Daniel Sousa Arrives For His ‘Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Debut Next Week
by Erik Amaya
Though Hydra’s future is secure, the time traveling Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. must still thwart the Chronicoms’ plans in other time periods. And as this preview for next week’s show indicates, the mission will take them to Groom Lake (aka Area 51) sometime during the Cold War. Was the base also used by S.H.I.E.L.D. at some point? Was it Kree tech they were hiding? Maybe we’ll get those answers, but it is possible the team will be too busy fighting the Chronicoms and dealing with whatever disables the Coulson LMD. Meanwhile, Daniel Sousa (Enver Gjokaj) makes his debut on the show sometime after the events of Agent Carter. Will he address that series’s cliffhanger conclusion?
Ultimately, we’re glad the show didn’t spend too much time in 1931. That era is becoming increasingly difficult to realize with modern cameras and sets and the show was straining to maintain even its more fanciful take on the period. At the same time, we were happy to see Koenig (Patton Oswalt) get inspired to be part of the outfit by his taste of the future. Also, it seems like the right place for Enoch (Joel Stoffer) to end up for a few decades — so much so, we’re still surprised he didn’t actively choose to stay behind and help Koenig with his shoulder.
Meanwhile, the internal threats within the team have not yet been recognized. Daisy (Chloe Bennet) is ready to change the timeline on a whim and May’s (Ming-Na Wen) bizarre reactions to, well, everything suggests the Shrike problem may not be as contained as everyone hoped. But considering her knowledge of things, some version of May still seems to be operational … even if it is clear a confrontation is coming.
As far as victory laps go, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is having fun with its tour through history, and little shout-outs like Hydra getting its hands on the Erskine formula pepper what is, so far, a fun premise for its final days. Hopefully that momentum and sense of joy continues.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs Wednesdays on ABC.
