ooohhh seeds like ‘bad seeds’ got it.
The main plot is a bit of a one-off story, but some vital Skye backstory is loosened in the background. I do like Donnie Gill [1]so much so that I was disappointed that he only comes back for one more episode, but the whole ice machine plot isn’t something I’m clamoring back for. It’s nice to get a view into the world FitzSimmons came from. This episode has everything: Cool nerds in a pool, cool nerds playing pool, sexy confessions, death of a bff. Oh my!
Two hip youngsters are swimming in an indoor pool. They jump in wearing their underwear so that we know this is some cool act of rebellion instead of a normal chill swimming trip in suits. Their friend, Callie, is off to the side laughing but not getting in. There is a boy trying to study who scowls at them from a corner. The pool starts freezing! They are almost out, but one dude gets his leg trapped. Silent outcast kid jabs a net into the ice to help him out. They put a jacket on the cool kid and it has a SHIELD logo on it. Ah so that’s where we are.
Coulson looking at the real files about his death. Seems disturbed. Yeah dude. Maybe take a nap for a few weeks; that’s what I would do after learning that my relaxing vacation to Tahiti was actually a memory implanted into my fully-exposed brain in order to block the trauma of being…. Tortured back to life.
Our four young team members are discussing the pool incident. A techy freezing device was inserted into the pool filter to cause it. The device implemented a process and a delivery mechanism designed by FitzSimmons. So, our lil nerds have been asked to give a speech on “potentiality” at the SHIELD academy. May and Coulson will be attending to other secret matters.
At the academy, we meet Agent Weaver. A professor-type. She expresses concern about a bad seed in their midst and has narrowed down the list of possible suspects to the top 10% of the students.
Students swarm FitzSimmons. They’re popular. Who knew?
Ward shows Skye the wall of valor – honoring fallen agents. She’s like ‘wahh all these dead people deserved to be a part of SHIELD… and I just hacked my way in wah.’ Ward assures Skye she deserves to become an agent even though she didn’t go through all of this schooling.
Coulson and May discuss what is in his file. Ah so he’s sharing it with her, that’s good. She wants to take him to Mexico City to track down the former partner of Linda Avery, the agent who dropped off Skye at the orphanage all those years ago.
Ward questions the almost-frozen dude from the pool. He shows him Weaver’s suspect list and asks if they are all friends. The kid, Seth, points out Donnie Gill as someone he is not friends with. This was the outcast from the pool.
Agent Weaver introduces Fitzsimmons for the speech. They are the academy’s youngest graduates to date. They are setting up their presentation of stories from the field illustrating the dangers of advanced technology to teach the students not to play with matches. But Donnie Gill is in the audience, and he gets fully frozen out of nowhere! The same device from the pool filter was placed under his seat. Our team saves him no prob. Cheers abound.
Okay Ian Quinn is in this. He is elsewhere and he is on the phone. He doesn’t want to hear any more excuses. He seems to be funding this dangerous ice device.
Why was Donnie a target? He doesn’t have any enemies… or friends. He is very smart. Maybe as smart as Fitzsimmons. Ooh high compliments. They decide to question more students without authorities around. Ward sends Fitz to go hang out with Donnie to either get information or just to give him a friend. The girls are like ‘aw Ward has a heart.’ Simmons takes Ward and Skye to a student-made bar called The Boiler Room.
I love every interaction between Fitz and Donnie. Seeing him without Simmons is such a great opportunity to flesh out his character. Fitz fauns over the gadgets Donnie has crafted around his room. Donnie says these aren’t even his big ideas.
May, Coulson, and Lola are in Mexico City staking out Agent Lumley. May is initiating casual conversation… talking much more than usual. She’s trying to distract him from this recent revelation. He says he’s tired of secrets…. So May says….. “Agent Ward and I have been having sex” but before Coulson reacts, they see the target. May tracks him down an alley. Fight fight fight. She stops him from taking a cyanide pill. He almost gets away, but Coulson flies in on Lola! When Coulson says they’re with SHIELD, the guy says, “thank God. This is about the baby girl, isn’t it?”
