3.21 & 3.22 Absolution/Ascension Part 1&2

Anushka Mokosh

Matryona Marzanna
Joined
Aug 31, 2012
Messages
2,964
So the double season finale. Thrilling really.

The first episode opens with Daisy and Coulson in a containment unit on the planet where Hive was captured, Maveth, as Daisy is trying to return to Earth. However, soon we see it was naught but a dream and Daisy wakes up looking quite worse for the wear. It is obvious that she is haunted by what she had done while under Hive's influence and the detox seems to be having a visible physical impact on her.

The scene switches to Mack, May, Lincoln, and Elena in the airplane seemingly going after Ward as Lincoln and Elena are wearing the suicide jackets. Lincoln gives the controllers to Mack should it come to Hive taking control of them and Elena seems to approve. Whatever they are doing, it seems like a perilous attempt.

We return to Daisy as Simmons visits her to update her on their progress and Daisy is tortured by how she has hurt people while under Hive's influence. Simmons is trying to gauge more information from Daisy and informs us that the previously shown team is actually heading to retrieve the nuclear warhead from a potential location.

Afterwards, Hive is shown preparing the nuclear missile on the island and Giyera mentions that there is no way for SHIELD to infiltrate the island without them noticing as the radar has been modified to detect cloaking. However, they didn't count on Agent Perfect aka May who flies the jet underwater(!) so bypass the radar. You go May!

Daisy is trying to claim that they will fail and lists all the reason how trying to seemingly regain some contribution to the team, but Simmons seems to be quite annoyed by it and rightfully so considering she's still likely raw about the attacks on Fitz and Mack. Moreover, they really aren't all that stupid that they wouldn't know such things.

Talbot, on the other hand, is trying to obtain kill codes and it doesn't seem to be possible. However, it was just a ploy to gain access for Coulson to enter a location where he can obtain the aforementioned kill codes. Fitz's tests were hilarious. Talbot and Fitz manage to gain kill codes by impersonating another general. Talbot is really advancing as a character as he willingly cuts through the red tape and Coulson obtains the kill codes. His new-found trust and full cooperation with SHIELD is a nice progress.

May's team is on the island preparing to upload the codes as soon as they are available. They show the security camera feed of Hive and May still seems to be annoyed by it wearing Ward's face. When it comes to May, picking Ward as its vessel was not the smartest thing Hive ever did considering her enthusiasm about the prospect of having a chance to off Ward herself or at least punch him in the face. It makes one wonder how long May can hold a grudge and further establishes that one should not get on her bad side. I do find it very admirable that May is still managing to stay a convincing fighting force to be reckoned with despite being just a human in a cast that keeps being expanded with Inhumans. The plan hits the first sang as the kill codes turn out to be a bit longer than they expected them to be. Luckily, Coulson talks fast and Fitz types at a keyboard killing speed.

Hive is quite pissed as SHIELD stopped his attempts to launch the missiles. For the first time, they actually managed to piss him off.

May doesn't seem to be willing to deal with Lincoln trying to bond with her, but they are now in a tight place as they have been revealed. May has to secure the warhead. Mack and Elena are further bonding as she tells Mack she'd rather die than be Hive's slave. Elena seems annoyed by Mack's lack of understanding and I get her. Faith is something alive to her while Mack is treating it as a lucky charm.

Radcliffe's babbling was quite an annoying side-track and I just wanted the scene to be over. There were just too many more interesting plot-lines and that one was just sucking time with his shenanigans with primitive Inhumans.

Lincoln's encounter with Hive was interesting. Hive actively used the knowledge he gained from Daisy to provoke him.

However, the scene switches to Daisy and Coulson as Daisy lays the blame quite heavily to herself comparing her brainwashing at the hands of Hive to brainwashing Ward got early on from HYDRA. I hardly expected such a self-reflection from the increasingly sanctimonious Daisy we witnessed before her Hive slave period. I quite liked it despite the fact that I believe she's at the very least toeing the false equivalence territory as Coulson points out to her. The Daisy-Coulson dynamics is still one of my favourites as they seem to understand each other on a fundamental level. Daisy offers to be put in the memory machine, but Coulson doesn't seem to be keen on using it on Daisy. In a sheer stroke of brilliance, they use it on Hive instead as Lincoln leads him into a trap prepared by Mack and Elena. Considering how many people and traumas Hive had absorbed, that must have been quite a ride. Will, Ward, Malik's brother, etc. were all people with trauma. Ward's traumas seemed most prevalent.

