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Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S2E21/22 (S2 Finale) - "S.O.S." Recap


Jiaying has Gordon and another Inhuman further stage an attack on Afterlife. All of the Inhumans, including Skye are siding with Jiaying. May demands to see Gonzales and has to fight off Skye, who is only able to best her by using her abilities. Skye tries to get answers from Raina, who had clearly foreseen everything. Raina says that her destiny is to help Skye fulfil her destiny and says that Jiaying is misleading the Inhumans. Skye is the one destined to lead them.

Gordon is shown to have kidnapped the missing Inhuman camper for Jiaying to kill and feed on to heal her wounds.

Simmons is worried that Cal is a Trojan horse and plans to examine the empty vials he had in his possessions. She later determines that the concoction is a crude attempt at super-strength serum.

Fitz and Hunter figure out that Agent 33 had disguised herself as May to kidnap Bobbi. Ward is torturing Bobbi in order to get her to confess to the fact that she had revealed Kara's location to Hydra while undercover there.

SHIELD determine that Jiaying staged this attack to start a war. They also figure out that Ward is behind Bobbi's attack and this is why he left Agent 33 behind. Bobbi is insistent that giving up the location of a safe house that might be occupied was better than the other option which would have lead to the deaths of dozens of SHIELD agents.

Raina meets with Jaiying and says that Skye will be the one to save the Inhumans and not either of them. Raina says she is destined to be an angel and show the people the truth. Jiaying kills her and Skye witnesses this, saying that this is what Raina had warned her about. She now realises the truth of who her mother is and that she killed Gonzales in cold blood. Jiaying says that in order for them to survive, SHIELD must be destroyed. When Skye won't be swayed by her mother's schemes, Jiaying has her locked up.

Coulson meets with Cal, who admits to experimenting on himself to be strong enough to find Skye. He admits he's there to take out as many SHIELD agents as he can.

Ward tries to convince Bobbi to admit wrong-doing but she breaks out of her restraints instead and fights Ward in a brutal hand-to-hand combat. Well, brutal by ABC's standards anyway. Kara turns up and joins the fight and eventually Bobbi is outdone and Ward snaps her leg. Ward gives Kara the gun to shoot Bobbie but Kara doesn't want to kill her because 1) she isn't sorry and 2) she doesn't care if she dies. So Ward sets a trap for whomever is the first person to crash through the door to rescue Bobbi to get shot and killed. So now she'll have to sit and watch as someone else dies because of her.

Coulson begin to convince Cal of the truth, that Jiaying is the real monster and that she is the one who manipulated him into doing terrible things. The serum he injected himself with is killing him and doing terrible things to his body. Eventually, Cal almost dies and turns into an actual monster with a swollen forehead and claws. Now his super strength is permanent since Simmons injected him with the final ingredient he had been missing. Finally, there's a showdown with Cal and Coulson like never before and Coulson needs to flee from this mutated beast.

The Inhumans break onto the SHIELD ship to retrieve the weapon. They also have Skye captive with them. Gordon and Lincoln are amongst the team fighting against SHIELD.

Coulson, Fitz, and Simmons are able to trap Cal by running a car into him to keep him against a wall. Coulson begins to reason with Cal, saying that deep down he is a good man and that he knows deep down that Jiaying is the real monster here. Cal says that Jiaying was never the same after she was torn to pieces and he sewed her back together. He says that now she needs to take life to keep on living and no longer values human life. He thought he could fix things if he could just keep his promise to save their daughter. Coulson makes Cal see that Skye is in danger since she will never go along with Jiaying's thirst for blood. Cal frees himself from the car and says he wants to help.

Mack frees Skye from the holding cell that the Inhumans had trapper her in. Mack needs Skye to hack into SHIELD (she can't use her abilities because she's been locked into power inhibitors). Skye is still insistent that not all of the Inhumans are bad and many are simply being manipulated by Jiaying. Jiaying orders Agent Weaver to expand the beacon to invite all SHIELD operatives to attack and forces her to do so by killing some agents with Terrine mist. Lincoln is horrified by these actions but keeps quiet for the time being. Jiaying plans to use their artificial Terrigen crystals to reveal all Inhumans and simultaneously kill all humans.

Ward and Kara are watching as Hunter, May, and other agents are descending on Bobbi's locations. Bobbi is distraught at the fact that Hunter will be shot when he comes through the door but can't say anything because she's been gagged and tied to a chair. Ward and Kara begin to fight off the agents on the base. When Hunter comes through the door, Bobbi is able to tilt her chair over so she ends up shot instead of him. The remaining team grabs Bobbi, who is losing blood fast. Ward ends up killing Kara while she's disguised as May and apparently we're supposed to feel bad for him or something. But we don't. Bobbi is brought to the carrier where she'll be operated on to save her life.

