#...ye who enter here

This is a very good episode. I don’t think that I’ve thought that in the past, but I really like it now. Especially paying attention to Agent May the entirety of the episode.

The title of this episode, 1x09, is “Repairs.” The title of 3x09 is “Closure.” The title of 4x09 is “Broken Promises.” The title of 6x09 is “Collision Course Part 2.” All of these titles deal with idea of brokenness or fixing what’s been broken or causing something to break. In 1x09, May is slowly coming back to who she was before Bahrain. In 3x09, Ward kills Rosalind, causing Coulson to seek necessary closure and to try and fix what’s been broken. In 4x09, the bond between Senator Nadeer and her brother is shattered. Fitz’s confidence and trust in Radcliffe is also starting to erode, and Radcliffe is revealed to be the one leading the betrayal. In 6x09, the team in the truck shatter Izel’s structure. But all factions of the team are reunited once more. The show does a really good job of exploring the idea of brokenness, and there are numerous additional examples that play with this theme.

In 1x09, Skye is pretty hard on May and is frustrated that she’s bonding in one way or another with every other member of the team except her. The animosity she has with her is resolved at the end of the episode. In 2x09, May is Skye’s S.O. and extremely protective of her. In 3x09, May and Daisy are working together tightly as teammates. In 5x09, Daisy comments on May being a mom. In 6x09, Daisy rushes to May and grabs her hand as they prepare for the truck’s explosion.

There is a brief exchange between Skye and Coulson at the beginning of this episode when Skye tells Coulson she has experience with dealing with powered people, like Mike Peterson. After Coulson sarcastically asks her to think how that turned out, she points to him in a gesture of agreement. In “S.O.S. Part 2,” after Cal apologizes for the wreckage in the lab, Coulson tells him he’s running a tab for Cal. Cal points to him in a very similar gesture. Like father, like daughter?

In 1x09, the team is discussing if telekinesis is even possible. In 3x09, Jemma is tortured by someone with telekinesis. In 5x09, Daisy battles someone who is at least telekinetic with her balls. 

In 1x09, Skye defensively says that she didn’t go to FitzSimmons’ “Hogwarts or whatever.” In 2x09, after Raina describes the obelisk’s powers, Skye answers with, “Sounds a little Harry Potter to me.” 

In 1x09, Skye jokingly compares May to a robot. In 4x09, LMD May is walking around the base.

In 1x09, when Ward is waking up from being knocked out, Simmons is paying special attention to him and holding him which, again, supports the crush she mentions in 3x09. 

In 1x09, May tells Tobias to let the girl go, an echo of what Coulson told her in Bahrain. In 2x09, May has to let the girl, Skye, go with Ward and Raina. In 4x09, May is forced to let the “girl,” LMD May, go in her stead. In 5x09, May has to let the idea of the girl, Robin, go after learning that she raised her. 

I love the way that the plane’s logo becomes the ending title card. And I love the last scene before the tag with Skye quietly joining May and May smiling a little.

May’s story in this episode is just heartbreaking. Nobody knows what happened in Bahrain except her, and that’s so much grief for her to carry. I love that she removes Hannah from the plane to get Tobias away from her people. And then she’s the only one who can get through to Tobias. But the things she tells him about not being able to take back what’s been done and how he’s dragging Hannah to hell sound so personal. I wonder if May left Andrew, so that she wasn’t dragging him into her personal hell. I wonder if May asked for a transfer partly because she didn’t want to drag Coulson into her personal hell.

And did everyone catch what Fitz said after Ward says, “Planes on uneven ground. Could just be settling”?

“Or the other thing.” 

This is a great episode, and I do like that this is known as the Halloween episode. I didn’t expect to be moved by it as much as I was. Therefore, it ranks above the first five and even “The Well” for me.

FZZT

The Hub

Repairs

The Well

Eye Spy

Pilot

Girl in the Flower Dress

The Asset

I love this episode. Such a good set up for the next one. 

The opening is so Whedonesque. Big fan. 

So important and appreciated that Sam emphasizes to Raina that he’s not hitting on her. The show’s acknowledging that this is a real issue, while having Sam use the quickest way to get Raina to trust him. I just really appreciate that comment.

In this episode, 2x09, Skye and May talk about putting Ward down. In 3x09, Coulson seeks and plans to do just that. 

in 2x09, Skye and Hunter fight Agent 33, a woman with May’s face burned onto her. In 4x09, LMD May has infiltrated the base, unbeknownst to her. 

All of the questions that Bobbi is asking Coulson makes so much more sense in hindsight. She’s suspicious and a member of SHIELD... the real SHIELD.

Mack’s face as he glances back and forth at Fitz and Jemma is the best. 

I LOVE Fitz and Jemma’s conversation. Their expressions say so much, and the words they choose, and the delivery. It’s such gorgeous angst, and I’m here for it. I keep rewinding to watch just Fitz’s face the whole time and then just Jemma’s the whole time and focus on what each of them are saying. It’s just full of chemistry and solid acting and a stunning scene.

In this episode, 2x09, Sam and Billy make fun of Agent 33′s robot voice. In 4x09, the team deals with a rogue Aida. In 5x09, Enoch the Chronicom is aboard the Zephyr, helping the team.

I love watching Bobbi try to convince Diego in the background of Coulson’s phone conversation. It’s really comical, and Diego is not having it. 

In 2x09, Mack is possessed by the city. In 6x09, Davis and May are possessed by Izel. 

In 2x09, Ward forces Skye to go with him to save the team. In 3x09, Ward forces Fitz to go with him to save Simmons. 

Really good episode! I think this was the first one I ever watched live because I was all caught up after bingeing the first season. A great one to tune in live with! 

Beginning of the End

Turn, Turn, Turn

...Ye Who Enter Here

A Hen in the Wolf House

Nothing Personal

T.R.A.C.K.S.

FZZT

A Fractured House

Making Friends and Influencing People

Shadows

Ragtag

The Writing on the Wall

The Only Light in the Darkness

I Will Face My Enemy

Providence

End of the Beginning

The Magical Place

Heavy Is the Head

Seeds

The Hub

The Things We Bury

The Bridge

Repairs

T.A.H.I.T.I.

The Well

Eye Spy

Pilot

Girl in the Flower Dress

The Asset

0-8-4