Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S2E4 - "Face My Enemy" Recap

Miami, Florida. A bishop arrives at a recently burnt down church. A priest brings him inside and says the only item that survived the fire was a painting of the Virgin Mary. The bishop says it's a miracle and then the priest flips the painting over to reveal some alien writing craved in the back, similar to the one Coulson has been drawing.

South Florida. Lance Hunter pickpockets a woman and hands the item to Skye as she whooshes by on a moped scooter. She brings the item back to base and uses it to buy some tickets. Mack drops Coulson and May off at a party. They're dressed fancy, and May is not happy to be wearing heels. They check in with some heavy-duty fake IDs. The painting is in the basement of the building where the party is taking place. May and Coulson are there to perform a covert ops to retrieve the painting. Skye and the other teams become alarmed when they hear May laughing in the background to maintain her cover. Coulsno and May go radio-silent, promising to make contact shortly.

Coulson and May dance as a way to scope out the security of the place, while also reminiscing over past missions in their youth. May asks Coulson about his hand, which was shaking during the flight. As it turns out, this mission is personal for Coulson and the rest of the team don't know. cousin says they need a plan for what happens if he ends up like Garrett but May doesn't want to talk about it. She then points out that General Talbot is at the party. Looks like their cover's blown.

Coulson goes to speak with Talbot and says that the outcomes of the mission he is currently on will also benefit Talbot. Talbot says he won't interfere unless he needs to. Hunter's talking about his skills with women and starts talking about his ex-wife but is interrupted by Coulson calling back in to tell them that Talbot is there. They need to get the painting now.

May chats up the man running the benefit for the burned down church. She's very charming and flirtatious and then calls over her "husband," Charles, to have him take a photo of them together. In actuality, he's taking a photo with which to make 3D models of the man's eyes for a retinal scanner. Coulson warns May that they're blown, as Talbot has seen what they're doing. They hurry downstairs and get past the retinal scanner.

Next up is a laser grid. Coulson prepares to try to navigate through it but May decides to just walk through, since security already knows they're there anyway. They reach the room but the painting's gone. Skye then finds that Talbot already appropriated the painting through the government. Talbot calls Dr. Whitehall to say that he has the painting but SHIELD is there too, sending a photo of Coulson and May.

May is annoyed with Coulson, saying he's enjoying the danger they're in, as it's reminding him of the good ol' days. They're not he run and encounter Talbot in his car. He asks them about the "miracle painting" and the writing on the back of it. He wants Coulson to help him figure out what it is, proposing that they help each other. He gives Coulson the opportunity to examine the writing at a secure government facility for an hour. Coulson agrees but asks for an hour to re-convene with his team. Talbot agrees to meet Coulson at a hotel and drives away. Coulson and May know Talbot is trying to work them so May takes off to investigate further.

Mack asks Skye about the research she's doing trying to learn more about the missing Coulson and May are on. Hunter complains about his evil ex-wife, and Skye says at least his psycho ex isn't in the basement.  Faux-Simmons tells Fitz to join the group and bond but he walks off instead.

May peeks into a hotel room and finds Agent 33 looking over Hydra files on her and Coulson, asking what he's done with Talbot. He reveals himself and she she continues her fight with him, after fighting off Agent 33. May notices something wrong with his face and grabs it, pulling off a holographic mask like the one Natasha used in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It's not Talbot at all, but Bakshi. May gets knocked out. Bakshi realises that Coulson doesn't fully trust Talbot so they'll be more successful sending Agent 33 disguised as May instead. They prick May's finger to make a holographic mask of her. They use a voice modulator so Agent 33 can call Coulson and they track his location. She tells Coulson that Talbot's offer seems legit. Agent 33 goes to meet Coulson while May lies unconscious on the floor.

Faux-Simmons and Fitz are talking. Fitz doesn't feel like he's part of the team but Simmons says he should stop hiding. Simmons doesn't like the new lab and they changed it without asking him. He thinks Ward is valued more than him. Agent 33 comes in and asks for Coulson, heading upstairs to talk to him. She tells him that Talbot wants to meet him alone, but of course she's going to go with him. She plants a device Bakshi gave her on the Bus hard drive.

May's tied up and being questioned by Bakshi. He wants to know who's running the operation and where they're based. May is ready and eager to kick Bakshi's ass but Bakshi is more than willing to get the information he wants out of May, by any means necessary.

Coulson brings up the contingency plan, but Agent 33 has to play along and pretend like she knows what he's talking about. Coulson trusts May to take him out as necessary and run SHIELD after he's gone. This gives Agent 33 the information that cousin is running the organisation.

The lights go out and the Bus begins to shut down. Mack looks it over and finds that the Bus thinks they've made a water landing and they've been sealed in. Fitz finds the device, noting how it's based on SHIELD tech, and warns them that the plane will explode.

Coulson's walking into the trap and carries on with his nostalgia. He asks "May" about getting that cup of coffee they were supposed to get all those years ago and she agrees. Coulson then punches her square in the nose, saying, "May hates coffee." Bakshi's torturing of May is interrupted as he gets distracted by the sound of Coulson and Agent 33 fighting outside. He goes to look through the peephole and May breaks free. She then charges Bakshi.

Fitz says there's a virus going through the electrical system on the Bus, blowing things up as it goes. Eventually it will hit the fuel and they'll all be done for. Fitz uses Hunter, instructing him on what to do to stop the virus. The plane gets fixed and the Bus is back online. Hunter throws up his hand and Fitz high-fives it.

May gets out of the room and begins to fight Agent 33. Bakshi runs out with the painting and Coulson follows after him. Bakshi calls for extraction but gets shot by Coulson with a stun gun. Agent 33 tells May that she used to be SHIELD before May knocks her out. Coulson grabs the painting, catches up with May, and they escape right before the Hydra team shows up.

Fitz is working in the lab when Hunter enters and gives him and Mack a beer. Fitz is reluctant but Lance tells him he's saved the whole team so he should let Lance buy him a beer. It's then that faux-Simmons disappears. Fitz then blurts out that he once liked a girl, he admitted his feelings, and then she left. Lance tells him she's missing out and they all toast "to moving on."

Skye is researching the painting but keeps it secret from Trip. Coulson calls Talbot to tell him about his imposter and the painting. Talbot says they should turn over this painting but Coulson claims it was destroyed.

Coulson tells May that the analysis of the painting shows it's 500 years old, but the writing is new. Someone else out there is carving and they need to find who it is. Coulson brings up the plan again and says that it's important. He's not going to stop asking. May then shows him that she already has a plan for him to get out and get away because she will not shoot him in the head. No matter what happens, May will take care of him and that is her plan. Coulson is touched and wants her to kill him as ordered. He doesn't want to end up like Garrett. May insists she'll find a way but Coulson says they need to deal with reality. Hard choices are coming and May needs to make this one for him. She reluctantly agrees.

Raina's on the phone making plans to travel to Miami. She enters her car and reads about the painting. She is trapped by Hydra agents and Dr. Whitehall gets in the backseat. He wants the Obelisk she took from him. She's ready to try to work her magic but then he puts a device on her hand that silences her and keeps her still. He says he once operated on a woman on and off for a full week. He's confident he can do better now. She has 48 hours to get him the Obelisk.

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