Lincoln is having a crisis of conscience after witnessing Jiaying committing murder but Gordon implores him to stay focused. Lincoln encounter Skye while she's trying to send a signal for help to her SHIELD team. Skye implores him to see what's right in front of him, that Jiaying is not the good leader they once thought. Just as Lincoln is telling Skye where to find the crystals being prepped to send through the ship's ventilation system, Mack knocks him out and heads out to stop the crystals.

May calls Garner, something she hasn't done before a mission since Behrain. She says there's no way this will end well so she wants to apologise for everything she didn't say but should have said. He implores her to come home safe.

Fitz is preparing to infiltrate the ship with Coulson and Cal but Simmons comes to talk to him about what happened at the bottom of the ocean. She says when he gets back, they should discuss it, implying she's willing to admit her feelings for him. As the team makes their way to the ship, they get a signal from Skye that it's a trap so Coulson sends all other ships back except for their own. They also determine Jiaying's plan to send Terrigen mist through the vents. Cal tells Coulson to take care of the crystals and to leave Jiaying to himself.

Mack is guarding the crystals and must fight Gordon, who is trying to retrieve them. Cal is reunited with Jiaying, who has him locked in a room to keep him from stopping her plans. Coulson and Fitz meet with Mack, who still has the crystals safely guarded, while Skye must fight off an Inhuman with the ability to duplicate herself. Lincoln finds May and teams up with her to save Skye from the duplicated Inhuman.

Fitz sets up a device to trap Gordon in the room with himself, Coulson, and Mack, who are now able to fight him off and Fitz kills him. Coulson catches a Terrine crystal to stop it from shattering and killing all of them and Mack cuts his arm off at the forearm to stop the poison from spreading further.

Skye catches up with Jiaying and implores her to stop but instead, Jiaying is wanting Skye to join her in this revolution. Skye tells her she can't let Jiaying destroy any more lives. Jiaying then attempts to drain the life out of Skye, and Skye gets a burst of her power out in order to push the plane with the remaining crystals into the ocean. Skye and Jiaying attempt to kill each other but Cal intervenes and kills Jiaying himself to spare Skye from that heavy burden.

Bobbi wakes up and Hunter is there to tell her she was stupid to take a bullet for him. It's his way of saying he cares. She says she can't do this anymore, but it's unclear what exactly she's referring to. SHIELD? Their relationship?

Coulson puts Mack in charge of the alien artefacts he mistrusts them so much. May decides to take a break from SHIELD to spend time with Garner. She will be able to rediscover the world outside of SHIELD. Skye is joining a new SHIELD team comprised of gifted people. Cal will be put through the TAHITI program to have his memory wiped but he's able to say goodbye to Skye and tell her how she's even better than he imagined and he had imagined her to be perfect. He notes how his love for his family is what drove him mad. He asks Skye to visit once in a while, and she promises to do so. He also says that the best day ever was 2 July 1988, Skye's birth.

Meanwhile, Ward begins orchestrating plans to lead what's left of Hydra in a fight against SHIELD. He's done flying solo, and misses having a team around him. Wah, wah, wah, and now he's got another excuse for all the wrongs he'll do.

Cal is able to live a new life in peace as a veterinarian. Skye goes to visit him, introducing herself as Daisy, and he invites her to come by any time to adopt a pet and ask for Dr. Winslow to get free spaying and neutering for the pet(s).

Skye tells Coulson she's willing to be part of this gifted SHIELD team but people like her will need to be kept anonymous. Coulson notes that his lost limb is a reminder of everything they're fighting for and against.

Finally, we see traces of the Terrigen crystals seeping into fish, which are caught by fishermen, and processed into fish oil supplements being sold at supermarkets.

Finally, Fitz asks Simmons out for dinner and she agrees. They're still as awkward as ever and it's rather adorable. But of course, things aren't that simple. After Fitz leaves, Simmons notices that the door to the Kree weapon is slightly ajar and then it opens up and rapidly sucks her up before resuming it's regular massive size. WHAT. WHY.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will return to ABC for season 3 on Tuesday, September 29 at 9PM!

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S2E20 - "Scars" Recap


Coulson's secret helicarrier was used by Fury to help save the world so the SHIELD board agrees to go through with his idea to merge their factions. Coulson will be the director and the bad will act as his oversight and advisory council.

Kara is cleared of any Hydra lingerings in her brain. Lincoln wakes up and is alarmed to find he is at SHIELD because part of what made Afterlife a safe-haven was their anonymity but now SHIELD will want to hunt them down.

Raina is starting to find peace with her visions and abilities. She has a vision of an ancient Kree weapon designed to destroy the Inhumans and she shares this information with Gordon who relays this to Jiaying. Raina offers herself up to help Gordon find it and Jiaying gives them permission to do so. They locate the weapon in the cargo hold of Gonzales' ship.

