16 Blocks

Major Spoilers Ahead

Mos Def as Eddie Bunker and Bruce Willis as Jack Mosley

There’s a great, little movie with Bruce Willis that was released a decade ago.

    It’s about a dried-out, depressed alcoholic cop, who at the last minute is assigned to escort a witness to the courthouse for a 10am hearing. The witness is an ex-con who saw something go down with a dirty cop. The dirty cop and his friends are on the move to intercept the witness before he reaches the courthouse, so our alcoholic cop is now on the run to defend him. ‘turns out later that our alcoholic cop reveals that the witness he's protecting was going to take him down too with his testimony. Our cop has been a part of this rogue unit of police. In the end, our cop goes in to do the right thing.

    In the late 1990’s, my ex-girlfriend introduced me to the album, Black Star in a merciful attempt to expose me to a more authentic Hip Hop experience. I hadn't heard of Mos Def until then. The album was released in 1998 and it's a collaborative effort with rapper, Talib Kweli. Stand out songs are "Definition" and "Redefinition", “Brown Skin Lady” (The opening conversation is sampled from a film called, Chameleon Street) and “Thieves in the Night”. For the latter, please click play on the video above (Mos Def performs the second verse and harmonizes at the end).

    In 2002, Mos Def was cast as Booth in Topdog/Underdog, a play by Suzan-Lori Parks which he later won a joint award for with co-star Jeffrey Wright. I remember that it was a play I studied a long time as a struggling playwright. Bamboozled is a film by Spike Lee with a great concept, and the most memorable performance for me was by Mos Def. In 16 Blocks, he takes on the role of Eddie Bunker. It could've been played by another actor as a throw-away comedic role-- maybe with some tired, stray racial quips. But Mos elevates the seriousness of the story. He adopts a kind of nasal, talkative and fidgety stutter. It's just irritating enough to notice, but not enough to make us hate him. Mos Def doesn’t play him as a stereotype. There’s a sweetness in Eddie that's at just the right measure. There's a 4 part harmony type of thing going on which is what great actors do. I could see the layered thought, the honesty and respect. It's very exciting to see him working his craft. It’s one of the most wonderful performances to watch in this movie. The heart of this character-- his desire to do right is exhilarating! Roger Ebert called Mos Def's work, “a character performance completely unexpected in an action movie…”
 

Mos Def and Jeffrey Wright in the play, Topdog/Underdog

    16 Blocks wasn’t a big hit. Labels that are given by critics like, "chase movie" cheapens the overall quality. Detective Jack Mosley is a guy who is reaping what he has sown. It seems he's having a worse time with it than his colleagues. So it's a very good sign of a live conscience in him. One of the great scenes of this movie is when the dirty cops catch up to Jack and Eddie in the bar. They’re going to kill Eddie and make it look like self-defense. David Morse plays Frank Nugent. Frank chews his gum in smooth, small bites. His hand gestures are cool. He's running things. He leans over the bar in distracting banal guy talk with Jack. Then BAM! A shotgun hole takes out the leg of one of the cops about to kill Eddie. The cops are stunned and reaching for their weapons. Jack pulls the shotgun from behind the stand, cocks it and aims pointblank at Frank's head. The tense gaze between the two-- the wordless defiance. This is Jack's turning point. He's not down with the dirty anymore. It is one of the most exciting scenes of the movie! This is the crux of the movie. This is what quickens the righteous heart. There’s no unearned musical flourish and there’s no super cocky clichéd talk. He’s just a man who is dog gone tired of being a villain and he’s willing to die to do the right thing rather than stay the coward. And I love it. But I suspect most people didn't get it.

Eddie Bunker is caught at the bar

Not strong,
Only aggressive,
cause the power ain't directed
That's why, we are subjected to the will
of the oppressive

David Morse as Detective Frank Nugent

    Jack Mosley and Eddie Bunker are too unlikely people who have to team up for the right thing. It's a believable pursuit. There aren’t any gratuitous speeches about right and wrong, but it’s clear that both men want to change. They want to repent. For Jack, the cost is greater. It means losing respect, friends, his job and maybe his life. Bruce Willis is always a favorite; he plays the role with an aching manhood. His shame is great, but he still looks like a man. When I first saw the film, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Richard Donner had directed it. Richard Donner did directorial duties for Superman, The Goonies, and Lethal Weapon. I don’t think many ticket goers went home pondering too hard about the morality of the movie, but I like to think that it left enough of an impression to cause real reflection in people's lives. That comforts a vague disappointment I have about the box office.
 

