With Agent Gonzales' "Real" S.H.I.E.L.D. chasing him, and Skye missing in action, Coulson leads Fitz, Peterson and Hunter on a mission to locate HYDRA's top leaders, Baron von Strucker and Dr. List. One problem: they need to talk to Grant Ward first ...
Tropes:
- Absence of Evidence: Ward deduces that Coulson is hiding something because of the company he's keeping. He has Hunter, Fitz, and Deathlok, but May is conspicuously absent.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: Jiaying isn't quite convinced that Raina has precognition, even though she works with an entire society of potential superhumans who were mutated by alien influence. Her reasoning is that Inhuman powers are well documented, and precognition hasn't been seen before. Gordon is quick to point out that he too is an anomaly, being the only teleporter past or present.
- Artistic License – Physics: Quantum entanglement isn't "a high energy thing existing in two places at once", it's two particles that are "entangled" such that measuring the state of one tells you the equal and opposite state of the other. And it doesn't allow for teleportation.
- Badass in Distress: Lincoln and Deathlok are captured by HYDRA.
- The Bad Guy Wins: There's so many opposing factions in this episode, but the only one that could claim a victory at the end is undeniably the worst faction of them all: HYDRA, who not only get Bakshi back, but who are also able to capture Mike and Lincoln. Lincoln's capture is all the more triumphant for HYDRA because it was their detection of the Inhumans (via Gordon's teleportation) that was the sole reason why HYDRA was there in the first place.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Fitz doesn't take Ward's presence very well, keeping a hand on his gun when they're on the Quinjet together. When Ward starts getting chummy, Fitz loses it, forcing Hunter and Coulson to restrain him.
- Breaking Bad News Gently: Skye's reason for going with Cal to Milwaukee is to reassure him that he won't be abandoned. They won't live together in Lai Xi, but they'll see each other frequently.
- Bullet Proof Human Shield: Cal uses a HYDRA mook to block the bullets of the other HYDRA mooks. They're in body armor, so this makes sense.
- The Cavalry Arrives Late:
- Gordon shows up to save Skye from HYDRA, but only after she's escaped them and is within reach of Coulson, separating them once more.
- Bobbi and Mack, responding to Skye's summons, reach Milwaukee an hour after the firefight with HYDRA is over.
- Continuity Nod:
- Coulson is looking for Baron von Strucker and Dr. List, the former being one of the villains in Avengers: Age of Ultron and the latter being seen at the end of Captain America: The Winter Soldier with Strucker, and who is implied to have had a hand in the origin of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, two of the main characters in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
- Ethan, the hiker from last episode, has been captured and killed by List.
- Ward mentions that the last time he offered to work with Coulson, Coulson called him a "deluded son of a bitch".
- Lincoln doesn't buy Mike's claim to be Skye's friend, saying "Sure. And I'm the Hulk."
- Distinction Without a Difference:Ward: He'll be fine. He's a cyborg with rockets in his arm.
Coulson: Mike isn't a cyborg; he's a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent... with rockets in his arm. - Do Not Call Me "Paul": Kara would like to point out that her name isn't Agent 33, and she doesn't work for S.H.I.E.L.D. anymore.
- Et Tu, Brute?:
- How Simmons feels when she discovers that May told Bobbi (and others) about the Toolbox fakeout, especially since she pinned it all on Fitz to keep Simmons out of trouble.
- For that matter, how Cal feels when he realizes Jiaying is going to push him away again by leaving him back in Milwaukee without Skye.
- Fighting from the Inside: Bakshi, who ultimately takes down and captures both Lincoln and Deathlok at once. Subverted when we find out that Bakshi was just playing along and is still brainwashed.
