[NOTE: This review is for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 1, Episode 13 and contains SPOILERS!]

Alfred Hitchcock referred to a “MacGuffin” as the mysterious object in a spy thriller that sets the whole chain of events into motion, which more or less sums up Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’S thirteenth episode, TRACKS. Once Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) and his team hear that Ian Quinn (David Conrad) has spent a significant amount of money for a package from Cybertek, the team goes undercover in order to intercept the package will hoping to get one step closer to The Clairvoyant.

Although the narrative is simple – “get the package” – it’s the clever use of non-linear storytelling that makes the episode. It seems unbalanced at first, but audiences will quickly figure it out as the story unfolds. When the train reaches a bend in the tracks the team loses their comms and is made by the guards protecting the package. It’s at this point the story repeats to give us access to the different viewpoints of the same event as it builds to its end goal.

We learn The Clairvoyant is the one giving orders to Michael (J. August Richards) and anyone else who has an eye implant. The package from Cybertek is a bionic leg, and serves as an introduction to Mike Peterson – now turned into Deathlok – which is done in the cheesiest reveal possible.

The episode has the same problem as any episode, prioritizing Easter eggs and nods to the Marvel cinematic universe over actual story advancement. With references to Asgard or even Cybertek, the science division of Roxxon Oil in the comics. There is also a comical call back to the divide between Operations and the SciTech division when Ward (Brett Dalton) and Coulson try to use the holo-table to examine the grenade. This episode even features a Stan Lee’s cameo, which derails the already forced chemistry between the team members, such as the eye-rolling relationship between Agent May (Ming-Na Wen) and Ward.

Despite the lack of chemistry between Skye (Chloe Bennet) and Fitz’s (Iain De Caestecker) pairing, it is interesting to see the two inexperienced field agents leading the pack when they discover Quinn’s meeting place.

In terms of action this is probably the strongest episode, which leaves quite the body count, and no, I’m not talking about knockouts. May is kidnapped by Euruso (Carlo Rota) & his men; she discovers they are on Cybertek’s payroll to ensure their products move discretely across the country. During her escape she takes out Euruso’s men and actually kills Euruso with a throwing knife to the back. When Skye infiltrates Quinn’s mansion she gets captured, shot, and left for dead. And while it is highly unlikely the writers would kill off Skye’s character, her near death experience adds dramatic weight and a tone shift. The show needs to add higher stakes for its characters; the best episode was when Jemma (Elizabeth Henstridge) was going to kill herself for the safety of the team. With plans to add two more members to the team, the writers could capitalize on killing off a main character.

Next week’s episode is still untitled, but Bill Paxton will be a special guest next Tuesday at 7PM CST

The writer of this piece was:

Laurence Almalvez
Laurence has previously written over at Whatculture.com.
Laurence tweets from @IL1511