Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. “Closure” Review

Howdy ladies and gents of the internet, time to talk about some Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. with season 3, episode 9 “Closure“. So how was this week’s episode? Well read on and find out.

As usual in these reviews I’m just gonna present the plot and then say what I liked and what I didn’t like. Cool? Okay let’s keep going.

The Plot

Ward’s vendetta and plan for revenge against S.H.I.E.L.D. brings the team to their knees, and Coulson proves he will be willing to do anything to settle the conflict.

What I Liked

Well bloody hell, that was certainly an episode and a half. So much hate, suffering and death in this episode, man I frigging loved it. The first seven minutes was full of tension drama and action and what followed only got more interesting, and while the episode wasn’t perfect there was so much to love.

Firstly let’s talk about Ward, that guy is just bad. He’s irredeemable now. The guy killed Rosalind right in front of Coulson just to hurt him and get his attention, then allowed Simmons to get tortured and after all these years separated from his younger brother, he was still trying to justify his twisted actions. The man is evil, relentless and his thirst for vengeance against Coulson and SHIELD has never been stronger to the point where he’d dismiss Gideon Malick’s larger plans for Hydra just to settle a score. I loved Brett Dalton in this episode, he really excels at being the villain, but I hope Ward does get killed because after all this there’s no way he could be kept alive.

And then there’s Coulson, damn, he had a pretty hectic episode. Firstly him and Rosalind are reconnecting over dinner only for her to be killed and when Ward let’s Coulson know that he did it, man the hunt is on! After Coulson fought his way out of Rosalind’s apartment and got extracted by Mac, he acquired Bobbi and Hunter to go on a secret mission to take out Ward. Coulson was so aggressive and badass in this episode, whether he was fighting Ward’s men, throwing phones, choking Hunter, capturing Ward’s younger brother Thomas for insurance or jumping out of a plane into the portal to the alien planet, he was totally driven and operated on terms that the regular Coulson wouldn’t have. I also loved the conversations Coulson had with the original team members about Ward, trying to gain intel on his previous interactions to see if it would provide useful information for Coulson now. Whether it was Daisy describing how she could understand Ward because of his history or Fitz saying that he used to just stare at him, a lot of those accounts were nice throwbacks to season 1 but also illustrated how creepy and troubled Ward really was.

In addition to that I really liked Malick in this episode, he’s really started to step up in this villain role. He’s made orders and he has control of everyone, except Ward. I liked how Ward called out Malick on his manipulation tactics, but it was also fairly impressive how Malick was able to get to the core of Ward’s actions, make him realise how inferior they were and show him that if their plans with the recovery of the Inhuman from the alien planet were successful, then Hydra would allow Ward to do whatever he wanted in a position of power. Malick is power-hungry but he isn’t stupid and he knows that pointing Ward in the right direction would be the right move considering his skill set.

Beyond that there were other great parts of the episode like:

• Fitz and Simmons getting captured by Hydra: I felt bad for these two, they can never catch a break. First they got captured, then separated, both of them were subjected to conversations with Ward, Simmons got tortured and they got a quick heart to heart moment before Fitz decided to got to the alien planet. Oh and Fitz telling Malick to “Piss off.” was awesome. 🙂
• Mac, acting director of SHIELD: As much as I like Mac, he’s never had a significant role in the show since he was controlled by the Kree temple in season 2, so to see Coulson give him the responsibility of being director while he was out was awesome and allowed him to make tough decisions and shift into action mode when things looked bad. Oh and that speech he gave to the team (including Joey and Lincoln) was awesome.
• Back on the alien planet again: So after a good few episodes we’re back on planet Blue with Ward, Fitz and some other Hydra agents, I wonder how long it’ll be before Will or the Inhuman appears? Coulson’s recklessness has cost him as he fell down a hill and knocked himself out on a rock, who knows when he’ll wake up or if anyone will find him?

What I Disliked

Firstly I am sad to see Rosalind go, she was awesome and while I understand reason why she was killed, I do feel like it was still a bit too soon and if she had been fleshed out a little more her death would have been a bit more dramatic. Also her associate Banks was taken out in this episode too which also sucked. Banks was a pretty plain character from the beginning, and while we’ve gotten a few interesting tidbits of info about him, he was never a fleshed out character so for him to go just when I thought he’d actually start getting some screen time felt like a wasted opportunity.

Conclusion

In conclusion “Closure” was a pretty satisfying episode with a great focus on Ward and his villainy, Coulson’s hunt for revenge and Malick’s plan to get back to the alien planet. There was plenty of action, drama, tension and intrigue in his episode and while there were a few hiccups along the way this was certainly a memorable episode for the series.

Rating: 8.5/10

So what did you think of “Closure“? Did you enjoy it or were you unimpressed? Whatever your thoughts are, be sure to drop them in the comments below and I’ll see you on the next episode review!