TV Recap: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., ‘Face My Enemy’

Lucky fans of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. were provided a real treat last Friday at Comic Con: A full screening of “Face My Enemy.” In a way, this screening (and subsequent exclusive footage of Agent Carter) was Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s justification for having a panel in the first place. Clark Gregg was the only cast member in attendance and not a lot was covered regarding Season 2. This made the panel highly irregular compared to other Main Stage events like The Walking Dead and Sleepy Hollow. But that’s okay though, because what was given to us attendees was enough. “Face My Enemy” was a really, really great episode. It played like a fast paced espionage thriller that had fight choreography on par with the major films. Perhaps that’s why this was chosen as the episode to be shown on a big screen in front on a 3000+ audience. It felt like I was watching a movie and I really couldn’t get enough.

“Face My Enemy” was divided into two distinct parts: Director Coulson (Clark Gregg) and Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) searching for a painting with drawings on the back similar to what’s on Coulson’s wall, and Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) re-discovering what it means to be on a team. Let’s focus on the former for now. The Coulson/May story was where all the action was and it was simply incredible. Before the mission kicked into high gear, it was fun watching these two pros do what they do best: being top secret agents. They fake identities and sneak into a lavish party, dance around a room while simultaneously scoping out security, and deal with secret traps. It was something that would find a home in Mission: Impossible.

The humor during this was really well done too, giving this episode a significantly lighter tone than the past three dark episodes. While Coulson and May were cavorting with the upper class, the writers wisely used this opportunity to play up May’s actions for comedic effect. For about half the episode, the typically stone edged agent laughed and smiled her way into the party. The team’s inability to handle this was hilarious. Of course, this was nothing compared to how it all showcased May’s ability to blend into any situation. It takes a truly talented agent to convincingly hide your real persona to trick everyone around you.

Once Glenn Talbot (Adrian Pasdar) showed up the action took center stage. Coulson fast tracks the mission so Talbot doesn’t get the painting first. But Talbot isn’t really Talbot. He’s Sunil Bakshi (Simon Kassianides) in disguise (if Talbot was Hydra I would’ve broken my TV in rage at the lazy writing) and wants to get the painting first for Daniel Whitehall (Reed Diamond). Like I said, some crazy espionage stuff. This all leads to the a really climactic battle of May vs. Imposter May and Coulson vs. Bakshi. Seriously, it felt like something out of ridiculous fan fiction. Yet few things are as awesome as watching the very talented Wen fighting herself in a no holds barred brawl. That camera work and choreography was incredible, and the brief slow motion over one of the Real May’s critical strikes was an excellent touch. It reminded me a lot of when Lance Hunter (Nick Blood) shot that bullet at Creel. The show doesn’t always flaunt it’s higher Season 2 production budget, but when it does, damn does it look gorgeous.

Plus, Coulson and May actually succeed! Hydra is beaten this time around and our heroes learn the truth behind the painting’s markings.

Even though the story focused around the rest of the team was primarily secluded to the Bus (outside of that quick intro of them gathering info in Miami), it actually worked by giving us a chance to see all of them together. The past three episodes have separated everyone on missions and we never got a chance to see them in a solid group setting. That’s what “Face My Enemy” did, which allowed us to see what it’s really like to have newcomers Hunter and Mac (Henry Simmons) hang out with the original team. For a while it was just silly fun, but then Imposter May sabotages the Bus and it’s time for Fitz to save the day.

“Face my Enemy” was a real turning point for Fitz. He spent most of the episode secluding himself from the group because he didn’t feel like he’s a valuable member anymore. Really nothing different from what he’s been doing lately. It takes the Bus’s imminent destruction for him to finally snap out of it, and it was great. Pairing up Fitz with Hunter was a nice change to the likeable Fitz-Mac duo by giving Hunter a chance to be a hero too. And once Fitz picked up that beer at the end after a successful Bus repair, only to talk about a bad relationship with this random girl, it was hard not to smile. Good ol’ Fitz is back and it couldn’t be better.

How the episode ended was a little “meh.” Whitehall ambushes Raina (Ruth Negga) in a car and forces her to get the Obelisk back for him. Why does he want it? We don’t know. We know literally nothing about Whitehall other than he hasn’t aged since the 40s and is apparently pure evil. Give us something to work with here! It’s also a little disappointing to see Raina getting pressured into working for Hydra. I enjoy her as that crazy wild card. Having her do some Hydra work, regardless of intention, feels like a retread from last year. But then again, Raina really is at her best when she’s part of some secretive, possible diabolical, scheme. For all we know this could shape up to be one of the better twists for her character. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Rating: 9/10

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Luke Kalamar is Pop-Break.com’s television and every Saturday afternoon you can read his retro video game column, Remembering the Classics. He covers Game of Thrones, Saturday Night Live and The Walking Dead (amongst others) every week. As for as his career and literary standing goes — take the best parts of Spider-man, Captain America and Luke Skywalker and you will fully understand his origin story.

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