But Zabo wasn’t the only one we gained some awareness about this week, as we also gained some insight into the woman they call “The Cavalry.” Coulson asks Agent May to recruit her ex-husband Dr. Andrew Garner (Welcome, Blair Underwood!) to assess Skye’s mental well-being, and whether or not she can continue on as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and whether or not she has the ability to control her earthquake powers. Despite his reservations about working with S.H.I.E.L.D., and in spite of his ex-wife’s affirmations that this is a new S.H.I.E.L.D., Garner agrees to help Skye.
Like a lot of young heroines, Skye uses humor, sarcasm, and an understandable fascination with her stoic superior officer as a way to cope with not coping. But Garner’s just too good, and doesn’t take Skye’s smart alec-ness for an answer. Although one could argue that Skye really does need some competent psychological help, and not just for dealing with her super-powers (she was an orphan after all), it’s hard to say what good Garner ended up serving. Skye isn’t going to be taken off the team, as per his recommendation, so what did Garner really end up contributing except for maybe a new series record for dialogue scenes involving Ming-Na Wen?
Being enigmatic is part of May’s charm, and while the episode was hardly an info dump about the character’s background, or even how she got her famous nickname, it was a nice chance for Wen to seem a bit less severe and show a wider range of emoting other than stern. Wen also had some good chemistry with Underwood, and the pair came off quite easily as couple with a history, still caring for one and other, but still finding their lives on different courses. It was also fun to see Simmons’ glee at learning that there are areas that May doesn’t excel in, like cooking, as it provided a now rare chance for her and Fitz to get along like the FitzSimmons of old again.
Things weren’t all buddy/buddy for the S.H.I.E.L.D. team, though. Poor Hunter spent the hour handcuffed to a sink after Mack put him “out of commission” last week. Coulson thought he did a runner after being offered a permanent position in S.H.I.E.L.D., but really, Bobbi and Mack were waiting for an extraction to the group they work for. I was worried that we’d have to wait another week to learn who that might be, but as it turned out, they’re working for S.H.I.E.L.D. “The real S.H.I.E.L.D.” as Mack tells Hunter.
The previews for next week reveal the coming of William Adama Edward James Olmos, who, from the looks of it, is the head of this other S.H.I.E.L.D., and although it’s a relief to learn that Bobbi and Mack aren’t working for bad guys, the quality of Coulson’s leadership and skills as an agent are now called into question. How did he work his way up to the highest levels of a spy agency and not be able to tell when people are spying on him? While that is concerning, I wouldn’t put it past Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to reveal that Coulson’s in the know, or the sorta know, regarding his agents’ side gig.
Still, who is this alt-S.H.I.E.L.D., and why are they so dubious of the Coulson-led team? New mysteries beckon.