Where we left off: Ward and Fitz were super buddies going on a mission; Still have no idea what exactly happened with Coulson; SHIELD seems to be full of pretty awful people when the moment calls for it; Thor: The Dark World happened and England was destroyed.
So after last weeks exciting episode, this weeks episode titled The Well opens up with a few images of Asgard, the Destroyer in Arizona with Simmons narrating (kind of like a Thor films!). We find ourselves in England at Greenwich University with the team cleaning up the wreckage of the events of Thor: The Dark World. The SHIELD crew are there to make sure alien technology doesn’t fall into the wrong hands which has happened more than once (pilot episode plus a one-shot in The Avengers special features) and things don’t really seem to end well for anyone. There’s some witty banter about Thor being dreamy but for the most part the whole cleaning up process is just that — cleaning up. If alien tech is discovered, it’s put into a biohazard container right away so no one else can touch it.
It’s not until we find ourselves in the woods of Norway at Trillemarka National Park where things get interesting. We meet a Norwegian couple, Petra Larsen and Jakob Nystrom, who cut down a tree and take out what looks to be a part of a staff of sorts. The couple each grab the staff and within moments the girl becomes pretty damn powerful…almost like the power of the God’s are running through her veins. How much power does she have? Well, when a park ranger walks over to the couple to confront them for cutting down a 9,000 year old tree…she kinda just…tosses him into a tree…and kills him. It didn’t look all that fun I don’t recommend it. At all.
SHIELD comes to the scene of the crime to see what all the fuss is about and they’re able to determine by the markings left by the staff in the tree that it’s alien…Asgardian as a matter of fact. Why did the couple want the staff? Well, video footage is shown of riots taking place in Oslo, Norway with them at the center of it. They left a message written in fire for all those watching: We Are Gods. Petra and Jakob are leaders of a Norse Paganist hate group with growing numbers due to the events of The Dark World. The staff is broken at both ends, which means there’s at least one other part of the staff unaccounted for. Coulson decides to consult with a man he consulted with for the events of Thor when Thor’ hammer was found in New Mexico — Elliott Randolph, one of the leading experts in Norse Mythology. He’s a professor in Seville, Spain which is where they head to next for some answers.
Coulson, Fitz, and Simmons head over to Randolph’s office to discuss with him what the staff could possibly me. Randolph shows his genius right away: the 3D model he’s holding is a piece of the Berserker staff. A Berserker is a Norse warrior — a single one having the strength of 20 warriors. Holding the Berserker staff allowed the warrior to battle even stronger due to the magics being held within it. The Berserker in the story had an interesting fate — he wound up falling in love with the Earth and stayed behind while his army went back to Asgard. He broke the staff into three pieces — one being in the tree, one being…somewhere…and the other being…well…somewhere else. It gets confusing and it’s unclear as to where these pieces really are. Randolph does give a bit of a tip that there may be something in Northern Canada.
Skye discovers that the Vikings sacked the town of Seville twice, which could make it a possible location for another part of the staff. Melinda May comes in with another lead, possibly in a Roman city. Ward and Skye are sent out to a church in Seville to investigate and hopefully find a part of the staff. Ward is instructed by Fitz that he’s nearing alien tech so he goes to investigate it only to find Randolph there with the staff. Ward tries to stop him but accidentally touches the staff instead, causing him to feel the staffs power while flashing back to a moment of terror and agony for him. Randolph tries to make an escape…only to run into those gosh darn Norse Paganists. Jakob, Petra, and other scary friends take the second part of the staff and are gone when Coulson gets to Randolph. Two pieces down, one more to go.
Back on the SHIELD-plane, Fitz and Simmons is giving a physical to Ward after his episode and he’s not exactly cooperating (surprise surprise). Coulson is in the other room interrogating Randolph, with Randolph saying he just wanted to study the staff to prove that the Berserker was real. Skye tries to pry a bit to see what Ward remembered but he’s just getting angrier and angrier with the effects of the staff taking a serious toll on him. Back to Coulson and Randolph, Coulson is trying to get anything out of Randolph but he claims he knows nothing. Ward’s clearly not alright with his memory really getting the better of him…it’s him as a child trapped in a well…and he’s just getting angrier.
