Coulson and Talbot team up, whether they like it or not.
By Eric Goldman
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
The return of the Absorbing Man (even if they never call him that, dang it) was particularly cool to see this week, since Creel’s introduction at the top of Season 2 had been an exciting Marvel inclusion and it would have been a shame to not use him again. Him changing sides offscreen and now helping Talbot — after we last saw him as Talbot’s prisoner – was a bit odd, given how little info we were given about it, but since Creel was hardly what you’d call staunch in his Hydra beliefs, I’ll let it go, because it was exciting to have him back and once more, his powers made for some very notable, visually dynamic moments.
And hey, it also turns out his blood could be a key to “curing” Inhumans – or at least those who haven’t been exposed to terrigen yet. And yes, we’re once more using Inhumans as a substitute for a plotline Marvel fans will recognize from mutant/X-Men lore, as Daisy and Lincoln were on opposite sides of a debate about whether a “cure” was something that should be even offered, with Daisy now firmly seeing what has happened to her as a gift.
The reveal that Talbot was Malick’s mole had me highly concerned for a moment, as it would be pretty much impossible to reconcile with his past, where he had proven multiple times that he may be a jerk, but he isn’t Hydra. That being the case, it was a relief to learn he hadn’t truly switched sides, but had been coerced into helping Malick to save his son – in an episode that did a nice job showing Coulson and Talbot beginning to get on the same page and actually work well together.
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Interesting to have May tell Hunter she felt he had no actual loyalty to SHIELD and was only there for Bobbi – which certainly seems to be laying some groundwork for both of them to take off if the Marvel’s Most Wanted spinoff is ordered to series. The May/Hunter tension did set up a great and hysterical moment, when Hunter revealed he’d snuck May and Bobbi’s weapons in and Bobbi’s “I love you” was followed by May’s “I don’t hate you quite as much.”
As for Hive, I’m still confused by what he’s doing to his fellow Inhumans like Lucio and Giyera when he whammies them. Are they more powerful? They don’t seem to be more under his sway (Giyera was clearly shaken hearing the screams of Hive’s human victims), so what exactly changes for them?
Regardless, what he’s doing to humans is messed up! The reveal of him standing in that heap of meat and bones, with his Ward Corpse shell now all looking bright and shiny again, was an effective, horror-movie like moment to be sure.
There was a lot to enjoy this week on SHIELD, as we began to see what it would be like for Talbot to take orders from Coulson, got a better look at how Hive “feeds” and got the return of the Absorbing Man. And while I still find Lincoln pretty bland, putting him and Daisy into conflict over a possible Inhuman cure (even if they took a break for some sexy time) is a step in the right direction.
