The Uprising – An anonymous Inhuman Resistance organisation is causing blackouts in major cities over the treatment of their people, prompting Coulson and team into action while Robbie and Daisy rescue his stranded brother Gabe. Simmons and Dr Radcliffe reach desperate measures to save May’s life from her possession.
This is a surprisingly busy episode but what makes it all work is the way the central theme is such a big issue that the show has built up over past seasons; Inhuman relations. We’ve seen firsthand from Jiaying how quickly things can turn when a group feels threatened and the reactions from many faces in the episode, especially the Miami party, really get across just how willing people are to believe that people are out to get them because they are different. That there’s still animosity on both sides. The hotel lobby scene is nothing short of a witch hunt as accusations alone are enough to condemn. The episode also manages to give these events a real global feel without actually being a global episode. We see the blackouts at the different US character locations, hear of events in places like London and Moscow and mind pulls it all together into a bigger scaled event. It’s an ideal example of going big on a TV budget.
The events themselves have a lot of charms to them. Immediately there’s the feel that something isn’t right with the blackouts but writer Craig Titley (responsible for several good episodes over the last 2 seasons) sets up some believable alternatives. While there could be someone else behind the attacks framing the Inhumans community the looting seen in multiple locations (“people think they can get away with whatever they want”) conjures ideas of a Die Hard like distraction play. Is someone deliberately creating chaos to cover their tracks? The eventual explanation is a satisfying blend of several options. There’s also a surprising amount of fun from the team’s mission in Miami too. The fights are particularly good this episode, especially the pulsing light set piece in the final act that makes great use of having Yo-Yo on board for the episode. Then there’s Fitz being reduced to tech nudity and resorting to some good old “slide rule” rough science. Yet the subtle highlight of the episode comes from a wonderful little moment that reminds us just how much of a big lovable geek Coulson really is. When Mack & Fitx reflect on meeting Ghost Rider last week, “You know what makes a really good light source? A guy with a flaming head.... I’m really bummed I missed that”. Phil, you’re still the man.
Speaking of the Rider his scenes with Daisy play a much smaller part than expected based on the last episode’s ending but the idea of these events cancelling their investigation plans comes across well. Their car scenes do provide with a bit more insight into Robbie’s Rider persona as he divulges a few specifics about going, “Carrot Top”. It’s our first hints at his bigger purpose as he talks about finding a vengeance that will free him from the spirit. This comes with mentions of Robbie’s uncle, currently imprisoned. In his comics story his deceased uncle was revealed to be the spirit within him (Eli) so the show may be doing a rework on that here. The man his Uncle assaulted is supposed to be, “the real evil” and presumably will link back to the lab experiments and ghosts from last week. We also get to spend our first real time with Robbie’s wheelchair brother bound Gabe. This character appears to suit Fear the Walking Dead’s Lorenzo James Henrie much better for being more straight forward and a less moody teen. Gabe is innocent of his brother’s powers and naturally protective of him. This positions him well for a shock revelation later in the series; especially as it’s implied Robbie sold his soul partly to get vengeance on the gang that beat and paralyzed Gabe.
The fight for May’s life makes an excellent subplot to the episode that gives both Simmons and Dr Radcliffe something meaningful to do while teasing advancements in long running stories. May is one the show’s most beloved characters (the original Bus driver) so placing her in peril creates immediate audience investment that can safely exist outside the main story. The Stark style holographic visuals and diagnosis look great and yes, a save by flat lining is somewhat of a tired cliché these days but that’s because it’s dramatically very effective. This case is no exception, “Hell no I’m not ready, we’re about to kill May!”. Admittedly we don’t get much new information on the possession itself; only that it eventually kills its victims by scaring them to death. Involving Dr Radcliffe also lets us check up on AIDA. She seems to be advancing since our last exposing glance at her, as she shows full understanding over the need for her own secrecy. There’s still no indications as where her character is going in the long run but she may be positioned a slow burning, under the radar threat, before a shock transformation later in the season. We do get to see, what is presumably her power core (that big funky pear thing), which is likely some embedding for future attempts to deactivate her.
To top it all off Shield concludes the episode by pulling the pin on a teased major development much sooner than expected and delivering our first glimpses what appears to be a key recurring villain. This season is certainly not spinning its flaming wheels and feels all the better for it. Some pieces maybe moving faster than others but more than any previous everything feels like it’s progressing at once. It’s Shield itself that appears to be uprising here.