- "People believe what they need to believe to justify their actions."
"Is that how you justify your shoot first policy? At least let me try to repair that damage." - ―Melinda May and Skye
Repairs is the ninth episode of the first season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Synopsis[]
Coulson and his team are haunted by a ghost that threatens to destroy them all, and only a secret from May's past can save them.
Plot[]
In a Roxxon Gas Station mini-mart in Batesville, Utah, Hannah Hutchins tries to purchase a few groceries, only to be blamed by the cashier for the death of Frank Delacourt. Feeling intimidated, Hutchins tries to leave, but the angry man will not let her. Things begin to fly off the shelves. The two then hear something break outside the store, and the man goes to investigate. Fearing what would happen, Hutchins hides behind a shelf, clutching her cross necklace and muttering prayers to God. An explosion is heard, and fire surrounds the building.
Meanwhile, back at the hotel Coulson's Team is staying at, Melinda May receives a text on her cell phone of a mission before Grant Ward walks in from the bathroom. He asks if there were any specifics, to which she answers no. Back at the Bus, Phil Coulson and Skye discuss Hutchins who was the safety inspector at StatiCorp. Skye asks Coulson about Hutchins and her alleged powers. He tells her telekinetic powers are unheard of on the Index. The team travels to Batesville to conduct an index asset evaluation and intake. Civilians had crowded around Hutchins's house, demanding that she be arrested. Coulson's team and the police are unable to calm the citizens, leading to May's having to sedate Hutchins.
Leo Fitz, Jemma Simmons and agent James Davis head to Staticorp to gather data using their D.W.A.R.F.s. They discuss the idea of people with telekinetic powers and Fitz remembers a prank pulled on Simmons at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, they then decide to prank Skye. In the interrogation room on the Bus, Coulson and May enter. Hutchins stirs awake and starts backing up into the wall, scared. Coulson tries to appear friendly, and gives her a bottle of water and introduces himself and May. While the activities with Hutchins are going on, Fitz-Simmons begin their prank on Skye. After Fitz refers to May as "the Cavalry", Skye inquires as to where the name came from. Fitz and Simmons begin the phony story of May, saying that she crossed off over 100 heavily armed assassins with two pistols, after riding in on a horse. Skye is doubtful at first but eventually falls for it.
Apparently, Hutchins had been receiving complaints for weeks about the coupling assembly coming loose at the bolts. Tobias Ford had been the technician there. Coulson informs her that they believe she may have acquired some sort of telekinetic ability as a result of the accident. Hutchins breaks down as she realizes they thought it was her who was causing the freak accidents. Hutchins insists that they were not her doing, and Coulson asks who was causing it if it wasn't her. After hesitation, she admits to believing demons are haunting her because God does not protect her anymore. Out in the briefing room, Coulson and his team discuss Hutchins. Skye begs Coulson to let her talk to Hutchins as a friend, but Coulson denies her request, saying it was too dangerous. Later, Skye talks about May with Ward, referencing the story that Fitz-Simmons told her about May. He corrects her, saying that there were twenty assassins, not a hundred, and May crossed them off alone with one pistol. He adds that there were no horses involved. Ward starts to clean up after the sandwich he had prepared and discovers the knife is missing.
Simmons examines a Holotable image of the coupling from the Staticorp explosion. Fitz sneaks up behind her in a gas mask in an attempt to scare her, but she is not the least bit startled. After a brief quarrel over their prank on Skye, Fitz heads off to find some spare couplings to run simulations. In the lounge of the Bus, Skye has pulled up some information about Tobias Ford, which she shares with Ward. Apparently previous to his death at the explosion, Ford had filed three safety complaints, all in Miss Hutchins' department. Fitz searches a closet for couplings, but instead finds a mop, which he intends to use for another prank.
Fiddling with the Holotable image, Simmons uncovers a landscape image and is sent into awe. She tries to ask Fitz what they were seeing, but instead of Fitz answering, Ford appears and growls that the image is of Hell, and proceeds to try to strike Simmons with a wrench. Simmons is able to dodge, and the wrench shatters the holotable. After hearing her scream, Coulson comes running in, with Ford gone. Frightened, Simmons tells Coulson that Hutchins had been telling the truth and that there is someone else on this plane. Elsewhere, Ford appears, and rips some wall cables, cutting the plane's power, and causing it to go down. May manages to land the plane without anyone getting hurt. The team gathers and establishes that Miss Hutchins is indeed the victim. Skye asks once again for permission to talk to Hutchins, and Coulson finally agrees. Before the team disperses, Simmons realizes they do not know the whereabouts of Fitz.Fitz is locked in a closet, and calling out for someone to answer him, still thinking it is a prank pulled by Simmons. Glancing at the floor, he finds a work tool wedged beneath the door. He removes it and lets himself out. He travels down a hallway and finally runs into Simmons and Ward.
