Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 'The Writing on the Wall' Review: Coulson Goes Cuckoo

We've talked in the last several reviews about how Season 2 of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has finally transformed the show into what it should have been all along. What we had in Season 1 was a show that focused too much on the "Marvel" part of the name and not enough on the "Agents." What we have in Season 2 is a fun, engaging spy show with characters about which we actually care.

If "The Writing on the Wall" took place in Season 1, we would have gotten more questions than answers, and the mystery would have dragged for multiple episodes. But in Season 2, the show is keeping up a snappy pace and racing ahead with the plot. We're still getting mysteries, but we're not banging our heads against the wall hoping for an answer. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has found the right balance in answering some questions while still asking others to push the plot forward.

The mystery of Coulson's resurrection, the alien serum, Garrett's mysterious carvings and everything else tied up in this plot has been going on for the better part of the series. This story was going to reach a turning point eventually, and "The Writing on the Wall" was it. Coulson finally snapped. The alien serum in his blood drove him to carve the symbols and figure out what they meant at any cost. He resisted as long as he could, but he finally lost control, locked Skye in the cell and went after the one man who could have had the answer.

And now we know that the symbols are a three-dimensional map of an alien city. We haven't yet received confirmation that the blue alien is a Kree, but it seems like the most likely (and possibly only) option at this point. Based on an admittedly basic knowledge of Marvel Comics lore, the city in question is likely Attilan, the home of the Inhumans. The Inhumans are connected to the Kree, and reports have swirled for a while that Marvel would use the Inhumans to circumvent the fact that they cannot use actual mutants because Fox owns the rights to the X-Men and other mutants. Attilan was originally located in the Atlantic Ocean and later moved to the moon, but Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. can play with the lore all it wants here.

This also raises an interesting question about Skye. She had no compulsion to draw the symbols, and we already know she is not a normal human woman. It's possible she is an Inhuman (and maybe her father is, too) and she could discover her origin when they reach the city.

The subplot with Ward was equally interesting, as the rest of the S.H.I.E.L.D. team tailed him and tried to bring him in. Ward was one step ahead of them with a dead man's switch, but the agents knew how clever he could be and installed a contingency plan to stay on his tail.

Ward promised Bakshi, the Hydra higher-up, that he could get him a face-to-face with Coulson in exchange for meeting Daniel Whitehall. Bakshi agreed, and Ward beat him up and giftwrapped him for Coulson. It's hard to tell which side Ward is playing here (maybe both) but he seems to be doing what he thinks is best for Coulson and his team, at least based on his conversation with Skye. It's not a complete return to the side of light, but it's interesting material for Ward and for Brett Dalton to play.

What did you think of "The Writing on the Wall"? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.