Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S1E2 - "0-8-4" Recap

Skye is brought on to the team as a consultant, like Tony Stark, but May and Ward in particular object to her joining, seeing her as an unqualified amateur. FitzSimmons, on the other hand, are far more welcoming. The team sets off for Peru to check out an "0-8-4," an object of unknown origin, the last of which was Thor's hammer. Upon arriving, they find that the 0-8-4 is an object with "German origins" in an ancient temple. When Ward and May are chatting, he calls her "The Cavalry," which angers her greatly. Turns out something happened way back when, in Behrain, that led her to get that nickname. Some military folks show up but the stand-off stops when the leader of the military presence, Camilla Reyes' is shown to be on friendly terms with Coulson.

Rebels attack outside while FitzSimmons, Skye and Ward are still inside the temple. Ward uses his brute strength to pull the device from the temple wall so they can transport it, much to the horror of FitzSimmons. Many shorts are fired, and eventually Ward whips out a fancy device that he he stabs into the ground, sending a burst of energy to blow the enemies back. The team is able to escape and get to safety, though not without a bit more action. Once on board the Bus, FitzSimmons inform the group that the object is fuelled by Tesseract technology, like what was seen in Captain America.

Tensions run high as the team flies back from the mission. May is angry that she was placed into a combat situation. Fitz and Ward argue about the English language. Seriously. Skye is alarmed by the fact that the group is as inexperienced as a team as she is. Coulson chides them for their behaviour and tells them to work it out.

Skye brings booze and chats with Ward so they can try to better understand one another, though it's evident there's still a long way to go. Coulson and Reyes chat in his office but something feels a bit off from her end. Ward becomes suspicious after looking over at some of Reyes' men and asks Skye to hand him the bottle. Coulson also figures out that Reyes means to double-cross them. One of Reyes' men sends a gas into the cockpit, knocking May out. The combat comes to a stand-still when one of the men holds a knife to Fitz's throat. Strangely enough, Reyes' motivation to double-cross them is the fact that Coulson's team is disorganised and lacks cohesion. Seriously.

Reyes has Coulson roughed up to try to obtain the codes that will prevent S.H.I.E.L.D. from knowing that the Bus has been taken over. She goes on a rant about how the device was created by ex-HYDRA scientists living in South America under orders of the Peruvian government. It was lost and Coulson's team discovered it before she and her team could. She wants to use it to end the rebellion in her country.

The rest of the team is locked up in the cargo hold and they continue to bicker over their misfortunes. But with their situation being dire, they have no choice but to try to come up with a plan. May is the first one to take action, before they can even begin to come up with an idea, by breaking free from her restraints and taking out their guards. Fitz sends one of his flying robots through the air vent towards the device. Ward begins strapping chords to all of the team members. Coulson begins to figure out their plan and grabs his restraints to brace himself. Fitz activates the device and it breaks a hole in the side of the plane. The drop in cabin pressure releases the seals on their doors and the team is able to get back into the main part of the plane. Skye unhooks herself from the cables and inflates a life-raft which blocks the hole in the plane just in time to keep Ward from flying out. May kicks more bad-guy-butt and manages to take back control of the cockpit.

Reyes is apprehended and Ward agrees, after May suggests it, to be Skye's supervising officer. When Coulson questions the team as to whose idea it was to blow a hole in the plane, they all share the blame and Coulson is pleased to see their having bonded as a team. The team gathers to watch the device be shot towards the sun. Skye receives a text from The Rising Tide about upcoming plans and she replies, "I'm in."

In a post-credits scene, we're treated to a cameo from Nick Fury himself. He berates Coulson for al the damage done to the plane, and how costly it is. He also warns him to not make silly new renovations to it, like a "damn fish tank." He also warns Coulson that the new girl (Skye) is a risk. After Fury leaves, Coulson says that they're going to have to kill the fish tank.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs on Tuesdays on ABC at 8/7c.