This week’s episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. introduces us to Dr. Hall and his invention “Gravitonium”. We also meet a big baddie named Quinn, who is seemingly well off, and tries to show himself off as a philanthropist, but is hell-bent on bringing S.H.I.E.L.D. and other government entities down. Josh provides this week’s episode recap of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. titled The Asset. Following the recap, Josh and Violet both provide their thoughts on the episode as well!
Don’t need the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode recap for The Asset? Click here to jump directly to Josh’s thoughts on the episode!
To see Violet’s thoughts on this week’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode The Asset, click here to get directly there!
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Episode 3 The Asset Recap Overview
Need a quick Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode recap of Episode 3 titled The Asset? Here is a summary of events for the episode. Each event is linked to the more detailed Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode recap for The Asset if you need more information!
- A S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicle transporting cargo is attacked by an invisible force. Inside is a man: Dr. Hall, we find out later.
- Coulson briefs the team on the case about Dr. Hall, and they visit the scene of the crime for answers.
- We meet Quinn, the mastermind behind kidnapping Dr. Hall. We also learn the invisible force is Gravitonium. Skye works some magic to infiltrate Quinn’s compound.
- Ward has doubts about Skye‘s capabilities n the mission, but they proceed as planned. Skye infiltrates to figure a way to get Coulson and Ward in the building.
- Skye manages to get the forcefield down with the help of Fitz and Simmons, but she is caught. Also, Dr. Hall is bent on bringing Quinn down, and the whole compound with him
- Mission is completed, however Dr. Hall is lost. Or is he?…
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Episode Recap: The Asset, the Details
When an Unseeable Force Meets a Moveable Object(s)
This episode begins with a convoy transporting something via a high tech semi truck operated by S.H.I.E.L.D. Suddenly, the escorting SUVs are blown from the road but an unseeable force. The semi driver begins to panic, and calls for help. The semi is then lifted from the ground, high into the air, and dropped back to the ground. Some cranes and soldiers show up, and they pry open the trailer. Inside is a man, seemingly unaware of what is going on.
Coulson and Team are on the Case
Aboard the mobile command center, Ward is training Skye, and they are having a disagreement about how to train. Funny enough, their conversation leads to Ward saying there is no truth serum, but Skye is unsure if he is lying or not. Suddenly, the plane changes course, and Coulson begins to brief the team about the missing scientist taken from the semi truck. We learn he is a well known physicist named Dr. Franklin Hall that worked with S.H.I.E.L.D.
Agent May and Coulson talk to the driver, and he thinks that it was an inside job. Fitz and Simmons find some sort of invisible force, which causes some crazy wind like behavior, blowing dust and particles around. They then find a small metallic device which seems to be the root of the cause.
Simmons and Fitz work on trying to determine what the device is, and the rest of them try to figure out how whoever took Doctor Hall, and how they knew the route S.H.I.E.L.D. would be taking. Coulson interviews a person local to the crash site, and finds that he was paid in gold to sell his excavator equipment.
Back at the lab, they analyze the gold and determine it came from Ian Quinn, who owns a gold mine in Tanzania.
Meet Quinn
Switching perspectives, we meet Quinn, who is holding Dr. Hall, in Malta. Quinn tries to “spin” his kidnapping of Hall as “freeing” him. The reason for taking him to Malta, is that it is outside the scope of S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinn then shows Hall Gravitonium, a new element discovered by Hall, that is very rare. Quinn then makes his proposition, to figure out the gravity fields for the device he has made.
S.H.I.E.L.D. discovers that it is Gravitonium as well. Coulson, meanwhile, discusses options. They determine the best way is a small strike team, so S.H.I.E.L.D. could disavow any knowledge. The next hurdle was to figure out how to get a man inside to help with turning off security measures. Skye volunteers, and somehow got an invitation to a party being held at Quinn’s compound.
Ward isn’t Confident, but Skye Performs
Ward tries to talk Coulson into changing the plan, as he isn’t confident in Skye’s ability and doesn’t trust her either. He also tells Coulson that she isn’t being cooperative in training. Coulson tells him to take a different approach–be more human-like rather than agent-like.
Ward continues training with Skye, and they have a heart to heart, when Ward explains the “moment” he knew who he was. Coulson interrupts their training, and the team is told to get in. Agent May isn’t willing to go in for combat, so Coulson says he will be going with Ward.
Skye takes a taxi to the gathering she is supposed to attend. She makes small talk to blend in, and finally meets up with Quinn. He offers her a job, the reason for her invitation, which seems to take Skye aback. Quinn speaks to a crowd, talks about the restrictiveness of governments such as the U.S. and agencies such as S.H.I.E.L.D. He then begins talking about Gravitonium, and its uses. Meanwhile, Ward and Coulson have moved into position, waiting for Skye to shut down the security.
Skye moves into Quinn’s house, and looks for a way into a room. Quinn finds her though, and begins to question her. To work her way out of the jam, she reveals to Quinn with a written note that S.H.I.E.L.D. is listening in, seemingly betraying the team. Skye removes her ear piece, and “explains” to Quinn what is going on. Ward and Coulson wait at the point of entry, as the forcefield blocking their way is still up. They wind up in a fight, and manage to take the guards down. Meanwhile, Quinn tries to convince Skye that S.H.I.E.L.D. is the bad guy, and offers her a job. Skye removes the high tech make up compact that Simmons gave her, which indicates they are in range for Simmons to take down the forcefield. Simmons gets it down and Ward and Coulson make the 3 second reset window before the forcefield re-arms.
