Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – The Inside Man Review

Even though the whole team came together for "The Inside Man," it still felt like Marvel Agent’s of S.H.I.E.L.D. was operating on the outside. Everything just seemed a little off and there was way too much going on. For starters, we finally got some answers about what’s happening with Ward. The Ward we knew is dead. His body is now a host for the alien being from Maveth called Hive. Malick pointed out that Ward’s body wasn’t getting any stronger so the Hive should consider a new host, but instead it killed/ate (???) five random people to regain its strength. It was a really gross visual with bloody skeletons and Ward’s body covered in ooze. So I guess the Hive is ready to get out into the field, which can’t be good for anyone. The main focus of the episode was a mission with Coulson and Talbot, the President’s right hand man. They were sent to Thailand for the "Symposium on the Alien Contagion" with leaders from various countries. The rules were no Inhumans or weapons allowed. Coulson brought along Hunter, May, and Bobbi, who worked behind the scenes to figure out which one of these world leaders was actually working against Inhumans. They all sounded pretty guilty, but Hunter realized the whole thing was a trap set by Malick. Malick blackmailed Talbot by kidnapping his son and was then able to frame Coulson by telling the committee that Coulson was the head of Hydra. He also made it look like Coulson was the one who captured Talbot’s son and had the technology to kill Inhumans with the secure chamber his team created. Malick was taking the focus off of himself and turning Coulson into the bad guy. I get that this show is all about plot twists, but this one just didn’t land for me. They mentioned Talbot’s son for a second and we were automatically supposed to be sympathetic towards him. It felt like the show was getting lazy with laying things out for later, but instead they rushed in from all directions, which didn’t give the audience time to care about the characters all that much. Eventually they were able to escape with the help of Creel, who is the only human to survive touching the monolith without having Inhuman DNA. Because of this, he was able to sneak into the symposium and save the day. Simmons was naturally curious about his DNA, so she ran some tests and discovered that his blood actually acts as a vaccine and stops the Terrigenesis process. This led right into the most boring part of the episode. Yup, it’s everyone’s least favorite time, Lincoln watch. He and Daisy were all cute boxing together and being all sweet, until they disagreed on the possibility of a vaccine. Lincoln, being a doctor, was pro-vaccine, and Daisy was against it. She explained that being Inhuman is not a disease. Even though they disagreed, they still hooked up, which was just as bland as it sounds. I just can’t get over how boring his character is. I guess he challenges Daisy, but I’m really just hoping he’ll be the one to get the ax this season. At the very end, everyone was safely back where they belonged, with the exception of Hunter and Bobbi who ended up sneaking onto Malick’s plane to figure out what he’s really up to, which is where we will pick up with them next episode. Final Thoughts:

• They spent was too much time on Lincoln this episode, when he wasn’t really doing anything. He was just there for some brief commentary that could have probably been given to Fitz or Simmons.
• Interesting to learn that Ward is a host, but I’m more intrigued to learn what the Hive is capable of and what they will need to do to take him down. He seems to be part sand, part devil, part parasite? I’m curious about the whole feeding thing too. Will it just have to keep killing to sustain itself, and if that’s true how did it survive on that planet for so long? Is it some kind of Inhuman or something different? I just want answers!
• There were some good jokes, like Coulson’s “give me a hand," but there were also some rough ones. Every comment about Talbot in a “dress” made me cringe beyond belief and the “putting faces to your impossible to pronounce names” was harsh. Maybe they were just characterizing Talbot as a real jerk, but I don’t think those lines were necessary.
• My favorite scenes this week were Hunter, May, and Bobbi kicking ass. Those three work really well as a team even when Coulson is failing left and right.
• There was just too much going on this episode. I hope they can pull things together for next week’s episode.