Outside the cage, Skye approaches Hutchins from outside the wall of her containment space. She introduces herself as a friend and has an encouraging talk with the girl. Hutchins asks Skye if she believes in God. Skye answers that she doesn't. Hutchins says she does, and that God is punishing her. May interrupts their moment by volunteering to stand guard. Fitz-Simmons and Ward agree that this ghost is stuck between worlds, after discussing the portals between the nine realms. After Ward leaves Fitz-Simmons alone to fix the wrecked wires, Ford appears and pushes the two scientists into a closet. Ford then attacks Ward. In Coulson's office, Coulson sets Skye straight about May's past. It was not an assault or a rescue. It was an index asset evaluation and intake that went south. A civilian girl and some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were being held captive by the followers of the gifted individual. May had gone in to retrieve them and took it upon herself to cross off the enemy force. Coulson says that May was never the same after that incident. He describes her to be previously warm and mischievous, much like Skye.
Their talk is interrupted by Ford, who locks Skye and Coulson in the office. Coulson has to construct a makeshift bomb out of his collectible Walkie-Talkie Wristwatch, much to his own dismay. Later, May makes her way through the plane and Ford sneaks up behind her. She quickly flees the scene and steals Hutchins away from the Bus and into an old barn. May uses Hutchins as bait to lure Ford out, where a fight between her and the man commences. May is eventually saved by Hutchins' telling Ford to stand down. Ford tearfully admits to Hutchins that it had been him who loosened the couplings because that meant she would go and see him, and it was the best part of his day. He insists he never intended for anyone to get hurt, even after his death, he claimed to be trying to protect Hutchins. He begs her to forgive him so that he would not go to Hell, but she responds that only God could forgive him. May then told Ford that he had to let her go. Ford sadly lets himself drift away, releasing Hutchins. Soon after, the rest of Coulson's team arrives at the scene. Skye comforts Hutchins, and Coulson asks May what she said to Ford. She answers that it was the same words he told her in Bahrain.
Back on the Bus, Skye heads over to the cockpit, where May is preparing for takeoff. Skye asks if she could keep her company. May remains silent, which Skye takes as a yes, and watches in awe as the plane rises from the ground, using jets on the underside of the engines.Later, Coulson, Skye, Ward, and Simmons play "Upwords" in the lounge. Their game is cut off by Fitz walking into the lounge, shaving cream covering his face and hand. The team bursts out laughing. Fitz demands to know who pulled the prank on him, but all the agents in the lounge deny it. May smirks knowingly from the cockpit.
Cast[]
Main Cast:
- Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson
- Ming-Na Wen as Melinda May
- Brett Dalton as Grant Ward
- Chloe Bennet as Skye
- Iain De Caestecker as Leo Fitz
- Elizabeth Henstridge as Jemma Simmons
Guest Stars:
- Robert Baker as Tobias Ford
- Laura Seay as Hannah Hutchins
- Christopher Gehrman as Taylor
- Josh Clark as Roger
- Mickey Maxwell as Officer
- Beth Kennedy as Martha
- Max Osinski as Agent James Davis
- Unknown Actor as Jack Benson (uncredited)
- Unknown Actor as Frank Delacourt (uncredited)
- Unknown Actor as Arlene Willoughby (uncredited)
Appearances[]
Locations[]
- Batesville, Utah
- Dublin, Ireland
- Manama, Bahrain (mentioned)
- London, England (mentioned)
- Fridge (mentioned)
- S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy (mentioned)
- Saint Agnes Orphanage (indirectly mentioned)
- S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters (mentioned)
- Hell Dimension
Events[]
- Rescue of Hannah Hutchins
- Rescue in Bahrain (mentioned)
- Convergence (mentioned)
- Battle of Greenwich (mentioned)
Items[]
- D.W.A.R.F.s
- Night-Night Gun
- Holocom
- Holotable
- Golden Retrievers
- Walkie-Talkie Wristwatch
- Tracking Bracelet
- Yummy O's
- Particle Accelerator (mentioned)
- Bible (mentioned)
Concepts[]
Vehicles[]
- Bus
- L.O.L.A.
- S.H.I.E.L.D. SUV
- Ark (mentioned)
Sentient Species[]
Creatures[]
Organizations[]
- S.H.I.E.L.D.
- HYDRA
- Roxxon Corporation
- The Batesville Clarion
- Batesville Police Department
- Batesville Fire Department (mentioned)
- United States Department of Energy (mentioned)
- IRS (mentioned)
Mentioned[]
Trivia[]
- The Scrabble board in the end scenes shows the words "strange" and "tales." Strange Tales is the comic book where Nick Fury debuted.
- The barn used in the scene where Melinda May takes Hannah Hutchins is known as the "Pee-Wee Barn", as it was constructed for the comedy Big Top Pee-wee in 1985 inside Disney's Golden Oak Ranch, in Newhall, California. The barn was previously used in episode FZZT.
Music[]
Song title | Artist | Location(s) |
---|---|---|
Two of You | Brian Keane |
|