The team gathers together and Peterson says that Raina has his son and wants a trade.  If he goes with Centipede then she’ll let Ace go free.  The rest of the team wants to fight, and are protective of Peterson, but Coulson says they’re going to make the trade just like Raina instructed.  He doesn’t want to do anything that puts Ace at risk.  Raina said that they are to have no electronic devices of any kind, so that they can’t be tracked, but Simmons has created an odorless scent that one of Fitz’s devices can track, but which won’t be detectable to anyone else.

The meeting is set on a bridge, from which the episode gets its title.  May still wants to fight, but Coulson says no.  She then asks at least to be allowed to escort Peterson to the rendezvous, but Coulson says that Peterson requested him instead.  He says that May is in charge until he gets back, while Simmons paints the back of Peterson’s hand with the magic scent.  Ward is in sniping position, but as Raina and a solider and Coulson and Peterson head to the middle of the bridge to meet his view is blocked by an abandoned tanker truck.  When they meet, Coulson tries to exchange Peterson for Ace, but discovers the deal between Raina and Peterson was Ace for Coulson.  Peterson heartbreakingly apologizes to Coulson, and grabs Raina and threatens to kill her, but releases her when he realizes that he won’t get his son that way.  Coulson tells Peterson that he’ll go along with the deal and Raina releases Ace, who runs to his father.  Coulson tells Peterson that he made the only choice that he had available.  Coulson is then injected with something that knocks him out and the group parts ways, Raina and the soldier heading back to their car as Peterson and Ace head back to SHIELD.

The team is confused as to what’s happening, and Ward says that he has a shot on Raina and the group, but May orders him not to fire.  (It was unclear to me whether he meant he had a shot on Raina and the solider or whether he had an opening to kill Coulson before he falls into enemy hands.)  Peterson returns to the team with Ace, and sets him down and looks in his eyes.  He tells him that he loves him, but that he’s “gotta make something right.”  He then turns and runs back at Raina, but when he gets alongside the tanker truck it explodes in a ball of fire.  It’s quickly followed by the car exploding, and Raina and company seemingly depart on a helicopter that flies by, shooting Ward on the way out and leaving the SHIELD team defeated and devastated.

After the credits we see that Coulson is still alive, held captive by Raina and Centipede.  He is defiant, telling her that whatever he plan is it won’t work.  She smiles and says, “We want you to tell us about the day after you died.”

Wow, what an ending!  I wish we didn’t have to wait until January 7^th to find out what happens next!  This was a great episode and quite the cliffhanger on which to end the fall half of the season.  We got another excellent performance from J. August Richards and a whole host of revelations about Centipede and the show’s mythology.  There was a fair amount of internal conflict among the group, with Ward and May’s relationship having some issues and Skye and May fighting over Skye’s parents and her motivations.  FitzSimmons didn’t get as much of an opportunity to shine in this episode, but it was so jam packed there wasn’t much room for them, other than Simmons fawning over Peterson.  I can’t wait to see where the show goes from here.  This was the 10^th episode of the show’s original 13 episode order, and the impression I’ve gotten from interviews is that we can expect big answers and some kind of a resolution by episode 13, since the cast and crew didn’t know at the time that they would get a full season pickup.  But for now I’m curious how the group will handle having May in charge, considering she’s currently in conflict with 50% of her subordinates.  January 7^th can’t come soon enough.

 S.H.I.E.L.D. Thoughts

Some exciting stuff in the preview for what’s to come in 2014.  Obviously we have May in charge, but what exactly is that going to look like for the group?  It seems like Skye will be stepping up and playing a bigger role in things, and I especially loved her telling a crewman, “Don’t touch Lola.”  I think in the absence of Coulson she’s going to have to be the glue that keeps the team together.  We also got a glimpse of Saffron Burrows returning as Agent Victoria Hand, though it’s too soon to say what exactly that will mean.  I’m sure Coulson’s Crew will stop at nothing to get him back.  And then there’s the promise of answers, particularly about Coulson’s death and resurrection.  It’s the biggest question on the show since the first episode (or really, since it was announced that Coulson was returning), but it looks like Coulson’s in for a rough time before we get some answers.

How smart was it for the writers to tie Coulson’s resurrection into the Centipede threat?  I assumed when Coulson told May that Peterson had requested him as an escort that Coulson was part of the trade, but I never assumed that they wanted him so they could find out about his resurrection.  The writers have taken the show’s big mystery and tied it into the overarching plot in a way that I think makes the show much more interesting, and I give full credit to showrunners Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen for it.  While the first handful of episodes contained very little progress, the last group have all been stellar, exploring the characters, deepening the plot and expanding the mystery.  I feel like SHIELD has really found itself, though unfortunately the ratings slipped for this episode after climbing the last two weeks.

I’m very curious what’s going on with Centipede.  Who or what is the Clairvoyant?  Why do they want to know how Coulson came back from the dead?  Does it tie into the supersoldiers they’re creating, or is it for some other purpose?  Now that we know they were behind Amadour’s actions, how do those events connect to their plans?  What is going on between Raina and Po?  Are they lovers?  Is she using him?  What is their ultimate goal?

Everyone who enjoys SHIELD should try to spread the word.  Ratings had been up the past two weeks, but hit a series low with this episode.  The month long break is a great time to encourage friends to check it out.  All of the episodes are available on abc.com, and are probably on various On Demand services as well.  It looks like things will continue to be exciting when the show returns, and a good word of mouth can help boost the number of viewers.  The general opinion is that SHIELD is probably safe for renewal, especially considering the amount of time and money ABC, Marvel and Disney have invested in the show, and given that its ratings compare favorably to most other shows on ABC, but if it continues to fall it could find itself in danger of being a one season wonder.

Let’s have a moment of silence for Mike Peterson.  Of course, we didn’t see him die, nor was there time to show a body, but I feel like it’d be a miracle if he survived that explosion, especially in his weakened condition.  Of course, who knows the extent of his powers, so maybe he’s still alive?  Mike Peterson, and J. August Richards of course, were a big part of the success of the pilot.  He gave the show an “everyman” perspective, and a mouthpiece for the variety of emotions that don’t often get explored when superheroes are involved.  He was a threat yet he was also a victim, trying to make his way in an unjust world.  I hate to think that Ace is now fatherless, especially when Peterson’s attempt to make things right was unsuccessful.  I love that he was willing to do anything, including betray Coulson, to save his son, but would also do anything to make it right afterwards, including sacrificing himself.  I hope we haven’t seen the last of him.

Does anyone else wonder exactly how much Coulson knows?  Obviously he doesn’t seem to know what happened to him after he died, but beyond that I get the feeling that he knows more than he lets on.  His conversation with Ward about office romance seemed very intentional as a way to get Ward to reexamine his relationship with May.  He clearly knows what happened with Skye’s parents, and I get the feeling that he told Skye that May was working on it as a way to get the two of them together in the hopes that May would spill the info and clear the air.  And as for the ending of the episode, I bet he knew that Peterson was going to trade him for Ace, especially considering Peterson’s request for Coulson as his escort.  I think Coulson willingly went along with it, knowing that it was the only way to rescue Ace.

What do you think?  Did you enjoy “The Bridge”?  Were you glad to see Mike Peterson back?  Do you think he’s really dead?  Why do you think Centipede is interested in Coulson?  What will happen to the team now that he’s gone?  What do you want to see from SHIELD in 2014?  Are you excited that we’ll finally be getting some answers?  Are you sad we have to wait a month for new episodes?  Be sure to tell all of your friends about the show, and as always let me know what you think in the comments!