Jiaying continues to ask Cal for information on Raina to judge how threatening she may or may not be.

Hunter comes across the intruders on the ship and alerts the ship to their presence. Raina and Gordon are able to discover the location of the weapon but teleport away when they are cornered by May and Bobbi. Skye defends the Inhumans to Coulson and May, explaining why they want to keep secret and hidden. Bobbi learns that SHIELD has recreated Hydra technology to track Gordon when he teleported away. They now know the location of Afterlife. The board wants to attack Afterlife but Coulson wants to have a sit-down with Jiaying instead since Skye can set up the meet as liaison.

Cal doesn't trust Raina and gets into an argument with her and Gordon. Jiaying breaks up the fight. Coulson implores Skye to see that they just need to place the Inhumans on the Index like any other gifted person. Skye asks to let her and Lincoln go first and admits to Coulson about Jiaying being her mother. Coulson tells May, who wants to tell the council. Their relationship seems irreparably fractured since May blames Coulson for what happened to Skye and blames herself for not stopping him.

Raina tells Gordon she's had a vision of SHIELD raining fire on Afterlife. She says that she should be the one to meet with SHIELD, as war will be inevitable if Jiaying is the one to meet with them. Skye and Lincoln are returned to Afterlife and Skye relays Coulson's offer to Jiaying. But Gonzales tells Coulson he's too close to this and that he shouldn't be the one to meet with Jiaying. Gonzales likens people being too close to Stark and Ultron being a byproduct, to Coulson being too close to Skye. May agrees with the decision to send Gonzales instead so he agrees, saying he'll quarterback the mission from afar.

Fitz says that their not killing people is what makes them better than Ward. Simmons admits to Fitz that she tried to kill Ward and failed and that her only regret is that she failed, noting that the next terrible thing he does will be her fault.

Mack tells Coulson he's resigning from SHIELD, saying he wants no part in it if Coulson is the director. Coulson is sad to see him go, but respects his freedom to decide his own path.

Jiaying seeks Cal's council on the impending meet with SHIELD. He doesn't want her to surrender to letting the Inhumans be Indexed. Jiaying agrees that they can't lose Skye to SHIELD and Cal tells Jiaying to let him be surrendered to SHIELD to gain their trust. She doesn't want to at first but he insists on doing this to help protect his family.

While Bobbi and May are in the air, "May" is shown to actually be Kara in disguise. She wants revenge on Bobbi for what she did to her in Hydra. She's been in cahoots with Ward to kidnap Bobbi. When Bobbi exits the ship, she finds they're in a field, where Ward is waiting to shoot her with a tranquilliser.

Gordon is shown to be truly loyal to Jiaying and sells out Raina to her. No one can trust Raina's intentions, despite her pleas that something terrible is going to happen if they don't do what she says.

Jiaying surrenders Cal to Gonzales when he arrives to meet and sends Skye to deliver him to the SHIELD agents. Cal tells Skye he's grateful he got to know her and she says she feels the same way. Skye is angry at May when she tells him about why Gonzales was sent instead of Coulson. Cal is brought on board the ship along with some vials of an unknown substance. Uh-oh...

Gonzales gives Jiaying a gift, a token that Whitehall had taken when torturing Jiaying in order to give to Skye; a Chinese token to ward off evil spirits. Gonzales shares his intentions to Index the Inhumans and in a surprise turn of events, Jiaying kills Gonzales with a Diviner crystal and shoots herself with Gonzales' gun to stage a set-up for a war with SHIELD. Jiaying will not allow her people to be Indexed.

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

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S2E19 - "The Dirty Half Dozen" Recap


Skye and Cal are returned to Afterlife by Gordon, whom Skye sends back immediately to look for Lincoln. Cal also loudly outs Jiaying regarding Skye being their daughter but she sends him to cool off while she can figure out what to do next. Gordon returns with a forehead wound matching what Raina saw in her dream, tipping her off to the fact that her dreams are visions of the future. Gordon tells Jiaying that he barely got away from Hydra, who are the ones who have Lincoln.

Coulson offers to Gonzalez to use his own team to infiltrate List's base to free Mike and Lincoln from Hydra's captivity. He also hands over Fury's toolbox as a sign of good faith. He wants to rescue the prisoners, not simply blow the base to pieces. Mike and Lincoln decide to team up to try to escape but they're first knocked out as Hydra is preparing to experiment on them.

