History Recap / AgentsOfSHIELDS6E01MissingPieces

* AlwaysSaveTheGirl: Though played sympathetically and not completely unjustified given the circumstances, Jemma is so obsessed with finding and rescuing Fitz that she completely disregards all logic and the safety of the rest of the team, even when it's explained to her that retreating back to Earth would actually be the safest and smartest way of ensuring that they find him. When Daisy points out that Jemma isn't the only one with people they care about (Davis even has a child he hasn't seen in months thanks to the space mission), she doesn't acknowledge this or even seem to care, lashing out at the others instead, and ultimately forcing the ship into deep space against the team's will on a hunch that Fitz will be there and risking their lives even further... all so that she can get her husband back. Who, technically, isn't her husband, from his perspective.

* AlternateContinuity: The only explanation for the ContinuitySnarl listed below; as the previous season ended on a conclusive note shortly before the ending of ''Infinity War'', most people assume this episode onward to be an alternate timeline - a fact somewhat vindicated in that this season and the next one have the Agents make numerous changes to the timestream and use a Quantum Tunnel.

* AlternateContinuity: The only explanation for the ContinuitySnarl listed below; as the previous season ended on a conclusive note shortly before the ending of ''Infinity War'', most people assume this episode onward to be an alternate timeline-a fact somewhat vindicated in that this season and the next one have the Agents make numerous changes to the timestream and use a Quantum Tunnel.

* ContinuitySnarl: The episode opens a year after the previous season's finale, which ran concurrently to the events of ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', therefore placing it within the five-year period where half the universe had been snapped away by Thanos. Yet there is no reference to the Snap and none of the show's characters have been affected by it.

* ContinuitySnarl: The episode opens a year after the previous season's finale, which ran concurrently to the events of ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar''.

* ElephantInTheLivingRoom: The show was delayed in coming back by several months in order to avoid spoiling events in ''Film/AvengersEndgame''. This episode is set one year after the previous season finale, which took place at roughly the same time as ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' when Ebony Maw attacked Manhattan, yet no mention is made of the fact that half the people in the universe were turned to dust a year beforehand. In an interview, the showrunners explained that this season takes place "Pre-Snap", though this [[FridgeLogic creates problems]] in terms of the timeline that was established in the previous episode.

* AlternateContinuity: The only explanation for the ContinuitySnarl listed below; as the previous season ended on a conclusive note shortly before the ending of ''Infinity War'', most people assume this episode onward to be an alternate timeline-a fact somewhat vindicated in that this season and the next one have the Agents make numerous changes to the timestream.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Considering S.H.I.E.L.D. agents once again became fugitives and [[HeroWithBadPublicity heroes with bad publicity]] in the previous season, there's a notable lack of mention of it as S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives are able to show up openly in public. This may be handwaved with the TimeSkip, or that they somehow managed to clear things up with the authorities by revealing that Ivanov framed them and was working with remnants of HYDRA. There's also the implication that they don't have time to fight for Inhuman rights any more like in the previous seasons, nor upholding the Sokovia Accords which may not matter anymore [[Film/AvengersInfinityWar due to certain]] [[Film/AvengersEndgame circumstances]].

* ContinuitySnarl: The episode opens a year after the previous season's finale, which ran concurrently to the events of ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar''. Showrunners have ''also'' declared this season to be "Pre-Snap," the Snap of course being the climax of the aforementioned ''Infinity War''. Fans who have held out the increasingly tenuous hope that the TV side of the MCU could still be integrated into the films' chronology may have been dealt a fatal blow.

* DirectedByCastMember: Clark Gregg directed the episode.

* ContinuityNod: Benson worked at Culver University, [[Film/TheIncredibleHulk just like Bruce Banner and Betty Ross]].

!!Tropes in this episode:

* TheChainsOfCommanding: Mack hasn't been doing well. His falling out with and subsequent break up from Elena, the burden of leading S.H.I.E.L.D. since Coulson's passing, and that the space mission team still hasn't come back are not easy for him to handle. He's seen [[INeedAFreakingDrink drinking alone]] at one point.

