‘Agents of SHIELD’ season 4, episode 13 review: Meet Agnes
Tonight, “Agents of SHIELD” taught you a few valuable things about Aida, but one of the most interesting ones was the simple fact that she was actually inspired by someone rather specific. Enter Agnes. She was a real woman with the same appearance, and it gave Mallory Jansen a chance to actually use her Australian accent for a change. Didn’t that have to be fun?
What wasn’t so fun was learning a thing or two more about why Aida was created — Agnes had an inoperable brain tumor, and she knew that she was on borrowed time. Given that hanging out with Radcliffe really isn’t the ideal way for anyone to spend however much time they have left, we didn’t blame her in the slightest for trying to get away from the situation. Why in the world would you?
Eventually, and despite the best efforts of team SHIELD to use her to lure Radcliffe out, she eventually decided to go with him and enter his framework, which he promised would deliver to her a better life, one that she’s been so desperately wanting. Unfortunately for her, it was still clear that she was going to die, but Radcliffe still made it clear that in the framework, her “consciousness” would live forever. We’re not sure this is that great of a consolation prize, but okay.
Coulson did make one big revelation when it comes to what was going on with Agnes: He learned that there was a separate framework, and that was almost sure to be the location of May. That gave him further incentive to seek her out.
Shocked by Shockley – We’ll admit that the stuff with Agnes and Aida was the part of the story that drew us the most in, largely because it was different and so human. Shockley was the cockroach Inhuman who just wouldn’t die, and this was made all the more terribly inconvenient thanks to the fact that he was working Senator Nadeer and the bad guys. This set up a series of epic battles with Daisy, one that (with a little bit of help) she was eventually able to conquer.
Unfortunately, we do come now bearing a little bit of the bad news: Jeffrey Mace was taken by the Watchdogs, with the Superior knowing full well what the value of having him means. The Superior, as a villain, is absolutely a tool. He’s also not nearly as interesting as we’d like for him to be.
The strength of the episode – It was, as per usual, with the characters. Coulson’s speech about how he’d give anything for May was one of the sweeter moments of the episode, mostly because it was such a strong, powerful reminder of the overall devotion that he has to her. Meanwhile, Agnes’ story was incredibly compelling despite her still being a very new character in the world — it’s always nice to get more of Fitz and Simmons than what was there on the show tonight, but we’ll give that a reprieve for the time being. Grade: B.
Next time – Let’s just say that Mace is in serious danger. If you want to know more, you can head over here to get s preview for what is coming up next! (Photo: ABC.)