Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., S2 Ep12 – Who You Really Are

Thor: The Dark World‘s Jaimie Alexander reprises her role as Lady Sif in this week’s episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Further building upon the introduction of Inhumans into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Who You Really Are” isn’t so much focused on the return of Lady Sif, but the evolution of Skye.

Jaimie Alexander returns as Lady Sif

When we first see Lady Sif she has lost her memory and doesn’t even remember her own name or why she has come to Midgard (Earth) in the first place. It’s later revealed that she had a run-in with a Kree warrior who has set out to find and eliminate any Inhumans found on Earth. This Kree also has the ability to wipe the minds of his enemies, hence Lady Sif’s amnesia. While this amnesia subplot was fun at times mostly due to Alexander’s performance as Lady Sif, it almost felt unnecessary, only there to make the episode feel more like a mystery.

Skye continued to display fear of her powers and what might happen to her if anyone found out. Fortunately Fitz is there with her the whole time, assisting in hiding her secret until they can figure out a way to deal with the issue or break it to the rest of the group gently. Their efforts are all for naught once the team finally crosses path with the Kree sent out to take the Inhumans down.

Vin-Tak, played by Warehouse 13‘s Eddie McClintock, is the Kree warrior/assassin Lady Sif and the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. cross paths with. He’s portrayed as someone just trying to clean up a mess left by his Kree ancestors – that mess being the Inhumans. Feeling completely justified in his actions he even later attempts to gain the trust of Coulson and the rest of the team, but once they find out Skye is an Inhuman they do everything they can to prevent Vin-Tak from killing her.

It was nice to finally see a Kree make their way onto Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as the concept of the Kree has been teased since Coulson first saw the blue alien that had a part in reviving him back in season one. While we are treated to some decent actions scenes with Vin-Tak as even Bobbi, Mack, and Hunter try and take him down, he’s really only there to deliver a lot of exposition and further explain the concept of Inhumans to the audience. While it was interesting to hear Vin-Tak break down who the Inhumans are and why they are here, it seemed like a little too much information to pack into one episode, almost as if we were just watching a history lesson. Still, the information has to be delivered as the Inhumans, and even the Kree, are not mainstream ideas. General audiences who want to know what to expect from Marvel’s eventual Inhumans film should really be watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to see what they are in for.

May attempting to calm Skye down

While I’m enjoying the way Marvel is using Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to introduce the Inhumans, I’m finding the current subplot with Mack and Bobbi a bit more compelling. In this episode we learn that the two are indeed not part of HYDRA, but are still planning something that will turn the rest of the team against them. By the end of the episode Hunter confronts Mack about whatever it is him and Bobbi are hiding, which leads to Mack choking Hunter out and putting him to sleep, almost contradicting his earlier statement about not being a violent person.

Though a little too heavy on the exposition, “Who You Really Are” was a satisfying episode. I’m hoping Skye learns how to control and embrace her new Inhuman abilities soon enough as she could be a superhero in her own right. Also, I really enjoyed seeing the group bicker over how to deal with their new Skye dilemma, as Fitz tried to justify why he had to keep her abilities a secret. It’s unfortunate Skye had to hear the argument. These actions may lead Skye further and further away from the group and maybe into the arms of her Inhuman brothers and sisters. I’m looking forward to seeing more Inhumans pop up on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Next week Skye’s father returns and has brought a few supervillains along with him. Check out the promo for “One of Us” below and feel free to let us know what you thought about “Who You Really Are” in the comments.