Fitz is more than ready to brag to Simmons about attacking Ward on the plane but is shocked when Simmons begins packing grenades to try to kill Ward should he present himself to be dubious once more. Coulson and May get into an argument. He's upset that she is working for Gonzalez and she feels betrayed by all his secrets, including working with her ex-husband behind her back. He tells her that he was seeing Andrew as a therapist as he was the only professional he could see about his alien-writing. He promises to apologise to her more thoroughly later.

Skye is trying to convince Gordon to take her to rescue Lincoln. He doesn't want to but then Raina reveals that she has already seen her save Lincoln. The legitimacy of her claim is proven when she says that she saw Coulson and Ward working together. This is a detail Skye had yet to share with anyone.

Ward leaves Kara with SHIELD, believing it in her best interest to reconnect to her past life as an agent. He tells her to stay strong but this smells a lot like a breakup. Guess all Ward needed to see was Skye's bright face to realise where his heart really lies.

Simmons convinces Coulson to let her come on the mission. Gordon is convinced to take Skye to SHIELD without telling Jiaying, as Lincoln is his friend and he wants him saved. All of our original six are back together! Fitz and Simmons want to know everything Skye has been up to but she doesn't want to share anything personal with Ward around. Ward begins to debrief the team on the mission but when he sees he's getting nothing but the stink-eye from all of them, he decides it's time to has things out and says that after all his wrong-doings, the thing he regrets the most is breaking up their unity as a team.

Jiaying patches things up with Cal and agrees to let him stay in Afterlife. But Jiaying is growing suspicious of Raina and Cal warns her that she's right to be careful and that she needs to keep an eye on Raina.

Mack and Hunter make up, with Hunter saying he's forgiven Mack. Bobbi checks in on Kara, who is insistent that the team will all see the Grant she does and that he will come through for them. The team's plane is spotted by Hydra, who attempts to shoot the plane out of the sky, which it does. But this was always part of the plan, as the actual plane is dropping down with the debris.

The team makes it into the Hydra base where Bakshi is shown to still be brainwashed and loyal to Ward. The group splits up, with Bakshi, Simmons, and Skye going with Ward. Skye uses her abilities to knock the Hydra men out before the rest of them need to do any shooting. They catch up to Mike, who says that Lincoln's been taken off for surgery. Coulson, May, and Fitz have made it to the control centre.

Skye heads off to rescue Lincoln while Simmons tends to Mike's injuries and sends Ward to find something on which they can carry Mike out on. When Skye reaches Lincoln, his heart has stopped but she uses her ability to trigger his electrical charge to restart his heart. Simmons tries to kill Ward but Bakshi gets in the way and ends up dead first. Simmons goads Ward to try to kill her but he doesn't, telling her that she has changed and he is disappointed in her, after which he leaves on his own.

Ward calls Coulson after making it out and says how he has returned Kara to SHIELD and does deserve forgiveness, saying that he isn't the right man to fix her. Coulson has discovered the base of Hydra's leader, Baron Wolfgang von Strucker. Coulson gives the location to Maria Hill so that the Avengers can defeat Hydra. This is what Theta Protocol was.

Raina is shown to be growing skeptical of Jiaying's ability to lead and has a vision of metal men destroying cities.

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

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S2E18 - "The Frenemy of my Enemy" Recap


With the help of Coulson and Hunter, Fitz is able to run away form his tail and get to the quinjet on the roof of a parking structure. Mike Peterson is still the pilot. They fill him in on their progress tracking Skye and their plan to work with Ward to get Skye back.

Cal meets with Jiaying and shares how he's grateful to have had time with Skye but regrets that she still fears him, something Jiaying reminds him is his own fault. She plans to have him sent away but leads him to believe that Gordon will be taking him off to get some more of his belongings.

Skye shares her concerns with Lincoln that sending Cal away will only result in people getting hurt because he'll get upset. Lincoln advises her to talk to Jiaying about it.

Bobbi is training with Mack and shares how she thinks that focusing so much on Coulson may not be the best use of their resources, especially since Hydra is still a very real threat. Mack believes that Simmons is stalling regarding opening the box. Simmons admits to May about duplicating the box and giving the real one to Fitz. May is upset but says that she will handle it.

Coulson, Hunter, Fitz, and Mike track down Agent 33 (Palamas) and Ward. Turns out the two have been shacking up together and have gotten quite cozy. While Mike keeps his eye on Palamas, Coulson has a sit-down with Ward. He needs Ward to call in some favours and has a deal to offer. Ward will infiltrate Hydra and in exchange, Ward will go through the TAHITI protocol which means his memories will be wiped and set free. This is the only offer that will allow Ward to leave and he'll be able to start over.

Simmons feels betrayed when May tells Bobbi about the box. They haven't told the rest of the team yet but in order to do that, they need to be the ones to find Coulson first. They ask Simmons to try to hack Mike's tech to find his location. She begrudgingly says she'll work on it.