- Gambit Pileup: There's so many agendas going on that one can hardly keep it straight: Coulson's using Ward and Bakshi to get to HYDRA and find Skye, Ward is using Coulson for his own undefined endgame, Bakshi's playing Ward after the brainwashing didn't take (Subverted when we find out that Bakshi was just playing along and is still brainwashed.), List is tracking Gordon, Gordon and Jiaying are only interested in their own fellow Inhumans who are being killed by Dr. List, and in the middle of all this, Skye calls up May without realizing that there are two S.H.I.E.L.D.s in play and that she just called the wrong one. Poor Cal, meanwhile, is just trying to reform himself and bond with his daughter.
- Godzilla Threshold:
- The title refers to getting help from a former ally — Ward. Fitz isn't too pleased with the idea.
- Coulson gives himself up to Bobbi and Mack after the whole thing goes south.
- Great Big Book of Everything: Jiaying has a tome that contains everything that the Inhumans have discovered about their powers over the centuries, which explains how they were able to work out the principles behind Skye's powers and how to train them so quickly — somewhere in the past, some other Inhuman had developed vibration powers and his/her training program was written down in the book. According to this book, Raina's precognitive abilities are totally unprecedented. Gordon also mentions that there was never anybody like him before, either.
- Heel Realization: Bobbi and Mack start showing some doubts about how the S.H.I.E.L.D. faction that they are loyal to does things, specifically noting that HYDRA is being ignored while they focus on Coulson, who is actually focuses on and successful at fighting HYDRA.
- Hope Spot: Skye and Coulson see each other, and Skye starts to run to him — only for Gordon to flash in and whisk her (and Cal, unwittingly) away.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Jiaying is callous about having Cal sent away but isn't wrong that she has responsibilities that keep her from giving him the attention he wants.
- Just Think of the Potential!: Gordon is excited by the possibilities of Raina's precognition, believing that their society would never have to worry about threats if they had someone who could see them coming.
- Kick the Dog: Jiaying gets two when she plans to have Cal abandoned in Milwaukee and then tells Skye she doesn't care what might happen to innocent bystanders as a result of that decision.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Coulson offers to put Ward through the T.A.H.I.T.I. treatment as part of his deal to let Ward go free. Though Ward agrees to the deal, he says to Kara that he plans to double-cross Coulson when it suits him.
- Let's You and Him Fight: Lincoln and Deathlok, both friends of Skye, end up fighting each other.
- Mêlée à Trois: Comprising Cal, Lincoln, Coulson's faction of S.H.I.E.L.D., Ward and Kara, and HYDRA. It could have been even more complicated, if Bobbi and Mack and their team hadn't shown up late.
- Metaphorically True: What May told Bobbi about Fitz and the Toolbox wasn't untrue, exactly, it just leaves a few things out.
- Mexican Standoff: When Bakshi starts going off-script in his meeting with List, Ward and Coulson pull their guns on each other, Lance points his gun at Kara, and Kara has pulled Fitz into a headlock and is ready to slit his throat. It's resolved when Deathlok gets ready to slaughter the assembled HYDRA members.
- Moment Killer: Mike interrupts Ward and Agent 33, just as they're about to make out.
- Mythology Gag
- Skye finds out Cal's real family name and decides "Daisy Johnson" (the name of her 616 counterpart) isn't that bad for a name. Cal also reveals he started using a different last name that sounded more ominous, not mentioning but obviously referencing his counterpart's name, Calvin Zabo.
- Dr. List's plane is badged with a logo for "Echidna Capital Management". In the comics, Echidna was a company founded by HYDRA in the '80s.
- Not Helping Your Case: Coulson just has terrible luck. Simmons hacks Deathlok's feed exactly when both Coulson and Ward are in frame, and since they leave and Deathlok gets captured, that's all they have to go on. Coulson sticks behind to surrender himself, though, so he has the chance to clear it up.
