‘Leap’ Plot Summary:
Izel (Karolina Wydra) wreaks havoc at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters while Sarge (Clark Gregg) miraculously recovers from his seemingly fatal wounds.
This is the episode we’ve all been waiting for since Sarge’s introduction in the season premiere. It’s time to reveal who he really is. You might think that waiting so long would set up for inevitable disappointment, but somehow the explanation works. We’ll get into that in a bit. First, we need to talk about Izel.
Izel and the Shrike admittedly have whatever powers the writers want them to; they don’t appear to have comic book counterparts. However, I can forgive it because of the situations these abilities put our heroes in. This episode echoes the paranoia that came with Season 1’s big Hydra reveal, which is a comparison I’ve made twice before, during the Hive and LMD arcs. But “Leap” keeps things fresh. For starters, it only takes half the episode for the agents to expose Izel. The episode also cleverly plays with the viewers’ expectations, revealing Izel to us early to make us think she’s still controlling Deke (Jeff Ward). It took me a while to realize the show could be deceiving us through its editing, which it was.
Things get crazy when Izel starts jumping from host to host, as Daisy (Chloe Bennet) and Yo-Yo (Natalia Cordova-Buckley) can only watch. Then Izel kills Agent Davis (Maximilian Osinski). Though this is a good moment of raising the stakes, Agent Davis has never been the most likable character. While he never reached levels on Jar Jar Binks annoyingness, he ultimately failed as comic relief. I can never forgive him for what he did to the plot on Kitson. It’s ultimately a blessing that he’s gone. Even killing Deke would have been more weighty. He’s not much better, but he is Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Simmons’ (Elizabeth Henstridge) grandson.
Now that there’s enough anticipation, let’s talk about Sarge. Some fans might be disappointed he isn’t truly Coulson, but Sarge being Coulson would undo the impact of Coulson’s death. Coulson’s already come back once. We need to take every permanent death we can in the comic book world. The monoliths implanting Coulson’s body and memories onto Sarge is not the greatest answer in and of itself. However, Gregg and Wydra’s performances sell it. The pain and confusion that Gregg portrays is some of the best acting he’s ever done in anything Marvel. Bear McCreary’s score also greatly adds to the scene.
So, turns out keeping Yo-Yo and Daisy separate from Izel was a good idea, because now Izel’s taken hold of Yo-Yo. There are still three episodes left in the season and a lot can still happen. Sarge appears to be on the good guys’ side, for now. Season 6 has been inconsistent, but it’s massively improved these past few weeks. Fingers crossed the rest of the season is as good.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10 (Great)