Skye relays her concerns to Jiaying about Cal being let back into the world. Jiaying says that the longer he stays at Afterlife, the more attention he draws, putting them in danger. She then goes to visit Cal and offers to go with him to his home, where he'll be apparently retrieving his belongings. He's from Milwaukee. Skye offers to go with him, because she doesn't want to put innocent lives at risk. She sympathises with Cal because while Skye had no memories when she broken laws to find her family, he did.

Ward gives Coulson free use of the brainwashed Bakshi, whom he still has in captivity. Bakshi reaches out to set up a meeting with List, which Mike will be going along for to ensure things go according to plan. Fitz still harbour a lot of animosity against Ward and even tries to attack him. Gotta love scrappy-Fitz!

Skye and Cal make it to Milwaukee and Cal is excited to show her around, though he feels slightly discouraged when he sees the changes in the places around him. Skye learns that Cal was working with Doctor Without Borders when he met Skye's mother. They had planned to raise Skye in Milwaukee and had even picked out a charter school for her to go to. Later, Skye pickpockets a phone to call May for help. She says that Cal needs to be picked up or else everyone will be in trouble. Lincoln is shown to be following them to keep an eye out.

Bakshi has his meeting with List, with Mike there. Bakshi offers Mike up as a sign of good faith and the team on board the ship end up in standoff. They have to stand down so Fitz can tell Mike to stand down instead of killing everyone in the room. They learn that List has been tracking Gordon is trying to capture him. This is when Ward realises that this is about Skye.

Gordon tells Jiaying that Ethan, one of their individuals, is missing now. He was supposed to go on a camping trip but when Gordon went to pick him up, he wasn't there.

Skye realises that Cal still loves Jiaying and she can't keep up the charade like this. She implores him to not hold onto the past. Jiaying has moved on and Skye is an adult now. The past can't be lived in the present, nor can it be redone. The conversation is interrupted by Lincoln who shows up at Cal's office where he was showing her around. Cal loses his temper when he realises that Jiaying plans to leave Cal and not let him back into Afterlife.

It's then that Hydra shows up but Lincoln takes an agent down. Cal begins to fight off the agents and Lincoln tells Skye to run while he'll help Cal. Lincoln ends up fighting with Mike, who is there with the rest of the Hydra team. Hunter ends up shot while Coulson and Ward are looking for Skye. They catch up to Mike, who has disarmed Lincoln and tells them he thinks Lincoln is protecting Skye. Simmons has hacked into Mike's cybernetic eye, which lets her and May know about Coulson working with Ward. May sends Bobbi and Mack to Milwaukee. Mike and Lincoln end up captured by Hydra, as Bakshi is shown to be in control of his wits.

Just as Skye finds Coulson and Ward fighting off some Hydra agents, she's about to be reunited with them but before she can get to them, Gordon arrives to take her back and Cal jumps on to piggyback the ride. Agent 33, Kara, then brings over the wounded Hunter and since they no longer have Mike to help out, Ward tells Coulson regarding what to do next, "Your call, boss." Later when Bobbi and Mack arrive at Cal's office, Coulson is there and ready to surrender, saying he'll tell them all about what happened once they get back to the base.

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

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S2E17 - "Melinda" Recap


Seven years ago, May is still married to her ex-husband and they're trying to have a baby. Coulson arrives to take May on their next mission to head after a gifted individual, Eva Belyakov, a woman with enhanced strength. The team heads to Bahrain, where they must approach Eva in a public cafe. If she doesn't agree to come in, the military plans to take her out. Eva is determined only to cause pain and with some hired muscled, she's able to escape from SHIELD with one of the men taking a little girl hostage. Eventually, May sneaks into the building herself to handle the situation since there seem to be no other options left. She finds Agent Hart brainwashed and saying he needs her pain. All the other agents trapped inside are saying the same thing. Eva is controlling all of them, saying that she needs pain. May traps the men in the room and goes after Eva. Eventually she finds her and after a fight, kills her. She also ended up shot in the leg in the process.

In present day, Agent Weaver and Bobbi question May about Coulson's involvement with Mike Peterson as well as his wide-reaching connections to gifted people, plus something known as "Theta Protocol." May claims to not know anything on the matter, saying every SHIELD director has their secrets. Bobbi tries to reason with her later on about the pain she feels at being left out, but May seems set on staying loyal to Coulson.

Jiaying advises Skye that her ability comes from being able to hear/sense objects' frequencies and by resonating with them which causes them to shake. She guides Skye to resonate with a small rock but instead, Skye resonates with a nearby mountain. She is able to cause some snow to come crashing down the side of it and feels more secure in her ability. Jiaying tells Skye she's done good work before heading off. Lincoln tells Skye it's unusual for Jiaying to take anyone under her wing and that he's never seen her do it since he arrived, and that she is the one in charge of everything.

Lincoln later goes to check in on Reina who is being tended to by Gordon. Lincoln thinks Gordon should allow Reina to vent her frustrations and asks her not to give up on them just yet.

Skye is instructed by Jiaying on holding some frequencies in wine glasses. Skye creates music before giving out and then all the glasses break. This causes old wounds to surface as Skye opens up to Jiaying about being sent away by a foster family after breaking a glass vase and all the times she was made to leave a home just as it was starting to feel like home, much like how Afterlife is beginning to feel now. Skye is sad about not even knowing her birthday. Jiaying is remorseful hearing about her daughter's pain and promises her that they won't abandon her and have things go wrong they way they always have. Skye doesn't trust this, questioning why Jiaying even cares. It's then that Jiaying tells Skye that her birthday is July 2nd and admits to being her mother, something she believes Skye already knew deep down. Jiaying says that her only hesitation in reaching out to Skype is because she was forced into getting abilities that led to her being brought to Afterlife and is remorseful that she didn't have a choice in the matter. She shares how she was pieced back together by Cal and the two went on a rampage hunting for Skye and one day, Jiaying woke up realised that this Cal was no longer the good man she had fallen in love with and left him. She believed that Skye was gone. She then tells Skye that she needs to keep her lineage secret because their people have very strict rules and could perceive her as a threat.

Simmons is thrilled to see May again and is shocked to learn that research she was working on was actually a super-charged battery pack for Deathlok. They need to figure out what Coulson was up to with Theta Protocol and know that he wouldn't have gone off the reservation without a good reason. Simmons lets May know that Coulson had been meeting with Garner, May's ex, and together they're tracking his movements. Mack comes in and shares with them his theory that Coulson is preparing an army for gifted people. May then demands that Simmons open the box because underestimating people with powers never ends well.

Raina wants to leave Afterlife but Gordon says it's too dangerous for her to go back into the public right now.

Jiaying tells Skye that protocols need to be followed and their relationship kept secret because once before, a member of their group didn't trust Jiaying's judgement so she stole Terrine crystals to give to her daughter Katya, who then forced her mother to hurt others to feed on their pain. The woman was Eva, whom May killed seven years prior. May was also forced kill little Katya to stop all the men. Jiaying had sensed darkness in the girl and thus didn't think it a good idea to put her through the mist. Katya could leach off emotions like a parasite with a simple touch. This is also why May was so lost and changed after going into that house, and how she gained the nickname, "The Calvary." This is also what lead to the demise of her marriage and the reason for her asking to be transferred out of the field.

Jiaying says it had been her responsibility to stop Katya. Skye is understanding now of keeping secret their true relationship. Jiaying then asks Skye to come with her to have dinner with Cal because Jiaying owes a debt to him. He was the one who never gave up on Skye and for that, he deserves at least this much. But Jiaying promises Skye that she'll have Cal taken away after this and she'll never have to see him again. Skye thanks him for the fact that she was no able to be reunited with her mother and be taught by her. Cal is elated to be able to tell Skye about the night she was born. Skye then learns that she's actually 26 instead of 25, like she originally thought. The family toast together in a rare moment of peace. Lincoln sees the trio having dinner and recalls Raina describing that exact situation as something she'd seen in a dream. So it seems that Raina also has the ability of foresight/precognition!

Finally, we see Fitz opening the toolbox and using it to contact Coulson who is still hiding out with Hunter. He wants to come meet up with him but knows he's being followed by new "SHIELD" agents. But Coulson and Hunter are more than ready to tell him how to shake a tail so he can meet up with them.

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

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S2E16 - "Afterlife" Recap


Coulson and Hunter steal a car with which they'll travel to "The Retreat" to try to find Skye. Skye however is where Gordon teleported her and wakes two days after her accident to find she's having some sort of healing acupuncture. She's in a mountain hideaway called Afterlife, where gifted people are brought to be kept safe and prepare for their transformations. She also meets her transitioner, Lincoln Campbell, who tells her that she is unique because she was transformed without being chosen or prepared like the rest of the people at Afterlife. Skye was instead changed in a Kree temple with a Diviner and not in a controlled environment and under the instruction of the elders. Skye wants to get away and help the rest of her team who is in danger, but Lincoln reminds her that she herself is in danger as she is being hunted.

Calderon was badly injured during the confrontation with Skye. Bobbi is defending her to Gonzales, who thinks she's too dangerous. He also thinks that Coulson may be gathering an army of gifted people but to confirm this theory, he'll need to get into Fury's toolbox, which he'll need Fitz to do. But Fitz doesn't want to help him, as he is still loyal to Coulson. Fitz and Simmons are informed that they'll be free to go just as soon as they've been debriefed.

