Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., “Scars,” was written by the team of Rafe Judkins and Lauren LeFranc and was directed by Bobby Roth. In a show that loves to surprise us, this episode was full of unexpected twists and turns. What hasn’t been a surprise for anyone though is that the show has been renewed for a third season! If you haven’t heard all the news, Agent Carter will be back for season 2, but the S.H.I.E.L.D. spinoff with Adrianne Palicki (Bobbi) and Nick Blood (Hunter) is not going forward. While I feel bad for Palicki and Blood not getting their own show, I’m more than happy to keep them on S.H.I.E.L.D. – especially with the great bro-mance brewing between Coulson and Hunter!
There were a few more nice shout outs to Avengers: Age of Ultron. We find out that Theta Protocol was the helicarrier for Fury (Samuel L Jackson). And who doesn’t love any excuse to have Sam and Billy Koenig (Patton Oswalt) show up? And in Star Wars sheets no less!
I have to admit that I was a little surprised at Coulson (Clark Gregg) accepting oversight from the board, but knew he’d do whatever it took to reunite S.H.I.E.L.D. However, the episode title reverberates throughout the episode. Everyone has scars from what’s happened. May (Ming-Na Wen) and Coulson remain on the outs. Coulson rightly points out that the secrets that he had to keep from her as Director were nothing like those she kept from him last year. May finally tells Coulson what really happened in Bahrain. It’s painful to see them not on the same side! Or at least not totally having each other’s backs.
It’s also painful to see Skye (Chloe Bennet) torn between her two families. Tensions and distrust are building on both sides. Coulson is trying to keep a lid on S.H.I.E.L.D. and is trying to prevent a war. Skye returns to Afterlife to try to get Jiaying (Dichen Lachman) to meet with Coulson to come to a reasonable agreement. It’s clear that S.H.I.E.L.D. won’t settle for less than at least putting everyone at Afterlife on the Index, and it’s also clear that they are going to have a problem with it. Bennet is terrific in the episode as she must appeal to both sides but is particularly good in the scene with Jiaying.
May takes Gonzales’ (Edward James Olmos) side, benching Coulson. I was really surprised when Coulson pretty meekly agreed. May is also at odds with Skye and it was a powerful and shocking scene when Skye threw Bahrain in May’s face, having heard the story from the other side. The team really does seem to be splintering. Mack (Henry Simmons) does tell Bobbi that Hunter will likely forgive her, but then he turns his badge in to Coulson.
Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) and Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) both seem to still be in Skye’s corner. I loved that they saved Skye’s hula girl from the bus for her. I also loved Fitz explaining his skaking joke about it. Awkward Fitz is often the best! Simmons does confess to Fitz that she really did try to kill Ward (Brett Dalton), and she’s just mad she didn’t succeed.
Meanwhile, Agent 33 (Maya Stojan) has everyone fooled – including Simmons’ tests which give 33 an all clear. Of course, perhaps the tests can’t detect inherent evil that was always there or evil she’s recently acquired. Regardless, no one sees it coming when “May” turns out to be 33 and manages to get the quinjet from Bobbi, but not before another spectacular fight scene. Ward and 33 clearly have scars that are unable to heal, and continue to make mischief on their own. I wonder if a mission to save Bobbi might be enough to get Mack to pick up his shield again? Of course, it is a bit of a major plot hole that Bobbi couldn’t have thought May was with her because she should have known that May was on the mission with Gonzales.
The action at Afterlife is also heating up. Kyle MacLachlan continues to delight and entertain as Cal. I loved his saying he wouldn’t be happy with Raina (Ruth Negga) if anything happened to Skye. Raina appears to have her own agenda – a seemingly self-interested one as usual. She seems to be manipulating everyone. Cal accuses Raina of trying to create chaos. Raina, however, tries to convince Gordon (Jamie Harris) that she should be the one to sit down with S.H.I.E.L.D., not Jiaying. Jiaying maintains that she doesn’t trust Raina. Unfortunately, this appears to be the one time that Raina is acting sincerely.
Cal asks Jiaying to sacrifice him for the cause. She can uses him as a good faith gesture. I loved when Cal admitted that he could lose his temper, but that he’d only ever killed people who deserved it. The scene between MacLachlan and Bennet is once again excellent. The two play off each other wonderfully. They tell each other they’re glad they got to know each other. Of course, as Cal is lead onto the plane by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents they find empty vials in his pockets and a very mischievous grin on his face. Gordon reminds us earlier in the episode that Cal doesn’t have powers – he just cocktail he mixes up to enhance his anger. I can’t wait to see what happens on the jet when Cal hears what’s going on. Of course, we know that Cal is scarred from all the time he’s spent hunting for Skye and what its cost him.
The major twist in the episode is Jiaying’s deception. She didn’t want Raina in the meeting with S.H.I.E.L.D. because she never planned on making peace to begin with. Jiaying’s scars simply run too deeply for her to be able to forgive. I was once again very sad to lose another character. Gonzales does seem to make a real effort towards a peaceful solution, even bringing Jiaying a gift she’d thought lost forever. Jiaying says earlier in the episode that she can’t count on all her people following her if it comes to war. However, by killing Gonzales, and pretending he attacked her, Jiaying ensures that her people will follow her. I have to say that I was shocked when Gonzales died – but that explained why Coulson couldn’t go to that meeting.
It’s clear that sides are going to be drawn and blood will be spilled. I’d be remiss in not mentioning that the “thing” in the hold of the ship is actually a liquid stone…What did you think of the episode? Were you sad to lose Gonzales? What side do you think Skye will pick? Will Coulson be able to avert an all out war? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
About the Author - Lisa Macklem
I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Forever, Defiance, Bitten, Glee, and a few others! Highlights of this past year include covering San Diego Comic Con as press and a set visit to Bitten. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.
