And bam. Just like that, Agents of SHIELD reminds everyone of what made the show so great in season one. While the characters are derivative and the writers use the comics as a crutch, there comes that episode that turns the season in a new direction.
But first things first. Andrew is alive. His death was portended in the previous episode. But as with most cliffhangers, the next episode is underwhelming. He is fine, but May is still upset about the damage Hunter could have caused.
That is putting it lightly. May and Hunter have problems. She won’t let him see Andrew since Hunter is the reason that anything happened in the first place. Ward promised to let Andrew go if they let him walk. Hunter is impulsive that way. Not only is May upset with him, but Coulson has also taken him off the hunt for Ward – which to be sure, is going excruciatingly slow.
Meanwhile, the Skey/Daisy team is on the hunt for Lash, the Inhuman killing other Inhumans. They think that Lash could be working at the ATCU since he has leads on where to find his targets. They center on Banks, Rosalind’s number two guy. Coulson is also on Rosalind, adamant on seeing her secret headquarters. Interesting how Skye/Daisy is strangely okay with Coulson for praying on Rosalind’s emotions for someone who was also played by someone she cared about. After a break-in at Rosalind’s residence, Coulson tags along.
Skye/Daisy’s team is following Banks but Hunter goes off book and ICEs Banks. They decide to take a blood sample to find out if he has Inhuman markers. Banks does not appear to be an Inhuman, but the team still thinks that he’s hiding something. They send in one of Fitz’s DWARVES to do surveillance. They discover that ATCU is storing Inhumans to monitor them. And that Coulson is seeing the entire thing. While not initially incriminating, the team is upset at how well Coulson is taking the news. The ATCU are keeping Inhumans in a suspended stasis. They are alive but asleep.
Ward has been tracking Von Strucker since he is the weak link in the chain. Ward knows that SHIELD is also looking for him. The asset is burned and he has to be dealt with. Hydra finds Von Strucker before SHIELD but May gets to him in time just to find out what he knows before he dies.
Lash’s identity is revealed. There hasn’t been a surprising plot twist since the Ward-Hydra reveal. While this is nowhere on that level of betrayal since Andrew has been in all off six episodes, it harkens back to that. Andrew is Lash and only survived the Hydra attack because of it. Twist! The theme of this episode is Love Interests Playing Each Other. If Andrew in fact is aware of what he’s doing.
Ward is still alive for the time being. Fitz is still valiantly looking for a way to get Will back. May is distraught. Just another day in SHIELDville. Perhaps it’s optimistic, but this could turn the season in a very interesting way. It isn’t late in the game like the Ward reveal was, but there are so many opportunities for this plot point.
Only time will tell.