Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., “The Writing on the Wall,” was written by Craig Titley and directed by Vincent Misiano, who most recently directed the season premiere. Titley is new to the team this season, and his credits include The Cape, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Cheaper by the Dozen. One of the things I really like about this series is that it doesn’t drag storylines out, and in this episode we have a resolution – of sorts – to the alien writing. One of the other signatures of the show is the lightening pace of the episodes, and this episode doesn’t disappoint. One thing we don’t get in this episode is a spectacular fight scene, but I’ll forgive them for that. We do get brilliant performances from Clark Gregg (Coulson) and Brett Dalton (Ward).
As the episode opens, May (Ming-Na Wen), Trip (BJ Britt), Hunter (Nick Blood), and Bobbi (Adrianne Palicki) are in the field after Ward. Coulson’s compulsion to carve has reached a new level – he’s not sleeping and appears to be growing less stable. I liked how they showed Derek (Brian Van Holt – who was also in SWAT with Samuel L Jackson) losing it and killing Robbins/Stevens (Monique Gabriella Curnen) and then flash to Coulson digging so hard at the crazy wall that he breaks the knife. It’s a nice scene between Skye (Chloe Bennet) and Coulson as May’s tasked her with watching Coulson. When she pushes him on what happens if he gets worse, he dodges the question. It’s clearly not a burden he’s willing to place on her.
It was nice to see Trip actually back in the field and getting to do something – though it turned out to be short lived. My big complaint with that opening scene on Ward is why didn’t Trip take him before he was able to make himself into a human bomb? The plastique etc was clearly what was in the locker. It’s interesting that Senator Ward (Tim DeKay) wants his brother alive, and entirely sensible that Coulson knows Ward well enough to want him “by any means necessary.” I have to say that I spotted Bobbi and Hunter immediately. Brett is fabulous in this scene. I love how clearly he’s enjoying being evil! But it’s great to watch him turn the charm on and off and ramp up the smoldering bad guy. I really liked his exchange with Bobbi – “I don’t understand why people would take the bus when they could fly.” Keeping in mind that Ward just spent a year on the “Bus” with the S.H.I.E.L.D. team. And of course Ward made both Bobbi and Hunter and simply used Hunter to lead them to his first “present” for Skye.
The bar Ward goes to is obviously a HYDRA meeting spot. The meeting with Bakshi (Simon Kassianides) is really well played as we are in exactly the same frame of mind as Bakshi and our team – it looks like Ward is going home to HYDRA. However, he gains valuable intel – he now knows that Daniel Whitehall (Reed Diamind) is in charge of HYDRA. I loved him offering a face to face with Coulson – and then it not being exactly what Bakshi had in mind! It’s interesting that when Bakshi says they thought he was dead, he replies, no, just in a cage and then hiding behind a S.H.I.E.L.D. badge, but now he’s free. He really is a free agent and it’s not clear if he’s working for any side other than his own – something Garrett told him to do. Figure out what Ward wants for himself.
Another nicely played scene for Ward to exchange clothes with Bakshi so we – along with the team – think it’s Ward in the chair, and it’s not until we see the ducktape on his mouth – “for Coulson” – that we’re in on the joke too. It’s interesting that he actually leaves this present for Coulson – no Skye. If there’s one thing that gives me hope that Ward might be redeemed, it’s that he’s clearly still trying to win Coulson’s approval too. However, the longer we get Dalton as the semi-psycho-badguy, the more I want him to stay that way!
The final scene doesn’t disappoint. We see Ward going through the process of re-inventing himself – though really, is he re-inventing himself or is this the Ward we first met – short hair and clean shaven – it’s his good guy persona. He manages to get Skye to talk to him again and makes her another promise. He calls to make sure she got his gift and then says he’ll send more presents from time to time. Skye’s answer is priceless: “Like a cat bringing dead birds?” We see a glimpse of what Ward has in mind. In the short term, he would seem to be going after his brother. Is his current disguise to fit in to security or a government job? But he also chillingly tells Skye that the new team members are pretty good, but that they don’t need to stick around for much longer. “Coulson could do better” – again demonstrating that he’s still seeking Coulson’s approval and acceptance. But what does that mean for the other team members?
Skye spends the episode trying to stay close to Coulson. It’s still interesting to me that she seems to have had none of the effects of the GH-325 as the others. I also can’t believe that the only side effect of the drug was the compulsion to complete the writing. Coulson also says that there was a drive to return to the coordinates, so will that start to manifest itself? And why did Garrett and Derek go so much more crazy? Was it because they were unstable to begin with? We do learn that Derek was from the “shadow” team of S.H.I.E.L.D. – could he also have been HYDRA? Still a lot of unanswered questions here. I’m hoping I’ve either answered them or there’s simply more for us to learn – that is the Avenger way after all!
