AGENTS OF SHIELD Season 3 Episode 9: You Won't Like Phil Coulson When He's Angry



We’re almost there. The AGENTS OF SHIELD midseason finale is only a week away and it feels like it has taken forever to get there. At the very least we saw the continuation of all three story lines coming together in a pretty big way.

The episode started off with a literal bang. At first, I wondered if the whole thing was a dream. It seemed way too casual considering how we’d left off before Thanksgiving — finding out that the ACTU was working for Hydra. But it seemed Rosslyn understood Coulson’s position and had since forgiven him. 

But it was all for naught. Moments into their fast food dinner a bullet comes through the window and takes Rosslyn out for good. Besides further cementing Ward as a complete villain with no room for redemption, we also got a look at Coulson’s fighting skills. The guy can fight! It certainly helps that he has a mechanical hand that gives him some added strength. 

The loss of Rosslyn was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Coulson. He’d had enough of Ward and it was time to take him out. Not that he hadn’t already tried of course, using Hunter to do it, but if you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself. So Coulson decides he needs to go off book, do things a SHIELD director should never do. In his place he puts Mac as acting director. 

Mac was an interesting choice, but one that made sense. In reality he was probably the only mentally and physically stable of the group. I did enjoy the fact that he wasn’t exactly up to the task. For being such a tough guy who is always challenging Coulson, it was ironic to see that the weight of being leader was almost too much for him. 

Meanwhile, Hunter and company began to question how far Coulson was willing to go in order to get to Ward. But kidnapping Tommy was a great little twist. He was truly the only thing that Ward cared about and it was nice to see Coulson get under his skin like that. 

For a guy who is in love with Simmons, Fitz seems more obsessed with getting Will back than Simmons does at this point. I’m not sure if he wants to be her Knight in shining armor who went to save her love or if it’s part of his complete devotion to her. In any case, it landed him across the galaxy with a bunch of Hydra agents. 

Yup, we went back to the castle in London where Hydra had fixed the place up and were able to create a sustainable portal. I wondered how far they would take the whole thing of getting Hydra on the planet. But it was nice to see that Simmons being transported to and from the planet had a much larger meaning than the romantic implication it had for her relationship with Fitz. 

The fact that Coulson parachuted himself straight into the portal was a bit silly. But it simply cements the idea that he’s going after Ward no matter what. I can only hope that it means something. Meaning that Ward has been a thorn in their side for several seasons now. It’s time to put the nail in the coffin. The man can only escape death so many times. He’s served his purpose and I think the show would benefit by having him removed now. 

Lastly, I wonder how far things will go when it comes to the creature. The true leader of Hydra. Are we going to see someone comic book fans will recognize? How important of a role will this creature play? Hopefully these are things we’ll find out before the show goes on hiatus for several months.




Written by Peter Freeman, AGENTS OF SHIELD Beat Writer