Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., S2 Ep06 – A Fractured House

Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Grant Ward has been locked away beneath Coulson and his team’s headquarters since this season’s premiere. The direction of where Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. planned on taking this character has been unclear. Would he stay imprisoned, feeding Skye info on HYDRA and her father? Can he be redeemed for his heinous actions in the past? “A Fractured House” aims to shake things up  and brings some new elements to the table regarding the character. And while this episode contained some aspects I didn’t care for, I’m confident its conclusion will bring about some new, interesting developments for the series.

Adrianne Palicki returns as Bobbi Morse

“A Fractured House” sees HYRDA attempt to frame S.H.I.E.L.D. by murdering several officials at a UN meeting while posing as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. The devices they used to kill the officials possess similar traits to that of the Obilesk, which indeed ends up being how the weapons were created. Bobbi, Hunter, and May discover this knowledge while on a mission. Despite containing some highly entertaining fight scenes and a few laugh-out-loud moments involving ex-spouses Bobbi and Hunter, this part of “A Fractured House” was a bit uninteresting. While it did help push the story along and in the long run led to Colonel Talbot coming to trust Coulson’s team, the other two aspects of “A Fractured House” were much more compelling.

As stated previously, Grant Ward plays a pivotal role in this episode. We are introduced to his brother, Senator Christian Ward. Christian Ward, played by White Collar‘s Tim DeKay, doesn’t seem like someone Coulson and his team can trust, and if any of what Grant says about him is true, they shouldn’t. But Coulson agrees to return Grant to Christian so Grant may face trial and S.H.I.E.L.D. may have their names cleared.

The scenes leading up to this twist were very well done and compelling, as we were given simultaneous glimpses into Coulson and Christian talking about Grant, and Grant and Skye talking about Christian. We see each brother telling their respective party not to trust the other. Of course Skye doesn’t buy Grant’s lies and he is taken away into custody.

I was a bit surprised that Grant assumed he was getting back on Coulson’s good side by providing him with information regarding HYDRA. There’s no coming back from what he’s done. I also liked seeing Simmons threaten to kill Grant if she ever saw him again as he was walked away in handcuffs. Unfortunately the episode concludes with Grant, while being held captive in an armored truck, breaking free from his handcuffs and taking down his captors. They should’ve listened to Coulson when he said “don’t give him an inch.”

Tim DeKay as Senator Christian Ward

In “A Fractured House”, the dynamic between Fitz and Simmons was very intriguing. Fitz’s heartbreaking condition continues to be more of issue as he struggles to adjust to Simmons’ return. It doesn’t look like they will be getting back into their Fitzsimmons antics again anytime soon, which is a sad but welcome change. Mac continues to be a good friend for Fitz (Fitzmac?), while Simmons admits that Fitz is worse with her there. This brought us to the unfortunate realization that Simmons actually did leave the team and became a mole in HYRDA just to get away from Fitz.

Overall, “A Fractured House” was very good. While I didn’t care for the side mission with Bobbi, Hunter, and May, I found the quarrels between Bobbi and Hunter humorous and entertaining. I’m looking forward to seeing what becomes of Ward after his escape. Will he return to HYDRA, join up with Raina and Skye’s father, or just go off and do his own thing? Also, will Simmons now decide to keep her distance from Fitz until he’s all better? Will he ever get better? So far this season has me very interested in what happens to these characters. If you haven’t jumped on board the S.H.I.E.L.D. train yet you really should.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will return November 11 with “The Writing on the Wall”. Next week, instead of premiering a new episode, Marvel will celebrate their 75th anniversary with an hour-long special entitled “Marvel 75 Years: From Pulp to Pop!”. This week’s episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. not only gave fans an extended look at Avengers: Age of Ultron, but also showed a brief teaser of Agent Carter, which premieres in 2015. Check out the promo for Agent Carter below and feel free to let us know what you thought of “A Fractured House” in the comments.