It was interesting to watch the team work a crime scene. Skye and Coulson break in to Robbins/Stevens apartment. It was fun do see the role reversal as Skye points out that they are breaking the law and Coulson replies “One of the perks of being outlaws.” She also wonders how Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Mac (Henry Simmons) manage to steal the body. I loved Fitz’s very quick response “Corpse Dium – seize the body!” A pretty clever and funny pun for a brain-damaged guy, right??? Mac jumps in to explain that “If you want something in life, you gotta grab it and walk out like you own it.” Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) fairly clearly disapproves and replies, “Is that all. I always thought you had to work hard and earn it.” Is she jealous of Fitz’s new friend? Does she feel like he’s taken advantage of Fitz? I also loved how Fitz, Mac, and Skye all raised their hands to leave before Simmons started the autopsy.
At the crime scene, Skye at first doesn’t see anything that links Robbins to the alien symbols carved into her until they find all the paintings of “A Magical Place.” I liked how they changed up how each of those affected by the GH-325 were affected. Coulson remembers just enough to know that he should know more about the dead woman. Coulson insists that they put him in the machine and torture the memories out of him. Interestingly, Derek later tells Coulson that pain is what unlocked his own memories. Honestly, I have a tattoo and it really didn’t hurt that badly! Maybe Derek has a low pain threshold…
The scene with Coulson in the machine is excellent on a number of levels. Gregg and Simmons deliver particularly great performances. I also loved the special effects used in the memory sequences – they are almost nausea-inducing! Coulson is able to remember what went wrong with the T.A.H.I.T.I. project and realizes what he did to the volunteers. Coulson is determined to suffer whatever he has to because it’s responsibility. Skye is torn between wanting to get the names and do as Coulson wants and not wanting to cause him more excruciating pain. We see that Coulson’s greatest fear is completely losing it the way the others did. In the end, Skye does what she has to, stops the machine, and pulls a gun on Coulson.
Mac’s reactions are the most interesting here. At first he’s just freaked out about what’s going on – “What did I sign up for?” Alien blood, crazy carving, torturing their superior… Fitz tries to explain that “Coulson lost his…” and Mac finishes “marbles? Mind?” because clearly this is all insane. But Fitz gives him a shocked look (kudos always to De Caestecker who nails it so hard every week we now just expect it) and says, “No. Memories. The machine helps him find them.” I really, really hope that Fitz isn’t going to decide that the machine can in some way help him! As the treatment goes on, however, Mac becomes increasingly insistent that they stop. It’s been floated that maybe Mac is a HYDRA plant, and this may be an indication that he’s trying to stop them from getting the information, but I don’t believe that’s the case. He does let them get the names, but he is the one to finally tell them to “Get him the hell out of there!” and make sure that they do.
The best Mac/Fitz scene comes as they are playing video games, however. Fitz tries to reassure Mac that Coulson will be fine. Mac insists that he likes his bosses “unjumbled at all times!” What’s interesting about this scene is that Mac insists that Fitz take a turn playing the game because it helps with his brain/hand coordination. Once again, I found myself wondering if Mac isn’t a plant – but a therapist sent to help Fitz, not a HYDRA agent sent to take down the team. After all, if he were reporting to HYDRA, they would have known at the beginning of the season who the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. was. It’s also really interesting that Fitz tells Mac in reassuring him that Coulson will be fine that “brains never lose files, just connections. There’s always a backup.” Mac immediately asks Fitz about his backups – is Fitz finally beginning to hope that he will get better too? Can we hope that?
Coulson agrees to be locked up only to turn the tables on Skye and go after the answers on his own. Naturally, Thompson (Joel Gretsch) is the answer. His manifestation is to weld the pieces of the writing together. Coulson realizes from Derek’s writing that the writing is more than 2-dimensional and once he sees the welding, he realizes it’s the blueprint of a city. Once the mystery is unlocked, both Coulson and Derek are completely free of the compulsion. Is Thompson also free of the compulsion because his welding already freed him too? As I’ve already said, this seemed much too easy. And is it possible that this city is actually on earth? It was the alien who needed to go there after all. I’m betting this is going to be a huge clue leading into the next Avengers movie, The Age of Ultron. Of course, that’s not a big stretch. We all know that’s where this season is leading!
What did you think of the episode? Were you satisfied with the conclusion to the carving story? Appropriate to wrap it up just before most viewers are carving those Thanksgiving turkeys? Are you enjoying this new Ward? Do you have more hope for Fitz now? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
