So far, I’m quite liking the depiction of Daisy under Hive’s control. "The Singularity" showed it wasn't all one-note and “Hive is my master! I work for Hive!” with Daisy and the other Inhumans suddenly robotic and not themselves. The idea that they’re addicted to what he gives them and feel happy from it gives it a different leaning – especially as we see they still have their own personalities and emotions, but are still compelled to do his bidding.
I also liked May bringing up Coulson’s overly protective feelings for Daisy in this episode and calling him out on being so willing to be cutthroat with many others in a way he isn’t with her. It was all couched as him feeling like she was the daughter he never had, but either way, it was good to see it not ignored. Back in Season 1, when the show was really struggling to find itself, one of its ongoing issues was hearing Coulson talk about how special Skye Daisy was over and over before those of us watching had a reason to be invested in her, so it felt good to have May evoke that – along with Lincoln mentioning their surrogate, “Small, messed up family.” It may have been a prosthetic after all but that was quite a visual for this show, on this network, to include when Simmons jammed that needle into the eye of Radcliffe (John Hannah!). Coming so soon after we saw Simmons peel back the skin on a dead dude’s head and she’s becoming quite the conduit to some amusingly visceral moments on this show…
…when she’s not getting busy with Fitz, that is. Their frank, albeit scientifically tinged, conversation about how once they slept together things wouldn’t be the same was a fun subplot for Fitz and Simmons. I just hope Mack didn’t return from the Quinjet in the middle of their first time.
On a less positive note, it was super lame to have Joey and Elena leave off-screen again. The Secret Warriors are so freaking secret they can’t even stick around for more than one episode!
As for Hydra being destroyed by Talbot’s forces, Coulson and May kind of noted how it just kind of happened… but it also was a bit weird to have it go down like that, after how big a presence Hydra has had in the entire MCU. It still felt like something bigger should have happened onscreen.
On the other hand, they were becoming pretty repetitive and too easy to throw in as far as villains go, so I am fine with wrapping up their existence once and for all this season.
