TV Review: AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.: Season 5, Episode 17: The Honeymoon [ABC]
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Honeymoon Review
ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., season 5, episode 17, ‘The Honeymoon,’ could be considered a bridge episode; but it might take subsequent episode to really gauge its place in the run. When you got major moments, like Wonder Twin-cest going legal, Deke (Jeff Ward) going Cable (the plot, not the powers), and Daisy (Chloe Bennet) getting her powers back by way of a Shyamalan twist (I’m not doing the meme quote, damn you), anything less automatically becomes a bridge/breather episode.
Ruby (Dove Cameron) finally made a move; but while it seemed long obvious that she would – making use of all that pent-up Strucker (Spencer Treat Clark) psychosis – it didn’t go quite as drastic as I expected. Remember that HYDRA thing about killing your dog? Seemed like a telegraphed twist not taken, to me; but there may be time for a double twist on the theme.
As hot as she’s been for the Destroyer of Worlds title, Ruby still seems to fall short of being a Daisy cutter. For all the hype, she’s no Sinara; but I guess the idea has been to present a baseline, for what could come out the other end of an ascension. I suppose a better Boss Battle would be a reason to root for her Rucker run; but until then she’s all lips.
As much as I’ve enjoyed the titular liberation of Fitz-Simmons (Iain De Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge), since the Wonder Twins got their magic rings officially activated (really shouldn’t call them twins, anymore), their immortal timeline bender – though useful – risks making them a little unbearable.
It works for Yo-Yo (Natalia Cordova-Buckley) – she’s always been headstrong, which fuels the friction that keeps the Yo-Yo-Mack alive – so invincibility talk, trick-trapping Mack (Henry Simmons), and the occasional emo moment about her arms, has actually served to elevate her profile. A Boss Battle with an Ivanov (Zach McGowan) didn’t hurt, either.
It might just be me, but the Mechs seem to be growing increasingly lethargic – and I’m trying not to think that it was a handicapping for Fitz-Simmons’ sake. There may be a double-date dynamic to look forward to, however. At least, I’m curious to see if putting Fitz-Simmons under the Rucker gun amounts to combative couples therapy.
Speaking of combative couples (uck), Deke getting under foot can get real old, real fast. Sure, it was an out for the Daisy-Rose rumble warm-up, but it was better served as giving Mack – and former May Flower on probation, Piper (Briana Venskus) – some heavy lifting to do, after the Immortal Trio trick.
The Deke-Daisy (Deisy?) shipping course can now be considered official (they kept him, then anchored him with the Cable thing – of course Deisy was going forward); but, hey, the actor’s last name is Ward, after all – so latent Skyward fans can take solace (…if shipping’s gonna be a thing, again, I’m taking shots. Sorrynotsorry).
With shipping as the unintended (?) takeaway of the episode, I guess it’s worth noting that May (Ming-Na Wen) dropped the L bomb like a mic, at Coulson’s (Clark Gregg) feet; so make room for Mayson, kids – it’s going forward, albeit at TBD speed.
While this breathes new life into a history of May giving Coulson love nuggies, Coulson has been busy with a mismatched-buddy-show thing, alongside Talbot (Adrian Pasdar).
Personally, I kind of lamented the downturn to Talbot’s character. It was bad enough that Talbot was displaced from his original MU Hulk Buster role; but since the assassination attempt, he’s been largely reduced to Coulson-buddy comic relief.
Well, it looks like he may be relieved of that duty – though I’m not sure anyone should be relieved, just yet.
As incremental steps go, this was a pretty eventful Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode. There was plenty left to look forward to, and not much in the way of lost momentum. The Fight the Future arc has yet to live up to the Post Earth one; but there could still be a Graviton save to it – I just gotta carefully manage expectations, is all.
Matter of fact, you all should – give it some air – try not to stare…
Original article at Film Book.