Coulson and Hunter arrive at The Retreat and find the surveillance footage of Skye's showdown with Bobbi and Calderon, as well as Gordon arriving to teleport her away.

Skye is bonding with Lincoln, who shows her outside. It's quite beautiful up in the mountains, but no one except for Gordon knows where they are, as he is the only way in and out. Lincoln also says that the rest of the people there are largely folks waiting to be changed because they hold the gene but need to be selected to make the change. Skye is attracting a lot of attention because her change taking place in a temple is something that hasn't happened for thousands of years. Skye enquires about Reina's whereabouts and Lincoln says that no one at Afterlife will harm her. Skye is further upset when Lincoln informs her that her transition is irreversible. Skye had only asked for Gordon's help because she thought that they'd be able to take her abilities away.

Bobbi convinces Simmons that opening the toolbox is the only way of uncovering any dangerous secrets so that SHIELD can be safeguarded. Then things can return to normal. So Simmons decides to work on opening the box herself. When Fitz learns of Simmons' betrayal, the two have an argument in which Fitz tells Simmons she has all but packed his bags for him herself. He then leaves SHIELD.

Lincoln teaches Skye that she can control her abilities, just like he learned to do. Now, he can electrically charge anything. When he first arrived at Afterlife, he almost burned it down but now the "Skye" is the limit. He even makes Skye levitate using his gift.

Coulson triggers the alarm at "The Retreat" to lure the other SHIELD there. He and Hunter attempt to steal the attack team's quinjet but despite some initial success, end up captured due to being outnumbered. But just when it seems that all is lost, Mike Peterson/Deathlok shows up and takes out the rest of the "real" SHIELD agents. He's more than ready to help Coulson and Hunter out.

Skye asks Gordon to get a message to her SHIELD team members to let them know that she is okay but he says that as much as he'd like to help, he can't do that without permission from the elders. Gordon then visits Cal, who is being imprisoned by the Afterlife. They get into a fight after Cal determines that they've gotten a hold of Skye and demands to see her, which Gordon refuses to let Cal do. Gordon chides Cal for being too unpredictable and lacking in control.

Lincoln is telling Skye about how if she sticks around, she'll be assigned a guide to instruct her through the mastering of her abilities. He also accidnetally lets it slip about "another one" that is at Afterlife, tipping Skye off to the fact that Reina is there. Lincoln is insistent that Reina is one of them and takes off in search of her. Skye finds Reina, who is drastically changed both physically and in her demeanour. Skye tries to kill Reina and Reina is more than willing to be killed and put out of her misery. But Skye is stopped by Jiaying, having no idea that she is meeting her mother. Skye doesn't want to stay if Reina is still here but Jiaying offers to be Skye's guide and asks to be given a few days to try things out, after which she can leave and never see them again.

Next, Jiaying is brought by Gordon to visit Cal and stresses to him that he cannot see Skye/Daisy because he is too dangerous.

Gonzales, upon learning that Deathlok is helping Coulson, decides that Coulson is too dangerous. He wants to take him down but offers May a position on the board so Coulson will be fairly represented when he is brought in.

Coulson tells Hunter that Mike Peterson has been tracking Dr. List on behalf of SHIELD, and has learned that he has an interest in super-powered people like Skye and has been experimenting on them. Now if they want to find Skye, they'll need to work with Grant Ward.

Finally, Simmons tells Bobbi and Mack that she can't open the toolbox without Coulson, but in reality, she has given the box to Fitz, with whom she had schemed the entire time. She even gives him his favourite sandwich along with it.

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

LUST FOR LOVE Hollywood Premiere Experience & Review

What a Saturday night treat! On February 1, 2014, our illustrious leader, Sue, won tickets to the premiere, Q&A and afterparty for Lust For Love, an independent feature film. However, she was not able to attend, so she gave the tickets to me...Yay! I have not been to an afterparty before....especially for a Hollywood premiere. Since the contest was for two tickets I invited my friend Cassandra to come along.

On a chilly breezy evening, the Lust For Love Premiere, Q&A and afterparty was held at the Harmony Gold Theater in Los Angeles, CA. Once there, we noticed the entrance was decked out with read and pink heart-shaped balloons to celebrate this amazing night. As we waited in line, many more guests started arriving as time came close to the screening of this romantic comedy film. Looked like a nice turn out.

This romantic comedy was fun and light-hearted filled with a lot of laughs. But, I'll get to my thoughts on it later.

After watching Lust For Film, a brief Q&A commenced.




After the brief Q&A with the cast and director, everyone exited to the lobby where the afterparty was being held. Serving beer and wine, everyone had the opportunity to chat with the cast and crew. Saturday premiere night for Lust For Love was filled with fun, laughs and good conversation.

