- "Your whole life – our whole lives – have been leading to this moment."
"Sorry, I don't buy into the whole "this is your destiny" thing. We're taking the Obelisk and we're leaving. There are too many lives at stake."
"You got it all wrong. Whitehall, everyone has got it all wrong. This doesn't destroy, it gives life – new life. We finally get to find out what we become." - ―Raina and Skye[src]
What They Become is the tenth episode of the second season of the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
Synopsis
Coulson and Whitehall's forces meet in an explosive confrontation that dramatically alters everyone's fates. Meanwhile, Skye discovers shocking secrets about her past.
Plot
The four HYDRA Quinjets that had received Agent 33's order to fire flew back towards the Bus to carry it out. Melinda May, anticipating the attack, ordered the passengers to buckle in while she and Antoine Triplett flew the Bus. Quickly locating cloud cover, May angled the Bus towards the ground, hoping to penetrate the clouds before HYDRA fired. Hidden in the cover, she ejected the storage pods and had Triplett cloak, rendering the Bus invisible. The HYDRA missiles targeted and destroyed the pods, leading the Quinjets to think they had destroyed the Bus.
Grant Ward, admiring how much May had taught Skye, brought her to Calvin Zabo in the HYDRA base. Zabo was elated to see the girl he named Daisy years ago, while she was repulsed to see the man that death followed no matter where he went. Zabo told Skye about his life in China with her mother, how Daniel Whitehall discovered and killed her years ago, and how he came back to find Skye gone. Skye tried to leave, but Zabo insisted that it was her destiny to be there, that she had a gift, and that he would protect her now. As Skye was trying to sort through it all, Zabo was called away to a meeting with Whitehall.
Raina stood watching the Plasma Drill punching through to the Kree City before being summoned by Whitehall.
At the meeting, Whitehall wanted to know the motives of Ward for bringing Skye to the Ponce de León Theater. Raina explained that Ward loved Skye, and was trying to show her who he really was. Whitehall forced Skye, with Agent 33 holding her at gunpoint, to touch the Diviner. Skye did, and at a nod from her father, petrified a Hydra agent with it while he killed another. Whitehall's men immediately pulled weapons, forcing them to stand down. An agent knocked Zabo out, and others tied up Skye and Ward. Whitehall administered a paralyzing device to Zabo and posted Agent 33 to keep watch over Ward. Whitehall promised that before Zabo died, he would see him experimenting on Skye. Stunned and on the floor from the paralyzing device, Zabo could do nothing as Whitehall approached his daughter. Then S.H.I.E.L.D. attacked and Whitehall and 33 left to direct the battle, leaving another agent guarding Ward.
While Phil Coulson, May, Bobbi Morse and Lance Hunter infiltrated the theater, Leo Fitz, Triplett and Jemma Simmons were tasked with placing explosives in the corners of the city. Sam Koenig was told to stay aboard the Bus in case things went wrong.
Ward used the battle to distract the guard enough for Zabo to kill him. However, Zabo would not free Ward or Skye because he did not want them to see him kill Whitehall. As Zabo sought his wife's killer, Ward freed Skye; she then shot him to pursue Zabo on her own.
Zabo found Whitehall near a staircase. As the two approached one another, Whitehall pulled out a gun, but before he could fire, Phil Coulson did, immediately killing him. Angered that his quest for revenge was lost, Zabo attacked Coulson, but Skye found the two struggling and threatened to kill her father if he did not walk away forever. Zabo agreed but promised Skye that she would come to him after her transformation for comfort. Skye apologized to Coulson for not killing Zabo, then ran off to find the Diviner and "make things right", ignoring Coulson's protests.
Skye reached the Plasma Drill, only to find it stopped and the Diviner gone. Realizing that Raina had taken it into the city, Skye jumped in after her.
Agent 33 discovered the body of Whitehall. Realizing that she had no objectives outside of Whitehall's commands, Agent 33 escaped the scene with Ward, who survived through his Bulletproof Vest.
Coulson met up with May, then persuaded her to let him follow Skye. Inside the city, Raina saw Alphonso Mackenzie, who upon seeing her carrying a Diviner, escorted her to the temple, where Skye followed. When Triplett reported to May that the bombs were set, he was told that Skye and Raina were in the city. He immediately went after them and defused the bombs, then ran to find Skye. Coulson encountered Mack and temporarily incapacitated him, trying to reach the temple before anything happened.
Inside, Raina told Skye that they were exactly where they should be. Skye tried to stop her but the Diviner floated from Raina's hand to a pedestal in the middle of the room. The stone walls surrounding the temple started to slide shut just as Triplett entered. Before any could leave, the walls closed completely. The three witnessed as the artifact opened to reveal the Terrigen Crystals within it and a mist filled the room. Skye and Raina were engulfed in a cocoon, with Skye calling to Triplett just before she was totally enveloped. Seeing no other option, Triplett kicked the crystals, causing them to shatter. As the mist lifted, he noticed that a crystal shard had been embedded in his abdomen. He looked up as he started to petrify, accepting his death.
The cocoons covering Skye and Raina started to crumble. The first thing Skye saw was the statue of Triplett, and she explosively shed her cocoon, causing an earthquake that crumbled Triplett and threatened to bring down the temple.
Elsewhere, Gordon, holding another Diviner, informed someone that he would investigate the newest transformation.
Cast
Main Cast:
- Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson
- Ming-Na Wen as Melinda May / Agent 33
- Brett Dalton as Grant Ward
- Chloe Bennet as Skye
- Iain De Caestecker as Leo Fitz
- Elizabeth Henstridge as Jemma Simmons
- Nick Blood as Lance Hunter
Guest Stars:
- Kyle MacLachlan as Doctor Calvin Zabo
- B.J. Britt as Agent Antoine Triplett
- Henry Simmons as Agent Alphonso Mackenzie
- Adrianne Palicki as Agent Bobbi Morse
- Ruth Negga as Raina
- Reed Diamond as Daniel Whitehall
- Maya Stojan as Kara Palamas/Agent 33 (voice only)
- Patton Oswalt as Agent Sam Koenig / Agent Billy Koenig
- Carlos Rivera Marchand as Diego
- Jamie Harris as Gordon
- Hunter Seagroves as HYDRA Agent
- Craig Baxley, Jr. as HYDRA Soldier #3
Appearances
Locations
- San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Afterlife
- China (mentioned)
- Playground (mentioned)
Events
Items
- Holocom
- S.H.I.E.L.D. Lanyard
- Words of Creation
- Photostatic Veil
- Diviner
- Control Device
- Plasma Drill
- Bulletproof Vest
- Terrigen Crystals
- D.W.A.R.F.s (mentioned)
Vehicles
Sentient Species
Creatures
- Ants (mentioned)
Organizations
- S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Theta Protocol (mentioned)
- HYDRA
- Howling Commandos (mentioned)
Mentioned
Trivia
To be added
Music
| Song title | Artist | Location(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two) | Harry Dacre |
|
Videos