* {{Understatement}}: Enoch, as always, is great at this. When he sees a giant ship about to blown their (his and Fitz's) own vessel in half, he states that it's difficult to calculate their chances of survival.
* UndyingLoyalty: Even when the rest of the crew has given up the search, Daisy, Piper and Davis all stick by Simmons in her hunt for Fitz. Davis is a stand-out, as he has a child that he hasn't seen in months because of the search. That said, everyone's loyalty may be undying, but it's certainly not blind; when Simmons proposes a plan to go even further into space on evidence so shaky that it barely qualifies as evidence, Davis flat out refuses, and both Daisy and Piper try to reason with her.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Considering S.H.I.E.L.D. agents once again became fugitives and [[HeroWithBadPublicity heroes with bad publicity]] in the previous season, there's notable lack of mention of it as S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives are able to show up openly in the public. This may be handwaved with the TimeSkip, or that they somehow managed to clear things up to the authorities by revealing that Ivanov who framed them was working with remnants of HYDRA. There's also implication that they don't have time to fight for Inhumans rights anymore like in the previous seasons, nor upholding the Sokovia Accords which may not matter anymore [[Film/AvengersInfinityWar after certain]] [[Film/AvengersEndgame circumstances]].

* WoundedGazelleGambit: Snowflake cuts her own head and then runs out pretending that her partners have her baby, distracting the S.H.I.E.L.D. team just long enough for the bombs to go off. She's worryingly casual about it, showing no signs of pain.

* ContinuitySnarl: The episode opens a year after the previous season's finale, which ran concurrently to the events of ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar''. Showrunners have ''also'' declared this season to be "Pre-snap," the Snap of course being the climax of the aforementioned ''Infinity War''. Fans who have held out the increasingly tenuous hope that the TV side of the MCU could still be integrated into the films' chronology may have been dealt a fatal blow.

* ElephantInTheLivingRoom: The show was delayed in coming back by several months in order to avoid spoiling events in ''Film/AvengersEndgame''. This episode is set one year after the previous season finale, which took place at roughly the same time as ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' when Ebony Maw attacked Manhattan, yet no mention is made of the fact that half the people in the universe were turned to dust a year beforehand. In an interview, the showrunners explained that this season takes place "pre-Snap", though this [[FridgeLogic creates problems]] in terms of the timeline that was established in the previous episode.

* AlwaysSaveTheGirl: Though played sympathetically and not completely unjustified given the circumstances, Jemma is so obsessed with finding and rescuing Fitz that she completely disregards all logic and the safety of the rest of the team, even when it's explained to her that retreating back to Earth would actually be the safest and smartest way of ensuring that they find him. When Daisy points out that Jemma isn't the only one with people they care about (Davis even has a child he hasn't seen in months thanks to the space mission), she doesn't acknowledge this or even seem to care, lashing out at the others instead, and ultimately forcing the ship into deep space against the team's will on a hunch that Fitz will be there and risking their lives even further... all so that she can get her husband back.
** Who, technically, isn't her husband, from his perspective.

* WorkingWithTheEx: Mack and Elena are still not on speaking terms and their relationship is strictly professional. She's also semi-secretly dating with Agent Keller since TimeSkip.

** When discussing the energy spikes that foretell the portals, the S.H.I.E.L.D. team notes that they can't call them "anomalies" since they already used that term last year for the fear dimension hallucinations.

* TheChainsOfCommanding: Mack hasn't been doing well. His falling out with and subsequent break up from Elena, the burden of leading S.H.I.E.L.D. since Coulson's passing, and that the space mission team still hasn't come back are not easy for him to handle. He's seen [[DrowningMySorrows drinking alone]] at one point.

* WoundedGazelleGambit: Butterfly cuts her own head and then runs out pretending that her partners have her baby, distracting the S.H.I.E.L.D. team just long enough for the bombs to go off. She's worryingly casual about it, showing no signs of pain.

* TheSociopath: There's something not quite right with Butterfly, nickname Snowflake, who acts totally nonchalant to cutting herself as part of a WoundedGazelleGambit and whose response to people's deaths is to just talk about how they'll become butterflies.

* DarkActionGirl: Butterfly, from Sarge's group.