May fights the three primitive Inhumans with surprising efficiency as the good Doctor Radcliffe is facing a choice while Elena frees the hostages. Luckily, the good Doctor picks right. Giyera on the other hand takes the warhead and the team now scrambles to keep up while Yoyo manages to capture Hive and carbonize him. He got Han Solo-ed. XD

Talbot continues to impress. His lovely word creations are my new entertainment. He even manages to put fear in Radcliffe as he calls Talbot nearly as scary as Hive.

Coulson makes Lincoln a pull agent, but Lincoln refuses the offer as he doesn't feel up to the task and he doesn't think that he and Daisy have a chance. Mack goes to inform Daisy about Hive's capture and he tries to talk to her and console her. Daisy feels rightfully guilty and tries to push him away, but Mack gets to her and Daisy breaks down in quite an emotional scene.

Simmons is apparently booking a trip for herself and Fitz. The distraction to their relationship is not an unwelcome one as the natural lull in the action was reached and their relationship is simply so serene and heartwarming it never seems forced or out of place. Scene ends as Fitz goes to check up on Hive and the scene is filled with dread as he takes the Elena's cross.

Mack and Daisy talk together as Daisy tries to explains what it is that Hive does and how she sees it. Mack seems to know just what to say to help Daisy and I believe that their interaction was the strongest point of the first out of two episodes.

Fitz gets caught up in the explosion of the Inhuman virus as they finally realize what Absolution stands for, but quite too late. Fitz manages to escape the virus, but the turned SHIELD agents free Hive and Hive's plan is back on track as Daisy told him everything about Zephyr.

Daisy is back in action as she goes in to stop Hive. The Memory rehash they did on Hive seems to still be doing a number on him. The episode ends with Daisy begging Hive to take her back as the junkie in her wants her fix and the absolution of the guilt she feels.

However, the second episode makes it clear that Daisy is now immune to Hive thanks to Lash and in a fit of rage she seemingly loses control of her powers and attacks Hive. Their fight is one of better fights in the show so far as Daisy fully exhibits her powers. I would say that it rivals the May vs Giyera fight or maybe the May vs Ward early in the show. However, nothing Daisy does seems to work on Hive. He is just too sturdy and manages to capture her as Giyera and Hellfire arrive.

Elena sacrifices herself to save Mack as the primitive Inhumans wreak havoc on the SHIELD base and all their plans seem to crumble as the primitive Inhumans are just too fast for them. Simmons is all on her own as Mack, Lincoln, Doctor, and Coulson try to save Elena while May and Fitz had infiltrated the Zephyr. The blowtorch being used to save Elena was one of the most brutal scenes so far even if it was not explicitly shown. Simmons figures out that the heat seems to confuse the primitive Inhumans.

May's tough love of Daisy seems to be getting through to her, but Giyera interrupts the conversation. However, in a shocking twist Fitz kills Giyera with a cloaked gun all while seemingly shaking with fear. If that wasn't badass, I don't know what was. Except maybe the way Coulson escaped the SHIELD headquarters.

Ward Reboot Nightmare was a Talbot worthy spew of words. Coulson's head on approach to Hive was quite entertaining and the hologram idea was so much fun even if I saw it from the start. The Obi Wan Kenobi thing had me laughing for quite a while. Coulson is still such a geek. XD

Mack's axe gun was the most awesome weapon since the chainsword. I want it. XD

Lincoln's sacrifice was not entirely unexpected. His goodbye to Daisy and Daisy's heartfelt wish to atone for her actions were very emotional even if I never liked that relationship nor Lincoln.

Hive's acceptance of his own demise was interesting as he and Lincoln talked about sacrifice and what it is. The part where Hive acknowledges what Lincoln did for humanity was one of both Lincoln's and Hive's best moments.

I wonder how they will find a new villain for the show. They seem to be building up Daisy as the new nemesis for the SHIELD in the role of a Robin Hood style rouge and I wonder how that will come to be and ultimately, how it will work. It also seems that Coulson is no longer the Director so that is a new development to be looking towards. Not to mention that Radcliffe is planning something too and Fitz and Simmons seem to be working with him rather than with SHIELD. May is nowhere to be seen. Elena too. There were many bits and pieces given, but nothing concrete. Guess we'll have to wait for Season 4.
 
Last edited:
really enjoyed this season ender = it was obvious someone was going to die but it still (IMO) packed an emotional punch. The ending wit Ward/Hive and Lincoln was great - you really got the feeling that Hive was (in a way) glad for Lincoln's sacrifice as it showed him something new and totally unexpected.

Roll on next season
 
really enjoyed this season ender = it was obvious someone was going to die but it still (IMO) packed an emotional punch.

