Marvel's Agents of SHIELD S1E5- "Girl in the Flower Dress" Recap

In Hong Kong, we see a street performer show the crowd a trick with an egg and some streamers. Upon overhearing some people criticising his trick, he retaliates by bringing forth fire from his hand and shooting it out. The crowd is more impressed by this "trick." A woman in a flower dress strikes up a conversation with him and he brings her back to his place where they discuss his ability. She believes he should share his gift with the world but he believes it important to keep it secret. She tells him to close his eyes, and two men in flame-retardant suits grab him.

Ward and Skye are playing Battleship on the Bus and he manages to pay her a compliment by saying that she is doing well and picking things up fast. She teases him, asking if it physically hurt to do that and if he needs an ice pack. He cracks a smile. (How hard are we shipping these two?) She sinks his Battleship (and no, that's not an euphemism).

Coulson and May are chatting when they get an alert that a man named Chen (the man from earlier) has been taken. The team gathers and discusses the case and Skye learns that S.H.I.E.L.D. keeps a list of people with special abilities. They are called and video chatted (with a Verizon product placement) by an Agent Kwon of S.H.I.E.L.D. Hong Kong. It gets real quiet when he states that Rising Tide hacked into their data, and the team all shifts their gaze on Skye. Later, she defends herself to Coulson, stating that she didn't hack them, and couldn't even if she wanted to, given that she has been constantly with them and on the Bus. Ward defends her. (How long till these two become an item?)

Reina (the woman from earlier in the flower dress) talks with Chen and tells him that she is not from S.H.I.E.L.D. She proposes that he take on the name "Scorch" and states that he can help him increase his power abilities. By the end of the conversation, he seems more keen on all that she is saying.

Skye traces the hacker back to a cafe in Austin, Texas. They find that it is a famous hacker named Miles. Upon reaching Austin, and locating the hacker, they attempt to follow him. Miles recognises Ward and a chase ensues. Miles hacks traffic lights and manages to get away. Upon reaching his apartment, Skye is already there waiting. She had texted him to warn him and after she berates him, the two of them sleep together. (Way to break mine and Ward's heart there, Skye).

Afterwards, they discuss a SIM card Skye keeps in her bra and Miles tries to get Skye to reveal more information about S.H.I.E.L.D. which she (playfully) refuses to do. She can't find her top and when she opens the bedroom door, there it is... in the hand of a highly perturbed May. Fast-forward to Skype being scolded by Agent Coulson, and her saying that she only tipped him off out of friendship. The team takes Miles captive, along with his hard-drives. Skype attempts to apologise to Ward, who cuffs her. (Seriously Skye, making him smile is one step forward and hooking up with someone else is two steps back. Don't do this to us).

"Scorch" gets injected in a lab and we immediately see his abilities grow stronger. He's elated by the power and Reina seems thrilled at his dangerous enthusiasm.

Miles and Skye are locked up in an interrogation room. He is angry about being denied his "basic right" and "due process" but Skye is defending S.H.I.E.L.D. since she now understands more of what they do. Coulson tells May that she was right about Skye being a bad idea. He still thinks she's hiding something.

Ward is overseeing Fitz and Simmons going through Miles' paperwork and tells them to keep looking, since he can "feel" that Miles is dirty. Simmons pops in to tell Coulson that they've found something. Ward goes into the interrogation room and gives Miles an opportunity to confess, since Skye had always spoken highly of him and his character. When Miles refuses, Ward shows a series of deposits that Miles made that total roughly one million dollars. Skye grills him as to whether he sold information and he confesses to having done so. Skye is infuriated. He says that the woman who approached him was in a flower dress and knew all about him (echoing the same manner that Reina approached Chen at the beginning of the ep). He also tells them that he traced the account back to an eco-research lab that was performing a study on centipedes. (This is a reference to the Centipede experiment from the pilot).

In the lab, Reina tells the red-headed Centipede scientist from the pilot that the serum worked and the volatility in the Extremis is gone. This scientist is thrilled with the results, and tells Reina to "drain him." She turns on some gas, causing Chen to pass out.

Coulson believes he has figured out where they are holding Chen. They also realise that Chen's pyrokinetic abilities can be used to stabilise the Extremis element of the serum.

We see Chen strapped up and red-headed scientist and Reina inform him that they're removing the platelets from his blood, which are what cause his fire-resistancy. He attempts to use his powers and severely burns his own hand.

Coulson tells Ward that he will be staying behind to oversee the prisoners. Since it was Coulson's idea to bring Skype on board, and Ward was against it, Coulson believes it his own responsibility to fix his mistake.

Skye and Miles are arguing over the morality of his actions. She berates him for the fact that an inncent man might die because of his need for money. He confesses that for a long time, he thought he was looking for her, but now he doesn't know anymore and seems jealous of her knowing what she is looking for.

At the lab, the team breaks in to rescue Chan. When they release him, he injects himself with a vial of his platelets and kills Agent Kwon. He attacks the team, blaming them for wanting him to keep his abilities secret and hidden away. May tries to talk him down, in Chinese, but is unsuccessful.

Back on the Bus, they find that the security system has the team locked in and Skye says that she can only hack in if she is onsite. Ward and Miles simultaneously chime in with their overprotecting disapproval (I smell a love triangle. Don't fight it, Ward). Miles says that she's not Seal Team Six and she responds by saying that Ward is.

Scorch is determined to not be held back or restrained by S.H.I.E.L.D. Coulson uses up all his tranquillisers but is unable to get a shot at Scorch. Ward displays some impressive action sequences, gets Skye in to the computers, and she has the system down in a few seconds. Coulson tells Fitz and Simmons to uncuff Miles, stating that they're going to need his help.

Reina betrays red-headed-scientist by losing the lift doors, leaving her to Scorch's mercy (which is none). He burns her alive. Coulson distracts Scorch and May sneaks up behind him, injecting him with a paralytic. The team escapes the building and Scorch goes up in flames. Ward informs Coulson that Skye managed to extract some files from the Centipede database that may help them to get more information on the organisation.

Back on the Bus, Coulson gives Miles a bracelet that will prevent him from using electronics, informs him that they've taken his million dollars and donated him to Chen's family, and that they'll be leaving him in Hong Kong. Coulson tells Skye to meet him in his office. Before doing so, she has one last talk with Miles. He says that she has changed, and she says that he is not who she thought he was.

Skye briefly chats with May and Ward who are having a post-mission drink. She asks Ward if he wants to be there when she talks with Coulson, and he says that he is off the clock. (Clearly, his feelings are still hurt).

When she reaches Coulson's office, he tells her that she betrayed him, despite defending her. He says that she has one last opportunity to tell the truth or he will be done with her. She pulls the chip out of her bra, and confesses that the reason she got into hacking was to try to learn about her birth parents. All her searching led to a document that was redacted by S.H.I.E.L.D. She says that she'll never stop looking and Coulson says she may not like what she finds. She says that nothing could be worse than what she has imagined, and Coulson says that he might be able to help. He gives her one of the bracelets, and she puts it on.

Reina pays a visit to a mystery man in jail and tells him he needs to "touch base with the clairvoyant to see if any insights can be given on stage three." He says that the "clairvoyant doesn't like to be touched" (all this cryptic talk is delightfully ominous). She also drops a line about "toy soldiers being taken off a shelf" and he says that he likes her dress. She replies that she knows and leaves.

The next new episode of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will air in 2 weeks, on November 5, at 8/7 c.