Agents of SHIELD: Review: Series 2 Episode 9: Ye Who Enter Here

As Coulson and a team head down to the mysterious city, Skye goes to Raina’s aid…

The penultimate episode of this half of the season throws a few spanners in the works, and starts to set things up for what is potentially a very interesting cliffhanger to keep us interested during the gap while Agent Carter is showing us her exploits. There’s a character death – well, it’s a pretty good assumption that he is, although given Coulson’s ability to return from the dead, and the various other elements that are flying around at the moment, it’s by no means guaranteed. There are promises of yet more secrets to be revealed, although the scene between Bobbi and Trip was unusually heavy-handed for the show’s much improved second season writing. And we got to see Skye in action against Agent May lookalike Agent 33 – although the amount of times that both characters had their face obscured by their hair, you do have to wonder just how much either actress was involved in the fight.

The Fitz / Simmons awkward silence routine had indeed reached a point where something needed to be done, although I’m by no means convinced that the answer arrived at is the correct one, and the reminder that Coulson is not Nick Fury, particularly in terms of his outlook, also needed to be said. Additionally, the repositioning of Ward as a credible villain – particularly when contrasted with Skye’s father, Whitehouse and Agent 33 – is a welcome move.

Verdict: While there are multiple small cliffhangers to be resolved in the concluding part, but this episode played to the show’s strengths. 8/10

Paul Simpson