Agents of S.H.I.E.l.D., “Parting Shot” review!

By Lil’ Yoda,

In this week on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. our favorite couple, Bobbi and Hunter, get to go on a vacation.to the Ukraine! Just kidding, it’s a mission. The Agents are spending this week’s episode trying to figure out what Russia’s plans are for the so called ‘Inhuman sanctuary’, and how how Malick is going to try and use use it to for Hydra. After tracking Malick to a compound in the middle of nowhere, they attempt to scope out what is happening before infiltrating said compound. At the same time, we are flashing back between an interogation scene where we see Bobbi and Hunter captured and being interrogated by an Interpol agent. Naturally, in this time Bobbi and Hunter banter about how they never get any down time being part of S.H.I.E.L.D. After nearly getting caught by some guards, Bobbi and Hunter meet up with Daisy, May and Mack to head into the compound. This is where things get complicated. I honestly spent more of the episode trying to keep up with what was going on and what characters were up to rather than actually enjoying it. Even my dad after letting the dog out for two seconds was completely lost.

To summarize, the Agents were originally there to get Malick, but end up not doing anything due to being on foreign soil and a new threat popping up. Malick is planning a coup using the General of Defense (Kristof Konrad) who is an Inhuman, to overthrow the current Russian Prime Minister (Endre Hules) who is strongly against the Inhuman sanctuary. The general had already killed one of  the minister’s attaches by the time the Agents have arrived. It takes them a while to figure out that the assassin and the general are one in the same. During this time, we  go back with Daisy to her roots and use her hacking skills as well as a bit of character exposition between May and Hunter. As the two talk we get back to the prime problem that Hunter has always had with S.H.I.E.L.D. He believes in the worth of an individual person over the larger ideal, or S.H.I.E.L.D. as a whole. This is usually what gets him into trouble with Coulson and Bobbi, both of which understand the need to sacrifice an individual for the greater good. Anyway, after figuring out that the general and the assassin were one and the same, they had to get the Russian prime minister to safety. The Agents figured out that nothing they had worked on the Inhuman avatar that the General was able to make, not even Daisy’s powers. After knocking Daisy out and coming close to killing Hunter, Bobbi is forced to make a judgement call and kill the general in front of several witnesses. Both Bobbi and Hunter end up being taken into custody.

Back at the interrogation room, Bobbi and Hunter have been backed into a corner. Either Bobbi must confess to being an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hunter faces a firing squad. Coulson comes in at the last moment using his front as a consultant from the ATCU to attempt to save Bobbi and Hunter. Except they choose not to take his help, and bite the bullet for S.H.I.E.L.D.’s sake. A large bit of character development for Hunter, choosing S.H.I.E.L.D. over himself and Bobbi. Coulson makes sure to save them both from a firing squad by mentioning to the prime minister that he should be thanking them for taking out all of his opposition. In the end though, Bobbi and Hunter are disavowed and can no longer work for S.H.I.E.L.D. The parting scene is where the episode gets it name, as each member of the team send a shot over to Bobbi and Hunter as they sit in different parts of a bar. They all raise their glass one last time together. It honestly felt a bit cheesy until I saw Mack very hesitant to go, and tearing up as he left Bobbi, who he had been working with for the longest. An excellent performance by Henry Simmons. Coulson looks at them one last time before leaving. This is all looking like set up for Marvel’s Most Wanted, a spin off show that is said to star Bobbi and Hunter. No announcement for an exact pilot date yet. As for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., I am curious how they are going to fill the void left by Bobbi and Hunter. Are they going to bring in more characters, or are they going to take advantage of the smaller cast and spend more time focusing on individual characters? Either way, it’ll be interesting. The end scene we see Malick and a girl who is apparently his daughter (Bethany Joy Lenz), inquiring about when she can meet ‘him’. I assume she means Zombie!Ward, which doesn’t bode well for whoever this new character is, if she is that excited to meet a murdering alien entity. The episode did fine in terms of character development, but was severely lacking in plot clarity or even interest. At no time was I truly hinged upon the outcome the coup, or if the prime minister would survive. Overall, I give it a three out of five.