1.14.2014

Television: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., "The Seed"

In which we get to visit the Science & Technology campus of S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy and also learn more about Skye's origins.

A Story: A weird happening at the Science Academy, in which an indoor pool suddenly froze over, sends Fitz & Simmons back to school to give a lecture on how science is both exciting and dangerous, kiddies! Grant and Skye go along for the ride and try to determine which of the students might be a "bad seed"—that is, which one might have left the device in the pool's filter.

B Story: May and Coulson go to Mexico City to track down Richard Lumley, the agent who had been working with the late Agent Avery, who was herself the one to drop Skye at the orphanage before being murdered.

A Story: The weird loner is, of course, the one who did it. Look, I could go through all the little plot points, but let's get down to brass tacks. This Donnie kid was at the pool when it happened, and then during Fitz & Simmons's lecture he is frozen by a second device under his seat. Um . . . Lowest common denominator = Donnie as the link. So of course he attacks himself to make it look like he's being targeted. Duh.

He's not entirely a loner, however; a more popular but less brainy student (and one supposes at S.H.I.E.L.D. Sci-Tech "less brainy" is relative, but whatever) has been egging Donnie on because he wants to sell this freeze gun or ray or whatever to that awful Ian Quinn guy. Remember him? But they needed to lure Fitz & Simmons back to campus because they needed help with the power source. So they planned the attacks for that reason.

Whole thing ends with a massive hail storm and Donnie's friend dying. Donnie ends up jaded . . . And also with the power to freeze things? (Apparently he goes on to become "Blizzard"? Just makes me want Dairy Queen . . .)

B Story: After catching up to Richard Lumley in Lola (that's the flying car), May and Coulson get the scoop on Skye. Namely, that she's an 0-8-4 with some kind of power(s). And that a lot of people died to protect her, moving her from place to place (hence all the foster families) . . . What does that make her? Supergirl? (Yes, I know that's D.C., but you see what I mean: some kind of "alien" with powers.) So now instead of looking for Skye's parents, we're looking to discover who or what she really is and is capable of. I guess. Kudos at least for not dragging out the lost parents search indefinitely.

Coulson and May release Lumley back into hiding, and May tells Coulson he can't tell Skye the truth. But having just been bit by a big fat S.H.I.E.L.D. lie himself, he's unwilling to lie to Skye in turn. So he tells her.

So wait. This episode, when boiled down, was the origin stories of Blizzard and Skye. Someone has weather on the brain . . . (Is she called Skye because she came from the sky? Maybe? Just a guess.)

Oh, and Ian Quinn is in contact with our elusive Clairvoyant. Is that meant to thicken the plot? And if this Clairvoyant is really clairvoyant, doesn't s/he know about Skye? Wouldn't s/he want to get hold of her? Seems like the kind of thing the Clairvoyant would find use for. Someone with untapped powers, that is.

I dunno. Just thinking (typing?) aloud here. And still really wanting Dairy Queen.

ETA: It occurs to me that, back in the day, if one wanted help from a luminary, one might just write to them. Instead of, you know, luring them somewhere and tricking them and whatever. I mean, would an e-mail to Fitz have been so difficult? Just saying.

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