Last week Spacetime focused on flash forwards and peeking into the future, mostly through the eyes of Daisy (Chloe Bennet) and this week’s “Paradise Lost” flips our time travel backwards with flashbacks through the eyes of Gideon Malick (Powers Boothe), a character I came to sympathise with over the episode and one whose backstory shed more light on the hierarchy of Hydra. “Paradise Lost”is written by George Kitson & Sharla Oliver and directed by Wendey Stanzler.
The entire cast and crew is back this time, including Mack (Henry Simmons) who was missing last episode. The team splits up into two, with Lincoln (Luke Mitchell) and Daisy chasing down a lead with an “almost Inhuman” who has knowledge about Hive, as by now the team has come to realise that the camera feed of Grant Ward (Brett Dalton) they saw was in fact “It” the mysterious Inhuman that was banished to through the portal to the other planet by a group of Inhumans and run-of-the-mill humans. This arc actually delves a bit more into Hive’s backstory as we’re told that he was one of the original Inhumans, genetically engineered by the Kree to lead the army of Inhumans, only for that to backfire on the Kree as Hive led the uprising against them. However it seems that his powers were feared by his kin and as result was banished. When Daisy and Lincoln obtain the information by baiting James with a terragenesis crystal and then double-crossing him. To be honest I wish Axle Whitehead’s character had a bit more to him this episode, though we do know he reappears in an upcoming episode.
“Alveus- designed by the Kree to command the Inhuman army for them.”
We also finally see more development when it comes to Daisy’s and Lincoln’s relationship; we find out that at a previous point in life Lincoln was alcoholic and nearly killed his ex-girlfriend in a car crash while driving under the influence. As a result of Lincoln opening up to her, Daisy also states that she saw a flash forward off one of the team members dying in space: the flash forward we saw at the beginning of the mid season premiere. It’s nice to finally see this relationship see some depth to it: in the previous episodes it felt forced and made me wonder if the writers made a mistake in this case.
Running alongside Daisy’s and Lincoln’s arc is the main arc featuring Coulson (Clark Gregg), May(Ming-Na Wen), Fitz (Iain De Caestecker), Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) and Mack who are trying to capture and bring in Giyera (Mark Dacascos), Mallick’s bodyguard (though his allegiance has since shifted to Hive). The team has come to grips with the return of Ward/Hive and Simmons goes to work autopsying the bones left behind by Hive last episode, coming to the realisation that the parasites that had eaten the humans were not controlled by Hive, but were a part of Hive. Coulson himself comes to the peak of his moody misserings this episode, confessing to Fitz that when he killed Ward, he had let Ward win, despite Fitz’s allegations that he did what he had to do. This was the first time since the mid season premiere that they talked about their time on the alien planet and both these characters are clearly affected by Ward’s return, as they share dark looks with each other, though only Coulson is gripped with revulsion at his murder of Ward. The team’s takeover at the Agrochem facility is highlighted by a fight scene between Giyera and May which may have been one of the best this entire season, though it could have done better as there were far too many cuts; perhaps I’ve been spoiled by the long takes in Daredevil, though Daisy did have her own long fight scene take last season. The fact that Giyera managed to fight toe-to-toe with May without using his powers was great; too often this show has fallen back on “oh nothing can hurt bad guy A, let’s just turn May loose on him.” While it did follow the same company line in this case, at the least this fight had a bit more depth to it. And yes, Giyera did get captured but boy was that a mistake. It seems we’ve underestimated Giyera this whole season, not only does he manage to escape those “power-removing cells” that no other Inhuman has escaped, he manages to capture the whole Zephyr One ship and the team minus Lincoln & Daisy, prompting Daisy to finally push the big, flashing “Assemble Secret Warriors” button.
“So we’re doing this the hard way.”
But the arc that stole the episode was Gideon Malick’s. His flashbacks to his teenage years revealed numerous revelations: young Gideon (Cameron Platas) had a brother Nathaniel (Joel Courtney). After the death of their father they were summoned to see one of the most powerful members of Hydra at the time: Werner Reinhardt aka Daniel Whitehall (Reed Diamond). It’s here that we learn that there were many facets and paths in Hydra’s: Whitehall’s was to discover the truth behind the obelisk and as a scientist, he deplored the archaic religion he saw the Mallick family had practiced through the centuries with their blood sacrifices to bring back a “mythical god”. Unfortunately for the Malick teens, Whitehall informs them that their father was a never a true believer and as a result cheated the “stone ceremony”, the sacrifice of one of Hydra’s members to Hive through the portal. Despite the realisation, both teens agree to not follow in their father’s footsteps but as surely as the day is Thursday, Gideon double crossed his brother, in what may be one of the most character building and powerful arcs this show has ever had. Most of the flashbacks alternate with the present day where Hive (who long ago possessed Nathaniel) relives Nathaniel’s memories and talks to Gideon as his brother instead of Hive. But rather than kill Gideon, Hive opts to instead kiss his daughter Stephanie (Bethany Joy Lenz), a relationship I figured would happen ever since she was introduced, only to eat her from the inside in a move that paralyses Gideon with horror. However the killing of a supporting female actress to support a leading male’s role in this show seems to be the new norm for character development: with the last such instance being the death of Rosalind Price.
“Now you understand sacrifice.”
But the best part of the Hive/Gideon arc was the revelation of Hive’s true form, as tentacles sprout from his face making him look like an extra from Pirates of the Caribbean.
See and believe. #AgentsofSHIELD pic.twitter.com/P7pfWupfoI
— Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (@AgentsofSHIELD) April 13, 2016
