Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: End of the Beginning is the 16th episode of the season and has S.H.I.E.L.D. hot on the trail of the Clairvoyant and getting closer everyday. It opens up with agents John Garrett and Triplett arriving at a safehouse and getting ready to call Coulson only to be interrupted by Deathlok smashing through the door ready to eliminate them. But they’re not completely unprepared as they return fire with even more impressive weapons knocking him back and putting him on the defensive. Somehow he takes an ice bullet directly to the head with zero damage but he still has to retreat by creating his own exit in the ceiling. Later when all the bigwig agents are together on Coulson’s plane in the air, due to his suspicion that the Clairvoyant can read minds, he tells them that he believes these attacks are taking place because they’re very close to finding the Clairvoyant. And they’ve narrowed a list down to 13 possible people from the list of all those who are gifted but were rejected by S.H.I.E.L.D.. And he also believes it’s important for the information to be compartmentalized so the Clairvoyant won’t be able to read anyone’s minds and know all the details of their plan to capture him or her. A key part of the plan is Skye, who finally becomes a full-fledged S.H.I.E.L.D. member so she can have access to everything and help identify the Clairvoyant out of the remaining suspects. And of course she’s one who Coulson trusts completely. But with the plan based on the belief that the Clairvoyant can read minds and considering that he or she has been a step ahead of them, is this plan doomed to failure even before it starts?

The intense start of this episode with Deathlok busting through the door was an excellent way to immediately draw viewers in and make it clear what’s at stake. And once the plan was laid out it was also clear that there would be an answer regarding the Clairvoyant one way or another, and answers were definitely needed. And it was good to see Skye officially become a member of S.H.I.E.L.D. and knowing her backstory regarding that made it all the more meaningful. To me it was a metaphor for this show embracing more elements from the greater Marvel universe and being unapologetic about that, and Deathlok looking in the mirror and seeing metal underneath his skin where the bullet hit was just one of many examples of that. Another example was the Clairvoyant sending Deathlok a brace that activated his weapons system with the message it was time for them to meet face to face since S.H.I.E.D. was getting close. And I have to say I’m really impressed with how Deathlok’s development has been handled because clearly there was more to his appearance than what was being shown on the surface. Another character I was enjoying again this episode was John Garrett and not just for the action but his interactions with the other characters comes off seamlessly, such as with Skye, and he provides a different dynamic. Here he relates to her by showing injuries he suffered in the line of work to help her with her experience. Despite that I’m not entirely sold on the Ward/Skye dynamic that he mentions for some reason and thought Ward/May worked better and had the potential for more interesting storylines.

One thing that can’t be denied was the pace of this episode and how much actually happened and I loved this. I literally had to double-check the time because I couldn’t believe how much happened by the halfway mark. There’s plenty of action this episode involving Deathlok and various agents as the Clairvoyant works to counter S.H.I.E.L.D.’s plan, and this also creates some very enjoyable situations. And there’s some really cool S.H.I.E.L.D. tech that’s deployed here leading to a revelatory moment that will be pleasing to fans who are familiar with characters from the comic books and intriguing to those who aren’t as familiar with certain characters. And, as always, I won’t give away any spoilers but the characters’ actions are believable when they follow a lead considering recent events and what was discussed earlier in the episode. However this episode takes it to another level and it becomes a question of what’s really going on here but in a good way as the plot thickens while providing answers as well. And this was the type of episode that came closest to feeling like a movie and it made me wonder if this series was toying with us early on but knowing the connection to the events that lead up to Captain America 2 I would say that explains the intensity of this episode and all the developments that took place. And I love how fans of this series are rewarded ahead of a big release as opposed to the team, and this series, just dealing with events after they take place. And yes, it made me very excited for the movie but equally as excited for the next episode and seeing how everything unfolds.

SUMMARY

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: End of the Beginning is an excellent episode and raises the stakes in the series in an extremely impressive fashion. It never lets up from its opening action sequence to its final scene, and it’s electrifying throughout. This episode is the closest this series has come to feeling like a movie and it’s a very rewarding episode in many ways and I loved it as it was proactive in terms of events in the greater Marvel universe. And even with the nonstop action there was still interesting character development and I can’t wait to see how this carries over into the next episode. And I’m hooked to this series even more now.