Once again, Skye has some big choices to make. The conflict between the Inhumans and the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. sure escalated quickly. First of all, who saw Jiaying's reveal as basically an evil genius coming? She killed Robert Gonzales in cold blood while they were meeting, then shot herself to make it seem as though he attacked her first. As it turns out, Raina is not the most manipulative Inhuman in Afterlife and Cal is not the most dangerous parent Skye has.
I love how calm and cool Jiaying was about that entire exchange. She clearly cares about her people and will do anything to protect them. She also knows first hand what humans are capable of when faced with enhanced individuals. However, I'm curious as to what Jiaying's engame is here. The promo for next week's episode, titled "S.O.S.," shows the Inhumans and S.H.I.E.L.D. in an all-out war. Jiaying insists that S.H.I.E.L.D. must be destroyed. In particular, the scenes between Skye and Agent May are breaking my heart. We see the two fighting and at one point Skye tells her that she is no longer welcome.
All in all, I love that this is coming back to the premise of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in a way that we didn't expect. When we met Skye in the pilot, she was a righteous civilian who was distrusting of the machine that is the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. At the end of last season, she become fully integrated as an Agent just as the organization was falling apart. Now that Coulson and Gonzalez's groups are reconciling to become "One S.H.I.E.L.D." again, Skye's loyalties have shifted.
But most importantly, what is the future of powered people in this universe? Was Robert's casual mention of Tony Stark's carelessness in Age of Ultron a subtle setup to Civil War? It really all comes down to next week's finale, which is bound to be jam-packed with action, and I couldn't be more excited.
Image: Kelsey McNeal/ABC
