Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. “Best Laid Plans” was written by George Kitson and was directed by Garry A Brown. The action takes place on two fronts as Mack (Henry Simmons), Yo-Yo (Natalia Cordova-Buckley), and Flint (Coy Stewart) lead the fight against Kasius (Dominic Rains) with the other humans, and the rest of the team work on getting them all home so that they can prevent the destruction of the earth in the first place.
Mack maintains his caution while Yo-Yo and Flint get cocky. Mack knows that Kasius won’t be easy to defeat. Kasius is determined to remind the humans that he is their God. And the return of Tess (Eve Harlow) from the dead would seem to prove that.
Enoch (Joel Stoffer) questions Coulson (Clark Gregg) about how Flint is going to help. Coulson explains that they have a monolith shard, and Flint’s gift should allow him to find the pieces of the monolith and put it back together. They need to get back to the Lighthouse for Flint, but Enoch is determined that they need to take shelter from the growing gravity storm – but it could last for several weeks! I’m really enjoying Stoffer as the long suffering Enoch!
The entire team works to get the Zephyr ready to fly – but Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) declares her a mess after 80 years on the surface. Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) is happy to get avionics back on line – but it doesn’t last long. Enoch keeps insisting they get to the caves. Daisy (Chloe Bennet) tells him they aren’t just going to let their friends die.
There’s a nice scene between Coulson and May (Ming-Na Wen) as he tries to help her deal with Rose’s death – and having been a mother to her. May’s biggest difficulty is in believing that she could be a mom – but hasn’t she always been the Mom of the team? I loved Daisy jumping in to second Coulson’s faith in May being a great mom. After all, she’s got the mom-face down pat!
Coulson has left Voss’s (Michael McGrady) fate up to Deke (Jeff Ward). Voss points out that there were two ways to look at what to do when the team arrived. Deke’s father thought they’d have a grand plan to save the world, while Voss was convinced that killing them would stop the events from happening. Both would seem to be equally plausible. Voss insists that it was self-defense when he killed his father. Voss tells Deke they can finish it – by killing the people upstairs.
Deke can’t shoot Voss – as Voss points out, Deke is no killer. He tells Deke to just let Kasius have Quake – it solves all their problems.
In the Lighthouse, Yo-Yo teaches Flint how to shoot, but Mack doesn’t want Flint in the line of fire. Flint insists that he can help. Yo-Yo tells Mack that Flint can handle himself and has already killed. Mack doesn’t want him to get a taste for it, but Yo-Yo doesn’t see the problem if he kills the bad guys. Mack points out that Flint isn’t a soldier. Yo-Yo insists that they can teach the others to fight, but Mack points out that these people don’t know how to fight for each other – too many ways it can go sideways. Mack tells her that they need a plan, not a mob.
Everyone is shocked when Tess shows up as Kasius’ mob. She certainly looks like a zombie, but is she? Is she back the same way Coulson was, and what would that mean for her long term? Tess tells them that she doesn’t feel the same. Flint asks if it’s magic, and Yo-Yo tells him that S.H.I.E.L.D. dealt with something like it before. Tess says that Kasius said he “smothered the fires of death with the blood of the eternal” – and it sure sounds like Tahiti all over again!
Yo-Yo apologizes to Tess for taking Flint – and getting her killed, but Tess says she would have done the same thing – if she had power. Flint just wants to go down and kill them all – but Mack tells him no. I love Mack calling him Pebbles! Wait until Flint (Flinstones – Pebbles) finds out who Pebbles actually is! A girl! Yo-Yo wants to go in too, maintaining that Kasius is just a man, despite Tess insisting he’s a God. Mack shuts Yo-Yo down too – he’s doing his best to protect everyone, and is it just me or is this a lot more bloodthirsty than Yo-Yo has been in the past?
Tess also tells them that Kasius has threatened to end the human race with the push of a button. She also tells them that he wants Flint and everything that he needs to keep breeding Inhumans and every child older than 10 and motivation for the Destroyer of Worlds – ie Mack and Yo-Yo as bait for Daisy.
