
One of the unfortunate results of the month-long break imposed on Agents of SHIELD by the Olympics and whatever else, is that I, hand to God, had completely forgotten that Skye had been shot. That? Is not good.
Now, in my defense, had it been, say, Simmons who had been gut-shot by Quinn and was hovering between life and death, I’d be lighting candles in a homemade shrine and preparing to rend my yoga pants and second-favorite hoodie out of grief, because I love Simmons like I love puppies and mojitos.
Which is probably why it rang a little false to me when Coulson told the doctor who had just informed him of Skye’s imminent passing, “We’re her family.” While it is certainly in Joss Whedon’s wheelhouse to take a rag-tag little group of individuals and have them gel into a sort of dysfunctional little family unit, that sort of thing takes time, or more distinctive personalities.
Simply telling us that the group is a family isn’t enough. We haven’t seen enough non-SHIELD related interaction between the principals for me to buy that. When did all this family bonding go on? Was there a trip to Disneyland that I missed? The Twins are sweet and they’d love anyone who was brought in and didn’t bully them. Coulson has that weird parental thing going on with Skye that I don’t quite understand, but, ok, I’ll buy it. But Ward and May are planks of wood. If they’re a family, it’s of the, “Go to the shed and get me the switch, boy. You know what you done,” variety.
In the “anything for family” sentiment, Coulson decides to take Skye to the facility where he was ‘treated’ (where men and women of science broke the laws of God and man) so she can suffer just the way he did when he was actively begging to die? Thanks, Dad! I get that he was dead. Really dead. Heart ripped asunder dead, and Skye is simply hovering that fine line between life and death, but come on, this is some moral grey area we’re working in.

The best part of this decision is that it brings the wonderful Bill Paxton (Big Love) as Agent John Garret into our lives (If you haven’t yet seen Tombstone, go, do it now. You’ll thank me). Garret is dispatched to retrieve Quinn when Coulson ignores a direct order to bring him in. I don’t care why he’s there, as long as he sticks around.
Garret is surprisingly amenable to leaving Quinn in Coulson’s custody, after he hears that Quinn shot Skye. I think he just wanted to beat the guy senseless and didn’t really care where he got to do it, as long as it got done.
Turns out I was wrong when I said I thought Quinn shot Skye to make Coulson suffer, but I was right when I said he gut-shot her so she wouldn’t die right away (go me!). The Clairvoyant, whom/whatever that is, aside from something I’m officially sick of, can’t see what happened to Coulson (because he was dead?) so it ordered Quinn to shoot Skye, knowing Coulson would lead it right to where he was treated, then the Clairvoyant would have the secret of bringing things back from the dead. Because that’s something you want in a Super-Villain. But, you know, it’s for family.

There’s a pretty high cost to saving Skye’s life, or bringing her back from the brink of death, or whatever it is that happens after you resuscitate someone half a dozen times then inject her with a mystery drug. Two men were killed at the non-SHIELD facility where the Twins discovered Coulson had been treated, and it was all considered just the price of doing business.
The facility itself is now buried under hundreds of feet of rock and rubble, after the team had at least the foresight to destroy it, so anything useful to the Clairvoyant is now dust.
Included in that pile of rock is the big, blue, half alien (I think it’s alien) floating in a container and having massive amounts of the same drug given to Coulson, and now Skye, pumped into its body. And when I say, ‘half alien,’ I don’t mean like Spock. I mean ‘half’, like only a torso. It’s as if they were trying to grow the rest of him, whomever was in charge of the project named T.A.H.I.T.I. (The Alien Hybrid In Turkey Initiative? That’s all I got. The soldiers at the facility mentioned Istanbul, so…)
And now that same drug is in Skye, who is an 084, so who knows how it’s going to affect her. You get the idea that thought ran through Coulson’s mind as he tried to stop Simmons from giving her the drug. It has to do something, or else that whole exercise was just pointless, and I don’t want it to be pointless. Welcome to the family, New Skye. Try not to get shot again.
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC.
