“Repetitive Strain” is mostly only brought down from excellence by the statement not having enough time. I love that the episode keeps matters mostly focused on one plotline, while also progressing it, but I was intrigued and increasingly horrified—and then the story stopped.
“Slipping” takes the format of Protocol and pushes it to the absolute extreme. There’s implying a horror story through the medium of whatever technology or multimedia thing we’re exploring that episode, and then there’s burying it so deep in that framework that it feels like a twist when the shift happens.
“Transferal” picks back up a plotline that I had—admittedly—forgotten about. It hadn’t really been referenced since season one, and, thinking on it now, had seemed mostly handled. It’s possible there was a throwaway line where Celia was still dealing with being pulled back to the Archives universe—but I can’t recall it. Certainly, the narrative didn’t make a big enough deal to reinforce it.
“Back to Basic” is an odd episode to talk about. It’s not really an episode; it’s exposition. The statement is barely a statement. The conversations don’t feel like conversations. The whole point of the runtime is just to teach us some worldbuilding elements.
I was so concerned during the first half of “Bad Magic.” Nothing seemed to be happening. Riri was sitting in her trauma, and getting increasingly paranoid, but I was genuinely worried that nothing would push the plot forward until the next episode.
“Sink or Swim” is a disturbing, creative episode that would’ve likely creeped me out if I weren’t very used to these kinds of stories. Sometimes, horror media still “gets me,” and I jolt a little, but I was mostly just enjoying the little clues that I picked up as it went.
“We in Danger, Girl,” could best be described as the consequences episode. Many, many plotlines set up over the last two episodes are all collapsing in. Basically, nothing is going right for the characters—and it was the perfect choice for this show.
Why wasn’t “Hostile Workplace” the episode we got when the series returned from a hiatus? It’s much, much better than “Internal Investigation,” and reveals a ton of plot information without giving the game away. A single speculation from Sam about how alchemy works was honestly enough to make my mind go whirring. Not to mention the statement.
The wait is over, but “Internal Investigation” was not worth that wait. The hiatus made me think that we would get a bombshell of an episode once we returned to The Magnus Protocol. I was wrong. Not only is this episode not scary, it barely gives us any new information for any of the ongoing mysteries.
“Straight to Hell” is exactly the kind of finale I would want from this show if I had speculated one from the beginning. All the pieces of the puzzle slam together in a violent, intense, dramatic crescendo. And—amazingly—without absolutely ruining the storyline’s gravitas by wrapping things up too fast or forcing everything back into the status quo. I’ll say it again in the final paragraph, but this is quite the way to get people hyped for the next season. I am hyped for the next season. I cannot imagine how they’ll continue this storyline—or what it might do to the broader MCU canon.
“Will the Real Natalie Please Stand Up?” is a terrible continuation of Ironheart. It has a lot of fun moments. It highlights both the fun science fiction concepts it’s playing with—and, to a lesser extent, magical concepts—while giving us an action-packed, CGI-packed heist scene. But it also, jarringly, has the same “convenience” factor to its narrative that plagued “Bring Me Home,” but to a much, much, much worse degree.
Ironheart’s first episode, “Take Me Home,” is one of the best opening Marvel episodes I can recall in terms of engagement. You get basically everything you need to attach to the story and get excited to see where it goes. Unlike Daredevil: Born Again, the plot is starting right away, no slightly non-sequitur hook required. There’s superhero-type stuff happening from the jump.