There’s a great scene between Daisy and Coulson as Coulson is recharging his hand. He’s eager to get Simmons to remove Daisy’s inhibitor so that she gets her powers back, but Daisy is not so sure. She suggests that maybe they don’t get her powers back. Coulson points out that they need her at full strength, and Daisy says he has her – as an Agent. She doesn’t think they can take the chance – if she isn’t Quake, she can’t be the Destroyer of Worlds.
It was a thing of beauty to have Fitz and Simmons back working together and working through the problem of the Zephyr. They discover that the ship is using gravitonium – and it’s everywhere. The two muse that that must be how the planet is able to maintain atmosphere and stay together – but may also be what cracked it apart. Fitz realizes that they did the system in the past, and Simmons continues that they knew how to do it because they’d seen it already. Fitz is distraught – it’s a time loop and they are doomed to fail. But Simmons says that if they did it, it’s proof they made it back!
The gravity storm gets worse, and Deke joins the others on the flight deck. He tells Coulson that Voss is still with them because he knows things that they don’t. May tries to take off now that the systems are back online. The engines blow out when the gravity anchors don’t let go. Enoch is ready to bug out to the caves.
Tess urges them to give Kasius what he wants and Flint and Yo-Yo are still eager to go after him. Mack is adamant, however. Mack is working off the “push of a button” remark. He figures Kasius will simply cut off their oxygen, and Mack finds a bomb hardwired to the O2 lines – they’ll all burn. There must be hundreds of them on all the floors.
Deke and Daisy catch up as they are trying to bug out of the Zephyr. Daisy tells Deke she’s glad he’s finally getting a handle on being a good guy – her proof? He didn’t kill Voss. She tells him that killing is never the better option. But then Voss has him thinking about killing Daisy – or worse, turning her over to Kasius. Deke says maybe if killing is the option that costs fewer lives it’s ok. Shouldn’t he be able to pull the trigger if that person is a threat? She thinks he’s talking about Voss, but he’s clearly talking about her.
Coulson goes to get Voss, who thinks he’s there to kill him, but Coulson is just sending him to the caves. Voss thinks Coulson is weak and unable to do what needs to be done, but he doesn’t know Coulson at all. Coulson wants to know why Voss is so sure that they caused the Earth’s destruction. Voss tells him history: there was a light in the sky – people said aliens. S.H.I.E.L.D. tried to stop in and brought hell to earth. Robin said that was the start and then Daisy finished it. I still think that this is going to have something to do with Thanos or Loki coming to earth… Voss tries again to push Deke to kill Daisy, and when Coulson tells Deke to head to the caves, Deke tells Coulson he’s come this far and needs to see it through.
Mack tells the other humans that they have to meet Kasius’ demands – it will take too long to defuse all the bombs. Naturally, the humans aren’t happy. Yo-Yo points out that even if they do, they can’t trust Kasius to hold up his end of the bargain. They want to fight! Mack tells them that he and Yo-Yo are turning themselves over to Kasius. They are hoping that they can get close enough to kill him – and free their children that way.
There’s a nice scene between Flint and Tess. He doesn’t want her to go back; he doesn’t want to lose her again. But she won’t let him hide her. Mack and Yo-Yo also leave him, telling him to look after the humans.
Simmons is the one to figure out a solution! They cut the ground anchors and let the gravity storm lift them up until they can use the space thrusters – which are apparently separate from the engines – and then fly straight to the Lighthouse. I adored Fitz and Simmons back in their old groove, finishing each other’s sentences!
As the last humans head to the cave, Sinara (Florence Faivre) enters the Zephyr.
Tess returns to Kasius with a message from Mack – a vial of blood and terragenesis crystal. If Kasius doesn’t come to meet them, they will burn his ability to create another Inhuman with “a push of a button.” Seems like surrender was NOT the plan!
Things get rough on the Zephyr – and we get more Mom-faces from May when Coulson is hit and injured by a falling ceiling panel. Enoch continues to be a great source of humor too! When the anchors are stuck, Daisy goes to fix it, and Deke follows her to “help.”
