The hunt for the Inhuman known as Lash, who has been terrorizing Agents and fellow Inhumans on the sidelines of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., finally came to a close in Tuesday's episode. Daisy learned in a previous episode that the Inhuman was able to transform into an ordinary human. Surprise! May's ex-husband Andrew Garner is Lash on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the emotional fallout from this betrayal is probably going to rival the Ward-is-Hydra reveal from way back in Season 1.
Daisy and Mack figured out that, based on Lash's movements and knowledge of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s whereabouts, it was likely that Lash was a member of the Advanced Threat Containment Unit. What they didn't consider was that he could have been working with S.H.I.E.L.D. instead. Personally, I was on team "Rosalind is Lash," and the creepy things we learned about how the ATCU is keeping Inhumans did not hurt my theory. Coulson encouraged Daisy to continue looking into it, as long as Rosalind was kept in the dark. They identified Rosalind's lackey Banks as a potential. However, Simmons ran a blood sample, and determined that he had no Inhuman genetic markers. Unsurprisingly, Banks was a red herring.
Daisy was interested in why she was spared from Lash's attack, and asked Andrew Garner for his opinion. He dodged the question, which was our first clue Andrew might be Lash. Of course, Andrew clearly likes Daisy and that's probably why she was safe. In the middle of the episode, Daisy, Mack, and Hunter were tracking the red herring Lash, while both Simmons and Coulson were with other options. Yet, it was the fourth mission of the episode, the one where May and Bobbi went after Ward, that finally revealed Lash's true identity. Young Werner Von Strucker, who tried to kill Garner under Ward's orders, told May what really happened at the gas station. Hydra's attack was unsuccessful because Garner, er, "Lash"-ed out.
I have a few questions about this new information. When did Andrew Garner first become Lash? Was he an Inhuman who transformed in, and perhaps escaped from, Afterlife? Or did this happen recently, as a result of the Terrigen fish pills? If that's the case, it's one heck of a coincidence. Andrew Garner studies "gifted" individuals on the S.H.I.E.L.D. index, meaning people with powers. Maybe he is an older Inhuman from another planet. Also, he seemed to be in pain mid-transformation, so is this like a werewolf or a Hulk thing where he can't control his alternate identity? The fact that he was asking for Lincoln's whereabouts is suspicious, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. While Andrew Garner's Inhuman identity truly sucks for Melinda, I'm somewhat glad that this mysterious figure ended up having a personal connection to the team. That way, we actually care what happens to him next on Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Image: Kelsey McNeal/ABC
