Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., S2 Ep15 – One Door Closes

“One Door Closes” pits Director Coulson’s agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. against the other agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. led by Director Robert Gonzalez (Edward James Olmos). Additionally, this week’s episode provides some much deserved back story of how the apparent “real” S.H.I.E.L.D. came to be and further develops Skye’s evolution into an Inhuman.

The day S.H.I.E.L.D. fell

The flashback sequences depicted how Bobbi, Mack, Gonzalez, and Izzy (who died in this season’s premiere) regrouped after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. when Hydra announced their takeover. While these scenes don’t delve into why this particular group of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents would defect from Coulson’s group in the first place, it was nice to see what drove these characters so close together. Plus, we already know they had disagreed with Coulson’s methods after he had appeared to be under the influence of the alien blood inside him.

The flashback sequences provided some fun action and neat character moments. We get to see Bobbi kick some butt and shoot some Hydra agents and see Mack prove his worth by attempting to sacrifice himself for a fellow agent. Also, while her screen time was brief, its always nice to see Lucy Lawless on screen as she reprised her role as Izzy.

Back in the present day, Coulson and his team faced a very tense situation as Coulson takes action and attempts to confirm his suspicions about Mack. This confrontation leads to Coulson and his team finding out that both he and Bobbi are working together against them. Bobbi is soon caught stealing Fury’s “toolbox” which had been entrusted to Coulson to rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D. Eventually Director Gonzales makes his way in with the rest of the “real” S.H.I.E.L.D. and proceeds to take Coulson’s base away from him.

Although these two factions of S.H.I.E.L.D. appear to be on different sides, Gonzalez’s S.H.I.E.L.D. make it clear that they don’t want any blood shed over this power struggle. Mack even continues to show some loyalty to his former peers when he saves Fitz from an explosion, and Bobbi recommends using Icers over real guns when attempting to take in Skye, who at the time was secluded in a cabin in the woods somewhere.

The subplot involving Skye finally gave her a chance to meet with the seemingly blind, teleporting Inhuman we now know is named Gordon. Gordon comes off as a nice guy, but there’s still a lot we don’t know about him. When he confronts Skye about her new found Inhuman abilities he gives her the option to choose whether or not she comes along with him.

Edward James Olmos as Director Gonzalez

Whether or not Skye would have eventually given in and decided to go along with Gordon on her own accord is unclear. The only thing that drives her to calling for Gordon to come and get her is the sudden emergence of Bobbi and Agent Calderon (Kirk Acevedo) who are there to bring Skye in. Out of all the agents on Gonzalez’s team, Calderon is the one it seems we are to be the most distrusting of. When he sees Skye running from them in the forest he attempts to shoot her. This is where Skye’s power comes out yet again as she deflects the bullets and destroys the trees and earth in front of her, taking down both Bobbi and Calderon.

While Skye did cause an immense amount of destruction somewhat effortlessly, this time her power did seem a bit more focused. She even seemingly directed the vibrations with her own hands. Maybe Gordon’s words got through to her and she will now begin to learn how to focus her abilities better in coming episodes.

By the end of episode Skye had escaped with Gordon, Coulson got away from the “real” S.H.I.E.L.D. and found himself regrouping with Hunter, and Agent May, Fitz, and Simmons were left behind. Overall, “One Door Opens” turned out to be a pretty fun and exciting episode filled with some interesting back story, fun action, and unique developments. It made up for the last two episodes, which I personally was not too fond of. With Skye now among the other Inhumans it’s safe to assume we will learn more about them. I look forward to seeing what happens next.

Next week Coulson will continue to try and take back what Fury left to him and will hopefully save the rest of his team. Additionally, Skye will meet a particular Inhuman named Lincoln played by The Tomorrow People’s Luke Mitchell. Check out the promo for “Afterlife” below and feel free to let us know what you thought about “One Door Closes” in the comments.