Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Review: Toldja (Season 6 Episode 7)
I was afraid of this. After a really strong opening run to start Season 6, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has finally begun to spin its wheels a bit.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 6 Episode 7, “Toldja,” has a lot of interesting plot developments in terms of information, but doesn’t actually go anywhere.
If all you want from “Toldja” is to find out how Fitz and Simmons are going to get back to Earth, or a little bit more about the Shrike-alien-things, then you’ll be totally satisfied.
Don’t get me wrong. “Toldja” is filled with tons of new information and set up some interesting things, but is far too busy for anything to have any substance. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. does a better job with less busy episodes, as they’re generally more substantive.
“Toldja” wants you to be interested in the new alien threat that only Sarge and his crew understand, but falls short here. That entire story is just Mack and Sarge waffling back and forth until the Shrike end up on their doorstep. You could skip this episode completely and be mostly caught up on this story.
The Shrike are clearly a threat and a compelling one, but the story isn’t moving fast enough.
MING-NA WEN
Basically the same can be said for all of the other stories within “Toldja.”
Fitz and Simmons are trapped in Space, Enoch accidentally lands them back on Kitson, they almost die but are saved by someone benevolent who needs their help and wants to go to Earth. This is a fantastic group of characters, but they could’ve explained this in 1-2 lines of dialogue on the next episode.
The introduction of the new characters is not memorable at all.
Furthermore….Enoch just leaves. There is little to no prompting, he just decides that since Fitz and Simmons are getting back to Earth that he should bail, so he does. It wasn’t motivated at all.
Enoch: I will not miss you very much, Leopold Fitz….I am bluffing.
“Toldja” really only has one redeeming quality, and it’s the little hints at character moments. Enoch leaving a way for Fitz and Simmons to contact him, or Mack yanking the trigger on Sarge’s demands the minute Yo-Yo is in danger.
The ensemble is Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.‘s greatest strength, and they really should use it better.
A few stray thoughts:
- On a positive note, Anthony Michael Hall had an excellent cameo/guest role as Mr. Kitson.
- I love all of the comic relief notes with Deke. His crush on Daisy, his tech genius, his Jordans. Brilliant.
- Sarge coming face-to-face with the Coulson hologram is a little weird.
- Conversations with Mack, Deke, and Daisy allude toward the multiverse theory, which is likely how Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is tangentially related to Avengers: Endgame. This also suggests to me that there are more time travel and multiverse related revelations to come.
- That said, Sarge is probably Phil Coulson from a different universe.
What did you think of this episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs Fridays at 8/7c on ABC.
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Nick Hogan
Nick Hogan is an experienced podcaster and writer (particularly on media topics), who loves discussion and analysis of TV and is always looking for new shows to watch. He is also a parent who loves buffalo wings, blowing raspberries, and his beloved Cincinnati Reds.