, and advancing the plotline for the season.

Knowing which characters to focus on has been a problem with Agents of Shield, especially in the first half of last season. Too much attention was spent on characters that honestly didn’t deserve it (*cough* Skye *cough*) while not enough was spent on the others. Season 2 seems to want to fix that, and in a way that’s very efficient, and progressive to the story.

A real big focus was on the two new (still alive) members of the team, Hunter and Mac. Hunter spent most of the episode flip-flopping between loyal soldier and merc looking for revenge. It was fun seeing him both use Talbot and Coulson for his own goals, and doing so quite convincingly. And just when you think you had him figured out…he shoots May and Skye with Icers.

Thankfully, may is not one to hold a grudge…”she savors it.”

Mac had a very interesting storyline in the episode, in trying to help Fitz get back to a somewhat functional state. It was great that unlike Fitz’s “imaginary” Simmons, Mac didn’t understand what Fitz was trying to say. I loved the “I need sheet music” explanation to his skills, it’s a very big contrast to what we’ve come to expect from the team.

On a personal note, it really is good to see Fitz start to become himself again, hopefully the season will show him slowly return to at least a fraction of what he used to be. Though if teasers are any indication, a certain “revelation” about Simmons might shatter him completely. I really hope it doesn’t.

Not to be outdone, both Coulson and May had some interesting scenes in the episode. Coulson is clearly struggling to be the Director of SHIELD, and his condition isn’t helping matters. Luckily, he has May, who not only knows about his condition, she’s trying to help him with it. I like how the Obelisk is apparently connected to the symbols that both Coulson and Garrett have seen, it makes it appear less random. It’s still unknown what it all means, but at least we’re closer.

Speaking of the Obelisk, it’s clear that the mystery of what it is will bring out all sorts of characters. First the Absorbing Man, then Hydra, and now Raina, who made a surprise turn. And she wasn’t alone. It didn’t take too long to reveal Skye’s father, who is just as cold and heartless as many expected him to be, all but commanding Raina to possibly die in order to see what the Obelisk did if she touched it.

In my review of the premiere, I noted how I didn’t like that the goal of the robbery was to steal a quinjet. I still don’t like it, but the ending of this episode made it more justified. As they used the quinjets’ cloaking device as the backbone to make one for bus, effectively doubling their stealth arsenal. Oh yeah, and Coulson showing up Talbot? Again? Priceless.

There were some cool CGI scenes in the episode too, not as many as the premiere, but enough to show off what the show can do. I’m happy that the “status” of the Absorbing Man is still up in the air. He’s a villain with a LOT of history in the Marvel Universe, I would’ve hated if they had killed him off by the end of the episode.

In the end, “Heavy in the Head” marked great strides for Agents of Shield Season 2, and showed that this season will definitely not be like the first one. With more focus on all the characters, and seemingly a more focused storyline, it’s leaps and bounds ahead of what it has been. Carry on Agents, carry on.