[SPOILER ALERT! Beware of spoilers from the episode!]
The Return of Deke, naming of Not-Coulson... and Death of an agent
It turns out, for now anyway, that Agents of SHIELD is taking its viewers on an oscillating story, swinging between Daisy and Jemma in deep space and the agents down here on Earth between episodes. As last episode focused entirely on the mission to rescue Fitz, this one focuses on the team's efforts to discover the mission of Not-Coulson and his extra-dimensional squad on Earth.
First off, I can't believe they killed Agent Keller! Yes, I know, it's probably too early in the article to mention such a spoilery fact, especially one that took place towards the very end, but WHAT??? He was such a nice guy, always noble and I was just beginning to really like him. This makes the 2nd of the new agents being killed this season and it bums me to no end. Well, guess Mack and Elena have a chance to get back together now.
Anyways, on a much lighter note, Sarge has been named by the team. And guess what he's being caled? 'Not-Coulson'! Well, like Mack said, he has to be called something right?
And then there's Deke. Apparently, our boy-from-the-future has used his knowledge of future and SHIELD tech to build himself a giant company. And apparently, he is one of Not-Coulson's targets, after a doctor who immediately turned into some sort of crystal when they stabbed him. nd it turns out, SHIELD never lost track of him either. Immediately Not-Coulson and his troop show up and attack, his personal assistant, a secret SHIELD agent, calls a Code Yellow. Mack and May, enroute another Coulson lead, redirect at once... not because Deke is so valuable of course, but because Not-Coulson has been sighted. Meanwhile when the Coulson doppleganger realises that Deke, like May, knows who he is, he tries to get more info out of him. Deke sings, but then catches on when Not-Coulson says his grandparents are 'getting on in years'.
The ensuing rescue/assault is fairly predictable. Mack and the agents storm the place and get Deke out, then go in to get Not-Coulson. Deke, however, comes back in when his girlfriend finds herself unwittingly in the middle of the action, and together, they manage to take down half of Not-Coulson's team. However, he himself escapes... with May as his captive.
Meanwhile, back in the base, Benson and Yo-yo try to figure out what happened to the crystallized man. They discover that Not-Coulson left the knife in his chest, as well as what seems like a dead alien zombie bat. Except it's not dead. The bird wakes up when Benson removes the knife and begins to fly around the base, ending up in Kellers mouth.
The rest is history.
Benson can't get it out (though I honestly couldn't help thinking Fitz and Simmons would have found a way if they had been available). Keller's temperature keeps increasing, to the point when his skin melts normal metal. And when a normal person should die, he inside stands up and begins moving. His body is filled with some sort of accelerant, and neither Benson nor heart-broken Yo-yo know what to do. They try to get him to a secluded place in the base, but it's too late... he literally begins to explode into crystal, producing much more than the other man. In fact, it doesn't seem like it's going to stop, and Yo-yo is forced to use her speed to get the knife Not-Coulson had used on the other man and plunge it into her lover's chest herself.
On another much lighter tone, this episode had the funniest 'will be back in a moment' I've ever seen. The snippet follows Deke's girlfriend's snapchat posts before, during and after the attack... when she runs off and falls in love with the personal assistant/secret SHIELD agent who saved her life. And guess who played this role? Maurissa Tancharoen herself, producer of Agents of SHIELD since season 1! Hilarious!
Are Not-Coulson and his team bad guys? I'm starting to get some other vibes. Could their mission actually be about saving our world from extra-dimensional and extra-temporal anomalies? Guess we'll find out soon!
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