    The second greatest scenes are at the end when Jack is confronted by Frank again in the underground courthouse parking lot. He's alone. Eddie is gone. Jack is going to testify. The exchange between these two is charged. Jack is going to do the right thing, but Frank isn't having it.

"He was gonna take down our case."

"He was somebody's husband."

"He was gonna take down our case!"

"He was somebody's father."

"He was gonna take down our case. What were we supposed to do?!"

"If you wanted to, tell the truth."

"F*** THE TRUTH!!"

    I was on the bus going home last night and I remembered spotting Frank's mouth quiver when he screamed that line. I saw it for the first time a few nights ago. This may be hard to conceive, but I saw him as a little child. It's not a flowery statement and it doesn't do away with the lies and the murder, or the consequences he must face. But I had a gush of compassion in my heart. All that hard exterior gave way to a scared child trying not to cry. A man standing in a scary world without someone to help him and being expected to do the right thing. I saw him the way God sees everyone of us. I saw him-- and people like him-- as lost, messed up folks who God wants to forgive, clean up and change. It made me think differently on the bus about my own enemies. Personally, I know that's not a passing thing. A struggle, but not a passing thing.

Not strong
Only aggressive
Not free
We only licensed
Not compassionate, only polite
Now who the nicest?
Not good but well behaved
Chasin' after death
So we can call ourselves brave?
Still livin' like mental slaves

Manchester by the Sea

Michelle Williams as Randi and Casey Affleck as Lee Chandler

    There are different ways that people resign themselves to the horror of the way life happens to them. It's a basic human thing everywhere. People generally pick a corner and adopt a life view. They gather around people that feel the same way. Casey Affleck plays Lee Chandler in Manchester by the Sea. He's a quiet and reserved janitor living in his corner. He left Manchester for Boston to escape the reminder of how his children died. But his brother has a heart attack and names him the guardian of his son, Patrick (Lucas Hedges). Now, a delayed funeral and brotherly duty keeps him bound in Manchester longer than he wants to be there.

     I came into Manchester by the Sea 20 minutes late. The movie resonates with me, though it was much easier to appreciate it after the credits finished. The Oscar nods are deserving, I think. Lee is like a wounded animal that keeps getting bumped and knocked by people in a crowded Times Square street. He doesn’t snarl, he just kinda limps on with his tail between his legs. Lee is not an abusive guy. In fact, he’s an extraordinarily patient guy. That's the aspect about this character that makes his wound easier to listen past for 2 1/2 hours. In one scene, Patrick and his friends are being loud and obnoxious in the next room. You can almost feel how this company grates on Lee. Like clanging cymbals. But mostly, he overlooks his nephew’s irritations. There is so little to nourish Lee. There was no life or healing in the words of his world. I know most people have no problem with the profanity in the movie, but it made the character’s suffering harder for me. I couldn't help but note how the characters around him were all medicating in their corners too. It made me desire their joy. But still, it's the hint of courage in Lee that resonates with me. I think now that it was a humility that was in slow bloom in the wasteland of his life. If he really was brought to ruin, I wonder if he would’ve been as long-suffering as he was. When he runs into his ex-wife Randi (Michelle Williams) and she seemingly wants to reconcile with him. He stops short. On the night his house burned down, Lee was high and his actions led to it being engulfed in fierce flames with his children inside. She cursed him for it. He has a chance to curse her back. He doesn't. I think he might've been trying to protect her. That kind of grace only comes from God. I don't know how to explain the mechanics of that. Clearly, he was a man who didn't place very much faith in God.   

  

Lucas Hedges as Patrick

     But I still wondered at how people raved about this film. It pulsates with sadness. I thought of what God has to say about darkness. My mind raced back to films like Leaving Las Vegas or even The Crossing Guard-- all really great stories about mournful humanity seeking resolution. Why was this such a big film? I think, in part it's an embrace of death. It's in our culture. We can be very masochistic. We can take such pride in our pain and make it identity. Even the most strong can refuse to let go for the sake of health and the peace of loved ones. Not really because one can't. But because there are those who deep down know they would lose their perceived self-importance. That is the pride that kills over and over. In our day and age of picking corners and of choosing gods that suit us, we have learned to celebrate an ill choice and call it good. It's like a silent atom bomb that even kills generations later. We've stopped teaching our children to reject that. The people around Lee Chandler are all pleasant smiles and gestures, but for many of them it's just a cover-up. 

