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Girl Fight. Retrospective: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – “Yes Men”

Season 1, Episode 15

Air Date: Tuesday, March 11, 2014, 8/7c on ABC

Rating: ★★★★★

Lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander)

Asgardian Lorelei (Elena Satine) continues her journey through Death Valley, California enslaving a biker gang, led by the already married Rooster (Dylan Bruno), to do her bidding, which Rooster’s wife was was not at all thrilled by. While Coulson (Clark Gregg) is off attending to a personal matter, the rest of the team is sent to investigate a mysterious energy reading that is usually the precursor to Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth)arrival. It turns out to be an Asgardian named Lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander), who fans last saw in the movie Thor 2. Odin (Anthony Hopkins) sends Sif to earth to track down Lorelei and bring her back to Asgard. Seems easy enough, right?

Things get complicated as Ward (Brett Dalton) and Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) fall under Lorelei’s spell, which only works on men, and they take on the rest of the team. An epic battle ensues and in the end, Sif is victorious but not before some physical and emotional damage is done to the team.

Coulson and the team get ready to take on Lorelei

“Yes Men” is full of action mixed with a good balance of humor. I couldn’t help laughing as Coulson realizes Fitz is under Lorelei’s spell and must suddenly behave as if he is too so he doesn’t raise Fitz’s suspicion. The choreography in “Yes Men” stands out with some intense knock out, drag down fights and at times, you forget these are actors and not actual Asgardian warriors or special agents. I can only imagine how many hours go into preparing for these fight scenes, which are only on screen for a few seconds.

The creative team behind Marvel uses Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to further connect the films, and so the timing of this Thor-themed episode is no surprise; Thor 2 was released on DVD February 25, 2014. Lady Sif is the perfect choice to jump from the large screen to the small screen as “Yes Men” marks her second return to earth. Since Thor told her of Coulson’s death in The Avengers, I especially enjoyed her reaction to seeing Coulson.

Something interesting seems to be going on with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) who Coulson has been trying to reach to no avail. Coulson arranges a discreet meeting with Agent Sitwell (Maximiliano Hernandez) who tells Coulson Fury has gone “off the grid.” We know both Sitwell and Fury appear in Captain America 2, which opens April 4, 2014 so with only one episode left before the movie’s release, will Fury’s absence be explained, and will it have an impact on both Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Captain America 2? Considering the trailers, one might speculate  Captain America 2 happens right before “Yes Men.” Either way, I can’t wait to hear  Fury’s absence explained and the timeline of events sorted out.

Failure to reach Fury in “Yes Men” to get answers after learning about his past and endangering Skye’s (Chloe Bennet) life really pisses Coulson off. He comes clean to Skye about how they were able to save her and vows to do everything in his power to get answers, even if it means going against orders.

Sif and the rest of the team.

While you can follow Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. without seeing the Marvel movies, being familiar with the characters and movies adds a whole different layer to “Yes Men.”  Little things like Odin sending Sif to earth to bring Lorelei back seems innocent enough unless you saw the end of Thor 2. It now takes on a whole new meaning, making you wonder why Odin wants Lorelei back so badly? I struggled in the beginning to appreciate Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. but now, I enjoy it. The writers have figured out who they want their audience to be and in doing so, have created a multi-layed series so casual viewers to diehard fans can get something out of the show.

I enjoyed “Yes Men” and how Thor 2 and Captain America 2 act as bookends for the last few Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episodes. As a Marvel fan, I appreciate the writers bringing in smaller characters from other Marvel movies and highlighting them for an episode. Among the various movies, there is a lot to choose from while still creating original characters for the show.

On a related note, ABC is airing Marvel Studios: Assembling A Universe on March 18, 2014, which explains how the Marvel movies and show came to be, as well as providing a special look at Captain America 2, Guardians of the Galaxy and a sneak peek at Avengers 2.

Tweet me @staffaroadtrip or leave a comment below to let me know what you think about “Yes Men.”

 

For more on the show, go to http://www.agentsofshield.com/.

Follow Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on Twitter, as well as some of the cast: <Ward> Brett Dalton, <Coulson> Clark Gregg, <Simmons> Elizabeth Henstridge, and <May> Ming-Na Wen

Like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on Facebook.

Photos: © 2014 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

 

 

Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.
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Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.