Skye is Caught, Dr. Hall is on a Mission of His Own…
Skye is discovered though, and Quinn points a gun at her. Meanwhile, Coulson and Ward found Dr. Hall, but Hall is refusing to leave, and plans to self-destruct the whole Gravitonium machine, which will take down Quinn’s entire compound. Coulson tries to talk him down but isn’t having luck. At the same time, Agent May tells Coulson that Hall created the leak, so he would be intentionally caught, allowing him to commence his plan of destruction of the machine.
The gravity in the building has begun to get wacky. Coulson and Hall begin to fight, and Coulson attempts to convince Hall to help him shut down the machine. Ward begins searching for Skye, as she is interrogated by Quinn. She manages to get his gun, and makes a run for it. Quinn sends his goons after Skye, and plans an evacuation for himself.
Skye is caught, but Ward shows up just in time to save her. Coulson and Hall continue to fight as they tumble due to the Gravitonium’s tumbling. Dr. Hall refuses to help shut it down, and that leaves Coulson no choice–he shoots the floor out from under Hall, having him fall into the Gravitonium, which seems to stabilize everything.
Mission Accomplished, except for the Creepy Hand!
In the aftermath, Coulson has the Gravitonium stored with S.H.I.E.L.D., unmarked and unsearchable, so no one finds it. Meanwhile, Agent May requests for combat, after seeing how “rusty” Coulson is in the field. Skye has taken her training more serious now, and Ward seems to appreciate her newfound effort. Skye talks about her foster families, and the constant yo-yoing from foster home to foster home, and Ward sympathizes with her.
The episode closes out with a last view of the Gravitonium being put away. Inside, we see the Gravitonium still swirling about–and we see a hand reach out of it. Looks like we haven’t seen the last of Dr. Hall.
Josh’s Thoughts: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Episode 3, The Asset
I was a little underwhelmed by this episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Sadly, I think it is still the acting that is bothering me the most, as well as the cast. Clark Gregg has been great, and I do not mind Ming-Na Wen, but the others are kind of annoying to me. The story itself was pretty good, and the antagonist for this episode, Quinn, seemed to be a good adversary.
What I really liked about the episode was the ending, as we see the “origin story” of this villain, Dr. Hall, who I assume we will be seeing later. I really want a cohesive story rather than a bunch of “one-off” episodes.
Hopefully the actors that I am having a problem with grow on me over time, as so far I can’t appreciate their stories, which in turn is not helping me get into the show any better. Sadly, I do not have much else to say about the show, as my feelings are currently a little, “meh” so far. Hopefully things turn around soon and next episode draws me in.
Violets’s Thoughts on Episode 3 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Asset
I’m still not loving Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for some reason. I’m not sure, but I think that reason is Skye. I didn’t think it was possible, but she was even more annoying this episode. The episode actually got off to a fun and interesting start. But then, cut to Skye’s over the top reaction to the invisible attackers, and I was immediately rubbed the wrong way. Was I the only one hoping that she was actually going to betray the S.H.I.E.L.D. team and take the job with Quinn, just so that the S.H.I.E.L.D. team would be rid of her? Wishful thinking, I suppose.
As for the heart to heart scene between Ward and Skye, I can appreciate the show’s attempt at character development, but at the same time, it felt a little forced and out of place. Also, maybe it was just me, but I found that I didn’t really care about their stories. It also could be that the show was just a little too obvious about it. Coulson had to tell Ward to “act human” before he shared he story with Skye, so it felt a little artificial, like he could have been making it up. Maybe if it had come up more naturally in conversation I would have been more on board.
Unfortunately, Agent May sat out this episode, so we didn’t get to see her do any butt kicking this time around. However, now that she has requested to go back into combat, I’m sure we’ll see a sufficient amount of Agent May’s awesome fighting skills in the episodes to come. Agent May is one of the reasons that I keep watching. Another reason that I keep watching is that the show continues to perpetuate the mystery of what happened to Coulson after his apparent death in The Avengers, and his subsequent trip to “Tahiti.” I’m thinking it was more of a trip to “Belize” (Breaking Bad reference), and that Coulson actually did die, and the current Coulson is a clone. It doesn’t look like Josh mentioned this in the recap, but there was a scene where Coulson was having trouble with muscle memory while he was handling his gun. This would suggest that there is no muscle memory due to this not being his actual body in which he developed that muscle memory. This is a different body, and therefore no muscle memory has had a chance to develop.
Despite my reservations with the show, it does still give out an overall fun vibe, and there are parts of the show that I enjoy watching. It’s just certain people that I don’t enjoy watching. It looks like the final scene of each episode will be the best scene, considering that last week’s final scene included a cameo by Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, and this week we saw Dr. Hall’s hand emerge from the Gravitonium, thus showing us the origin of the villain Graviton from the Avengers comic books.
Here’s to hoping that the entire next episode is a good one.
Scenes from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Episode 4, Eye-Spy
Here are scenes from next week’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode titled Eye-Spy:
