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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. "S3E18 The Singularity" - Review: Team Hive takes shape


Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D"S3E18 The Singularity" - Review: Team Hive takes shape
9 out of 10

The Singularity – As the dust settles on Daisy’s destructive departure from S.H.I.E.L.D., Coulson and May look to secure S.H.I.E.L.D. other known inhuman assets while Fitz and Simmons investigate a doctor specializing in human upgrades, whose research may hold the key to breaking Hive’s control over Inhumans.

Although this episode continues to see S.H.I.E.L.D. on the back foot and vastly losing ground to the rising forces of Hive, there is great feeling under the surface of the show still building up towards a Secret Warriors Vs evil super team showdown as it builds up Hive’s ranks. Despite losing Giyera and Lucio, he now has Daisy as his champion with two more recruits joining this episode. The new members also really empathize the strength of unity Hive brings to them as a team, especially over the new recipient of Terragenesis James, aka Hellfire (a comics Secret Warriors member), from the Paradise Lost episode. His fear and trauma when breaking out of his cocoon immediately mimics Joey from the season opener but within seconds of Hive infecting him, he gains full control of his abilities in a way that took Joey half the season to achieve. You could almost compare this to the idea of Apocalypse and his Four Horseman in the upcoming X-Men movie. That in same way, this all powerful mutant makes his chosen few stronger by imbuing them with power, Hive makes his chosen stronger by imbuing them with confidence and control. We see this again with Team Hive’s second new member (naming them is minor spoiler) as building from earlier episodes, we see them perform feats they would otherwise be incapable of. Right now, there isn’t a fight on the table because Hive could control any of the Shield/Secret Warriors Inhumans like Daisy but all the show needs is some form of vaccine to prevent infection to make it game on, and looking back at the season, there are several existing possibilities. Aside from Fitz & Simmons doctor-tracking mission this week, we’ve already established that some form of anti-Terragenesis vaccine can be made from the blood cells of Absorbing Man. This could be adapted as a Hive countermeasure. Then we have Lash, whose final transformation occurred with high amounts of the Absorbing Man cure in his bloodstream. Could this have somehow given him a Hive immunity that the team could synthesize?  It’s moments like this as the season winds down that really shows just how well thought-out and structured Shield has been this year with so much possibility to tap into.

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One of the most enjoyable things about this episode is the way it gives a decent amount of screen time to Fitz and Simmons but doesn’t force scenes to be either mission/scienc- based or focusing on their romantic feelings for each other. Instead Lauren LeFranc’s script sees them nicely multi-tasking, which creates a highly enjoyable balance of sciencey spy escapades and their lovable awkward humour. Fitz’s early “working relationship” speech is utterly hilarious and adding Mack into the mix also brings some great laughs as after years of seeing this routine from Bobbi and Hunter, he knows exactly what’s going on. The Fitzsimmons relationship status is a tricky development because it’s something that anyone watching the show for years has been wanting since the very beginning. Now that Agents finally looks to be delivering on that it comes with no shortage of pressure, but so far they are handling it well, and this episode is a great example. There’s some good clear empathy from their anxiety over taking a key next step in their relationship. That this really is the friendship point-of-no return and having spent a decade as best friends, it feels right for that to be difficult no matter how much both want it. It suspends just enough disbelief to make the results all the more satisfying. As for their mission, the “trans-human” club makes for a nice set piece location but merely being told that various people are packing some hidden tech upgrades isn’t all that thrilling. The twist meeting/audition works well though, especially when the mysterious doctor turns out to be none other than John Hannah (The Mummy, Spartacus).

Though Fitz and Simmons aren’t the only on-screen couple in the spotlight this week.  The episode spends a rewarding amount of time looking at the working husband and wife relationship of Coulson and May (with Daisy speculated as their adopted daughter). Their scenes have a great dynamic over the things Coulson should and shouldn’t ask May to do for him, with great context from the episode’s events such as whether or not May would have to take out Daisy. While at the same time it draws strength by how similar the pair can be when it matters, “You really are a stubborn bastard.... it’s why we get along so well”. Coulson also gets one of his greatest ever geeky moments this week. He thought it would be cool... and my God it was!

For an episode left to pick up the pieces of last week, The Singularity still manages to tell its own story rather than just filling in last week’s blanks. It escalates the season well by powering up its villains and draws a lot of great entertainment from just letting its characters react to everything that’s going on. The show even bids goodbye to Hydra in a quiet almost disregarding style because both this season and the show have moved on to bigger and better things. Hail Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..

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