Agents of SHIELD Season 5 Episode 13: Principia Review

Keith NoakesMarch 17, 20185059 min

If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.

Synopsis: The team goes in search of Gravitonium in order to save the world. (IMDB)

Writer: Craig Titley

Director: Brad Turner

Rating: TV-PG

Running Time: 45mins

After last week’s special 100th episode, it is now time to focus on the rest of the season and set up of what is to come over the last 9 episodes.

This episode started with a blast from the past with Werner von Strucker making an appearance. Talking to a therapist, he revealed that he remembered everything, not only about himself but details about his therapist. His therapist was hesitant to prescribe him more drugs but it didn’t matter as he was taken away after stabbing his therapist’s hand with a pen.

Coulson no longer wants to be asked how he’s feeling. Their next focus was to find arms for Yo-Yo who was still not used to her new state. Unfortunately, the device used to seal the hole to the fear dimension in the last episode was barely keeping it shut so they had to find more gravitonium. Daisy found a lead on a group dead scientists who worked for Cybertek. The team found a man named Tony Caine (Jake Busey) who signed all the dead scientists’ death certificates. Caine just happened to be one of Mack’s old friends back when they were Shield recruits.

Caine was working for an old program where he gave new identities to Hydra members. Daisy also believed that the Cybertek scientists could also save Coulson’s life but he was completely against it but she was not willing to take no for an answer. One of the scientists gave them a lead about a gravitonium shipment on a boat called the Principia that was lost at sea.

Another subplot involved Deke and Fitz. We now know that Fitz and Simmons are his grandparents and over the course of the episode, Deke was beginning to discover this too. They were paired together and Deke of course got on Fitz’s nerves. Fitz was getting frustrated while trying to find the gravitonium. When the fear dimension started to leak out again, Deke saw his mother who warned him against pursuing a relationship with Daisy before getting killed by a Kree who Deke then killed. Suddenly, Deke had an idea about them looking up for the gravitonium ship.

The team found the ship and what was left of the gravitonium on board. The problem was how to take it without causing the ship to drop out of the sky. Mack found a container but they also found a group of Hale’s robot minions which didn’t help as they had to exit the ship before the gravity field that kept in in the air dissipated, forcing to the ship to drop. Mack took care of the robots so they all could get away.

Von Strucker was taken to the same facility that Ruby was staying. He remembered her but she didn’t remembered him. He wasn’t willing to wait for Hale to get answers so he took Ruby at knife point. Hale revealed that she knew his father and hinted and a potential past with Hydra. She just wanted to build a better future. Instead of killing him, she chose to set him free, however, it was all part of a plan to get what was in his head. She tasked Ruby to do whatever was necessary to get it. Ruby’s strategy was to use the truth to rally von Strucker against her mother and take over together.

In order to help Yo-Yo, Cain offered to look into the Deathlok program but Mack brought back one of the robot soldiers so they can use its arms.

The last scene was of von Strucker buying into what Ruby was saying about them being the future and she showed him one part of that with Creel.

Overall, this was a decent set-up episode for what was to come. The ultimate direction for the season is unclear but it perhaps set the stage for the team leaving the lighthouse. Deke is slowly discovering the truth about Fitz and Simmons but how long will it take him to figure it out and what will happen once he does? What was already awkward will surely be more awkward. Hale may be creating a new Hydra and what does she want with what’s in von Strucker’s head. What’s this all going to lead to? I don’t know and I like it.

Score: 7.5/10

If you liked this, please read my other reviews here and don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, follow me on Instagram, and also like me on Facebook.

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