Afterlife (episode)

Afterlife is the sixteenth episode of the second season of the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  and the thirty-eighth episode overall.

Synopsis
As Robert Gonzales makes his move, Coulson must do whatever it takes to protect the future of S.H.I.E.L.D. Meanwhile Skye’s journey to control her powers takes a surprising turn when she meets the enigmatic Inhuman named Lincoln.

Plot
Skye awakened two days after the events at the Retreat in the Inhuman settlement called Afterlife, where Lincoln Campbell was using his medical knowledge to give Skye an acupuncture treatment to stabilize her body's chemistry after Terrigenesis. Though Skye asked Gordon to let her friends know that she was alright, he said that he needed permission for the elders to do something like that. Campbell offered to teach her how to control her powers, but Skye was reluctant in displaying them.

Meanwhile, Coulson and Hunter stole a car from Honest Eddie's car dealership. They drove to the Retreat and set up there, salvaging a security camera from the debris Skye's shockwave left. The tape showed Skye blowing away two agents, and a man appearing in a blue flash and teleporting her away. Coulson expressed his shock and disbelief over S.H.I.E.L.D. and Skye, before making a plan.

Coulson sets off an alarm that informs Robert Gonzales of his location and tells Lance Hunter that with the coming back-up, they are capturing a Quinjet. Though the plan did not go as smoothly as Hunter would have liked, the back-up, Michael Peterson, does arrive and they procure a vehicle.

Meanwhile, Melinda May is offered a position on Gonzales' board of leaders in his faction of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons work together and Fitz is able to steal the Toolbox from the Playground.

In Afterlife, Skye learns that Raina is there also and confronts her, wanting revenge for the death of Antoine Triplett. Skye is stopped by Jiaying, the leader of the settlement. Jiaying does not reveal that she is Skye's mother, but does offer to be her mentor in training in how to use her powers.

Later, Jiaying sees Calvin Zabo and thanks him for keeping his promise to reunite her with their daughter, but she says that he is not permitted to see Skye.

Coulson reveals the next step to his plan to take back S.H.I.E.L.D.: recruit Grant Ward.

Cast
Main Cast:
 * Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson
 * Ming-Na Wen as Melinda May
 * Chloe Bennet as Skye
 * Iain De Caestecker as Leo Fitz
 * Elizabeth Henstridge as Jemma Simmons
 * Nick Blood as Lance Hunter
 * Adrianne Palicki as Bobbi Morse

Guest Stars:
 * Henry Simmons as Alphonso Mackenzie
 * Ruth Negga as Raina
 * Kyle MacLachlan as Calvin Zabo
 * Edward James Olmos as Robert Gonzales
 * Jamie Harris as Gordon
 * Dichen Lachman as Jiaying
 * Luke Mitchell as Lincoln Campbell
 * Craig Johnson as S.H.I.E.L.D. Leader
 * Stoney Westmoreland as Honest Eddie
 * John Forest as Robbie
 * J. August Richards as Michael Peterson (uncredited)

Locations

 * South Carolina
 * Honest Eddie's
 * Afterlife
 * Playground
 * Retreat
 * S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy (mentioned)
 * Cincinnati, Ohio (mentioned)
 * China (mentioned)
 * Bahrain (mentioned)
 * Mexico (mentioned)
 * Chicago, Illinois (mentioned)
 * Kree City (mentioned)
 * Triskelion (mentioned)

Events

 * World War II (mentioned)

Items

 * Howling Commando Gear
 * I.C.E.R.
 * Toolbox
 * Inertial Confinement Laser Barrier
 * S.H.I.E.L.D. Lanyard
 * Holocom
 * Backscatter X-Ray Eye Implant
 * Forearm Rocket Launcher
 * Cybertek Prosthetic Leg
 * Terrigen Mist (mentioned)
 * Vibranium (mentioned)
 * Diviner (mentioned)
 * GH.325 (mentioned)

Sentient Species

 * Humans
 * Inhumans
 * Kree (mentioned)

Vehicles

 * Bus
 * Quinjet
 * S.H.I.E.L.D. SUV
 * Iliad

Organizations

 * S.H.I.E.L.D.
 * Phil Coulson's faction
 * Robert Gonzales' faction
 * HYDRA (mentioned)
 * Howling Commandos (mentioned)

Mentioned

 * Terrigenesis
 * Index
 * Tomas Calderon
 * Anne Weaver
 * Nick Fury
 * Hulk
 * Antoine Triplett
 * List
 * Grant Ward
 * and the
 * and the
 * and the

Trivia

 * Hunter compares himself and Coulson to and the . In the 1969 film , the Sundance Kid was portrayed by Robert Redford, who portrayed Alexander Pierce in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.