Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 6, Episode 7 review: Toldja

All eyes look to Sarge while FitzSimmons almost lose their heads on this week’s middling Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Look, I’m thrilled that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is back in our lives for two more seasons, even if they are shortened ones. In the past few years, the show has mastered the art of two shorter 13-episode arcs anyway, so a full season isn’t that necessary to tell compelling stories as it allows for tighter pacing without drag. But a stumble had to happen eventually, so it’s with great regret that I call Season 6, Episode 6 “Toldja” the first clunker of the season.

Sarge is temporarily locked up and FitzSimmons meet a mysterious individual who wants to take them to Earth. This episode had to establish Sarge forming an uneasy alliance with our heroes to fight a bigger threat, and it had to set up FitzSimmons return home, but there had to be a better way to do that than the events of this episode.

First let’s talk about FitzSimmons. In last week’s standout episode, Enoch saved them from their mind prison and transported them away. This week, they get stranded back on Kitson City, where Mr. Kitson, played by Anthony Michael Hall of all people, almost chops their heads off. The two are rescued by a mysterious woman named Izel who wants to use them to go to Earth to recover some lost artifacts.

Tell me, what did we gain from this besides seeing Anthony Michael Hall? What was the point of returning to Kitson City for an entire episode only for them to be on their way home by the end of it? Although it would’ve sacrificed Enoch’s moment of saving the two from the mind prison, wouldn’t it have been better if it was just Izel who rescued them and then we could’ve skipped this story?

Even FitzSimmons could barely keep their interest, as they saw their almost-guillotining as more of an inconvenience than anything. They couldn’t believe this is how their love story would end and neither could the audience, so it lacked tension. Hopefully that was just setting up Hall to come back soon because otherwise, his talents were wasted.

Maybe it’s a budget issue. It’s no secret the show doesn’t pull in great ratings so ABC isn’t funneling as much money into it as needed, but returning to Kitson City felt more of a “let’s reuse an expensive alien set we already have” than a decision that felt natural to the story.

In fact, this whole episode felt like a budget-saver episode. Not a whole lot happened on the Earth-side of things besides the S.H.I.E.L.D. team forming an uneasy alliance with Sarge to stop the Shrike. It involved a higher-than-usual amount of people walking up and talking with each other. Mac talks to Sarge multiple times. Deke catches up with Daisy and then confronts Mac. May talks with Yo-Yo. Yo-Yo talks with Jaco, etc. I’m not saying talking is bad, as these characters are well-defined enough where conversations are usually always interesting, but the cheaper aspect of this episode definitely showed.

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Even the end result wasn’t that surprising. Sarge tells Mac that people will be looking to him to lead by the end of the day and because this episode is called “Toldja,” it’s not a shock to see it end with Sarge taking control. One of the more interesting character beats throughout this season so far is Mac struggling to juggle his new Director duties, so watching him lose control of the situation and have to hand over the reigns to Sarge was heartbreaking, even it all felt a little rushed to get to this conclusion.

All-in-all, this episode felt like a wheel-spinning, budget-conscious event, but with us officially being in the back half of the season, it really should’ve been a lot more.

Notes from the S.H.I.E.L.D. Database

• Seriously why bring in Anthony Michael Hall for such a bit part? He has to be coming back right?
• Deke’s the one character whose character risks falling too far into annoying territory, and although the scene of him trying to impress Daisy went on too long and leaned too much into his unbearable side, his following scene with confronting Mac about FitzSimmons’ whereabouts was much stronger.
• Speaking of that scene with Mac, Deke brings up his theory of the Multiverse, which is probably a breadcrumb to the mystery behind who Sarge is and where he comes from.
• So, is Izel part of the Shrike invasion in some way? It’s about time for the two separate storylines to start coming together so smart money is on yes. FitzSimmons better watch out.
• Can someone get Draco a glass of cold water or something?
• Although this episode lacked the normal Humor, Heart, Action and Plot Progression I normally like to see from this show, the one moment that hit hard was Enoch’s goodbye to Fitz. Though by giving Fitz a way to contact him, it’s safe to assume Enoch will be back sooner rather than later.

What do you think of this week’s episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.? Who is Izel and what are her motivations? What happens now that Sarge is in charge? Be sure to leave a comment below and we’ll be back next week with another review.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will return next Friday with a brand-new episode on ABC. Catch up on the latest episodes on Hulu.