Questioning Lumley on the bus. Twenty-three years ago, in the Hunan province, an entire village died trying to protect an 084. SHIELD found a senior agent bleeding out holding onto the 084… a baby. A baby girl. They thought maybe she had powers. The team that rescued her started getting executed one by one. Lumley and Avery hid the baby in the foster system.
Coulson doesn’t want to put him in SHIELD custody because he doesn’t know if it will be safe for him (Ooohh questioning the system now). They will drop him off somewhere so he can continue hiding. May tells Coulson not to tell Skye…. The last thing Lumley says is “Stay away from that girl. Wherever she goes, death follows.” Yikes. Talk about foreboding. I mean Skye hasn’t been a merchant of death up to now, right? Better watch out for that in the future then…
Fitz looks at some of Donnie’s designs that he hasn’t perfected. Fitz gives him some tips to improve them. Donnie is impressed. Fitz urges Donnie to show it to instructors before he tests it. Donnie flatters Fitz (to distract him?) Fitz says, “Simmons is probably smarter, technically, but that’s because she likes homework more than life itself.” We learn Fitz didn’t like the academy at first. He had a supportive mum, but she had a hard time following him when he would talk electronics. Donnie had a similar childhood, it seems. Aw new friends?! No. no not really.
In the Boiler room, Ward talks up Callie. He claims he is recruiting for the Sandbox where she is gunning to be stationed. He mentions that the ice tech was impressive to try to trap her into opening up about it. She mentions that Donnie and Seth have been talking about wanting to meet agent Fitz for weeks. Those two are actually friends with each other. They staged the attacks to lure Fitz to the academy to get his help!
Simmons calls Fitz to warn him.
He realizes he made a booboo helping Donnie. Fitz runs to stop Donnie from creating a giant version of the ice machine, but Seth knocks Fitz out with a tiny air cannon! Aw Fitz!
Team meets up on the Bus. Fitz realizes the two must have a backer. Gotta be Quinn
Donnie and Seth are out in a parking lot calling Ian Quinn. Quinn threatens to pull out because they let themselves get caught. They want him to come pick them up. He will… if they give him a demonstration of the tech. Donnie is uneasy about all this.
Coulson tentatively decides to tell Skye the truth. He comes to terms with the fact that he was hurt by the secrets kept from him, so he shouldn’t be keeping one this big from Skye. He warns her that the true story is worse than whatever she has imagined. Dialogue cuts out but based on her reaction, she’s getting the whole story.
The big ice machine … works? It causes a humongous swirling superstorm of hail. Donnie tries to stop it so that they don’t get killed.
The Bus flies above the eye of the storm to swoop down and save the dumb smart kids. Dad Coulson holds Skye’s hand during the rocky landing. It’s sweet.
As they are shutting the machine down, a powerful shock emits and hits Seth. The Bus team scoops them both up, but they can’t save Seth… seth dead. Donnie is DISTRAUGHT. His only friend is dead because of him. Oof I mean yeah bro that’s sad
Coulson confirms that he heard what May said about Mayward. He trusts that she knows what she is doing. Phil marvels to May about Skye’s reaction. Skye assured him that, since now she knows her story started with SHIELD, she is proud and happy to be here.
Donnie is being transported to the Sandbox to be monitored. He traces his finger along the window of the vehicle and freezes it! This boy gots ice powers!
Final stinger.
Coulson calls Ian Quinn to threaten him into … not being bad guy no more. But Quinn has a stinger of his own for Phil. He says “the Clairvoyant told me to say hello” oooo Quinn is with the Clairvoyant. We got a Big Bad on our hands
** Spoilery footnotes below **
Spoilers
| ↑1 | so much so that I was disappointed that he only comes back for one more episode |
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