The team confronts one another about the various events of the previous few episodes and various parts respective players had in them. But there’s soon no time for bickering as a bigger threat presents itself.

So the last episode of SHIELD was a bit crazy. Though it’s never been a show shy about spilling a bit of blood (ironic considering it’s revolved since its genesis around a character resurrected from the movie side of the MCU), it’s rare that it kills off two major characters in one scene, and yet that’s exactly what happened, with the younger Von Strucker and Ruby dying in short order. This episode begins with the team at each other’s throats about the various shenanigans that led to this. Daisy is angry at YoYo for killing Ruby, Mack is angry at YoYo and FitzSimmons for locking him in a cell and running off, YoYo is resentful that Daisy has been placed in charge and so on. There’s a lot of yelling and then it’s time to move on.

Daisy heads off to take Robin and her mother back to safety, agreeing a little sidestop with May as well on the ongoing quest to save Coulson’s life, whether he wants it saved or not. This has the effect of essentially getting Daisy out of the way for when the real meat of the episode kicks in.

Remember those alien bad guys Hale was talking to last week? Yeah, they turn up and suddenly the Lighthouse is under siege. There’s a fairly incongruous moment of comedy by Coulson when they first arrive, and then it’s on with the action as the base locks down and the team are confronted with an enemy they really aren’t equipped to fight.

What this means in practice is that for the majority of the episode the gang are split into groups trying to achieve specific tasks and hopefully outwit their enemies and find a way out. With their biggest gun in the shape of Daisy absent, that’s no easy task.

There’s so much going on here, and so many decent performances that it feels difficult to single any out. Adrian Pasdar as Talbot has been asked to do so many different things with the character, from bumbling idiot always half a step behind SHIELD through to reluctant ally, and now, traumatised good guy with a head full of bad guy interference. He gets a lot to do this week, and it’s all impressive to watch. Natalia Cordova-Buckley and henry Simmons get some dramatic stuff as well as YoYo and Mack face an uncertain future. It’s heart-breaking to see them on the verge of ending things after it took them so long to get together in the first place, and we can only hope that things improve soon.

All in all, it’s a pacy episode, as the team find themselves under siege and in a tight corner. There’s moments of lightness among the dark but they’re few and far between and the ending really does come right out of nowhere. As the episodes tick down towards the conclusion of the series, one thing is for sure – this one looks like it’ll end on a bang.

Verdict: Claustrophobic, thrilling and action-packed. SHIELD delivers another solid episode with a couple of twists thrown in for good measure. 8/10

Greg D. Smith