CLARK GREGG, HENRY SIMMONSQuake gets presented to the world as a bona fide SHIELD agent who’s been working undercover all along, but the ceremony doesn’t go to plan. Mace, Coulson and Mack end up on the run together, leading to a rather surprise revelation. At base, Talbot tries (and mostly fails) to impress his authority on everyone. Holden and AIDA are having issues keeping their guest contained.

It feels a bit odd starting this episode with a ceremony presenting Daisy to the world as a SHIELD agent, like something that really should have happened last time. That said, this episode feels a lot tighter and more structured than the last, which had a bit of a ‘sprawly’ feeling to it. Inevitably, the ceremony gets interrupted, leaving Mack and Coulson to bundle the director into a quinjet for safety and Daisy to clean up.

The quinjet doesn’t run too far before encountering a terminal interruption, causing the boys to be lost in the middle of nowhere with no way of signalling for help. Coulson and Mack are all for a direct confrontation, but Mace is more intent on tracking down the briefcase lost in the crash. What is in there, and why is it so crucial to him?

Back at SHIELD base, with the director and Coulson both missing, Talbot turns up to take over operations which goes about as well as you would expect – the team don’t much like him and he doesn’t fit in very well. But it’s almost as if he’s deliberately hiding something, particularly from Simmons who is next in the formal SHIELD chain of command after Mace.

May (the real one) is proving troublesome for Holden and AIDA Mk II to keep hold of, until they work out exactly what would be relaxing to her. Meanwhile the ‘other’ May is in such deep cover that even she doesn’t know she isn’t real – but how long can that really last?

Coulson hatches a plan to confront the mercs who have found that darned briefcase, relying on his and Mack’s tactical nous and Mace’s brawn. But why is Mace looking so unhappy with this plan? As events unfold, it becomes clear that there is even more to Mace (again) than meets the eye. The reveal – when it comes – is cut between the boys on the ground and a conversation between Talbot tand an at-the-end-of-her-tether Simmons, and is a genuine surprise that will have ramifications going forward…

Verdict: Much tighter and more focused than last episode, this delivers three well-written subplots, each of which contains its own particular dramas and reveals. The action is well directed, once again belying the TV budget, and the script and acting are both top notch. Thrilling stuff. 9/10

Greg D. Smith