Those Norse Paganists are really into some creepy and terrifying stuff…getting to see a brief meeting with them all chanting and taking the power of the staff into their bodies and just all…angry…it’s not pleasant. Ward heads to Coulson’s office and it’s here where we find out why Ward is a rock…the staff brought him his worst memory that he’s tried to hide for so long and has made him feel something he hasn’t felt in a long time…hate. Coulson sends Ward in to “talk” with Randolph, only to pull a knife and attempt to stab him. Randolph grips the knife and bends it and it’s here we find out that Randolph is Asgardian…can’t say I say that coming.
Coulson discovers that Randolph is the Asgardian warrior who stayed behind…the Berserker. Melinda seals the doors to the interrogation room, keeping Coulson, Ward, and Randolph in there. Randolph tells his tale and how his story got out…he was horny and there was a French girl. Ward tries to find out what the staff did to him, and Randolph tells him it shines a light in all the dark places of a person. It’s a rare metal that reacts to the person who is holding it…and with those Paganists on its trail that’ll just mean destruction. It takes some time but Coulson finally blackmails Randolph enough for him to tell where the staff is…near his first love — Ireland. Randolph also lets Ward know the effects of the staff will eventually wear off…in a few decades.
Randolph leads Coulson to the church where he stayed so they can find the third and final piece of the staff. The only problem is that that the Paganists got there first. Jakob takes the third piece and stabs Randolph in the heart and Ward, knowing he has no other choice, takes the staff out of Randolph for himself and tackles Jakob over the railing onto the ground floor. Fitz and Simmons try to revive Randolph, and then Coulson just comes in and sticks his hand into Randolph’s chest to try to keep his heart going, allowing Randolph to survive.
Ward is battling with Jakob and it’s only when he truly embraces that darkness and anger he’s able to really fight at his best. The rest of the Peganists join the fight, and Ward continues to take them down. We see the whole memory driving Ward into anger…he’s thrown into the well by his eldest brother, who makes sure his other brother doesn’t throw a rope to save his drowning brother. Ward, back in his right mind, drops the pieces of the staff after he’s defeated the whole group and he’s just exhausted. Petra then walks into the room…but this time Melinda May takes the two parts of the staff and knocks Petra out. While she’s holding the staff, she takes all three pieces and puts them together just to become a true bad ass.
After the battle, Ward asks Melinda if she saw anything and how she was able to hold all three pieces of the staff…she sees it everyday. Coulson and Randolph talk about their near death experiences and we get a bit more of a glimpse into Coulson’s “death,” he was out for a few months and then just woke up. Back to the other members, Ward is out in a bar drinking and Skye joins him…and the two just talk for a bit. Skye offers her shoulder of support, only for Ward to turn it away for the time being…he’s not the guy to sit and talk. He heads back to his room only to see Melinda enter her room as well…the two lock eyes and Melinda, holding a bottle of whiskey, leaves her door open for Ward…and he walks in.
The episode ends on Coulson at a beach in a cabana getting a massage…with him asking, “Did I fall asleep?,” with the masseuse responding, “For a little while” (DOLLHOUSE REFERENCE. SUCH A BLATANT REFERENCE.) He goes on to talk about how wonderful of a place Tahiti is…only for it to be a nightmare with him waking up in a cold sweat. What exactly happened with Coulson and when will we find out about this? Agents of SHIELD is clearly on the rise, with each episode getting better and better. Sure it started slow but it’s finally picking up some traction, and this episode, directed by Star Trek alum Jonathan Frakes, doesn’t disappoint.
Joshua Kaye (@JKaye57) is a recent college grad with a BA in Cinema Studies. A Queens, NY native, Josh hopes to one day rule all of New York, then the United States, then the world. But after he writes an Oscar winning screenplay.
