Coulson learns more about Hale’s plan, with some surprising revelations about her origin as well as her intent.

Playing with the format, this week’s episode mostly takes the form of a series of flashbacks, starting with us getting to see the origins of Hale as a character. Beginning with her school days, we see the circumstances, people and events which led her to the point she’s at today. Though it’s become obvious over the last few weeks in whose name she is working, there are still some surprises here, as well as some familiar faces to those of us invested in the show as well as the MCU as a whole.

What’s interesting is how much the show succeeds in making the audience… if not sympathise with, as such… at least understand Hale as a character. Sure, she might be on the ‘wrong’ team, but it’s not like she was given a choice, nor is it like she didn’t face challenges of her own (turns out disparity in the treatment of female members of staff is everywhere, and not necessarily in the ways you’re expecting). This is important, because the impetus of much of the episode is Hale attempting to get Coulson on board to work with her, and despite initial misgivings at the tail end of last week’s instalment, she is very genuine in that desire.

Elsewhere, the rest of the team are trying to work out how to move forward. They don’t have Coulson’s luxury of revelation direct from the source, so are stuck trying to work out exactly what Hale’s game is, why she wanted Coulson and how they can get him back. Of course, that might be easier if one of their lynchpin members wasn’t locked away, untrusted in a cell. The parallels are striking – the episode makes us come to think of Hale as more than just ‘the bad guy’ at the same time as subtly reinforcing the point that Fitz is still a good guy – at least so far as his ultimate intentions go. It’s fascinating that five seasons in, the show is still playing with the theme of the shades of grey that exist in the line of work in which the team finds itself. It’s easy to forget, among the time travel, skull-faced demons, aliens and fantastical weaponry that this is, at heart, a show about spies and the things they must do, the decisions they must take, to keep the people they serve safe. It’s timely that the team and the audience is reminded here that that means sometimes doing ‘bad’ things and making alliances with people with whom you may fundamentally disagree in order to serve the bigger picture.

And it’s fitting too that that ‘bigger picture’ outlook is one taken by the bad guys as well as the good guys. I said a few weeks ago that it was clear Hale and her crew would be more than simple ‘villains’ and would represent a complex threat to the team, and they’ve more than delivered on that. There are still so many unanswered questions, and it’s far from clear exactly where all the chips will fall, even at this stage. All in all, it makes for a show that feels invigorated and fresh, even though it’s literally revisiting conceptual ground it’s been ploughing since day one.

Verdict: After the emotional wringer of last week, this is a pleasingly easy watch. Though the ideas and concepts on display ate subtle, it’s not an episode that will require more than one watch, though it’s one I suspect fans will rewatch anyway, given how well put together it is. 9/10

Greg D. Smith