Here's more about the film:
The awesome fact about this film is that this started with a group of friends who have worked together in the past and has gotten together to create and make this feature film; hence, the launch of the Kickstarter project to raise the funds to complete their project. The end result was that they successfully went over their goal...Yay! Check out the details of this awesome Lust For Love Kickstarter project, here!



Synopsis:
Astor's (Fran Kranz) happy tenacity spoils his one chance at love with his lifelong crush Mila (Beau Garrett). Convinced he needs more experience with women to win her back, he engages her ex-best friend Cali (Dichen Lachman) to teach him how to woo women. Together they dissect his failings, and Astor makes his awkward pick-up attempts. As Astor begins to juggle multiple opportunities, he discovers the source of the rift between Cali and Mila, and the trio are forced to confront their conceptions about love.

Cast:
Fran Kranz as Astor
Beau Garrett as Mila
Dichen Lachman as Cali
Enver Gjokaj as Jake
Miracle Laurie as Jenny
Karim Saleh as Franck
Caitlin Stasey as Trinity/Divinity
Felicia Day as Mary
Maurissa Tancharoen as Hazel

Written and Directed by:
Anton King

Produced by:
Anton King
Dichen Lachman
Jack Wylson

Director of Photography:
Adam Bricker

Executive Producers:
Joe Shapiro
Susie Owen
Steve Owen
Fuad Omar

l-r: Caitlin Stasey, Karim Saleh, Enver Gjokaj, Beau Garrett,
Fran Kranz, Miracle Laurie & Dichen Lachman
For an independent film with a limited budget AND gained support/backers on the Kickstarter platform, I thoroughly enjoyed the film and found it worth watching. Lust For Love centers around Astor, who pretty much is a dork when it comes to relationships. Seriously...he saves himself for his lifelong, childhood love. Seriously!!??!! When that opportunity to be with her (Mila) comes and goes, he turns to Mila's former best friend for help and advice on how to win her back. Throughout the film, Astor and Cali encounters many failures and triumphs as he tries to learn how to talk to women...oh yeah, those notorious pick-up lines! During all that time, Astor and Cali learns a "thing or two" about themselves. For being a romantic comedy, Lust For Love had it all...the light-hearted drama, humor and the laughs. It was apparent that the cast and crew had fun making this film.

My rating:
4 out of 5 stars

Lust For Love cast and director
Fran Kranz
Beau Garrett
Dichen Lachman
Anton King
Enver Gjokaj
Miracle Laurie
Karim Saleh
Photos by Cassandra Gomez

View more photos, here.

"Lust for Love" Review


Four of the actors from Joss Whedon's Dollhouse, Fran Kranz, Dichen Lachman (who was also a producer of the film), Enver Gjokaj, and Miracle Laurie reunite for a Kickstarter-funded project, written and directed by Australian filmmaker Anton King. Lust for Love premiered on Saturday, February 1 in Hollywood with many of the contributing Kickstarters in attendance.

Lust for Love follows Astor (Fran Kranz) as he seeks to win the heart of Mila (Beau Garrett), a girl he has loved since childhood. He seeks the counsel of her estranged friend, Cali (Dichen Lachman), and she begins coaching him on how to become a confident ladies' man, desensitised and apathetic towards rejection. Astor is an excruciatingly awkward character and his fumbling attempts to apply Cali's various pieces of advice to pick up womyn had me repeatedly hiding my face in my hands and laughing uncomfortably. Kranz delivers a tremendous performance that resonates with people's experiences of struggling with confidence and navigating the ins and outs of dating/relationships.

Lust for Love's focus is not a simple repeat of the "guy gets the girl" trope. The leads of this film are interesting, dynamic, and realistically flawed individuals. Cali is a cool modern woman with nothing to prove. She has a healthy appreciation for sex, but at no point is served up as a sexual object. She's not seeking romance or an archaic fairytale ending. Lachman's delivery is natural, understated, and it was highly refreshing to hear her perform in her native Australian accent. Then there's Mila, a woman who is just as lost as Astor and Cali when it comes to knowing what is truly best for themselves in the worlds of dating and romance. This journey of self-discovery and self-understanding is central to the film.

Despite the budget being small, this is truly a film worth watching. Enver Gjokaj plays arguably the funniest character of the film, Jake. If you didn't already know that Gjokaj has a knack for comedy, his performance will leave you wanting more of his comedic gold in future works. Additionally, Miracle Laurie brings warmth and brightens each scene in which she is present and the film's soundtrack seamlessly weaves the story together. Anton King has delivered a fresh take on the human experience. Indeed, Lust for Love breathes life into the increasingly tired and stale romantic comedy genre.

Lust for Love's general release will be on 7 Feb 2014.
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