‘All Roads Lead…’ Plot Summary:
As Ruby (Dove Cameron) assembles the gravitonium chamber for her transformation, the team focuses on reaching Hale (Catherine Dent). Meanwhile, Talbot (Adrian Pasdar) betrays the team to Hydra.
“All Roads Lead…” is an appropriate name for this week’s episode, given that leadership is at the forefront. If you recall, May (Ming-Na Wen) told Coulson (Clark Gregg) that Daisy (Chloe Bennet) wasn’t ready to lead. This is a pretty important conversation, considering Coulson is dying and grooming Daisy to take his place. I agreed with May in my last review, saying Daisy didn’t yet display the proper qualities for command.
You might think this week’s episode contradicts May’s argument, as Daisy exudes the confidence and levelheadedness she needs to. She preps the team well and handles Ruby very responsibly. The big difference is that Daisy performs with Coulson there. May said last week Daisy was working to get Coulson back and relinquish her duties back to him. Daisy will have to learn to do without Coulson; he won’t always be around to back her up.
In a parallel story, Ruby is attempting to step out from her mother’s shadow. She means to do this with the gravitonium. While it is disappointing that she only absorbs 8%, her new powers are still just as powerful as Daisy’s, perhaps even more. Though I’m not completely shocked by Strucker’s death (Spencer Treat Clark), I didn’t expect Ruby to accidently crush his head in. I also wasn’t expecting Yo-Yo (Natalia Cordova-Buckley) to kill Ruby.
The major subplot this week is Talbot’s brainwashing. It’s not entirely clear what Talbot’s looking to accomplish, though he doesn’t get that far. He thankfully doesn’t shoot himself to overcome Hale’s control. That would have been a sad and unceremonious end for a recurring character like him.
A much lesser subplot this week is Deke’s (Jeff Ward) infatuation with Daisy. While his subconscious desire to be with Daisy would make enough sense, having him consciously pining for her feels out of nowhere. It would have worked better as something he had to discover over the course of the next few episodes. Unfortuantely, he’s gone back to the periphery of relevance.
With Ruby dead, Hale’s out for revenge. This episode sets the table for something special.