- Not What It Looks Like: Skye, May and "Real" S.H.I.E.L.D. see Coulson side by side with Ward and are understandably shocked. This doesn't stop Skye from running to Coulson, however, and we don't see how the others took the revelation since the scene cuts away right at that moment.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: We never do see what Hunter had Fitz do with the hand dryer (as mentioned in the Noodle Implements example in the previous episode), but between then and now Fitz has somehow ended up in business attire, complete with glasses and briefcase, and is being followed by two different agents.
- Oh, Crap!: Mike's reaction when he realizes Bakshi is going off script (and possibly not brainwashed).
- Only a Flesh Wound: Hunter gets shot and insists it's nothing to worry about, dropping the trope name, but Kara says that it's actually pretty serious.
- On Three: Ward says they'll end the Mexican Standoff on three, and then immediately says "three". Everyone stands down.
- Open Secret: Despite being told not to discuss her relationship with Jiaying with anyone other than her parents, Skye is seen openly referring to her parents as such with Lincoln.
- Possibly justified - Lincoln walked in on their family dinner, and the truth about their relationship is never mentioned to anyody else in this episode.
- Papa Wolf: Cal may be a bipolar nutcase (and he knows it, too), but when Skye is in danger, he'll set aside his rage towards whoever he's blowing up on and focus it all on whoever is threatening his daughter.
- Percussive Pickpocket: While she's walking around with her father, Skye uses this to steal a cell phone so she can alert S.H.I.E.L.D. to her location. Then she has to talk her father out of losing his temper over someone bumping into his little girl.
- Period Piece: Cal's shuttered office is a time capsule of the late 80s. Beige filing cabinets, a table lamp with a wooden body, a brown painting, brown desk, brown fabric sofa, taupe walls, his brown suit...
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: As Mike powers up and goes weapons hot his eyes take on a red computer glow.
- Red Shirt: Ethan is introduced so the audience can see a "before picture" to go with his post-dissection "after picture".
- Relationship Upgrade: Now that Kara's reclaimed her previous identity, she and Ward are in a relationship with the intention of settling down.
- Science Fair: Cal muses about how he would have helped Skye with her science fair project: a volcano, of course, because that's just the obvious choice.
- Shout-Out:
- After Lance is shot, he claims "'Tis only a flesh wound."
- A cell phone being tossed into a trash can as a signal is similar to The Matrix.
- Stranger in a Familiar Land: Cal tries to show Skye the sights in Milwaukee, but it's changed a lot since he was last there — the last time he had really been a long-term resident rather than just someone passing through was before meeting Jiaying, twenty-seven years previously at the earliest.
- Take Me to Your Leader: Coulson says this after Bobbi and Mack find him in Cal's office after the battle.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Coulson and Ward don't trust each other, but they quickly settle into the groove they had before Ward's traitorous nature was revealed.
- Token Evil Teammate: Ward and 33, as well as Bakshi, are "expedient allies" of Team Coulson for this episode.
- Unstoppable Rage: Cal doesn't take it well when Lincoln shows up and he pieces together that he's being left behind. He's well on his way to beating the tar out of Lincoln, no matter what Skye says, when HYDRA shows up. He turns his attention to them to protect Skye.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Dr. List has developed a method of tracking Gordon's teleportation. Though it hasn't yet led Dr. List to Lai Xi, it is leading him to places where Gordon is teleporting people, which results in Ethan's death and Lincoln and Mike's capture by HYDRA.
- What the Hell, Hero?: May delivers a few of these to Simmons regarding the Toolbox switching. However, Simmons fires one or two right back, accusing May of taking "real" S.H.I.E.L.D's side over Coulson's.
- Worf Had the Flu: Lincoln and Deathlok are easily captured by HYDRA grunts because Lincoln exhausted himself shorting out Peterson, and Mike's circuitry is damaged as a result. Bakshi has a stun grenade thrown at them for good measure.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: This episode makes it clear that Ward believes he's on a Redemption Quest, even doing a heartfelt speech on how sorry he is for the "mistakes" he made. It takes brutal put-downs for him to grasp the team is never going to forgive him for what he did.
