Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: End of the Beginning

"(Skye) has something we want. And she will die giving it to us."

Oooh boy. This is a big episode. There is soooo much going on that I don't know where to start. Given the ending, I expect even bigger things next episode. In fact, I couldn't help noticing Jasper Sitwell being suddenly called away for his scenes in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The fallout from that will be huge, and I suspect it will be next. And Fury is waiting to speak to Coulson at the Triskelion?

Still, for the time being, things are already huge. We begin with the team, augmented by Agent Hand (boo!!!), the unfortunate Agent Blake and the awesome Agents Garrett and Triplett, engaged in a comprehensive search for the Clairvoyant, in a clever plan to which Skye (appointed, at last, as a SHIELD agent) is central. In a nice little character moment, it's nice to see Skye, who hasn't previously met Garrett, bonding with him. It's also interesting to see how quickly he picks up on the obvious sparks between Skye and Agent Ward.

Although there are a few red herrings, the presence of Mike Peterson, now looking much more like Deathlok from the comics, sort of leads us to what the team seem to be looking for; an apparent vegetable in a room, and a disembodied voice, seemingly that of the Clairvoyant, goading them. Said goading (see the quite up there) leads very suddenly and very shockingly to Ward shooting the suspect dead.

This is from right out if left field, and seemingly out of character. Is it his feeling for Skye that made him do it, as his words in the later scene with him and Skye seem to imply? Or does he have an agenda? Coulson, for one, thinks the man Ward shot is just a fall guy. He's probably right.

The penny finally drops during a conversation between Coulson and Skye: the Clairvoyant is not literally telepathic at all, but a SHIELD agent. And then it comes out that Skye has been reporting to someone on an encrypted line, and Coulson confronts her. I don't think she's connected to the Clairvoyant, though. But one of the regulars, at least, must be.

We end with the team trapped in their crashing plane, with Agent Hand, who always seemed a wrong 'un, trying to kill them all. Exciting times. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D is on fire right now.