- "Even if we could steal the warhead, it's probably on a timer by now, timed with their ascent."
- ―Leo Fitz
Ascension is the twenty-second and final episode of the third season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the conclusion of the Fallen Agent pod.
Synopsis[]
It's a showdown a season in the making as S.H.I.E.L.D. takes on Hive, and when his master plan is finally revealed, the team must spring into action. Who will live and who will die?
Plot[]
Hive explains to Daisy Johnson that he can no longer put her under his sway; Lash made her immune to his parasites. In anger, Johnson attacks her former master and the two Inhumans have a prolonged battle, but Hive heals easily from Johnson's stabs. She is captured and placed aboard the Zephyr One, which is flown away from the Playground.
Inside, the agents realize that the Primitives still retain the skills of the operatives they once were. Phil Coulson has his senior agents split up to secure sensitive areas of the base, such as the weapons vault and the science laboratory.
Leo Fitz and Melinda May secretly approach the plane in order to stop Hive from using the warhead. They find Johnson and soon are ambushed by Giyera. Fortunately, Fitz uses the Cloaked Gun to kill Giyera. Meanwhile, in the Playground, the Primitives attack Elena Rodriguez leaving her severely injured. Alphonso Mackenzie takes Rodriguez with Lincoln Campbell, Coulson and Radcliffe. Campbell manages to cauterize her open wound. Jemma Simmons soon discovers that the Primitives cannot see under a high temperature so she increases heating of the base.
Coulson decides to use one of their Quinjets to approach the Zephyr and help May, Fitz, and Johnson. The Quinjet arrives and Coulson uses a hologram of himself to distract Hive. When Hive discovers the trick, he destroys the hologram machine and proceeds to find the team. Campbell is attacked by Hellfire but Campbell defeats him. Unfortunately, Hellfire leaves a bomb which severely wounds him.
Johnson meets Campbell and tells him that her destiny is to kill Hive using the Quinjet as she saw in her previous vision. The team fights the Primitives on the Zephyr while Johnson goes to put the warhead into the Quinjet. When Hive enters the Quinjet, Johnson manages to fly away but she is pushed away by Campbell who takes Hive with him on the plane. The team reunites with a sad Johnson to see the Quinjet explode, killing both Hive and Campbell in the process.
Several months later, the new director of S.H.I.E.L.D. has sent Coulson and Mackenzie to capture Quake again since Johnson became a fugitive and started to act as a vigilante. Coulson is confident that today will be the day she shows up. Johnson, dressed in a jacket, hat, and long dark hair, keeps her promise made to Charles Hinton several months earlier. She meets with Polly and Robin Hinton in the square, and gives Robin the wooden robin figure her father made for her. Polly Hinton thanks her for all her help. Coulson and Mackenzie notice Johnson in the square and run to give chase. Johnson realizes that S.H.I.E.L.D. has found her and walks away to evade them. As Coulson, Mackenzie and several S.H.I.E.L.D. SUVs close in on her in a closed alley, Johnson uses her vibrational powers to lift herself off the ground in a very high jump onto a nearby roof. She manages to escape.
Holden Radcliffe has his last day of hearings and gets his name cleared of a few stipulations. Radcliffe talks to the artificial intelligence Aida he created. Using the knowledge that he has obtained from his time with Fitz and Simmons, Radcliffe has created a new program based off an old S.H.I.E.L.D. program, the Life-Model Decoy. He downloads the program into a body, telling Aida it is "her birthday".
Cast[]
Main Cast:
- Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson
- Ming-Na Wen as Melinda May
- Brett Dalton as Hive
- Chloe Bennet as Daisy Johnson/Quake
- Iain De Caestecker as Leo Fitz
- Elizabeth Henstridge as Jemma Simmons
- Henry Simmons as Alphonso Mackenzie
- Luke Mitchell as Lincoln Campbell
Guest Stars:
- John Hannah as Doctor Holden Radcliffe
- Axle Whitehead as JT James/Hellfire
- Mark Dacascos as R. Giyera
- Natalia Cordova-Buckley as Yo-Yo Rodriguez
- Lola Glaudini as Polly Hinton
- Amanda Rea as Aida (voice)
- Unknown Actress as Robin Hinton (uncredited)
Appearances[]
Locations[]
- Playground
- Washington, D.C.
- New York City, New York (newspaper)
- San Francisco, California (newspaper)
- Los Angeles, California (newspaper)
- Fargo, North Dakota (newspaper)
- Sunbury, Pennsylvania (map)
Events[]
- Inhuman Outbreak
- Battle of the Playground
- Attack on Hive (mentioned)
- Battle of Maveth (mentioned)
- Pursuit of Quake
- Collapse of the Edison Bridge (newspaper)
Items[]
- Phil Coulson's Prosthetic Hand
- Backscatter X-Ray Eye Implant
- Cloaked Gun
- S.H.I.E.L.D. Lanyard
- Shotgun-Axe
- Absolution Virus
- Asset Communication Device
- Sokovia Accords (newspaper)
Vehicles[]
Sentient Species[]
- Humans
- Inhumans
- Life-Model Decoys
- Zombies (mentioned)
Organizations[]
- S.H.I.E.L.D.
- New York Bulletin
- Los Angeles Tribune
- The Daily Courier
- San Francisco Tribune
- Strategic Scientific Reserve (logo)
- Advanced Threat Containment Unit (newspaper)
- United States Geological Survey (newspaper)
- National Guard of the United States (mentioned)
Mentioned[]
- Lash
- O'Brien
- Marshall
- Will Daniels
- Grant Ward
- Glenn Talbot
- Felix Blake
- Charles Hinton
- Calvin Zabo
- Jeffrey Mace
- Norah Houtz
- Obi-Wan Kenobi
Music[]
| Song title | Artist | Location(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Nocturne for Piano in C Sharp Minor, KK Anh. Ia, No. 6 | Joshua Bell, Michael Stern & Academy of St. Martin in the Fields |
|
Trivia[]
- While talking to Hive with a hologram, Phil Coulson jokingly makes an another reference to the movie franchise Star Wars, replicating Princess Leia's line "Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope." from Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.
- There are many similarities between the farewell of Daisy Johnson and Lincoln Campbell and the farewell of Peggy Carter and Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger.
Videos[]