Jack Nicholson in The Crossing Guard

    On the other hand, there is the worthy part of these kind of movies that benefits mankind. It's the catharsis. The honesty of how these characters are played and how it does something for the aching souls of those who see it. How they can see themselves and even in some cases decide to make a change. That’s valid too. I’m not implying that Kenneth Lonergan, the writer and director of the film should’ve injected inspiration and light for a movement toward restorative health. You can’t force that. Even God has perfect timing. There's hope, I think. I think that it's worthwhile to note what could be hope in how Lee responds to the people around him. He’s just trying to live and I think he inadvertently finds the first buds of humility. Humility is not something you learn from a book. Humility in pretense gives off a bad smell. Humility is serving and loving someone else more than yourself. It’s ordained and driven by the fingerprint of God. It's rare and the cost is always huge. 

Elisabeth Shue and Nicholas Cage in
Leaving Las Vegas

    The following is a PBS covered film review that gives an interview with Kenneth Lonergan:

Learning to walk

    Watching The Pursuit of Happyness. Remember how Will Smith manages to get his first appointment that he has to make in 20 minutes--- traffic gets in the way, and he's just running down the street in a suit like his life depended on it? Stevie Wonder singing, "... till I reach my highest ground." That scene has left an indelible mark on my mind for years. My favorite Stevie Wonder song now. Not that my "happyness" depends on these things... but I understand. All the odds are stacked against what you believe you can do, and you're running down the street in a suit and folks' looking at you like you're crazy. I understand.

Ephesians 6:16

    "Jesus said to him, 'If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.' Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, 'Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!'"

Mark 9:23-24, NKJV

   

The Integrity of Sully

During the course of the movie, Sully is often distracted. In those moments, he's searching. Did he do the right thing? Was he ever a legitimate pilot? The movie really is a portrait in the sense that it doesn’t move forward so much as it goes back a lot. It all marks with subtlety that he’s uncertain about what he did-- so much so that he can’t fully grasp yet that he saved 155 lives because he still pictures the horror of the worst scenario. The subtlety is perfect. I emphasize that. I think that’s the aim because even the music in the movie is subtle and effective. Tom Hanks is well-armed for this portrayal and for the tone of the movie. So much of it is wordless and much more was said in the few words given. The common Hollywood clichés that could’ve candy-coated and in effect marred this film are avoided by Todd Komamicki who writes the screenplay like a gifted surgeon. He writes dignity in nuances. That is inspiring work!

    Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III is the airline captain that successfully executed a water landing of his plane in the Hudson River on January 15^th, 2009. All 155 passengers survived. He was- and still is- hailed a hero. Take a look at the trailer.

    I saw the movie for the second time last night. The first time I was near tears, but the second time was like enjoying the company of honorable and good men. I want to talk a little bit about these kinds of men as tends to be my habit on this blog. I don’t think anyone of us-- especially men-- can be honorable and good without God. Sully is a remarkable guy. The kind of genuine character that’s mostly uncommon in our time. I think his personal character was integral to hold through an unprecedented water landing and the ensuing scrutiny and fame that followed. But I can’t give him or the brave people that helped all the credit. It wasn’t called the Miracle on the Hudson for nothing. I think people are more than just enthralled with Sully and what happened. I think they know there’s more to it. It can’t often be spoken aloud in our time without people withdrawing their love. People are so thirsty for this because it indicates something that flies in the face of what they’ve been taught, and what they’ve been discouraged to embrace. It’s pure like a thick gush of cold water on a hot day and it hints at something so much greater and so much more wonderful.  Take the inevitable water-landing scene. I’ve sold tickets to people for this movie. I’ve overheard patrons anxious to catch the water-landing scene. I shake my head at that. It is a great scene—a sharply executed scene and no movie about Chesley Sullenberger would be complete without it— but this movie was more than a cinematic water landing. In fact, in that particular scene, the overwhelming outreach of gracious rescuers played by actors perfectly casted is a near-tears moment. That moment in particular is the gathering of the Coast Guard at the downed, floating plane, watching, as the passengers standing on the wings with 30 below waters lapping at their ankles are pulled up. The accents. The air of tough New York pulling together with rough hands and heavy pats for the sake of people in need. It was the best of what New York is and can be. There was nothing gratuitous in its presentation. There really is no justification to deny that God was not orchestrating the entire rescue on January 15^th, 2009.  

