Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Scars (2x20)

Oh dear! Next week is the finale, and things are not looking good as we go into it. I'm very nervous. Let's get started!

So, Gonzales and the rest of the S.H.I.E.L.D. folks are impressed to learn that Theta Protocal was the creation of the giant Helicarrier (as seen in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Nick Fury uses it to evacuate the city while the Avengers are busy kicking Ultron's ass). Now that they know what Coulson was up to, it looks like it's time to move past their differences. Coulson suggests that he remain the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., but this time he'll be under the council and advisement of Gonzales and the others. Mack doesn't seem to be okay with this, though. He says that while he respects Coulson, he can't be a part of S.H.I.E.L.D. if Coulson is the one in charge. He leaves.

Meanwhile, at Afterlife, Raina has a vision of a Kree weapon that's designed to hurt Inhumans. Gordon and Raina go looking for it, and they discover that it's hidden in the cargo hold of Gonzales' ship. When Gonzales realizes Gordon is there, he is able to track his powers, and thus when Gordon and Raina go back to Afterlife, S.H.I.E.L.D. discovers its location.

Skye tries to convince Coulson that going to Afterlife is a bad idea, but Coulson and the others all know that they can't just ignore the existence of a whole community of Inhumans. Raina sees a vision of S.H.I.E.L.D. showing up at Afterlife, and she tells Gordon, but advises him not to tell Jiaying. She has seen in a vision that terrible things will happen. Gordon ignores Raina's advise and tells Jiaying. Gonzales and Coulson agree to send Skye and Lincoln back to Afterlife first, to tell Jiaying that S.H.I.E.L.D. is coming, and that they only want to help.

Gonzales comes to meet with Jiaying. Skye asks May why Coulson didn't come, and May says that they needed someone who could be impartial about Skye. Gonzales and Jiaying's private meeting seems to be going well at first. Gonzales says he wants S.H.I.E.L.D. to help protect good people. When he mentions putting people on the index, Jiaying reveals her true nature: she kills Gonzales using Terrigen crystals, then shoots herself to make it look like Gonzales was the one who lashed out. The episode ends as Skye runs to her mother, and Jiaying loudly declares that S.H.I.E.L.D. tried to kill her.

We briefly see Ward and Kara in this episode as well. Turns out, Kara is still on Ward's side, even after S.H.I.E.L.D. makes sure she's deprogrammed from all the mind control that Hydra had her under. Kara disguises herself as May, and kidnaps Bobbi, bringing her to Ward. We don't know what their plan is yet, but it can't be good!

I think the only complaint I can honestly lodge about this episode is that so much was happening that it felt a bit crowded. Like, I loved the reveal that Theta Protocal was about the Helicarrier. I loved seeing Ward and Kara start their next evil scheme. But when you put it all together, it felt like maybe this amount of stuff could warrant two episodes instead of just one. Also, just a personal preference thing, but I was annoyed by the distinct lack of Fitzsimmons in this episode. Hopefully they have a more central role to play in the finale?

But mostly I'm just super excited for next week, and this episode set up a lot of fantastic stuff. We did get some Fitzsimmons, and in their brief interaction we got to explore more of Simmons' dark decision to kill Ward last week. She didn't succeed, and Fitz assumes it's because she couldn't go through with it. Simmons corrects him - she tried to kill him, and still wishes she did. That's pretty serious stuff. I'd love to explore more of that.

So! Jiaying killed Gonzales! I did not see that coming. I loved their scene together. Everything that Gonzales says seems rather reasonable, and given that he was all gung-ho about killing Skye a few episodes back, he was actually trying to present a very diplomatic solution. He wanted to keep track of the Inhumans just in case things went wrong in the future. But Jiaying comes back with the best counterpoints - what the hell gives people the right to track other people for being different? The best line was when she said "don't you dare compare your scars to mine." Jiaying was not impressed with Gonzales' attempt to compare the losses they had both suffered at the hands of Hydra. And then she kills him! Just like that! Whatever crap goes down next week, it's pretty much all Jiaying's fault. But she executed her plan so flawlessly that nobody will know that she was the one who struck first!

Then there's Raina. I honestly have no idea whose side she's really on, if she's on anybody's side at all. That's exciting. She seemed to want to keep Jiaying out of things for selfish reasons, but at the same time, she did say that something bad would happen, and it looks like something bad is happening. Can we really trust that she's acting in the best interest of Afterlife? It seems unlikely!

Ward and Kara kidnapped Bobbi. This cannot be good. I'll admit, I was genuinely surprised when I realized that May wasn't May at all, but actually Kara. That was a good fake out, and I definitely didn't see it coming. We'll have to wait and see what their next step is.

The best part of this episode for me was Skye. (I still get weirded out when I talk about how awesome Skye is now. Who would have thought?) Her relationship as a bridge between S.H.I.E.L.D. and Afterlife is really fascinating. You can tell that her friends just want her to come back and be one of them again, but Skye can't ignore the fact that she's Inhuman. Coulson seemed a little disconcerted when Skye kept saying "we" when talking about the people at Afterlife. Then there's the moment with May, wherein she confesses that she and Coulson can't be trusted to be objective where Skye is concerned. May is glad that Skye found her mother, but I was really hoping that Skye could reassure her pseudo-parents Coulson and May that she still loves them.

May and Coulson have one of the most delectably complex relationships in the show right now - there's a lot of love and loyalty between them, but also a lot of anger and uncertainty. I think it will be important for them to make a united front in the finale next week, but we'll see if they're able!

That's where I'll leave things. Is Mack truly gone? What is Raina up to? Why did Jiaying kill Gonzales? Where will Skye end up? Is Bobbi going to be okay in the hands of Ward and Kara?! Next week is going to be intense!

8.5/10