
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Things We Bury
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The good
Ties the past and present events together in a beautiful way. Great Whitehall backstory. Ward brothers face off. Closer to alien city.
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The bad
Ease in finding Whitehall's files from 1945.
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The ugly
- Total score
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Things We Bury is the 8th episode of the season and shows how the past of others and decisions made come back to shape crucial events today. It opens up in 1945 in Austria with Daniel Whitehall conducting experiments with what is now known as the Obelisk. He has soldiers bring various people from the surrounding areas and monitors the results of people being forced to touch it, which usually results in death. He’s trying to figure out how the obelisk decides who lives and dies when touching it, and he doesn’t care how many are lost as a result. However, when one woman is forced to touch it, the deadly effects of the obelisk are reversed and she shows no signs of visible harm. These experiments come to an end when news reaches him that the Red Skull was defeated and his remaining forces, including Whitehall, would soon fall, with him being captured by Peggy Carter. This past is what Whitehall references when he states to Skye’s father that he’s not impressed with what he has revealed so far about the Obelisk because he already knew these things, and he threatens him. However Skye’s father tells Whitehall that the Obelisk is actually connected to a special place, and if taken there will do amazing things besides kill. This is the same city that Coulson and S.H.I.E.L.D. are searching for but have yet to locate. And they have their hands full considering former Agent Ward is still on the run. So can they find this magical city before Skye’s father leads Hydra there or is there more going on they may not know?

I’ve been really excited about this story line with the alien markings and the Obelisk because there have been some tremendous revelations connected to it. And I’ve been fully confident that this same level of excitement will remain throughout because of the way the stories and characters have been handled this season. And the start of this episode would be great as no time was wasted in showing more about the Obelisk, and raising the question of how could Whitehall, who had a different name in 1945, could look exactly the same after all these decades. And the fact that Skye’s father would reveal there’s a city connected to the Obelisk intensified the search for it as it would be a race between Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. with only one person truly knowing what was in it. But S.H.I.E.L.D. would gain some insight into Hydra’s operations while Bobbi Morse was interrogating Bakshi, in an entertaining fashion, when she would get him to slip up and reveal that somehow Whitehall and the Red Skull had some kind of connection, and not just an ideological one. This would lead the team to look at old files and discover that not only did Agent Carter interrogate Whitehall herself but that somehow he hasn’t aged. So this would create an interesting mystery about Whitehall while allowing for some very relevant flashbacks connected to his time after being captured and the early workings of S.H.I.E.L.D.. And once again, the loyalty of Hydra agents would be on full display.



SUMMARY
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Things We Bury is another excellent episode that does everything to increase the excitement about this mysterious city while beautifully connecting past and present events. Whitehall’s stature is raised as its discovered that his twisted experiments did pay off directly for him, and it would be tied into the current situation in a shocking way. And Skye’s father also impressed me more this time around as he’s not as simplistic as he originally appeared. And with the race on to discover the city first, answers will soon be revealed. And I don’t know how Grant Ward’s story will ultimately tie into these events, but his current story is just another example of how enjoyable and unpredictable these story lines have been this season. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is definitely on a roll.
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