    In our day and age you can’t talk about truth without that “inner guard” that expects someone to dismiss what I’ve said as mere religion.

From left, Tom Hanks and the real Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III

    I’m more involved with the character of the man in the movie. Character is not our strong suit in this city. Character is not pursued or coveted. You get your degrees, your knowledge and your references; you get a job and you just wing it. You flatter. You smile. You’re relieved to still go home a thief. But character comes with practice, learning to say no for the right reasons. Character is seasoned; it has a wonderful fragrance. It effortlessly increases the timbre of your voice. It makes you truly unique. Whether people want to admit it or not, what Sully did was borne out of a certain character. People gravitate to it because it is so palatable. It is refreshing. It is agreeable. That’s not by accident. What we do and what we say is genuine consumption for all of those people around us. No word we say returns to us void. Nothing we do is throw-away. Only very accomplished foolish people believe otherwise.

    Imagine a parallel situation where the stakes are high. Put in today’s average 20 or 30 something. Very likely then some lives might be lost. The attitude is a hyper self-entitlement and loose morals. Fame might be indulged. Movie opportunities. Magazine cover: face swollen with false humility. Or imagine the same perilous situation with a 40 year old teenager. I’m not trying to be mean. I’m trying to illustrate how far we are in terms of integrity, consideration and God.

    According to his Wikipedia entry, Captain Sullenberger was an active member of the Methodist church. I don’t know how accurate that is or what Sully’s view of Christ is today. But if it’s true, then it tells me a little something more.

    Sully is a welcome change of pace about the kind of hero that doesn’t seem to know that he is one. I have superhero fatigue. In the last 8 months I have gorged myself on nearly every DC and Marvel live action property from the cinema to Netflix.  This was such a blessing to watch. It was true heroism.

    Sully is a great example of what manhood should be like. No matter what age you are. You don't have to be a pilot to exhibit that manhood. You can do that by being a husband, a father or a man who demonstrates right conduct at home or at work. Christ will always be the ultimate example of manhood.

An Essay on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and its Season 3 finale

At front and center, Clark Gregg as Director Phil Coulson

    I’ve never missed an episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. In its first season, I was a staunch supporter. It was an exciting new window from a different corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Moreover, I thought the idea of the developmental “slow burn” was just more risk-taking genius from Marvel Studios. Every week I would shake my head about the ratings decline. AoS is the little-show-that-could. Despite a seeming distance, the continuity of the show is integrated with the movies. There have been a handful of guest appearances by characters like Nick Fury, Maria Hill and Lady Sif (From Thor). In the film, Captain America: Winter Soldier, Cap discovered the deeply-embedded infiltration of Hydra within S.H.I.E.L.D. and following that, the tie-in to AoS was gripping. Winter Soldier directly unraveled the life of Phil Coulson and revealed a Hydra double agent on his team in Grant Ward which made for some very tense interactions for the seasons to come. In case you didn’t know, it was Coulson who prepared the Helicarrier for Nick Fury in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

    But I want to talk about the recently wrapped third season which at the finale welled up gladness in me. For those who don’t watch the show, I need to quickly illustrate how Coulson is still alive after being impaled by Loki, and how the third season takes off.  

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD

Agent Coulson in Project T.A.H.I.T.I.

    Phil Coulson did die in The Avengers. During the course of AoS, we learn that before the Battle of New York, Coulson and Nick Fury were involved in implementing a device for the express purpose of “resurrecting” an Avenger killed in battle. A device that Coulson resigned work from with a recommendation for it to be shut down. Because Director Fury held such value for Coulson, he ordered for him to undergo the process. This is a concept that delivers on the gruesome. In flashbacks, Coulson is seen laying on a gurney with his scalp opened as S.H.I.E.L.D. doctors look on. A metallic device massages his exposed brain amidst his agonized cries for death. He returns with implanted memories of having been well-rested referring to it as “the magical place.” On a mission to save one of his agents, Coulson discovers the corpse of a Kree in a S.H.I.E.L.D. compound. It’s the alien whose fluids were drained to create the medicine that restored his life. 

