With an episode being called “Singularity” I was eagerly expecting an episode that climaxes with a portal collapsing on itself, creating a black hole in the process with someone sacrificing him/herself in an effort to close it and save the world. Alas that was not the case with this week’s Agents of SHIELD episode, though that doesn’t mean the action was lacking. Written by Lauren LeFranc and directed by Garry. A Brown Singularity serves as a stepping stone for bringing the season to a close.
Just one episode after the Secret Avengers were assembled (and then broken up) another group of Inhumans have banded together but with far more severe consequences as their leader is Hive (Brett Dalton). This season has had a lot of ingredients in it: the ATCU, Secret Warriors, Inhumans, Hydra, Hive, the complexity and dynamics of Coulson’s team and of course SHIELD itself as a whole. It’s a lot for the casual viewer to keep track off and as a result earlier in the season, the ATCU and SHIELD merged, after a fashion and with Singularity Hydra has finally been destroyed, with all the heads chopped off.
With Daisy (Chloe Bennet) being the Inhuman who’s fallen under Hive’s “Sway” she’s instantly seen by Hive’s side, contrary to what I expected; an episode dedicated to the hunt for Daisy by both sides. I’ve said it time and again it’s creepy seeing Brett Dalton act so differently from his former character, Grant Ward, but it’s surreal seeing him be so calm and indifferent as Hive. After Hive and Daisy share a moment together the two embark on a journey to round up more Inhumans to their side and as a result recruit Alisha (Alicia Vela-Bailey) and then James (Axle Whitehead) who we saw a few episodes ago. After making James undergo terrigenesis, Hive puts him under his “sway” forcing James to unveil an important component of the Kree tech Daisy stole from SHIELD which is revealed to be a weapon that can kill him. James being an Inhuman is a fantastic concept, as he spends the episode nonchalantly blowing things up and trying to come up with a name for his newfound Inhuman self. However it was a bit confusing not seeing Giyera appear this episode, considering he was one of Hive’s first Inhuman soldiers. It’ll be interesting to see the dynamics of Hive’s “Dark Secret Avengers” considering that with Hive affecting them, the Inhumans seem to have far more control over their powers.
At the same time, the rest of the SHIELD crew is coming to grips with Daisy’s destruction of the SHIELD base with May (Ming-Na Wen) being in charge of fortifying it. Her relationship with Coulson comes under strain as they and Lincoln (Luke Mitchell) attempt to secure Alisha (not knowing Hive and Daisy had already turned her) with Coulson stating that if Alisha is dangerous they should kill her, something he’s not willing to do when it comes to Daisy because he views her as a daughter. Coulson’s relationship with Lincoln is also under strain as the latter is sidelined by the former when he comes close to losing control and killing a clone of Alisha. Furthermore in the rescue attempt of Alisha, Lincoln was forced to wear a bomb vest letting them kill him if he was swayed. I don’t see Lincoln sitting on the bench for long however, his love for Daisy (while seemingly forced) is something that will motivate him to go after Daisy and rescue her, even without SHIELD’s help. Coulson and May then go on to lead a squad of soldiers to James’ home after they detect Daisy’s seismic activity at the location. They come across the hole where the component of the Kree technology was hidden before the place is blown up by C4. Luckily though Coulson’s bionic arm has a forcefield shield in it to protect him and May.
Meanwhile Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) are sent to track down a transhumanist scientist who may be able to create a cure for Hive’s parasites. Babysitting them on the mission is Mack who’s in emotional turmoil throughout the episode as he views it a personal failure that his partner Daisy was turned and he never realised. The trio track down Dr. Holden Radcliffe (John Hannah) to a nightclub for transhumanists where Fitz & Simmons pretend to be follow transhumanists in an effort to secure a meeting with Dr. Radcliffe and request his help against Hive. Throughout this arc Fitz and Simmons expand on their relationship in what could be the cutest way possible; by using technical innuendos to explain the dynamics of their relationship as well as talking about where their relationship will go; it’s a far more believable relationship than Daisy’s and Lincoln’s. While the duo finally get a meeting with Dr. Radcliffe, it’s ultimately cut short when Daisy, Hive and James attack the establishment, with Daisy nearly killing Fitz and telling him to stop trying to save her, and Hive talking to Simmons under the guise of Will. Luckily Simmons isn’t having any of that and she shoots Hive before escaping. Meanwhile Mack has a standoff with James who is still going on about choosing a name for himself while Hive’s possy kidnaps Dr. Radcliffe.
The episode ends with a revelation that the ATCU is moving on all current Hydra bases, destroying the infrastructure for the organisation and finally chopping of its head (or appearing to do so). It’ll be interesting to see how this affects the greate Marvel Comic Universe, something we’re sure to see in the upcoming Captain America: Civil War movie. It’s also revealed that Hive liquidated Mallick’s funds to buy an entire town, setting Dr. Radcliffe on the path to create more Inhumans.
Singualrity once again proves that Agents of SHIELD is great at juggling multiple plots at the same time, though I do expect them all to merge with the show leading into its season finale.
