The pressure drop releases the door locks and Ward and May set out to retake the Bus.  Some of the soldiers get sucked out the hole while others are incapacitated by Ward and May.  Coulson grabs Reyes before she can fall to her death, but ties her to a post so she can’t escape.  Ward is almost pulled out into the air by a soldier, but Skye gets a brilliant idea when a safety pamphlet that was flying around the cabin lands on her face.  She rushes to a cabinet and pulls out an emergency raft, inflating it and using it to fill the hole at the last minute, saving Ward from a long drop to the ground below.

They land at the Slingshot, location: classified, and start to assess the damage to the Bus.  Skye asks Coulson if SHIELD insurance covers hijackings, and he says, “Sure, under incidentals.”  She tries to ask him about Reyes, but he’s not offering up any personal info.  Ward and May talk about Skye, with Ward finally using Coulson’s word for her: “asset”.  May says that she’ll need someone to help train and look after her, and encourages Ward to take up that responsibility.

The group shares a beer sitting on the open bay door to the Bus like it’s the tailgate of a pickup truck.  Fitz points out that it’s important to unwind a bit after a “hard day of everyone almost dying.”  Coulson wants to know who had the bright idea to blow a hole in the side of their home, and Skye starts to fess up before the entire crew claims responsibility together.  Coulson says it was a good idea, clearly pleased that having a common enemy has brought the Crew together.  Skye’s phone buzzes with a cryptic message from the Rising Tide saying that they’re in a holding pattern, preparing to go dark, wanting to know her status.  The message is encoded and gives her a short window to respond, and after a quick internal debate she replies with “I’m in.”

And then there’s the pseudo-“post-credits scene”, with a cameo from box office superstar Samuel L. Jackson as Agent Nick Fury, head of SHIELD.  Fury is pissed that they trashed the extremely expensive plane, that is so well equipped “It has a bar… a really nice one.”  He threatens to “downgrade your ass to a Winnebago” before demanding that they fix the plane back exactly the way it was, with no modifications from FitzSimmons like a “damn fish tank.”  He asks about Lola before stalking off, and when he’s gone Coulson says into his radio, “We’re gonna have to kill the fish tank.”

So we’re left with a team that’s more united than ever, but with Skye’s motivations still in doubt.  We got a real sense in this episode of the sorts of missions that SHIELD will be dealing with in the show, as not every episode can revolve around a superhero.  There were some good laughs, though nothing on the level of Coulson’s lightbulb quip from the premiere.  It was a solid followup to last week’s dynamite hour of entertainment, but not quite as revolutionary.  It’s nice to see SHIELD maintain the tone set by Joss in the opening, and I was thrilled to get to see more of the crew.

In the end, the characters are going to have to carry this show, far more than mysterious objects, new superheroes, big name cameos and fleeting references to the greater mythology of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  I see a lot of promise in this cast, and the characters are not falling into one-dimensional tropes the way people might fear.  Melinda May has a sense of humor and a warmth that makes her more than just a kickass soldier, and Ward has shown some leadership potential I wouldn’t have foreseen.  FitzSimmons are adorable but haven’t developed particularly independent personalities, however we’re only 2 hours in.  Coulson is great, of course, and Clark Gregg has proven himself capable of carrying a major show.  And then there’s Skye, who is still a bit of a mystery, and brings a healthy dose of much needed snark to the group.  I can’t wait to see what’s next.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Thoughts

So what do you think Skye’s communication with the Rising Tide was all about?  I guess my question from last week about her role in the organization was clarified a bit tonight.  She’s obviously a key member of the hacktivist group, but not the sole member.  Does her message, “I’m in,” mean that she’s committing to some kind of plan that they had previously discussed.  Or does it mean that she’s finally “in” with the SHIELD crew, and that she joined up as part of some undercover work for the Rising Tide?  It’s certainly one of the big mysteries that will be hanging over the upcoming season.

However, we didn’t get any new information on the other big mysteries that the show laid out for us in the first episode.  We learned no more about the mysterious group/corporation/agency behind the Centipede project from last week.  We also got nothing new about Coulson’s death and resurrection.  He told the same story to Skye that he told Ward last week, and his “It’s a magical place” description of Tahiti is starting to sound less convincing as we go along.

“It’s a magical place” might be a clue, however.  I’m not good at solving mysteries on TV shows (my only correct prediction on Lost was that Locke was the person in the mysterious coffin from the first flash-forward episode), so I don’t know what it might mean.  Perhaps it’s a reference to Coulson owing his life to the intervention of some kind of magic.  Perhaps Asgardian in nature (considering the magic/science discussion between Thor and Jane), or maybe relating to the Scarlet Witch, who will be a character in Joss’s upcoming Avengers sequel, Age of Ultron.

Expect to see more of Skye in next week’s episode, “The Asset”, as it seems like she’ll be getting a mission of her own and a chance to prove herself to the team.  We didn’t learn much else from the brief preview, other than we’re dealing with invisible attackers.  I guess that’s one way to cut down on costs in order to afford expensive effects shots of the Bus.  Feature invisible attackers and you don’t have to pay a bunch of guest actors!

Let’s see if SHIELD continues the trend of awesome final moments to their episodes.  Last week we got that brilliant Back to the Future moment where Lola took flight, and this week we got ultimate badass Samuel L. Jackson to cameo.  I’m not surprised to see him on the show, as he expressed great interest in it when SHIELD was announced, but I’m shocked that they worked him in this quickly.  It’s quite the coup for the show, and it paves the way for other Avengers cast members to appear.  I wouldn’t bet much money on Robert Downey, Jr. or Chris Hemsworth, but I could see the show finding a way to work in Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson or Jeremy Renner if any of them are willing.  Jackson built his role in The Avengers almost entirely from the strength of his post-credits scenes from the previous Marvel movies, and it’s great for the continuity of the show for him to do the same here.  I don’t want them to simply rely on guest stars, but if they’re used as well as this instance it can be a big boost to the show.

Damn, how fantastic is it to see the Mutant Enemy logo at the end of the show?  Any fan of Buffy, Angel, Firefly or Dollhouse knows that monster well.  Too bad it’s always accompanied by a narrated promo for what show is on next, because it’s almost torture to see the logo and not hear Joss’s “Grr… Arg” that goes along with it.

What did you think of tonight’s episode, “0-8-4”?  Did you like getting a better look into our characters than we got last week?  What do you think Skye is up to?  Do you think the show is doing a good job of balancing action, mystery, drama and comedy?  What do you think is in store for next week?  Do you think we’ll continue to get a bit of politics (this week’s celebration of Twitter as a way to return power to the people) in each episode?  Let me know in the comments!