Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 2 Episode 8 Review: The Things We Bury
Henry A. Otero
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Wow, some pretty massive series long reveals were unearthed in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 2 Episode 8.
Can you believe we met Skye's mother, however briefly? The fact Whitehall experimented on her, effectively killing her – yet granting him this "fountain of youth" – is all the proof we need the Doctor is no friend of HYDRA.
Also, Ward strong-armed his brother Christian into confessing his childhood abuse. Did Ward really burn his family to a crisp though? Or is something else going on?
The writers wasted no time bringing us up to speed on the Obelisk. The episode opened in 1945 with Whitehall testing the artifact. When the woman touched it and survived I knew she was an important character. Obviously, at that point I had no clue she would turn out to be Skye's mother. I loved the Red Skull reference. Is it me or do these little MCU mentions work better now than in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 1?
I have to say, the "surgery" scene is probably one of the most gruesome and cruel of any Marvel has given us to date. That's more like it guys, 9:00 pm (possibly even 10:00 pm) is definitely the way to go! So Whitehall's not immortal, now we know how he turned back time. Will Skye find out he killed her mother?
Discovery requires experimentation and this experiment will take time.
Whitehall
In the present we learned the "diviner" can kill, sure, but only to protect itself from those unworthy of unlocking its true power. The Doctor says taking the diviner to this special city will do something much cooler. It's a key, which will grant the holder entrance to a temple in the city (of the alien glyph map).
The most popular theory among Marvel fans is this city is Attilan, the ancestral home of the Inhumans. Everything is this week's episode seemed to support this popular assumption. I'll be disappointed if the series doesn't follow through now.
In Hawaii, Coulson and the others took on an important mission, but ended up in Australia. What?!? All this to map the earth in order to locate the mysterious city via satellite. HYDRA showing up gave us our big action sequence, so I'm okay with that.
Coulson: We may actually have a shot at finding the city.
Skye: Are you sure it's something you want to dig up?
Coulson: If we don't, HYDRA will. We need to get there first.
Meanwhile, Bobbi interrogated Sunil Bakshi. Loved the way she mocked him and HYDRA. I can say confidently that the hookup between Bobbi and Hunter didn't surprise me at all. That seemed fairly obvious since day one. Brilliant that Simmons realized Reinhardt was in reality Whitehall. The passage of time in "The Rat" was well executed, loved that bit.
The Agent Carter flashback fit nicely with the story as well. The writers have done their job because I can't wait to check out Marvel's Agent Carter come January 6.
Agent Carter: I've seen all of your home movies. The bodies left in your wake. The girl you caged up. There'll be no second chances for you.
Reinhardt: You must be dying to understand all those items you recovered. They're fascinating no?
Agent Carter: I don't suppose you'll tell me where they came from?
Reinhardt: There's a story, a myth from the east of stars that fell from the heavens. Of blue angels who came bearing a gift for all mankind meant to save the world.
Of course, the Doctor revealed these blue aliens (possibly Kree) were meant to end mankind sparing only a chosen few. Now that we know Whitehall killed his beloved wife, it makes sense he wants vengeance and to ultimately join her in the afterlife.
Grant caught up with his brother Christian and pretty much tortured a confession out of him. I'm honestly not sure if the guy broke, or if he'd say anything at that point to avoid being thrown in the well. Either way, he confirmed what Grant wanted to hear. Fantastic performances by both Tim DeKay and Brett Dalton this week; it's a shame we've seen the last of that relationship.
Or have we? I'm not 100% sure Grant killed his family in that fire. Perhaps it was all staged so he could infiltrate HYDRA? If Ward's on some path to redemption, killing his folks would be a game changer. He would be a villain once and for all; there's no coming back from that. Let me know what you guys think in the comments below.
Christian: I don't understand, what do you want out of all this?
Grant: I want the truth about this one event from my past. Admit you made me push Thomas down the well.
Overall, this installment was jam-packed and it certainly didn't drag. Coulson and Skye's father meeting toward the end was important. We learned the Obelisk has something inside. Everything will come to a head at the mysterious city, but will that happen in the mid-season finale? It certainly seems like we're close no? I mean, Coulson found the city right? I hope the writers don't drag this out until the season finale.
Ward meeting with Whitehall didn't surprise me. Again, is Ward up to something or did he really kill his family? It could go either way with Ward; he's the most unpredictable thing about this show right now.
What did you think of "The Things We Bury"? Will Coulson and his team visit the city next week? Did you enjoy the Agent Carter flashbacks? Is it possible Grant killed his family? You're up guys. Hit the comments below and share your thoughts with me. Look for our Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. round table later this week.
Remember you can watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. online via TV Fanatic if you want to re-watch this installment or happen to have missed one.
