When Daisy sees into the dark future, the other Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. try to convince her that the future can be changed and isn’t set in stone. Hey, wait a minute, isn’t that the plot of Civil War II? Meet me after the jump to find out in my thoughts on what ABC calls a must-see episode, “Spacetime.”
Protect the Future, Change the Future
You may have seen the previews, teasers, and press releases here (and here and here) at Biff Bam Pop! and other places about Marvel Comics’ big crossover event this summer, Civil War II. The story is a theoretical sequel to Civil War in Marvel Comics, which in turn inspired the upcoming Captain America movie this summer. The original miniseries focused on a war between superheroes over moral and rights issues centering on choosing between Iron Man or Captain America.
Civil War II veers into science fictional and philosophical perplexity. A new character emerges who can predict the future. Captain Marvel wants to stop crimes before they happen whereas Iron Man wants to wait until the crimes have been committed. Reaction vs. action. Change the future or protect the future, it’s time to choose sides again.
Visions at Dyker Heights
When a grocer touches a homeless man named Charles in the early morning hours, he’s given a vision of the future that makes him call 911. The call gets the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D. when he asks for Daisy Johnson and protection from Hydra. The future he’s seen is the moment S.H.I.E.L.D. shows up and Hydra attacks. And seconds later, the moment of his own death.
When Daisy tries to keep Hydra from taking the homeless man, obviously an Inhuman, she too touches him and is given a vision of the future. Hers is much more frightening. And it hasn’t happened yet, but it does not look good for her fellow Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D…. Lincoln’s face covered in blood, and Daisy herself shot by Coulson…
What Do You Want?
Just as Hive, still in the now robust form of Grant Ward, is getting up for the day, Charles is brought to him. Over breakfast Hive, in what appears to be Neo’s priest outfit from The Matrix, with just a touch of Voldermort flair, verbally parries with Malick over what the man really wants, as Giyera looks on. Hive states that Malick has billions, and can buy whatever he wants to possess… so what does he really want?
Can Malick truly be that dumb? Doesn’t he know he’s dealing with an evil god? Or at the very least doesn’t Malick get that he’s the only human in a room full of Inhumans, one of which survives by devouring human beings? Something tells me Malick is not long for this world. In the meantime, Hive wants to go out and explore…
Time Travel Makes My Head Hurt
Notably, the homeless man’s full name is Charles Hinton, an homage to science fiction writer Charles Howard Hinton. He wrote a lot about higher dimensions, was also a math genius, and created the term tesseract. There might have even been some of Hinton’s work in Fitz’ explanation of why they can’t change the future. And when the team interviews Hinton’s wife, they find he was never able to change those futures either.
And so it goes, whether it’s Terminator logic or not, the team, much like the heroes of the Marvel Universe in this summer’s event are choosing sides. Change the future or protect the future. Nevertheless, just in case, Coulson won’t pick up a gun and is keeping Daisy out of the field. Maybe he should just call The Doctor, or ask the Flash what mistakes he made in the most recent episode of his series… and he made so many of them…
Transia
Hive’s first stop on his day your with Malick, Giyera, and company is Transia – the corporation that built Coulson’s robotic hand, you know the one Hive brought back from Maveth with him. Hydra is looking to buy the company, including a exoskeleton with military uses. Once they’ve been turned down, and some nasty wordplay using Charles, Hive eats the board of Transia. It’s not pretty, it never is.
In the comics, Transia isn’t a company, it’s the Eastern European nation in which Mount Wundagore exists. Wundagore is a place with supernatural ties to such entities as Chthon and Morgan le Fey, and is also headquarters to the mad geneticist called the High Evolutionary. Wundagore might also be, depending on who’s telling the tale, the birthplace of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. Fitting name for the company, magic that could be technology, and technology that could be magic.
True Power
Once he’s had his snack, Hive reveals the real reason for wanting to go to the Transia Corporation. He wanted to give Malick a taste of real power, and has him put on the exoskeleton. Hive makes him kill the final Transia board member, because, according to Hive, nothing is more powerful than taking the life of a human being. Malick, though manipulated, is truly scary here.
Now of course there may have been more to this scene, but I guess I’ll never know. At that moment ABC chose to cut right into the show for breaking news on the election. And as far as ‘breaking’ goes, I don’t know, it seemed like obvious news to me. In an age of multiple 24/7 news networks, why is this necessary? If I’d been interested in the election I’d be watching news coverage, not “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” right? I guess that’s what ‘true power’ is, making people watch what they have no interest in. Thanks again, ABC, and you wonder why the show has low ratings…
Rooftop Showdown
After a subplot surprise of Dr. Garner showing up and turning himself in, changes are made to the original plan. May stays with her ex-husband, a last chance to be with him before he changes to Lash permanently, so Daisy has to take point in the rescue mission of Charles. Much to everyone’s surprise, they see Hive/Grant Ward on the security cameras.
As May and Andrew talk about if they could change the past – making my heart beat faster for every minute he’s not hooked up to that IV with the Inhuman vaccine in it – Daisy prepares to change the future. When she gets to the rooftop, Malick nearly beats her to death, before she stops him. Everything in her future vision falls into place… just not as she thought it would…
The End
When Daisy touches Charles for the last time she sees the scene we saw a few episodes back of the quinjet incoming from space readying for a crash. And we may have lost Garner to Lash forever, poor May. And while still out there, Malick has discovered a healthy fear of Hive, as well he should. My favorite line from Hive in this episode was when he said to only kill the human S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
There was a lot to enjoy in this episode from Brett Dalton’s full-on evil to the fight rehearsals to FitzSimmons holding hands to still wringing emotion out of May and Andrew’s relationship. And hopefully this episode serves as a blueprint that maybe, just maybe, Daisy won’t have to die in a space accident, as the future is rarely what it seems… Now when does S.H.I.E.L.D. fight its true enemy? ABC News…
Next: Paradise Lost!
I like that what Daisy saw came true, in a manner of speaking. 😀 … Lash might still be in the picture. Wasn’t there something about him having his own agenda that might intersect fortuitously with SHIELD’s?
Malick saw something that ‘scared’ him. Maybe just exactly what Hive’s ultimate plan is?
The training scenario was a hoot. May to Simmons – “Fall down now.” Heh, heh, heh.