Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Season 3 Episode 8: “Many Heads, One Tale”
Directed by Garry A. Brown
Written by Jed Whedon and DJ Doyle
Created by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen
Starring Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge, Nick Blood, Adrianne Palicki, Henry Simmons, Luke Mitchell, Blaire Underwood, Constance Zimmer, Andrew Howard, Powers Boothe, Mark Dacascos
ABC
Air Date: Tuesday, November 17, 2015, 9pm

Wow. INTENSE! That’s the only way I can describe how I feel after watching this week’s episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. And a huge reveal at the end only added to the it’s impactfulness. Spoilers ahead!

Everyone is still questioning Coulson (Clark Gregg) because he’s sleeping with the “enemy” “” and I mean literally questioning him. Mack (Henry Simmons) flat out asks Coulson if he and Rosalind (Constance Zimmer) are sleeping together. Coulson has a plan, though. He’s freaking Nick Fury’s protege “” of course he has a plan! He’s putting into effect “Operation Spotlight,” a tactical mission to uncover the truth behind ATCU’s Inhuman involvement. Coulson believes that Rosalind and the ATCU trust him, but he wants to make sure the feeling is mutual, and Daisy (Chloe Bennet) finally gets it: the camera focuses on her, squinting her eyes and opening her mouth slightly, giving a knowing nod.

Coulson sends Mack and Daisy to work from a jet, feeding information to Bobbi (Adrianne Palicki) and Hunter (Nick Blood) on the ground. Bobbi and Hunter, pose as FBI agents, infiltrate ATCU, and meet with the head of security. Hunter acts like a really annoying tech geek (yet he’s terrible at typing. I felt like I was watching my dad on a computer), while Bobbi is the straight one on the team, scaring the head of security into thinking they’ve got a serious issue going on. Bobbi is eventually able to break away and discovers a compound full of fish oil. When she relays this message to Daisy and Mack, they do a bit of research and are able to discover that the ATCU is actually giving the Terrigen Mist to as many people as they can, hoping to create Inhumans. This is, in turn, causing a lot of death, which Bobbi discovers after finding a freezer full of body parts. Bobbi and Hunter are then attacked by a group of security guards, including one man with a special ability. Bobbie, of course, is able to defeat him.

Meanwhile, Coulson, receiving updates from his crew (off camera), leads Rosalind into a containment cell. “It’s your turn to convince me you’re not really Hydra or you’re never leaving this room.” This action leads to an emotional confrontation in which Rosalind accuses Coulson (who’s looking like a jerk, by the way) of only sleeping with her in order to gain information (ouch!). Coulson fires back that when they first met, she mentioned Tahiti, and the only way she could know about that is from gaining the intel from Hydra. He then tells Rosalind what his people found out. She tells Coulson that that can’t be true and that she gets weekly reports from Malick (Powers Boothe) “” boom! Coulson knows who Malick is and they’re able to deduce the situation pretty quickly. Malick gave Rosalind the information about Tahiti “” she’s been in the dark all along, truly believing the ATCU has been doing good. We learn that Malick recruited Rosalind at NASA in the same program that Will (Dillon Casey) was a part of”¦dun dun dun! More on this in a bit.

Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) is still working tirelessly to find a way to open the portal again. Rummaging through a cart full of books, Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) actually stumbles across the same symbol that was found on both the castle walls from earlier in the season and Will’s NASA suit. It turns out that the symbol has something to do with a blood sacrifice (so Buffy, and I love it). Simmons yells at Fitz that he needs to stop. It’s clearly bothering her that he is so perfect. They then get into a yelling match, with Fitz explaining that he is sick to his stomach because he and Simmons are “cursed,” and will never be happy. Simmons, on the other hand, is sad because she is in love with two men. They keep yelling and then Fitz kisses her “” and then she kisses back “” and it is SOOOO right! But of course, Fitz ruins it by saying “we’re cursed” again and walks away.

Things are starting to add up, but before we get to the big reveal I mentioned earlier, let’s move onto Ward (Brett Dalton) and Malick. The two are eating sushi together next to a pool table, with a small octopus as the main course. Malick gives a lecture about octopi (the symbol of Hydra) and their nature: intelligent, highly adaptable, ruthless killers “” just like Ward. “You’re a smart predator, but you don’t live on top of the food chain,” Malick says as he gets up from the table and leaves the room. Immediately, three men enter and attack Ward, but it’s Ward, and he beats the crap out of them with his fists and a pool cue. Tying them up and threatening torture, Ward is able to find out where Malick always runs off to: Zepkow, Germany. Obviously, Ward goes off to find him. On the way to Zepkow, we get to see the truly sadistic, terroristic side of Ward as he hijacks a plane and jumps out of the door “” after telling everyone to fasten their seatbelts.

In a warehouse (because everything important always happens in a warehouse), we learn something very important. Malick knew that Ward would show up, almost testing him. He explains to Ward that Hydra is very, very old, and shows him a small stone, cut from the monolith (explaining to Ward everything we already know). Then he goes on to tell Ward that the portal was created with the sole purpose of awaiting the return of a creature that Hydra sees as their leader, born on Earth and banished thousands of years ago “” the same creature on the planet that Simmons was on. Hydra is now building an army (presumably of Inhumans) for the creature to command when it returns – they’ve been sending people through the portal to serve as sacrifices (aka Will). WHOA! And this is exactly what Coulson, Rosalind, and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are all figuring out as well.

Earlier in the episode, Coulson, Rosalind, and May (Ming-Na Wen) decide that the best course of action for Andrew (Blaire Underwood) is to ship him off to a secure, ATCU facility in order to find a cure. It’s a tough moment for everyone involved and it’s pretty clear now, that it was a terrible decision. Malick and Ward both pay Andrew a visit during this episode, manipulating him into turning against S.H.I.E.L.D. and finally setting off mustard gas in his cell in hopes of turning him back into Lash. Yikes.

S.H.I.E.L.D.ed Observations:

– While in the midst of their witty banter and flirtation (and Coulson revealing how he was recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D. and giving a nod to the “golden age” of comics) they both glance at a big axe on the wall, smirk, and nod. The innuendo is getting weird.

– Daisy and Lincoln talk about their “non-relationship” that they don’t need to talk about and they still have zero chemistry.

Videos

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 3×08 Promo “Many Heads, One Tale”

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 3×08 Sneak Peak #1 “Many Heads, One Tale”

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 3×08 Sneak Peak #2 “Many Heads, One Tale”