Coulson discovers the Kree corpse

    After the events of Winter Soldier, Nick Fury reunites with Coulson and names him acting director with the task of rebuilding S.H.I.E.L.D. The revelation of the Inhuman phenomenon develops further, essentially leading to one of their agents, Daisy Johnson to be reborn as an Inhuman (She becomes the character, Quake who originated in the comic book). During the third season, Grant Ward continues his operations as a rogue Hydra agent and in vengeance assassinates an ally and love interest of Coulson. Coulson is consumed with an uncharacteristic vengeance and tracks Ward down.

At right, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury 

Brett Dalton as Grant Ward

    Grant Ward is murdered by Director Coulson on Maveth. Maveth is a planet mostly covered in darkness where an ancient and extremely powerful Inhuman was banished centuries earlier by the Kree. It turns out that Hydra started out as a branch of followers that embraced this Inhuman as a deity and developed a religious, crusading organization around him. Over the centuries, this sect of Hydra found a way to transport members to the banished Inhuman under the false impression they were making noble attempts to return their “god” to rule. But later, we discover from a high ranking Hydra officer that “followers” were actually sent to “satiate” their god. The Inhuman devoured these men. It gets very interesting and causes me to wonder about Red Skull’s reactions to this legend since he led the modern day reformed movement. This new revelation about Hydra brings to it a new depth that makes it more of a compelling mystery.

Maveth

    Coulson leaves Maveth, but the body of Ward is inhabited by the Inhuman later to be known as Hive. Hive returns to earth and begins to amass an army of Inhumans under a kind of hypnotic sway. He can manipulate the pleasure centers of their brains and turn them into acolytes with a religious fervor. Hive takes on the attributes of a certain world leader or Anti-Christ. In fact, as the episodes progress it’s no longer subtle. The content of the episodes reverberate like different notes on a piano that is the song of Christ-- His return, the defeat of the Anti-Christ and the monumental sacrifice He made for the forgiveness of the entire world—all played out in the words and actions of the characters in various ways. This is the real reason I’m writing this blog. Not so much to herald the courage of the show runners, because you see, I don’t know for sure why they would- or even could- write such a story like this. Or how it could even be sanctioned without a fight… if that. Whatever took place in the writer’s room, whether they realize it or not, the latter part of the third season undeniably gives glory to Jesus Christ. For a show on network TV to do this is astonishing! The reason that it is astonishing is because the world is increasingly hostile toward Christians. Several months ago, I read an interview Brett Dalton gave where he describes how people thought the monologue he delivered made him sound like he was "... born again, devout, off-my-rocker..." That's the attitude I'm talking about. I only know, that I know, what God says about Himself is absolutely true: that He is in control. As hard as it is to believe for anyone in these very troubled, harsh times we live in. My reaction would surely prompt many to say something like, “Well, you only saw what you wanted to see.” Okay.

Brett Dalton as Hive

Chloe Bennett as Daisy Johnson/ Quake

    Imagine if I wrote a TV script called, Hamilton. Hamilton is a regular brother from a Brooklyn projects neighborhood, who just happens to be a prince. Hamilton’s dead father talks to him through a Ouija board and tells him that his uncle murdered him. In my script, I write that Hamilton becomes insane with despair; drinking and smoking weed, stunted by indecisiveness on how to deal with his uncle’s treachery. How can he guilt-trip his own mother about marrying his uncle? In my script, I write that Hamilton stands one night in front of the corner bodega, declaring to himself aside a sleeping drunk, “To act or to delay, that is my prayer…” Take in all of that and you would be within your bounds of good sense to assume that I am lifting much of my content from Hamlet. Of course, I might say you only want to see what you want to see.

Daisy Johnson under sway with Hive

    Agent Mack finds Daisy in her cell. In their last encounter, Daisy was under sway with Hive and brutally beat Mack, even using her powers to fracture his bones and nearly killing him. But after Daisy comes back, Mack refreshes his commitment as her partner. Mack restrains her in loving embrace, and tells her that he forgives her. She breaks down in sobs, murmuring how she doesn’t deserve it. Note, the same conflicted and tormented Daisy finds Hive again and falls to her knees before him asking him to take her back. He doesn’t. He says to her that she’s been made impervious to his power. But this act from Daisy portrays the painful reality of sinful addiction and the hopelessness to break free of it. Legions of Christians testify today that the power of Christ broke them from all kinds of addictions. The real Satan can create a false sense of this which mirrors what Hive can do. The real Satan cannot undo the salvation of a true, genuine Christian. What Hive gives to his followers seems substantial, but just like in real life it doesn’t feed or satisfy the gnawing of the soul. Chloe Bennett plays Daisy/Quake. She’s a very young actress, but it needs to be said this may be her best acting yet. I repeatedly was moved to tears because of the sorrow that she conveyed. That one scene with Mack choked me up. It was undeniable. I’ve known that sorrow personally. There was nothing gratuitous about her performance. Marvel take notice, please. 