Related posts
Classics
George R. Olson, Tim Rozon, and Sarah Levy Talk the SurrealEstate S2 Finale
[Spoilers for the SurrealEstate Season 2 finale.] How’s everyone doing after the finale? As we close out the second season of SurrealEstate, some of our merry band of misfits are scattering to the winds–Zooey to law school, Phil to the Vatican, and Augie back to his think tank with Rochelle,…
Previewing SurrealEstate Season 2 Finale + Revisiting the Season with George R. Olson
[Warning; General spoilers ahead.] Strap in, SurrealEstate fam, because we’ve arrived at the Season 2 finale, and it’s a doozy. As we saw in the closing moments of last week’s episode, Susan is back. But because we have one more episode left, it’s not as simple as all that, as…
Tyler Hynes Talks Through His Eight-Film Hallmark Holiday Library
Things you realize when you have to re-record your shows on a new DVR – just how many Hallmark movies your people have done. Fan favorite – and one of ours – Tyler Hynes has done eight Christmas movies for Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries since 2018. Alongside…
Spencer Creaghan Talks About Creating SurrealEstate’s Signature Sound
SurrealEstate is winding down its second season, with two episodes left, and just as in Season 1, Spencer Creaghan’s music continues to be a character unto itself. And every week, he shares tidbits with the fans via his s social media channels, something he started to help give them an…
Andrew Walker Talks Christmas Island and the Magical Hallmark Community
[Warning: Spoilers for Christmas Island.] Now that the Screen Actors Guild strike has been resolved, we’re able to resume regularly scheduled programming and interview our favorites and yours. Up first, earlier today, I spoke with Andrew Walker about Christmas Island, which premiered last weekend and encores tonight and through the…
George Olson and Danishka Esterhazy Talk SurrealEstate “I Put a Spell on You”
[Warning: Spoilers for the episode.] Tonight’s fun new SurrealEstate found Luke caught up in an especially bewitching woman, Kay, played by Tara Yelland, Susan trapped in her house, and Zooey learning the ropes. In the next part of my conversation with showrunner George R. Olson and producing director Danishka Esterhazy,…
Danishka Esterhazy Talks SurrealEstate: “The Butler Didn’t”
[Warning: General spoilers for the episode]. Tonight’s new SurrealEstate, “The Butler Didn’t,” follows the team as they investigate the years-earlier mysterious death of a woman whose ghost now reenacts her hanging by dropping over the banister from the second floor to terrify anyone on the landing or at the bottom…
Scott McCord and Elizabeth Saunders Talk the From Season 2 finale
[Warning: Spoilers for the season finale.] How’s everyone doing after that finale? While we wait and wonder and hope for a third season announcement, soon, here’s what Scott McCord and Elizabeth Saunders had to say about their parts of the finale, and where they hope they get to go next….
Scott McCord and Elizabeth Saunders Talk From Season 2 + A Season Finale Preview
[Warning: General spoilers ahead.] It all comes down this, #FROMily. As Sunday’s episode wraps up Season 2, we begin with the aftermath of the terrifying onset of seemingly simultaneous attacks on Julie, Marielle, and Randall, which accelerate the “We gotta get out of this place” of it all. Sara comes…
Alison Sweeney Talks About What’s Next for Hannah and Mike After Carrot Cake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mystery
[Warning: Spoilers for Carrot Cake Murder.] Everybody OK after that Hannah Swensen Mystery twist? Thankfully, our favorite crime-solving couple is still on speaking term, even if they’re on a break (hopefully not that kind of break). Most importantly, we already know this isn’t the last film in the series. No…
What They Said: Three Revealing Conversations from Survivor’s Remorse “Closure”
WARNING: Spoilers for Survivor’s Remorse “Closure” The latest episode of Starz’s Survivor’s Remorse featured conversations that showed characters really digging deep into their thoughts, emotions and motivations.
Two Takes: The Catch “The Knock-Off”
Who can you trust? If this episode of The Catch was any indication, the answer is just about nobody. Betrayal was running rampant as Felicity (Shivani Ghai) arose from the dead to seduce-con Margot, Gretchen (Maria Thayer, Gotham, The Mindy Project) played gold-hearted Alice 2.0 before swindling Ethan, Tessa jumped…
What They Said: Top 3 Quotable Moments from Preacher “El Valero”
Both Quincannon and Jesse refuse to give up on what they each think is rightfully theirs. While Jesse is struggling to face the consequences of his actions, Quincannon has laid his past demons to rest and is hellbent on moving forward and putting Annville on the map again. Despite a…
What They Said: Favorite Quotes from Supergirl “Worlds Finest”
Oh, Supergirl. That ending was cold. But I can’t hate on you because the latest episode has quickly become one of my favorites.
What They Said: Top 4 Quotable Moments from Black Sails “XXIII”
The dialogue in “XXIII” is phenomenal. It’s always a fun ride when Black Sails carries its viewers along without giving them the chance to catch their breath. When an episode moves at this unforgiving pace, there is no chance for a breather nor is there a respite from the information…
What Lucifer Said: Favorite quotes from Supernatural “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”
Supernatural episodes are almost always funny but thanks to the dialogue and a certain man speaking said dialogue, I laughed a lot during “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” You know, when I wasn’t busy fearing for Sam’s life or wondering what in the world was going on with Dean and…
What They Said: The Flash, “Legends Of Today” and Arrow, “Legends Of Yesterday”
Two nights of Arrow + The Flash = what more could we ask for?! I don’t know what it is about blending these shows, but I can’t help but feel that every time they come together, they somehow become greater than the sum of their parts. And that’s saying a lot…
What they Said: Top 4 Quotable Moments from Graceland “Little Bo Bleep”
Shoot outs. Fake outs. And long-awaited revelations. “Little Bo Bleep” was a jam-packed episode that wrapped up some loose ends and totally frayed others. Â It finally gave us one Sarkissian in jail and pulled back the curtain on Briggs’ master plan, but it also set up Jakes for a world…
What They Said: Favorite Quotes from Poldark “Part 4”
“What have I told you, I don’t require my wife to crochet and sip tea, but I do require her to remember she’s not a beast of burden.†No, I’m not talking about The Rolling Stones! I have to admit though, just for a second, the lyrics popped into my…
3 Moments of Goodness from Brooklyn Nine-Nine “Johnny and Dora”
The most satisfying part of this season’s finale has to the Jake and Amy kiss. Well, they kiss three times but the last one is the best one — and it means something. The Charles and Rosa dynamic was also great. I love how she’s convinced he doesn’t know anything…