Like last season the SHIELD team starts off in dire circumstances. Like last season the mood is dark. The characters are not in a happy place. And, it appears they are on the verge of another extinction event, but Enoch is not there to save them. While the acting is great, I have no enthusiasm for the plot. It's strange. The characters are there, but it does not seem like SHIELD.
Casting Clark Gregg to play a new character, someone named Sarge who kills a SHIELD agent, felt like a betrayal. Coulson was a fan favorite based on his appearances in Marvel films. I remember the t-shirts from the San Diego ComiCon in 2013 that said "Coulson Lives" after he was killed in the Avenger's movie. I understand having Coulson die, but surely he could have been recharged or resurrected. Why introduce a look-alike character who is just the opposite in terms of ... well ... character. Who is this Sarge? Why does he have to look and sound like Coulson? Orphaned twin? LMD? Clone from harvested DNA? Doppelganger from a parallel universe? None of those are good options. Is this a redemption story or did Gregg want to play a villain?
The episode especially lacks contextual exposition. It's a year after the last season. There's no mention of the situation after Avenger's Infinity War. The SHIELD team apparently wasn't affected by the snap of Thanos, or being out in the universe they weren't aware it happened. There is clearly a continuity problem. Where are we in the MCU timeline? The episode seems like the second part of a three-part story and we weren't shown the first part. I hope the series starts to make sense.