Henry Simmons as Mack

    Daisy Johnson is guilt-ridden by the horrible betrayal she has committed under the sway of Hive. I find it interesting that she condemned Grant Ward for his betrayal and it must’ve been grating for her to realize she was somehow guilty of much of the same. She doesn’t see how she can go on. She’s got an idea on how she can atone which is to give her life to destroy Hive. It was at this point, I expected the show to go in the clichéd direction of finding redemption through selfless deeds, which most of the world still believes is the answer to eternal life. But my heart leapt at what happened next. My chest heaved with emotion. A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent named Lincoln-- also an Inhuman and Daisy’s lover pushes her out of the ship. Bleeding and weakened, he catapults Hive and himself into space where a deadly blast would take them out leaving the earth unharmed. Director Coulson remarks to an inconsolable Daisy, “He’s dying for all of our mistakes.” Before detonation, the recurring scene of a floating cross attached to a chain in zero gravity.

Luke Mitchell as Lincoln

Scene foreshadowed throughout the third season
with floating cross.

The true face of Hive

THE BASIC CHARACTER OF S.H.I.E.L.D.    

    The placement of Coulson’s body to be reanimated by machines is one of the more unsettling, darker aspects of S.H.I.E.L.D. and reveals further how this organization is less heroic than presumed. That’s some indication to me how Hydra could’ve remained hidden for decades. The writers are very honest in manifesting the true spirit of S.H.I.E.L.D. which finds more expression in the weariness of the agents in what they say and what they do. They are isolated and without peace. The team has repeatedly expressed their desire to see Ward dead and in later episodes voice their approval of his murder. Coulson’s likability falls for me. Evil always wins when we choose to practice it against our enemies. I don’t condemn the character, but I firmly condemn the celebration of that thinking. I’d like to see how Coulson will deal with that failure in his life. I applaud the honesty of the characters, but it’s the amorality of the show that has waned my interest in it now. No matter how much a show glosses its work with handsome and beautiful, talented and charming people, the true essence of who they’re playing is like sudden and piercing body odor. It can’t help but be sensed. S.H.I.E.L.D. recruits the brightest, the most talented, but with special attention to the most apathetic, the ruthless and cynical. Because of this, I was initially puzzled as to where the show was going next, but the crescendo of this third season really was wonderful in a surprising way.

    God is so very compassionate in giving the world every reason to believe that the cross is true. Scholarly, professional men have tried to prove that Christ was a myth and came away deeply humbled and saved. They receive a power that causes them to walk in love and truth. Religion can’t duplicate that. Neither can society. 

   

    I think that Marvel Studios ought to make Phil Coulson, Daisy Johnson and Melinda May a significant part of Avengers: Infinity War, with actual appearances in those movies. You can’t leave AoS out when Thanos arrives. Plus, I am looking forward to see Coulson appear in the upcoming Marvel‘s Iron Fist. 

KEY EPISODES FOR THE THIRD SEASON ON MARVEL‘S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.:

Episode #9- “Closure”

Episode #10- “Maveth”

Episode #11- “Bouncing Back”

Episode #12- “The Inside Man”

Episode #15- “Spacetime”

Episode #16- “Paradise Lost”

Episode #17- “The Team”

Episode #18- “The Singularity”

Episode #19- “Failed Experiments”

Episode #20- “Emancipation”

Episode #21- “Absolution”

Episode #22- “Ascension”

THE TALENTED WRITERS FOR THE EPISODES LISTED

Brent Fletcher, Jeffrey Bell, Monica Owusu-Breen, Craig Titley, Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon, George Kitson and Sharla Oliver, DJ Doyle, Lauren LeFranc, Chris Dingess and Drew Z. Greenberg.