Well, once again we have an episode thick with spoilers for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, so if you haven’t seen it, be warned. Fortunately, I did catch it so I am all up to date. And that’s good since a major plot point of the movie was mentioned in this episode.

I’m not really sure what’s going on with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but it’s definitely getting more intense. Some of this was obviously planned from the beginning. And that had to be a fun meeting of the writers.

“So, I have this great idea for a show! It’ll be all about the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and how that organization deals with threats and responds to problems.”

“Okay, well, that’s great except we’re going to nuke S.H.I.E.L.D. in Cap 2.”

“...”

Anyway, so we start off with one of my favorite characters, Raina, getting sprung from jail. I like her because so far she’s the only villain that has shown any layers. And who is it coming to break her out? It’s Hydra Agent Grant Ward. At this point, given the events of this episode, I can’t see how this can be anything but what it seems—Ward is a bad dude. I approve, since this makes him infinitely more interesting than ever before. I disapprove because I really prefer to think that when you reach a certain level in a big spy agency like S.H.I.E.L.D. you have enough experience to not be so easily fooled as Coulson and Hand apparently were.

But back to Raina. To celebrate her early release from prison, she is given a flower dress. At this point, this can’t just be a peculiarity of her fashion sense. It’s got to have a greater meaning. Or at least that’s my theory.

Coulson tells Skye to wipe the team’s identities from the universe and then to collect their badges because they don’t need no stinking badges. Only no sooner does she do that than Coulson’s starts blinking with a set of coordinates. Out of either sharply-honed instincts that only work when the plot requires it or wishful thinking, Coulson is sure that it is a sign from Nick Fury himself.

Back with the bad guys, Raina is unhappy to discover that the Clairvoyant is a fraud. I hear you, my dear. It feels like a rip off. I guess if Garrett had any of the depth or gravitas that the puppeteer we’ve been hearing about all season demonstrated, I would be more on board with it. Garrett isn’t even all that hyped about Hydra. He’s all, “If you cut off one head, well, I don’t know. Am I getting paid for this?”

Raina interrogates Darth Ward about his infiltration of the team and how he played them all. I don’t know. This felt weird to me. It felt like retconning, but I’m not sure it was. I guess I don’t have faith in this writing team to have planned this all along. It feels more like the showrunners realized they needed to jettison some dead weight and just about everyone agrees that Ward brings nothing to the show. So they decided to make him a traitor.

Oh, and to make sure we know he’s evil, he’s stopped shaving. Unshaven Ward=Naughty Ward. Also, there was a line that got me laughing. Garrett said, “You must have had a hard time playing it straight” while talking about Ward’s relationship with Skye. I know that doesn’t mean what I think it means, but man that would be great. I’m shallow, what can I say? Agent Ward was boring as toast. Evil Ward is kind of interesting. Gay Evil Ward would be fantabulous.

Also, if Ward is being dumped, then Tripp might be his replacement and he’s much more dynamic.

Coulson decides to take the team to the coordinates. We really get to see him step up as leader in this episode. It’s no longer the emo, wibbly-wobbly, whiny-angsty Coulson. He takes charge. He tells everyone they don’t have to go with him, and if they don’t want to there are parachutes for them in the cargo bay.

Naturally, no one takes that option, even though there are rumbles of mutiny. Tripp thinks it’s a crazy idea and probably a trap. Simmons is also getting a little fed up with following orders, which is like a tectonic shift for her. Fitz doesn’t know what to do, but he wants to believe in Coulson so he does. And I choose to completely ignore the jealous looks he gets on his face when he sees Tripp and Simmons getting friendly.

Ward and Garrett raid the Fridge, which is largely unprotected. Now, I know I keep expecting people to be smart in this show, but really, wouldn’t it seem like the military would first secure something as full of dangerous stuff as the Fridge before storming into the Hub?

There was some sign of intelligence when the guards at the door flatly refused to let Ward and his “prisoner” inside. So nice to see agents following their orders for once. And Garrett’s Plan B was also fairly clever, so I give this infiltration an A.

Ward shooting the poor guys who let him in? Stone cold. I see no way for Ward to ever come back from this. Even if we get some explanation of him being brainwashed, which is a possibility, I don’t see how his actions can ever be forgotten.

It turns out that the whole Slingshot thing where S.H.I.E.L.D. hurls dangerous objects into space was a complete lie. That is totally believable to me. Fury set up Slingshot to appease the governments of the world by telling them that the really dangerous items would be sent where no one could get them—and then he kept them for his own use.

Team Coulson goes to the coordinates, which are in a remote part of Canada—there are a lot of remote parts of Canada, so that hardly narrows it down. Again, Phil tells his team they can stay behind if they want. No one takes that option. They would rather go along and bitch about how Coulson has most likely lost it.

Well, of course Phil is right and they’re wrong—a fact I expect them all to forget as of the next episode so they can continue to mutter amongst themselves. There is a secret hidden bunker waiting for them—complete with its own butler. Okay, Eric Koenig is technically an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., but I think he was given the job of babysitting this bunker more for his trustworthiness than his stellar super spy abilities.

Koenig gives them the nickel tour and then takes Coulson off for a little one on one meeting. And that’s where (last chance to avoid SPOILERS) he tells Phil that Fury is not actually dead. He’s just off the grid. And the people who get to know he’s not dead are limited to about five people, none of whom are on Coulson’s team.

I give Coulson about ten minutes into the next episode before he tattles to Skye.

Traitor Boy Ward turned over the hard drive with ALL the secrets on it, but Skye super-encrypted it—thank you for letting her be that smart, show—so he needs her to unlock it. Garrett tells him he has twenty-four hours to do it the nice way, otherwise he has to kill everyone and kidnap Skye.

Please oh please can we have May kick his ass all over the block?

We end with Ian Quinn getting very cranky with Garrett about the ill treatment he received at S.H.I.E.L.D.’s hands. And he’s also pissy that Garrett lied about being clairvoyant. But it’s all forgiven when he’s handed the gravitonium that S.H.I.E.L.D. took from him.

So, what did you guys think? Sound off in the comments!