Courtesy of ABC
Warning: Spoiler Alert
We start this week with a flashback. Both of the Koenig’s, Tripp, Skye in training from May, Fitz showing some improvement, Hunter drinking too much beer (well that’s probably true in present day as well), and Coulson visiting the special base with Billy Koenig to reveal the “Theta Protocol”. Which is dare I say massive. Inside the base, behind a special door is a helicarrier. That’s right, nothing like fitting a flying aircraft carrier in your garage. Think back to the reveal moment when Fury takes Cap down to see the helicarriers in Captain America: Winter Soldier.
In present day, Coulson stands before the new SHIELD. He throws down his clearance lanyard for the h garage and suggests something that in hindsight should have been obvious. One SHIELD. Coulson as director with Gonzalez and his high-ranking agents serving as a relative board of directors. Coulson leads SHIELD under Gonzalez’ advisement.
Skye’s been sitting next to Lincoln since they brought him into the base. He finally comes around and all seems ok. That is until he notices the SHIELD emblem Skye tries to reassure him that these are her friends. Then he says something leading.
Lincoln: You never should have come for me…
Skye: I had to Jiaying wouldn’t have allowed me if I…
Lincoln: There’s a reason for that. The only thing that’s kept us safe all these years is that we were a secret. Now SHIELD knows we exist, and they won’t stop until they find ‘Afterlife’.
Raina has embraced her gift and is using it to help those you are waiting to cross reassurance from her visions. Gordon joins her and she tells him of a vision involving a stone. Gordon already knows of this stone and it is bad news. A weapon of sorts created by the Kree to destroy these people. The Kree of course, viewing the Inhumans as abominations. Jiaying gives Raina permission to travel with Gordon to discover if this rock is a real thing and where it might be.
Gordon and Raina teleport to what looks like the inside of a helicarrier. Inside they search for a red door. Before they find it, Hunter finds them and pulls the alarm. Moments later, they find the red door. And the boulder sized stone behind it. Then they watch as it goes from impenetrable stone to black liquid and back again.
After the infiltration of the helicarrier (or base, still not sure yet) Coulson and May bring in Skye to see what she knows. Which of course is very little and it gets a little testy. Meanwhile in the conference room, Gonzalez and his lieutenants have smiles on their faces. They have found a way to trace Gordon’s transporting signature. They know where the Inhumans are.
Naturally, Gonzalez and his people want to charge in guns blazing. The typical ‘everything that isn’t like us is a threat’ mentality. Coulson tries to talk them down and suggests a meeting with Jiaying. A fact-finding mission. Bobbi suggests using Skye as a liaison. And May thinks this is a great opportunity to see where Skye’s loyalties lie.
Skye is not exactly thrilled with this idea of sending Coulson to their secret location for a sit down. Coulson wants to do things by the book. Skye tells him that Jiaying will listen. When he asks why? She tells him the thing we’ve been waiting for them to discover. Jiaying is Skye’s mother. I’m really getting tired of this recent version of May. She rejects Coulson’s lengthy apology and uses the fact that Skye is still breathing as evidence of Coulson failing the team.
Before Coulson can make his UN like visit, Raina gets a vision of a Quinjet raining fire on the Inhumans secret location. She further tells Gordon that if Jiaying meets with them it will start a war. And nobly suggests she should be the one to meet with SHIELD.
Before departing, Gonzalez questions that Coulson should be the one to go. Claiming he’s too close to the situation. Bobbi steps up in Coulson’s defense. Then Coulson puts it to May. Who once again rears her bad attitude and they side with Gonzalez. Which to me feels like a nightmare scenario. Raina’s vision might actually be accurate with Gonzalez there.
Coulson preps to quarterback the mission from the base when Mack enters his office. Mack is resigning. Having had a brush with an alien element at the end of last season, he cannot bring himself to trust in or work for Coulson. Coulson tries to talk him off the fence but is unsuccessful.
En route to the secret location and two things are very wrong. Gonzalez and Weaver are acting very shady. And May is not May, its Kara who has now pulled a gun on Bobbi and cue the girl fight. Bobbi wins the fight but apparently lost the war. She steps out of the now landed Quinjet. Looks around. Then gets shot in the head…by Grant Ward.
Raina’s plans are foiled beautifully. She’s under the impression that Gordon teleported Jiaying out of Afterlife. But what he really did was inform Jiaying of Raina’s attempt to have her removed.
Upon Gonzalez’ arrival, Jiaying turns over Cal as a good faith gesture. Really its an insurance policy, Cal’s way of protecting his family when he couldn’t before. Gonzalez presents Jiaying with what he called in the Quinjet an insurance policy of his own. This is a small trinket that Jiaying never had any chance to give Skye. Surprisingly Gonzalez has been as diplomatic as Coulson would have. Jiaying in turn goes to give him a gift, something of their history. And I’m not getting a good feeling about this.
On board the Quinjet, Agent Weaver discovers Cal’s ‘viles’. When asked about them, he plays dumb. This entire situation feels like an Inhuman first strike moment. The item is a Taragen crystal. Something gained from melting down a Diviner. However, the Diviner’s metal never really left the crystal. She drops it, it shatters, and slowly turns Gonzalez to stone. The same as Tripp. This is the killing of Franz Ferdinand. Jiaying takes Gonzalez’ gun and shoots herself in the shoulder. She departs the hut holding her wound as Skye and Lincoln run towards her.
Jiaying: He tried to kill me. SHIELD tried to kill me.
Ward and Kara bind Bobbi. She was just hit with a night-night round. They have intentions to kill her, but first one must think there is nefarious plan in the works first.
