Seeds

Seeds is the twelfth episode of the first season of the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..

Synopsis
Coulson and May uncover startling information about Skye's past, while the team is swept into a storm at a S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy of Science and Technology.

Plot
While at a S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, Ward, Fitz, Simmons, and Skye investigated an attack upon students which was perpetrated with a freezing device, a device that could instantly freeze people and their surroundings.

During their time there, another freezing machine went off, freezing cadet Donnie Gill, though the agents were able to save him. While the rest of the team was interrogating the other cadets, Fitz got to know Donnie, seeing much of himself in him and helping him solve a problem with a new power source Donnie had invented.

The team learned that Donnie and his fellow cadet Seth Dormer were the minds behind the freezing machines and that the power source Fitz helped him perfect was for a larger version of it.

Meanwhile, Coulson and May headed to Mexico City to find a former agent named Richard Lumley, who told them of a mission 24 years earlier involving an 0-8-4, which turned out to be Skye. He warned them that she was dangerous, as many agents, including his partner, Linda Avery, died trying to protect her.

After meeting with the rest of the team, Coulson related what Lumley revealed to Skye, who was devastated at the revelation.

Donnie and Seth activated the larger device, causing a huge ice storm that Seth hoped would impress Ian Quinn, for whom Seth's father worked for as a lawyer at Quinn Worldwide. After realizing his mistake, Donnie attempted to shut it down, but a bolt of lightning destroyed the machine and put Seth in cardiac arrest.

May told Coulson about her sexual relationship with Ward; Coulson said he trusted her to comport herself responsibly, but added that, if it became a problem...to which she responded she would break it off.

The team apprehended Donnie but was unable to save Seth's life. On his way to the Sandbox for observation, Donnie realized that the explosion of the freezing device gave him cryogenic abilities.

Ian Quinn received a call from Coulson warning him that if his aircraft flew over any country that was a S.H.I.E.L.D. ally, it would be shot down. Before hanging up, Quinn gave Coulson a message that the Clairvoyant said "hello".

Cast
Main Cast:
 * Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson
 * Ming-Na Wen as Agent Melinda May
 * Brett Dalton as Agent Grant Ward
 * Chloe Bennet as Skye
 * Iain De Caestecker as Agent Leo Fitz
 * Elizabeth Henstridge as Agent Jemma Simmons

Guest Stars:
 * Dylan Minnette as Donnie Gill
 * David Conrad as Ian Quinn
 * Daniel Zovatto as Seth Dormer
 * Christine Adams as Agent Anne Weaver
 * Maiara Walsh as Callie Hannigan
 * Boyd Kestner as Richard Lumley
 * Zachary Burr Abel as Tad (uncredited)

Locations

 * Mexico City, Mexico
 * Seychelles
 * S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy
 * Science and Technology Division
 * Hunan, China (mentioned)
 * Newark, New Jersey (mentioned)
 * Singapore (mentioned)
 * Lima, Peru (mentioned)
 * The Sandbox (mentioned)
 * Saint Agnes Orphanage (mentioned)

Items

 * Atmospheric Moisture Freezing Device
 * Wall of ValorWallOfValor.jpg
 * Ionized Air Cannon
 * Holocom
 * Cyanide Pills

Vehicles

 * The Bus
 * Lola
 * S.H.I.E.L.D. SUV
 * Ian Quinn's Private Jet

Organizations

 * S.H.I.E.L.D.
 * Quinn Worldwide
 * Strategic Scientific Reserve (mentioned)
 * HYDRA
 * Centipede Project (mentioned)
 * A.I.M. (mentioned)

Mentioned

 * Bucky Barnes
 * Agent Linda Avery
 * Director Nick Fury
 * Professor Vaughn
 * The Clairvoyant
 * 0-8-4 (Code)

Trivia

 * Donnie Gill, in the Mainstream Marvel Comics, is the Supervillain known as Blizzard who has a suit that can allow him to generate and control extreme cold and ice.
 * Bucky Barnes' name is listed on the Wall of Valor and noticed by Skye.
 * The Wall of Valor in the Science and Technology Academy uses different designs of the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo. These logos have been featured in the comics over the years, except for the Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR) logo which was designed as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe continuity.