Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S01E16 – Review

By: Paul Zbyszewski (story)

The Story: It’s not easy sneaking up on a Clairvoyant.

The Review: I don’t know that I’ve ever been interested in the Clairvoyant’s true identity so much because I really care who he is, but rather because I want confirmation as to whether psychic or precognitive powers really don’t exist in this world. As you can see in this episode, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents seem rather reluctant to believe they do, which seems rather small-minded for people who have encountered gods, pyro-kinetics, and ghosts.

By the time I watched this episode, I was mostly signed onto the theory that the Clairvoyant is someone inside S.H.I.E.L.D. I then lost all hope that a telepath would be revealed at the end of the search when Coulson convinced his superiors to start searching for telepaths. It’s a mystery rule of thumb: the first leads rarely pan out. In real life, going down a list and tracking the most logical suspects is the way to go, but in fiction, it’s never that straightforward.

Even Coulson’s suspicious after the team successfully locates one Thomas Nash, a reject from S.H.I.E.L.D.’s “Gifted Index” who declares himself the Clairvoyant. Like you, he’s thinking the whole thing is too neat; it’s not possible that the mastermind who’s managed to stay steps ahead of the agency this whole time would be so easily caught himself. Not to mention Nash’s excuse for exposing himself makes no sense whatsoever. “So I can see you with my own eyes,” indeed.

But if you believed that Nash could really be the Clairvoyant, that notion should be dismissed the moment Ward shot the near-vegetative man. If Nash really
was the Clairvoyant, this would be a fairly anticlimactic end for him. Fortunately, the shooting doesn’t eliminate the most important villain of the series in a single, almost comical moment. Instead, it’s designed to show how deep Ward’s feelings for Skye have become, if that wasn’t made obvious by Amora’s allusions last episode.

Anyway, well before the Clairvoyant is revealed to be—spoiler alert—none other than Victoria Hand, she who rivals May in frigidness, the episode several times drops hints that she’s a baddie. Most of the hints are subtle, but quickly accumulate to point a glaring finger her way: a cut to her emotionless face as Coulson rants his grievances against the Clairvoyant; the rather odd timing of Mike Peterson (officially codenamed “Deathlok”) receiving a message from the Clairvoyant that “[t]hey’re coming for me, it’s time we finally meet,” and then Hand excusing herself from the festivities seconds later; the way she criticizes Coulson and Skye’s plan as “flawed from the start” after it goes south despite voicing no objection earlier. And of course, there’s the most damning question of all: who else at S.H.I.E.L.D. would have her level of clearance?*

The issue of the Clairvoyant’s identity doesn’t have much going for it, other than to move the plot forward, but at least it gets all the characters involved in a mission right up their alley. We’ve been seeing a growing comfort level among the principals since “T.R.A.C.K.S.”, not only as a working unit, but also in playing well with others while maintaining S.H.I.E.L.D.‘s tone of good-humored professionalism. This isn’t an easy balance to achieve, and of all our guest agents, only Blake sounds like he fits right in. Between his hilariously old-school flirting with May—who asks for people’s signs, anymore?—and his dismay when their mission leads them to an assisted living home (“Please tell me we’re here for one of the doctors.”), he’s the one guy you wouldn’t mind seeing more of. Too bad Deathlok puts him in critical condition by the second act.

Conclusion: This episode makes a solid effort at keeping its answers hidden until the last minute, and if nothing else, shows that S.H.I.E.L.D. is moving past its most dire period.

Grade: B

– Minhquan Nguyen

Some Musings: * Okay, yes, Nick Fury. But come on—of course he’s not the Clairvoyant, although he could be the man receiving all of May’s secret logs.

– Seriously, May—don’t ever try to sound peppy. And try not to smile. Both of those make me shudder way more than any antagonist on this show has ever managed to do.

– I also like how Coulson dramatically announces that the Clairvoyant is an “agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.” rather than the more common “S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.” Cute.