“Emancipation” is the final episode before the two-hour long season finale of the season. As a result, this week’s episode served to tie up any loose ends before the calamitous clash between SHIELD and Hive. “Emancipation” is directed by Vincent Misiano who has directed numerous other episodes of Agents of SHIELD, as well as episodes for Arrow, The Blacklist, Agent Carter, etc. The episode was written by Craig Titley.
“Emancipation” opens with Coulson (Clark Gregg) relaxing at a bar, chatting with May (Ming-Na Wen) about the recent events that happened in the Captain America: Civil War movie. The Sokovia Accords have repercussions for SHIELD as well and as Coulson points out, the repercussions could be far worse as SHIELD only operates in the shadows and out of sight. The Accords would take away their stealth edge. Unfortunately for him, General Talbot (Adrian Pasdar) has been sent to take inventory on SHIELD’s assets, specifically the Inhumans operating under SHIELD. I’ve always liked Talbot, even if he is a stickler for protocol, but his character has always lended an aspect of levity to the episodes he’s starred in, mostly due to Coulson leading him in circles and Talbot’s mixing of metaphors. When Coulson finally invites Talbot into the Toybox and gives him a tour of the base, we see the return of Elena “Yo-Yo” Rodrigues (Natalia Cordova-Buckley) who showcases her powers to Talbot in a humorous way while calling him naive for putting her name on a list.
Daisy (Chloe Bennet) meanwhile is doing her best to hack into SHIELD’s system with some success; while she does get in, she’s routinely kicked out. She’s a bit pale, due to having her blood drained in an effort to recreate more Inhumans as part of Hive’s plan. As a result she’s looking a bit peaky, despite the bumbling administrations of Dr. Radcliffe (John Hannah) who’s character always makes me chuckle. Of course Hive (Brett Dalton) doesn’t fully trust him, especially due to Radcliffe’s mess up last episode. Radcliffe reassures him and states that all they need for the “alpha test” is some test subjects. Unfortunately for the Watchdogs, that means them. As some Watchdogs follow a tip and try to hunt down an Inhuman, it’s revealed that Hive tipped them off and that the Inhuman is James (Axle Whitehead) who in all his glory turns a chain into a fiery weapon that would make Ghost Rider proud.
Meanwhile Lincoln (Luke Mitchell) is still kept in confinement and is visited by May who, for lack of work, seems to be on lunch lady duty. Unfortunately for Lincoln, no one trusts him due to his hot headed, will-die-for-Daisy mentality, which I can understand. To further cement that mentality, he manages to communicate with Daisy via video feed and you can begin to see the true depths of Lincoln’s misguided love. He states that the only reason he joined SHIELD was because of Daisy and that he just wants to spent time with her. To be honest this whole scene and their relationship as a whole has been hard to stomach; it’s seems forced and I wish the writers would give up on it. Their Skype date is cut short as Talbot and Coulson visit Lincoln, who after quipping about Talbot volunteers to register for the Accords in an effort to leave the base.
Simultaneously Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) & Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) are hard at work trying to keep Daisy out of their systems and after succeeding (for the time being), they’re about to share a quiet moment before being interrupted by May who tasks them to think live Hive and figure out what he’s after. Elsewhere on the bse Yo-Yo visits Mack (Henry Simmons) who’s now a broken man (both literally and emotionally) after his confrontation with Daisy last episode. Thankfully for him Yo-Yo does her best to prop him up, offering him a beer and telling him to have faith and to not give up.
“Evil preys on the weak, because their fears are strong”
After visiting Lincoln, Talbot is shown Lash, cementing Talbot’s belief that SHIELD has crossed a line when it comes to keeping “freaks” under lock up. It’s also revealed that Talbot knew that Daisy was no longer with SHIELD and as a result, Coulson, Fitz & Simmons drop the bomb on him that is Hive and his abilities. Furthemore Fitz and Simmons also reveal that Hive is probably using Daisy’s blood to create more Inhumans, something that sets both Talbot and Coulson on edge. Coulson also enquires as to what exactly Hive and his posse stole from an ATCU facility, something Talbot is not keen on sharing.
Dr. Radcliffe, having gotten some test subjects proceeds to turn them into Inhumans but unfortunately it doesn’t go as planned; rather than creating Inhumans he’s created what looks like numerous Deadpools from X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Hive however seems pleased with the result, considering he can control them and takes affront to Radcliffe calling them abominations. It’s quite a menacing moment, one akin to a lioness caring for her cubs. He orders Radcliffe to make more and asks Daisy to rest, as they might need more of her blood. She instead opts to hack into SHIELD, spring Lincoln from his cell and get him aboard a quinjet to meet her.
However, Fitz gets a notification that Daisy has once again broken into the system and has sprung Lincoln from his cell and as a result the Toybox goes into lockdown, but Lincoln with the help of Daisy manages to evade capture and get to the quinjet wing. Here he’s momentarily stopped by Mack, who despite recovering from severe injuries still goes out of his way to protect SHIELD, in this case attempting to stop Lincoln. He ultimately fails and gets zapped, shortly before Lincoln escapes aboard the jet.
This results in Talbot losing any trust he had in Coulson, stating that he had let Lincoln get away, something that’s proved false as both Lincoln and May appear from around the corner. Lincoln hadn’t escaped on the jet, Lash had.
Back in the Toybox, Lincoln, May and Coulson explain that they knew Daisy was spying on the base and that they had to come up with a plan to fool Daisy into thinking Lincoln actually wanted to escape. They also explain why May was on lunch lady duty, she was communicating with Lincoln via scraps of paper on his lunch tray. It’s also revealed that during the lockdown May put Lash on the Quinjet. Lincoln has been saying for numerous episodes that each Inhuman was created for a purpose and fans have long theorised that Lash was meant to be pitted against Hive and this episode we were given confirmation.
With Lincoln narrating Lash’s use, we see Lash take on Hive effortlessly, destroying his parasites with easy and taking a big chunk out of Hive’s chest along the way. It’s probably the best bits of action we’ve had for a long time and for once we actually see Hive display fear; as a result he calls in his “Deadpool” Inhumans to his aid, which Lash takes down with ease before being blindsided by Daisy. Unfortunately Daisy’s blood transfusions have left her weak and Lash comes up to her and just when you think he’s about to kill her, he actually sucks out Hive’s parasites from her, giving her mind back to herself. He carries an un-swayed Daisy back to the ship and just when you think the episode can end on a happy note, he’s killed by James.
Daisy manages to fend of James and returns in the quinjet back to the Toybox, with Lash’s body. Lincoln then states Lash’s purpose was to never kill Hive, but to save Daisy. Talbot has his reservations but it’s soon proven that Daisy is sway-free. Unfortunately it’s revealed that Hive stole a warhead from the ATCU and that with it he can Inhuman-ise a significant amount of the population.
“I’m coming home”
The end credits scene reveals Yo-Yo and Mack sharing a moment of reflection, with Mck having regained his faith. As a result Yo-Yo gives him a chain with a cross on it, giving us all a sense of dread. A scene showing a SHIELD member floating in a spaceship along with a chain that has a cross on it was shown at the beginning of the mid season premiere, shortly before the spaceship blew up. Until now fans weren’t show if it would be Yo-Yo but now it seems that Mack is slated to die, something that depresses me. We’ve already lost Hunter and Bobbi, but Mack as well? Mack who would do anything for his fellow teammates and friends?
As I said earlier, “Emancipation” has managed to tie up the loose end that was Daisy under Hive’s control and Lash’s in-limbo status. Next week the two hour long season finale will reveal the future of the series and its beloved characters.