Mack has a plan, but he’s worried that Yo-Yo won’t keep her head. Mack needs to see how Kasius detonates the bombs – so he can diffuse them – so he needs to keep everything calm. Kasius is just the kind of bully/villain who pushes Yo-Yo’s buttons. Mack continues to worry about Flint and how much they put on him, but Yo-Yo is sure that Flint is up to the challenge.
Mack is a bit surprised by Kasius – after all, he’s not the linebacker type Kree we’re used to! It is a bit disturbing that he recognizes Yo-Yo and finds it curious to see her – what does that mean? Yo-Yo assures Kasius that they aren’t afraid of bullies like him. It would seem that Kasius gained control by trading Inhumans for humans – he’s gotten ahead by people turning on each other.
This scene – and the confrontation – is nicely played out in parallel against Daisy and Sinara fighting – and the potential for Deke to turn on Daisy. I loved that the ship takes off in the middle of the fight which then ends up as a gravity/no gravity fight!
It seems like the ship is going to shake apart or crash before they can get high enough to engage the thrusters. I loved Simmons declaring it a terrible idea and apologizing!
Back at the Lighthouse, Yo-Yo taunts Kasius at being on the other end of the hard choices, but he is still confident that Sinara will bring him the destroyer. And it looks like Sinara is in fact winning. Deke comes through and distracts Sinara just as she’s about to kill Daisy.
May finally gets control of the ship, and Daisy skewers Sinara on a pipe. Enoch declares their plan sound and May and Coulson exchange a satisfied look.
Kasius finally taunts Yo-Yo into losing her temper. She tells him he’s not a God or a Devil – he’s just a sad little blue man. Mack is worried. And then Flint shows up – he’s done what he was supposed to do – and now wants to fight. Kasius produces the detonator and tells them to pay or play. Yo-Yo tries to zoom in to get it, but Kasius is ready for her with a force-field.
Kasius is furious, telling them they brought it on themselves. He pushes the detonator, but it doesn’t work the way he thinks it will – it blows level 25! All the humans worked together and moved the bombs. Then they moved up out of Kasius’ reach! Mack and the others blow up the Inhuman samples and make their own escape!
Daisy raises Mack on the radio. He’s hoping that Coulson has a plan. I loved poor Deke not wanting to break up the piece of the monolith – it’s a family heirloom! Meanwhile, Kasius seems to know exactly what’s going on. He knows the team is on its way because he has his own seer!! I have a very bad feeling about this. My guess? He has one of the team that he’s resurrected from the dead – is that why he recognized Yo-Yo? Remember her going rogue last week??
What did you think of the episode? Great fight scene, right? Another great, fast paced episode, and I really loved the parallel structures. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Favorite Lines!
Gunner: How does a guy named “Gunner” end up throwing rocks?
Yo-Yo: For the record? I like Rebel-Peacemaker Mack too. He’s sexy!
Yo-Yo: Smile Turtleman. We did good.
Coulson: You’ve been saying that… kind of on repeat.
May: Zephyr flies again, Metal-man!
Enoch: I am mostly plastic alloy, and chronicoms do not have gender.
Enoch: Plastics are quite useful… if not often appreciated.
Daisy: Yeah. You’d be that no phone, no tv, 7:30 curfew kinda mom. You’re kind of proving my point with the face.
Mack: Pump the brakes, Pebbles.
Yo-Yo: Then I’ll kill him again. It wouldn’t be the strangest thing I’ve done!
Fitz: It had to be gravitonium.
Yo-Yo: Zip, zip. I chop his head off! Done!
Coulson: Clearly you haven’t read my file.
May: More observing. Less sharing.
Yo-Yo: Yes. I remember your many stern warnings.
Mack: I gotta say, that’s not what I pictured.
Yo-Yo: Says the space-mime.
Enoch: If I had a stomach, the vomiting would begin now.
Mack: Tess said you were a slow talker, so we kinda leaned into that.
Mack: Oh no. Ass-kickings just begun!
