Redacted. Recap: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D - “Girl in the Flower Dress”

Season 1, Episode 5

Air Date: Tuesday, October 22, 2013, 8/7c on ABC.

Rating: ★★★★★

“No matter what you do, I’ll never stop looking.” – Skye

Coulson does not look happy

Early this fall, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D was number one on my list of shows I was eager to watch, but five episodes in and I am quickly losing interest. Sadly, I am not the only one as numbers for the show appear to be on a downward spiral after each episode.

Despite decades of source material to reference, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D continues to struggle to find its identity. Once again, it feels like I’ve seen “Girl in the Flower Dress” before only on some different show. In fact, as I was watching the episode, I realized Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D is basically the Marvel version of Hawaii 5-0, even down to the computer that is a table. Only 5-0 has better acting, stunts, and writing.

“Girl in the Flower Dress” starts off interestingly enough as street magician Chan Ho Yin’s (Louis Changchien) fire trick captures the attention of a mysterious woman named Raina (Ruth Negga). They go back to his apartment and a flirty evening suddenly changes when guys with flame resistant suits show up, knock him out, and take him away.

We then shift to the S.H.I.E.L.D plane and things come to a grinding halt as Skye (Chloe Bennett) and Ward (Brett Dalton) play a game of Battleship. As much as the show’s creators would like us to feel something for these two, there is absolutely no chemistry, making it painful to watch.

Are they trying to help or hurt Chan

Things pick up as Coulson (Clark Gregg) and his team is alerted to the disappearance of Chan who, it turns out, S.H.I.E.L.D has been monitoring since learning of his flame abilities a few years earlier. Using their Hawaii 5-0 technology, they figure out Rising Tide—the hacker group Skye belongs to—has something to do with Chan’s kidnapping. Feeling the need to prove she has nothing to do with it, Skye offers to help track down the hacker involved. While Coulson is cautious, Ward states his trust in Skye—after all, they did just play Battleship together.

Skye traces communications back to Miles (Austin Nichols), a Rising Tide hacker. The team is sent to capture him but he gets away because Skye sends him a warning. Later, the two meet up back at a secret location to – let’s just say, reunite.

As stunning as Bennett is, the seemingly endless scene of her in her bra and panties made me feel uneasy. For years, Marvel has created a universe where you could take a five-year-old to see, for instance, Ironman and not have to worry about excessive violence, swearing, or nudity. At most, we saw Gwyneth Paltrow in a sports bra in Iron Man 3. As much as it kills me to say it because Bennett does look great, there is a time and a place for that and I am not sure Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, airing during primetime and aimed at young kids, is the place.

Needless to say, Coulson and May (Ming-Na Wen) track down Miles and Skye, and bring them in. But the focus is still on finding Chan, who Raina has taken to a secret laboratory where she hopes to harness and drain him of his powers. She wants to use them with the Extremis Technology we saw in Iron Man 3.

But the process has made Chan, who now goes by the name “Scorch,” even stronger and he starts killing everyone who gets in his way. Coulson and May become trapped when Scorch puts the lab in lockdown but thankfully, there are two hackers in S.H.I.E.L.D custody who are able to help free them and put Scorch on ice.

What’s the real story with Skye?

“Girl in the Flower Dress” is an episode that could have worked but doesn’t, in large part because of the awful writing and poor chemistry among the various actors. Fitz-Simmons (Ian De Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge) bring nothing to the show, and with May doing the fighting, there is no need for Ward who is basically nothing more than a cardboard cutout. The only parts that do seem to work are the scenes Gregg has with both Bennet and Wen. In fact, some of my favorite scenes are when Coulson and Skye are alone, having a father/daughter thing going on. Those scenes always seem more heartfelt and I find that to be enjoyable. However, their scene at the end of “Girl in the Flower Dress” — wow, were different writers and acting coaches used just for that one scene?— is a heartfelt and powerful moment, while also giving us a deep look into Skye’s past.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D is like a pro athlete you read about in the newspapers who continuously gets into trouble with the law. You keep wondering how someone, or in this instance something, with so much talent can waste it like that. If only they would focus and put in a little more effort, they would succeed. Instead, the little things seem to keep tripping them up and getting them in trouble while not showing off their true potential.

Tweet me @staffaroadtrip or leave a comment below to let me know what you think about “Girl in the Flower Dress.”

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.

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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.