Warning: Spoiler Alert
Operation: Fitz Extraction goes off without a hitch. New SHIELD’s tails were no match for a cloaked Quinjet. Once strapped in, Coulson opens the Toolbox pulling up intel on the new twofold head of Hydra. Who apparently are even more obsessed with powered people than Whitehaul, if you can imagine that. Coulson plans to make a deal with Grant Ward.
Jiaying sits with an over the moon with excitement Cal reflecting on their almost picture perfect family dinner the night before. Cal is all too content to sit quietly in his almost prison cell waiting with anticipation for the next ‘family dinner’. Jiaying’s lack of enthusiasm suggests that might not ever come. Plus, that’s exactly what she told Skye. Suggesting Gordon take him to pick up some things so his stay is not so prison-like feels like an opportunity to remove Cal from this place, permanently.
Bobbi and Mack engage in a very one-sided sparring match, favoring Bobbi. During which, they sporadically talk about the current situation. Both following orders. Both believing they are on the right side. By the end Bobbi admits that it is concerning that they are spending all of their time on Coulson, the Toolbox, and tailing Fitz. Spending no time hunting Hydra.
Bobbi: Coulson may be a number of things, but he’s not the enemy.
With a fancy laser en route to crack open the Toolbox, Simmons must come clean to May. She duplicated the Toolbox, gave the real one to Fitz and has been pretending to work on opening the fake.
Coulson intercepts Agent 33 and makes a call to Grant Ward from her phone. Ward comes without hesitation and Mike has him remove all six weapons he had on his person before the face to face with Coulson. Ward plays the cards you’d expect. Coulson replies with the resourcefulness of Ward and the carrot to the deal. After Ward gets Coulson in, Ward goes through the T.A.H.I.T.I. protocol. Erase all the bad and let Ward walk away free and clear. Ward resists at first, but comes around for a chance with 33 free and clear. “I may know a guy”.
May told Bobbi the truth about the Toolbox. Fitz wants to get Skye, but not if it means including Ward. And Jiaying is removing Cal despite the carnage that might cause. So everything is moving ahead swimmingly.
Mike delivers Ward and Agent 33 in a ride much less efficient than a Quinjet. While they are alone in this 1970’s hoopdie, Ward explains to 33 how they have the upper hand and until Coulson arrives at his endgame, they will use him to get to theirs. The guy who knows a guy tied up in the trunk is none other than our friend Mr. Bakshi.
While Skye is not alright with the plan to drop a walking rage fest into the general population then inform him he’s no longer welcome around his wife and daughter, she is willing to strap herself to the ticking time bomb. The normal people’s safety is not a concern for Jiaying, but it is for Skye. She offers to go with Cal, to Milwaukee.
Hunter, Fitz, and Coulson sit across from Ward, 33, and Bakshi. There is palpable animosity from both sides. Fitz’s legs his shaking. Hunter gradually extends his hand to cover Fitz’s hand that is firmly gripping his gun in its holster. Then Ward has the gall to ask Fitz how he’s been. Fitz hesitates then lunges at Ward, requiring both Coulson and Hunter to restrain him.
Bakshi gains access to Dr. List with no complications. The team plus Ward and 33 watch Mike Peterson’s feed to watch what happens in this meeting. Bakshi is quick on his feet in answering List’s questions, maybe too much so. Then Bakshi offers Mike Peterson to Hydra as a show of good faith. Moments later in the Quinjet, we have a good old fashioned Tarantino-eque stand-off. Deathlock has begun targeting the room. In an instant he will be able to kill everyone in the room before they know what hit them. Cooler heads prevail and Fitz types in the order to ‘play along’.
Skye and Cal on their first ‘father-daughter date’ are finding that Milwaukee is nowhere near the place Cal remembers. All of the sweet and quaint places he remembers are all gone. Skye bumps a stranger and lifts his phone. While Cal goes into a liquor store hunting ice cream, Skye calls May. Quickly pleads with them to send someone to get Cal because once she leaves, he going to go nuclear. For whatever reason, Lincoln is their tailing them from a comfortable distance.
The Hydra plane is about to land. They are making a stop where they believe a person has achieved quantum entanglement, or one person in two vastly different places simultaneously. The first theory is that its Gordon. Then Ward starts to believe this whole thing is about Skye.
At his old office, Cal walks into his old office. The door reads “C.L. Johnson, M.D.” Skye pauses for a moment to soak in what her name was supposed to be. Daisy Johnson. Inside the office, Cal continues to reminisce. Skye cuts him off attempting to soften the blow of the news she’s about to give. When she says “I could visit”, his attention is peaked and not in a good way.
Lincoln reveals himself as a tail and Cal’s rage begins to grow. At the same time, Bakshi, Mike and a team of Hydra decent on the building. When they cross paths, Lincoln attempts to fry Mike’s chest. It doesn’t work. Mike tries to explain that he is a friend to Skye, which Lincoln doesn’t believe. This inconvenient moment is when Simmons gets some headway on hacking Mike’s feed. With all of the suspicions flying around about Coulson’s secrets, this is not the best time for May and Simmons to see Coulson working with Ward. Bakshi it seems is the double crosser, or at least the first one. Coulson and Skye find each other. Ward’s presence only seems to alarm her for a moment. Then at the most inopportune time, Gordon shows up to whisk Skye away. Cal finds a way to piggy back the ride back.
Ward surprisingly, with the plan falling apart, stays in line. At the end of season one there was a largely looming question. Has Ward’s deception been so bad that he can never be redeemed? Is there any situation where Ward might be invited back into the fold. Maybe not forgiven, but brought back in. I am in no way suggesting this is happening. However, this at least opens the door of possibility.
Bobbi and Mack arrive after the fight had ended. They believe everyone cleared out. Then Coulson’s voice says otherwise. They walk in hesitant and guns drawn.
Bobbi: What happened here?
Coulson: I’ll tell you back at the base. Take me to your leader.
