After some incredibly tense twists and turns in recent episodes of Agents of Hydra S.H.I.E.L.D., it’s nice to have a lighter tone reappear with this week’s adventure.  I’m not talking about the juvenile antics of Skye and Fitz-Simmons that alienated viewers (myself included) in early episodes.  Thankfully the spy kids have grown up.  The lighter tone in Providence arrives courtesy of guest star Patton Oswalt.

Oswalt is a fanboy of the highest accord.  He proved his geek cred with last year’s Parks & Rec filibuster where he ad-libbed a Star Wars VII pitch full of Marvel superheroes that was set in a shared universe far, far away (i.e. Disney Studios).  His S.H.I.E.L.D. character may only be a Level 6 agent, but when it comes to Marvel fanatics, Patton is an unparalleled Level 8.

Looking for a recap?  Look here and scroll down to episode 18.  Then bounce back for a review.

After the “game changing” events of Turn, Turn, Turn and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Coulson & Co. find themselves on the run from Colonel Talbot and the U.S. Army.

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You know how the Enterprise never seemed to fully function in the original Star Trek movies?  William Shatner would rush around the ship checking the repair status of various departments and, when crew members told him it’d take six hours to fix the Dilithium whatchamacallit, he’d reply with, “Great.  Do it in four.”

Same thing happens here with Kirk channeled by Coulson and the Enterprise played by the Bus, last seen being torn apart by hell-bent Hydra agents.  It was fun in Trek and it’s equally fun now.  This agents-as-fugitives storyline should prove interesting what with our heroes having to rely on wit rather than 007 gadgets.

Over on the bad guy’s side of the show, we have Ward disclosing to Raina how he infiltrated Coulson’s crew.  It’s disturbing to hear him gloat about how he adopted a user-friendly persona strictly to ingratiate himself into the fold.  Included in this con was seducing Melinda May.

RAINA: “I didn’t think you were her type.”

WARD: “I’m everyone’s type.”

That is one psychopathic dude.  Ward shows more of his psycho side when he has to return to Coulson’s team with the goal of finessing a password from Skye needed to unlock a hard drive full of S.H.I.E.L.D. secrets.  Ward has Garrett viciously beat the crap out of him, not unlike what the killers in Scream do, to convince his former teammates of his escape from a Hydra attack.  It works.

Although Ward’s newly divulged agenda is morbidly intriguing, it’s not the most enthralling development in Providence.  That distinction, as usual, belongs to Coulson.

How do you tell the Talbot twins apart? One is a cartoon. Shhh.

Last week Agent May blew Coulson’s mind by revealing that she’s been keeping tabs on him for Nick Fury.  Now she elaborates on why.  Fury wasn’t in charge of the T.A.H.I.T.I. project like Coulson thought.  May doesn’t know who was, but it’s a good bet it wasn’t a friendly face given that Fury tasked her with observing Coulson for signs of instability.  Any out-of-character behavior could indicate that Phil was implanted not only with Tahitian memories, but also with sleeper agent orders from Hydra.

The fear of being controlled by the enemy is felt by Coulson’s crew when he leads them on a search for a Canadian safe house.  Unable to find the house that he suspects Fury left clues for, Coulson has a nervous breakdown.  He’s still reeling from the shock of learning that he’s served the enemy throughout his entire career.  That’s a major blow to someone defined by his occupation.  Think of it like proudly working at Dunkin’ Donuts for years only to find out that it’s secretly Starbucks!  Chilling, right?

So it’s understandable that Phil loses it for a while, but could this mental breakdown also be a physical breakdown of his resuscitated body?  Could subconscious Hydra commands bubble to the surface?  What’s truly great about this series is how much story they’re able to mine from Coulson’s resurrection.  If comic books did this every time they raised the dead, then those raises wouldn’t feel like a cheat.

“This will get me into Hall H, right?”

As previously mentioned, Patton Oswalt guest stars as Eric Koenig, a S.H.I.E.LD. operative who’s been eye spying in the comics since the 1960s.  As the lone agent guarding the secret safe house named Providence, Koenig is thrilled to have guests.  None more so than Coulson.  Turns out that Koenig is a Coulson fan, which unnerves Phil who now knows what it’s like to unnerve Captain America with his own hero worship.

Oswalt’s enthusiasm is refreshing, particularly when he hands out new identities.  Instead of fancy metallic badges emblazoned with the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo, the agents now get cheap plastic lanyards, the kind used to get into Comic-Con.  The irony does not go unnoticed.

SIDE NOTE: I once saw Oswalt at House of Secrets, a popular comic book store in Burbank, CA.  He was picking up his weekly stack of new releases that the staff had on hold for him.  Given his level of fandom, I’m sure he pestered his agents (of Hollywood, not S.H.I.E.L.D.) to get him into the M.C.U. in any capacity.  Either that or he called in a Whedonistic favor from his Dollhouse buds.  Regardless of how he got here, let’s hope that he sticks around.

Agent Koenig isn’t the only new character plucked from the comics.  Leading the charge against Coulson’s crew is Colonel Glenn Talbot, a mainstay of the incredible Hulk’s supporting cast.  As portrayed in the comics, Talbot is General “Thunderbolt” Ross’ right hand man when it comes to hunting down the jolly green giant.  As portrayed by Adrian Pasdar, he’ll be hunting new quarry in the guise of Coulson’s team.

Talbot didn’t appear in the Edward Norton Hulk film, though Ross did.  Now that the colonel has been introduced in the M.C.U. proper, could the general be far behind?  Regardless, Pasdar, with his mustache, buzz-cut, and military role, is more faithful to the character’s comic book origin then Josh Lucas’ version was in the Eric Bana Hulk flick.

The other character making the transition to live-action, in dialog anyway, is Johnny Horton, A.K.A. the Griffin, a prisoner released by Garrett who has “Lion’s paws for hands.”  If you spotted that Easter egg on your own, then congrats — you’re all set for this Sunday’s bunny visit.

NEXT UP: A trip to House o’ Secrets, followed by The Only Light in the Darkness.