Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S2E2 - "Heavy is the Head" Recap

Lance Hunter is still in the overturned vehicle following the crash we saw at the end of last week's episode. May arrives but Hunter sends her after Creel. Idaho and Izzy are dead now, and Lance is taken into custody by Talbot's men after cutting himself free. May chases after Creel on a motorcycle, putting all the bland action stars in major blockbusters to shame, as she tells Coulson she has a kill shot in sight. Coulson orders her to stand down, saying it's more important to know who Creel is answering to and she follows the order with a "Yes sir."

Skye and Tripp get back to the base with the Quinjet. Coulson gives Tripp an assignment to help them get closer to making the Bus operational again. Skye fills Coulson in on what intel she's gathered on the object. But they have bigger matters to worry about. Now that Hunter has been captured, their entire operation is at risk if he spills secrets on their operation. Meanwhile, Hunter has gotten dropped off in a field where Talbot arrives in a helicopter to pick him up.

Skye, Tripp, and Mac are looking over the cloaking device from the Quinjet. They'll need Fitz to look it over and retrofit it for the Bus but they're uncertain as to whether he can help, given his state from the accident and Simmons leaving. Skye also seems to be harbouring resentment against Simmons for leaving. Mac asks Fitz to help, but Fitz struggles to put his words together and eventually leaves to try to sort it out alone.

In the helicopter, Talbot and Hunter strike up a deal. Talbot wants Coulson, whom he sees as a vigilante. He reminds Hunter how Coulson is to blame for Hartley and Idaho's death and tells him to name his price. Hunter wants $2 million and a proper funeral for Hartley, and Talbot agrees to those terms.

Skye checks in with Coulson and learns that Hartley and Idaho are dead. She wants to go back into the field with May, who is still trailing Creel, but Coulson says no. Coulson tells Skye to pack up Hartley's things, and she tells him all the compartmentalising he is doing isn't healthy.

Fitz is talking with "Simmons" about how he could have cracked cloaking if they had only given him more time. But then they spot a packet of research on Creel's DNA results and determine that they'll try to help determine a way to take down Creel.

Creel is at a diner and a waitress accidentally touches a part of his arm that has been effected by the obelisk. May is reporting to Coulson when she hears the waitress scream inside. She runs inside and watches helplessly as the waiter turns to stone. Creel is gone again. Coulson takes responsibility for this casualty while bending a paper clip into the alien shapes like what he was drawing in the season one finale. It's then that an alarm goes off on the base. Hunter has returned and encounters Tripp, who frisks him. Hunter is brought to Coulson and says that he has been given 48 hours to turn him in to Talbot but hasn't given up the location of the base. He tells Coulson about the funeral for Hartley but not the money. He also says that now he wants to get Creel and get his payment, along with Hartley and Idaho's.

Fitz and "Simmons" are looking at Creel's DNA, talking over it, and then Mac comes up and asks about cloaking again. Fitz becomes annoyed and says he's busy. "Simmons" says she likes Mac, as he's honest and doesn't talk to Fitz like everyone else. She encourages him to show Mac the work he is doing regarding Creel. More than once, he says, "I didn't solve this today."

Skye is packing up Hartley's things when she finds a photo of Izzy, which Hunter identifies as Izzy's sister Jane. Hunter takes the medallion from her possession and says he'll bring it to Jane, who has breast cancer. Hunter talks about how he met Hartley, before telling Skye she has real skills that could earn her some serious money as a mercenary. Skye says S.H.I.E.L.D. is her life now but Hunter says it's not a life, but a job… a means to an end.

Creel returns to his truck and tries to change his form using his stash of materials. The part effected by the obelisk remains unchanged no matter what he touches. He gets a call from his handler, who promises that Hydra will "take care of him" once they have the obelisk. Talk about a dead man walking. Creel is hung up on and is about to get into a fight with some random men when Raina emerges from the shadows. She says she's a huge fan offers him a piece of "carbine," a material found in stardust, harder than diamond and able to store energy. He warns her to warn from Hydra and the obelisk-like shift moves up onto his neck. He snatches the carbine and leaves.

Coulson says they need to find a solution for Creel's powers and Skye presents a number from an encrypted Hydra channel that they're supposed to call. When they do, Raina answers. She tells him Hydra is about to get their hands on the obelisk and she is no longer working for that organisation, because world domination is "so 1945." She says Hydra won't understand the obelisk but Coulson can because John Garrett had visions after being injected by the same drug Coulson was, even going so far as to carve symbols into the wall. Raina then tells them that the carbine had a tracker on it so they'll be able to find Creel. Coulson begins to prep the team to go after Creel. Hunter wants to go with them and Coulson is hesitant at first, but eventually agrees to let him go.

Fitz is trying to explain his solution to Creel and again repeats, "I didn't solve this today," as he struggles to get his words out. Mac sends away the other scientists and eventually realises that what Fitz means to say is that he already solved this and is looking for an old design. He goes flipping through archives of Fitz's old designs and they find what Fitz is searching for.

May, Skye, and Hunter are preparing to go after Creel, who is about to meet with his Hydra contact. Hunter shoots May and Skye with his ICER and this fool is officially dead to me. No one touches my badass ladies. Hunter then goes after Tripp and uses his ICER on him too. Creel and his handler are exchanging snark but eventually come to an agreement. But then Hunter comes down and attempts to shoot Creel with his armour-piercing rounds. Creel turns to carbine, and the bullet bounces off of him. The hydra handler tries to go after the case but in the commotion, Raina has already made off with it.

Creel chases Hunter and the two have a brief scuffle before Creel prepares to use the obelisk on him. But Coulson sneaks up just in time and stabs Creel in the back with Fitz's device, leaving Creel petrified.

Hunter watches Hartley's funeral for a bit before breaking into Jane's car to leave Hartley's medallion. Coulson is there and offers Hunter a job. He needs someone willing to do the wrong thing for the right reason, as Hunter is the type of person Coulson can no longer be. Resources are limited, as are assets in the field. Hunter agrees to help and Coulson says the one thing he needs him to do is sell him out.

Fitz and Mac discuss the modified device they prepared together. Mac asks if Fitz built the original with Simmons, and tells him that he knows it's tough to lose a good partner. Skye and May are watching from afar. Skye notes that it's good that Fitz has someone to talk to and they say how everything and everyone has changed. Skye thinks something is wrong with Coulson but May says he's fine.

But in private, she tells Coulson off for going into the field. He's overly stressed and it's been 18 days since his last episode. He's due for another one. Coulson's tired of fighting it so May tells him not to, as that's what she's there for. They seal up his office and the lights are dimmed to set the scene, as Coulson begins carving those alien symbols into the wall. May stands back and snaps photos to add to the collection they've been amassing.

Raina looks at the obelisk. She is met by "The Doctor," who (if you've been paying attention to the show's casting news) you will know is Skye's father. He tells her to pick it up and she does. It glows, and displays symbols. He tells her that it just let her live and she asks him to show her. He tells her to bring him his daughter and he will show them both.

Coulson meets Talbot and his men in a field. Coulson feels bad for kidnapping him so he's brought Creel as a peace offering. Coulson is prepared to make a deal: S.H.I.E.L.D. will keep dropping off "presents" like this, Talbot will keep getting promoted, and S.H.I.E.L.D. will get a bit of breathing room. Talbot doesn't believe Coulson has the artillery so he says no. But then Coulson has the Bus reveal itself, as it has been cloaked and hovering above them the whole time (how did they not heart that???) and boards the Quinjet, which had been cloaked and sitting next to them.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs on Tuesdays on ABC at 9PM.