Yes, agreed - and I'm saying this when I was never really convinced by the Lincoln character, and even less convinced by the Daisy/Lincoln relationship. It was Chloe Bennet who really made that scene work, IMO. It was kind of a shame that they cut away from it so quickly, which I found quite jarring, but I guess they couldn't let it end without inserting a hook for next season.

Loved the invisible gun, and Coulson's hologram diversion.

Overall, another thoroughly enjoyable season with some genuine thrills. I'm hoping that Bobbi, at least, will return next season, now that Marvel's Most Wanted has been dumped.
 
So Lincoln is dead. And I'm okay with that. Like many others, it seems, I never really liked him. He was a bit one note. And I never felt the connection between him and Daisy, the way I felt it between Fitz and Simmons. It is to the writers' credit that his sacrifice felt poignant nonetheless.

Finally we got to see Hive's true face and it was pretty good all things considered. I just wish we knew more about his motivations. His last scene hinted at something else than just being plain evil.

What now for season 4?
If there even is going to be one?
 
The highlight for me was the death of the seemingly indestructible Ward/Hive. Finally!
Pity that Lincoln had to sacrifice himself in the process.
I don't want to learn, next season, that Hive was able to survive a nuclear explosion, get his dusty remains back to earth and reassemble himself. I never want to see Brett Dalton's face again on Agents of SHIELD -- or anywhere else, for that matter. :D
 
I think he'll be back. Just a hunch but he is indestructible after all.
 
I am sad that Grant Ward's Wild Ride is finally over, although I can't imagine a better finish than this one. Afterwards watching the season finale, I start to think that many of us were taking him for granted.

That being said, I must appreciate Hellfire. His Australian heritage is so strong, that even under Hive's sway he remains Inhuman Shitposter. Giyera and Lucia were thinking that not all Hive is doing is right (those people are innocent), but they would never question him directly. And yet, here we are.

I think that Lincoln being the one to die was the right choice. Everyone else would feel wrong, not mentioning that Lincoln was the only available white heterosexual male that wasn't in a chain of suffering since ages.

Now that Daisy is on her own, she seems to start building her future role as leader of Inhumans, as Raina have predicted. Not everything she's doing is right, but she is doing what she think is right, and that's enough.

I myself think that Doctor Malpractice is working with SHIELD, as I don't see any other way for him to get access to Life Model Decoy program. Who knows, maybe thanks to this we will get Grant Ward back, maybe this time truly good for a change?

For those unaware: Life Model Decoy is something that allows to make androids that looks like humans, which often bear mind pattern of various people. Allows a person to be in several places at the same time, or have people long dead back again. Kinda like uploading Zola's brain on a computer, but in the other direction.
 
Clever way they switched around from total triumph to unmitigated disaster without (to me, at least) it feeling like a deus ex machina twist halfway through.

I also liked Daisy's return to Lichward, (reminiscent of something from The 100, actually).

As others have said, I was never that fond of Lincoln. Not terrible, but the Daisy-Lincoln relationship was utterly eclipsed by the excellence of the FitzSimmons one.

I thought there was too much teasing with the cross.

Who might the director be? Obvious answer would probably be Talbot, but given Coulson just saved the world it seems harsh to demote him.
 
Clever way they switched around from total triumph to unmitigated disaster without (to me, at least) it feeling like a deus ex machina twist halfway through.

I also liked Daisy's return to Lichward, (reminiscent of something from The 100, actually).

As others have said, I was never that fond of Lincoln. Not terrible, but the Daisy-Lincoln relationship was utterly eclipsed by the excellence of the FitzSimmons one.

I thought there was too much teasing with the cross.

Who might the director be? Obvious answer would probably be Talbot, but given Coulson just saved the world it seems harsh to demote him.

My guess is Coulson demoted himself. Realising his feelings for Daisy clouded his judgment he handed the reigns over to May who is more detached and level headed
 
May be wrong, but I thought a male pronoun/similar was used.

May as director would work.
 
Capturing Hive was a great moment. But then, when at the base, being sprung by the Primitives seemed such a convoluted trap.

The focus on the necklace to suggest who was about to be killed was tense - especially when Fitz had it - but by the end I was growing tired of Daisy as a character and really hoping she'd at least go out in a blaze of glory with it.

But...Lincoln? He's not even a main character, and oner we were never really invested in, so - after all that build-up - I felt a little cheated.

Still, the scene was well-acted and there was plenty of emotion. Ward/Hive remained interesting to the end.

Not sure whether we needed the "6 months later update" - seemed like they were pushing a bit too hard to regain momentum in a season that, at times, has been lacking it. I'd love it if the producers allowed for breathing room to bring together a really kick-ass concept and fourth series, rather than rush into churning something out, just because.
 

Similar threads


Back
Top