"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." Debrief: Episode 1.07, "The Hub"

Good day oh trill believers of the internets, it’s that time again to talk about Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  I have to concede this episode didn’t make me that angry while I was watching. It was, for once, quite enjoyable even if it seems that good episodes are quite far and few between in the first half of the season. This episode is called The Hub and it’s about the team’s first encounter with one of the major ops bases of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the mysterious level 8.  

The starts with a cold open of Coulson being fake captured and May being the heavy again. With both saving some agent in the artic with some decently done mission impossible like fighting and escaping. I was quite impressed since we rarely get a lot real SHIELD stuff in an episode... it was refreshing. Then the episode picks up pretty closely to the end of last week’s episode, which I hated where Jemma almost died from an alien electricity virus. Fitz takes something out of the Agent's nose like something from the old Total Recall movie. The team asks what’s on the weird nose device but Coulson, because its level 8, doesn't answer as they don’t have the clearance for that.  They then go to a place called the Hub. During that Skye learns that her ID bracelet means she has like negative clearance and that there are some thing’s she can’t know because she doesn’t have the clearance to know. Cue moments of her acting like a spoiled brat of intense proportions. At the Hub the all the young characters are impressed and we are introduced to Agent Victoria Hand who has a meeting with Coulson and Hand tells him that she wants Ward and a another agent to go into the field to take out this crazy vibration/weapon control device from a group that wants to separate from Russia and Georgia. Ward picks Fitz and the buddy adventure begins.

The two have to take out the device by 6 a.m.  And then call for extraction. Those two are cool but we then have more Skye complaining why and Coulson trying to explain basic things TV characters get in other procedurals.  This is where the episode splits into three plot lines. The Ward and Fitz kick ass James Bond Jr. and IQ spy mission. Then there is the Skye talking Jemma into helping her break into the Hub to REALLY find out about Ward/Fitz’s mission and then the last part of Coulson having issues all of the sudden following orders and talking to Agent May.  All of the Ward and Fitz stuff is really fun and thankfully takes up the majority of the episode. The two guys having this adventure of looking for the device and getting info from locals is fun and is some that has been greatly lacking in a show about super spies. Fitz is a times very bumbling and Ward has to save him but you learn a bit more about the characters and none of it really bothersome to watch.

Now let’s compare it to the girl team up of Jemma and Skye which is the exact opposite because now you’re sitting through this character that has with each episode has become more and more dead weight go along with Jemma who because of her feelings for Fitz decides that going into places that she isn’t supposed to is cool and knocking out a higher ranked agent is okay. Then there is the point where Skye hacks into the Hub’s computer system (GTFOH) and has to decide if she should steal info on what her past might be or the info on the mission. This part collides with the Coulson’s dilemma about his people being sent out into the field without him or his team assisting them. Coulson essentially saves her butt again and gives her a stern talking too while she again complains about the whys of following of orders and then tells Coulson that there is not exit plan for those two. This leads to Coulson having another conversation with Agent Hand where she just basically says that the best SHIELD Agents finds a way out like good old Black Widow and Hawkeye.

Coulson and May decide to go get Ward and Fitz while those two unaware are completing the mission. Fitz is deactivating the device while Ward watches his back. With it being deactivated the Hand sends in forces and Ward and Fitz has to fight their way out with Fitz making a cool weapon on the fly and as they exits dodging explosions and such they see the Bus (giant plane) and they get saved by their team. Both Skye and Jemma are pleased to the guys so the whole team is happy to be together again and Fitz is tougher. They are really setting up this romances the jocks and nerds (because Skye ain’t any nerd) so that somebody we like Fitz is going to die at least to me. Agent Hand seems pleased that Coulson’s team figured out how to get them and Agent Sitwell was not too much, but more on him below. Coulson has another talk with Skye and tells her some info he learned about her being dropped off at the orphanage by an unknown female S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. He tells her that he put in a request to find out more and that makes Skye happy. Coulson then goes and has a talk with May about it and how he couldn’t tell Skye about why she was left there and that he needs May’s help into digging deeper into Skye’s secret origins. Coulson then makes a call to somewhere into SHIELD uses all these fancy codes (file designated BCY307604. Agent authorization code X-2896 ) and gets told that he doesn’t have clearance for that file and would he like for a request to made to Director Fury. Coulson then looks way salty.

Did You Know:

So I kind of didn’t talk about Agent Sitwell much. He’s in the episode a lot as Hand’s right hand man.  He has been in Thor and Avengers and the short films the Consultant and Item 47 in this whole MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). In the comics Sitwell is that dude. He’s been with Fury since the beginning of the comic feature and he was also the liaison to Stark Industries. He’ll probably be in Captain America: The Winter Soldier since in the comics he worked with Fury in regards to tracking the Winter Solider.

Also Victoria Hand is a fairly new and popular addition to the comics. She appeared as Norman Osborn’s chosen S.H.I.E.L.D. person to be his second in command when he took over the organization and re named it H.A.M.M.E.R. For the most part has been considered someone the Heroes can’t trust because she worked so well for Osborn. It looks like the show will have to take an entirely different approach since there is no Osborn here. 

Also there was a small mention of the Triskelion which might be the base we see in cap 2.