'Agents of SHIELD' Season 7 Episode 2 Review: 'Know Your Onions' is like an espionage film in its final minutes
Spoilers for 'Agents of SHIELD' Season 7 Episode 2: 'Know Your Onions'
Changing history isn't easy. Ask the Avengers who tried to do everything by the book. They might have heeded to Scott Lang's instructions and not bet on sporting events, but just about every snafu that could have happened... happened. The storyline for the agents who're thwarting the Chronicom threat in 1931 is no different. And now, they're off that timeline. 'Know Your Onions' is a phrase that's used more than a couple of times in the episode, and for those unaware, it translates to know your stuff.
'Know Your Onions' feels like an espionage movie in its final minutes. There are car chases, giving the coppers the slip, hiding in plain sight and that was just the start. Freddie (Darren Barnet) was indeed carrying the super-soldier serum that would lead to the creation of the Red Skull/Johan Schmidt. Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) deduces this much to Ernest Koening's (Patton Oswalt) amusement who had a hard time comprehending the events of the past few hours.
Freddy, after being rescued by Mack (Henry Simmons) and Deke (Jeff Ward), leads them to a location that isn't the rendezvous site. The duo realizes they were 500 miles away from the meet point and Freddy had plans of leaving them by catching a train. However, Mack stays true to the mission by tagging along. Aboard the Zephyr, Simmons gets a warning the next time jump would be in 17 minutes forcing the rest of the team to get back on the field and rescue the trio. Despite Daisy's order to shoot Freddie, Deke stands down.
The final minutes sees an intense shootout between the Chronicoms and the agents. In the heat of the battle, Freddie vamooses and despite Koenig's attempts to listen, he puts a bullet in his former boss's shoulder and escapes. Unfortunately, Enoch (Joel Stoffer) gets left behind while the rest of the agents jump to a new timeline. That though wasn't the last we see as he and Koenig share a drink at the latter's speakeasy where he also fills him in on SHIELD and robots.
There are minor storylines the episode captures. Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) may look fit and normal, but Enoch and Simmons realize her recovery process was far from over. For those who hoped that there would be emotions running high when she meets LMD Coulson (Clark Gregg), it's a cold conversation she has before getting back in the recovery pod. In typical 'Agents of SHIELD' fashion, the episode still brings with it some comic relief with Koening assuming the Chronicoms were Martians.
It is safe to say Koening was the star of the episode. The one-liners, the comebacks, and the genuine interest to find out what's happening around him makes him a rather likable character. 'Know Your Onions' may be the last we see of 1931 in a while, but the two episodes so far have managed to set the tone for an intriguing final season.
'Agents of SHIELD' Season 7 airs Wednesdays 10 pm ET on ABC.