By The Nerdling

May gets to know Sarge better. Benson and Yo-Yo make a few leaps in logic. The Chronicon race needs Fitz’s help.

Spoilers!

“The Tick of the Clock…”

Picking up from two weeks ago, Sarge and Snowflake take a drugged and restrained May (she has violent tendencies) to a remote area. In her haze, May flashbacks to her time in Tahiti with Colson. This coupled with Sarge having the same calm energy as Coulson leaves May confused and angry.

While Sarge and May talk about Coulson and who he was, Snowflake hunts down another off-worlder and brings him back to the truck. May assumes they want her to kill the guy, but Snowflake shoots him in the head first. Coulson gives her a knife and tells her to stab him under the ribs when “the screaming starts.”

Sarge and Snowflake leave the room and the dead guy gets up. May fights him off, even breaks his legs, but he is difficult to put down. After May knocks him out, the screaming starts. Just like with Keller, black crystals start to sprout from the man’s body. May grabs the knife, buries it in his ribs, and the screaming stops.

Sarge explains the creatures are Shrike. Primitive and parasitic, the creatures survive inside a host and make their bodies into weapons of destruction. They go from planet to planet, destroying everything. Sarge has been hunting them for a very long time and he is close to finding the shrike creator. He wants May to join the team.

Driving to the next spot, May psyches out Snowflake to bring her close enough to knock out. Then May faces Sarge, who tries to use his looks to stop her. If anything, it makes May more determined to take him out.

Pachakutiq

Keller’s autopsy reveals the knife sets off a chemical reaction in the shrike to paralyze it and eventually kill it. Benson analyses the dead creature and Yo-Yo realizes the crystalline structure is the same as the monoliths. Benson thinks one of the monoliths previously stored in the Lighthouse can control life and death.

He asks Mac if he can go to South America where the monolith was found. Tinker kept saying “Pachakutiq” before he died. Benson realized it’s an Incan word and wants to investigate any lead.

Not the Best Bestie Move

Enoch does his best to fill in Daisy and Jemma about what happened to Fitz, but the Chronicon is depressed. He has been decommissioned and lost his best friend. To make matters direr, the Zephyr becomes surrounded by Confederacy ships.

Only it’s not the Confederacy. It is more Chronicons. Including Altarah, Enoch’s former superior (and maybe lover?). He thinks he is being arrested for tampering with time, but Altarah is in need of help from the humans. The Chronicon home planet was destroyed and all that remains of the race are aboard the ships they took from the Confederacy.

After learning SHIELD stopped an Earth-ending event by traveling through time, Altarah set out to find the scientists who made this happen. She wants to go back in time and stop whatever destroyed their homeworld.

Jemma explains Fitz created the machine to work with the time monolith, but it was his future-self who accomplished this over several years. Enoch advises Altarah putting Jemma in danger would best motivate Fitz. After some fighting, Jemma volunteers to stay behind and help Fitz. Enoch breaks the news of Jemma’s capture to Fitz, who angrily shouts that Enoch was never his true friend. A real friend would know Fitz wouldn’t want Jemma in danger.

Daisy, Piper, and Davis return to the Lighthouse. They are welcomed by a relieved Mac just as he gets word May is on her way with Sarge in tow.

Thoughts

I think Agents of SHIELD is trying to kill us fans. First the constant separation of FItzSimmons. And the Tahiti flashbacks. Then they show how Coulson died. Seriously, trying to murder us all!

While “The Other Thing” provided some much-needed information, it felt like a penultimate episode. Lots of exposition filling time, setting up for the big payoff.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy we finally get some explanations and witnessing Coulson’s last moment (even though it was super heartbreaking). I wish they would have doled out a bit more information throughout so we wouldn’t have to spend an episode focusing on exposition.

Speaking of Coulson’s death… While I’m not shocked May helped him pass on, I am sad she had to do it. She was granting her best friend and love of her life a chance to not be in pain any longer. I don’t think she regretted her decision, but the shock and almost fear on May’s face when she first sees Sarge makes more sense.

And Sarge picked up on that. His telling her “I thought you loved this face,” while she was kicking his ass was a low blow.

It is strange how both Sarge and Coulson use the same aphorisms. It drives the mystery of where did this guy come from much deeper. And according to him, he has lived for over 100 Earth years.

I’m thinking the Chronicon planet was destroyed by the shrikes. It would line up both storylines really well.

I’m starting to enjoy the working relationship Benson and Yo-Yo are forming. His comforting her helped us as an audience to relate and care about him as a character. Something that hasn’t been easy to do so far.

We need a Piper and Davis centric episode. Or just a spinoff series. Those two are wonderful together and I want to see a day in the life from their perspective.

Until Next Week!

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The Nerdling was born in the majestic land known as Texas and currently resides there after several years of journeying through Middle Earth in a failed attempt to steal the one Ring from that annoying hobbit, serving the Galactic Empire for a time, and then a short stint as a crew member on the Serenity. Since moving back to her homeland, Nerdling flirted with a hero reputation. Saving children from the dangers of adoring domineering, sparkly vampires (champions with souls are the only vampires worth loving) and teaching normals the value of nerdom, all while rooting for her beloved Dallas Stars. Then came the Sokovia Accords and her short spell of saving others came to an end. With Darth Vader’s reputation rightfully returning to badass status, Nerdling is making her way back to the Empire. They do have cookies, you know. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram.