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EPISODE 10: "What They Become"
SYNOPSIS: Coulson and Whitehall's forces meet in an explosive confrontation that dramatically alters everyone's fates. Meanwhile, Skye discovers shocking secrets about her past, on the Winter finale of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
BREAKDOWN: (The following column contains MAJOR SPOILERS, so I don't recommend reading this if you haven't watched this episode).
With last week's episode serving as a part one for this mid-season finale, this episode gets rocking early with Whitehall's command to shoot down The Bus the first scene we see. May does a slick maneuver, taking the plane into cloud cover and cloaking as they jettison some gear to impact with HYDRA's missiles, creating the illusion that they were destroyed. Safe, she sends word to Coulson that Skye has been taken by Ward. But, the plan needs to be preventing HYDRA from gaining access to the city while also finding a way to save Mac, who was possessed by the alien technology last episode.
Fitz and Simmons along with Hunter and Bobbi discuss Mac's fate and whether he is alive, dead, or simply being controlled by the alien city. Bobbi hides a thumb drive from Hunter which adds to her mysterious nature and whether she can be trusted. May and Coulson discuss Skye and have faith in her development as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and trust she will turn the tables if she can.
Ward keeps his promise to Skye and introduces her to her father, a scene built since the pilot. Their reunion is awkward as Skye's father waxes about awaiting this moment as she stays silent. He launches into a speech that he wasn't always a monster and has been trying to find Skye which has motivated his actions. He tells Skye she was born in China where he ran a clinic and was well liked. He apologizes for not protecting her and being there for her. Skye asks him to help her escape but he says she is right where she needs to be as the events about to happen are her destiny.
We also learn that Skye's mother had a "gift", coming from a long line of people with the gift. He also says it will require a change, a transformation to reach her full potential. Skye asks for the truth about her mother and her father explains she was taken by S.H.I.E.L.D. and eventually was taken by HYDRA where Whitehall dissected and killed her. He begins to hum a lullaby that Skye's mother used to sing to her and then tells he he is going to now kill Whitehall.
Fitz and Simmons theorize that HAZMAT suits will protect them in the alien city and Triplett and May prepare to set a series of bombs. As they prepare to depart, Coulson pulls Agent Koenig aside and tells him to head back to HQ with his brother. In the event things go bad, Coulson orders Koenig to implement something called the Theta Protocol. I wonder what the heck that is? Sounds like a sequel to THE BOURNE IDENTITY. Bobbi calls Coulson as they know HYDRA is positioned in a building directly over the alien temple and they have the technology to drill right down into it.
Whitehall gathers Ward, Raina, Skye and her father and forces Skye to pick up The Diviner. She does and it glows, not harming her. She and her father turn on the HYDRA guards, killing a pair of them before being surrounded again. Whitehall recognizes who Skye and her father are and then learns that Ward is only there because he thinks he can redeem himself in Skye's eyes. Taken into the kitchen, Ward bides his time as Whitehall enters. Skye's father lunges at him but Whitehall triggers a device that incapacitates him. Whitehall then threatens him with watching what he will do to Skye via experimentation. As he speaks, an explosion rocks the building as Coulson's team arrives.
Skye's father removes the device hurting him and takes out the HYDRA guard. He leaves Ward and Skye tied up as he doesn't want them to see what he will do to Whitehall. He finds Whitehall in the hall and begins to move towards him. Whitehall raises a gun and suddenly is shot from behind by Coulson. Skye's father, seeing the man he has blamed for his pain, yells out that Coulson took his right to kill Whitehall. Coulson demands to know where the obelisk is and says he will never let Skye into the city. Gunfire opens up and everyone scatters.
Ward helps Skye get out and she takes the first opportunity to shoot him multiple times, leaving him on the floor. Skye's father and Coulson fight and Skye steps in demanding her father stop. She gives him one chance to walk away or she will kill him. He agrees to leave but says he will be waiting once she changes and he will always love her. He then calls her Daisy, her real name. With Whitehall dead, Agent 33 agrees to help Ward escape. At the same time, Skye decides to go down to stop the drill and the obelisk but Coulson calls after her to stop.
Coulson and the team prepare to assault the HYDRA compound with the directives to stop the drill and save Skye. Triplett, Fitz, and Simmons descend into the city. They begin to run out of time and decide to split up so Fitz can help set the bombs. Raina also descends via the hole made by the drill, with the obelisk, and runs into Mac who is still alive and possessed. She asks him to take her to the temple and he complies.
Coulson tells May he is going down to the city after Skye and Raina. He tells May they still need to stop HYDRA even though Whitehall is dead and tells her to prepare to evacuate without him. Triplett drops into the hole to disable the bombs when he hears Coulson and Skye are down there. Raina finds the door to the temple and Skye follows her inside. Raina says everyone has been wrong and the obelisk isn't a weapon but unlocks what they will become. The obelisk activates and the doors begin to close, locking the two of them inside. Right before the doors close, Triplett ducks inside after deactivating the bombs and Coulson is left outside. The obelisk then begins to mutate into a crystalline structure that glows and sends off a shockwave. Raina and Skye's bodies begin to get covered in a black substance that does not affect Triplett. Another shockwave goes off and Raina and Skye are left as blackened corpses. An shard of the obelisk is stuck in Triplett's gut, turning him as well. Triplett dies, as does Raina, but the coccoon like exterior falls off of Skye, leaving her with some sort of reborn power.
The episode concludes with a shot of another obelisk glowing on someone's desk. They then make a call saying "there is someone new" as we get the reveal that they have no eyes.
MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE REFERENCES:
Dum Dum Dugan of the Howling Commandos is referenced.
BEST LINE:
"There will be plenty of time to answer all of your questions. But first, now that he has served his purpose, I am going to kill the man who destroyed my life. Best day ever." – Skye's father
COOLEST SCENE:
The closing scene in the alien temple was pretty spectacular even if we have no idea what the hell just happened.
EPISODE CLEARANCE LEVEL: 9/10
This was a great cliffhanger episode for the story arc. Last year at this time, we got the kidnapping of Coulson that was very lame. This year, we now have learned a lot about Skye's origin and possibly have seen the next phase in her evolution. Is Skye the first Inhuman in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? And why isn't Coulson so lucky? It was a shame to see Triplett killed off as I was beginning to like his character. Bobbi and Hunter have proven themselves to be solid new characters who I continue to feel invested in while at the same time I am still wondering why Ward is still a factor on the series at all. Overall, the first half of this season has easily eclipsed last year and I cannot wait to see what comes next.
NEXT ON MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.:
Episode 11 airs on March 3, 2015. AGENT CARTER begins airing on January 6th, 2015.
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