Upstairs, Mike confronts the guards from Cybertech, telling them that they’re not going to get their money because the Clairvoyant isn’t happy that they led SHIELD right to them.  They all pull their guns on Mike, but he kills all of them, throwing the lead guard out the window to land next to Fitz on the ground.  Fitz climbs out from under the car and is targeted by another guard, but the guard is shot by Ward.  When Fitz tells them that Skye is inside, Ward bursts in and takes out everyone, laser focused on rescuing Skye.  Mike gets a message in his eye telling him “DO NOT ENGAGE SHIELD” and he leaves.

They capture Quinn, however, who isn’t particularly helpful about Skye’s location, earning a vicious punch to the face from Coulson.  They split up and search, and Coulson eventually finds her, seemingly dead on the floor.  He screams for Simmons to come help, and she’s there in a flash but Skye has no pulse.  Simmons orders them to place her in Mike’s tube, and when Ward asks what it is she says it’s a hyperbaric chamber and repeats the order.  She wants to get Skye’s temperature down and the chamber seems to work, as we see a hint of breath from Skye.

Back on the Bus and in the air, they crew is gathered around the chamber as we see an image of Quinn in the cage in the background, though that’s unimportant compared to Skye’s condition.  Simmons says it’s working for now, but that they need to get Skye to a medical facility fast in order for her to have a chance.  She then excuses herself and heads to the supply room.  She searches the cabinets, rather frantically, before opening some gauze and trying to clean Skye’s blood off her hands.  She starts to break down in tears when Fitz shows up just in time to give her a comforting embrace and support.

Ward storms into the cargo bay and is followed by May.  He seems like he can barely contain whatever’s inside him and finally releases his rage by smashing his fist into one of the vehicles.  May tells him that it’s not his fault, and that he shouldn’t blame himself.  He says that he’s not blaming himself, and the implication is that he is blaming someone else (perhaps Coulson?).  May gently takes ahold of his hand as we see Coulson standing guard over Skye, refusing to leave her side.

After the credits we see Mike Peterson with his new mechanical leg, standing in the bushes next to a playground watching the kids and their families.  He pulls out a notepad and writes on it before holding it up to his face.  We see that he’s written, “Can I please see my son?”  The reply seems to take forever before popping up in his vision and telling him, “NOT YET.”  He crumples his note and drops it to the ground, as the camera zooms in on his new leg and we see a close up of a label bearing the title “Project Deatlok”.

This was an energy-packed episode of SHIELD, and a good way for the show to sustain momentum through the long breaks between episodes until the show returns for a solid run starting in March.  While we didn’t get a lot of new information about Skye or the Clairvoyant or any of the show’s big mysteries, we did get a solid amount of plot and several big cliffhangers.  The biggest is that Skye has been shot and her life hangs in the balance, but also Quinn has been captured which should provide the crew with new information about the Clairvoyant, and Mike Peterson has now become (or at least is becoming) Deathlok and is out on some mission from the Clairvoyant.  I wish we didn’t have to wait until after the Olympics to see what happens next.

 S.H.I.E.L.D. Thoughts

Skye’s in bad shape, and the preview for the next episode didn’t give us much of an idea whether she’ll survive.  I would like to say that I doubt the show would kill off a major character so soon, but this is a Joss Whedon show and Whedon fans have come to expect death around every corner.  Of course, Coulson “died” and came back, and Mike Peterson was seemingly dead but he survived, so I wouldn’t count Skye out just yet.  It looks like the crew will be pulling out all the stops to find a way to save Skye next time.  We see them trying to uncover SHIELD’s secrets, and we see May beating the crap out of someone and asking if they like it, presumably Ian Quinn.

How about the news that Mike Peterson is Deathlok?  Don’t feel bad if you don’t know who Deathlok is, because I didn’t know either, but he’s apparently a pretty well-known character from the comics.  He first appeared in 1974 and the name has been given to a variety of characters, most of whom died and were brought back to life by cybernetics.  Other than having a new mechanical leg, we’ve yet to see what Project Deathlok means for Peterson in terms of enhanced abilities, but her certainly handled all of those guards despite having many guns pointed at him.  It’ll be interesting to see how our SHIELD crew handles Mike’s situation, knowing that his son might possibly be in danger but also not knowing what sort of orders Mike might be receiving from the Clairvoyant.

I recommend you check out this interview with the cast and crew behind the show, which offers some teases of the excitement to come as well as some explanations from some of the most common criticisms of the show (lack of superheroes, slow initial pace, etc.).  They call for patience, just like I did a few months ago, and I think the show has really picked up the pace lately.  It looks like things will get much more exciting and intense from here on out!

Ever so slowly, Simmons is becoming my favorite character on the show.  She’s cute and charming, and I love how bad she is at undercover work, but beyond that I love the heart she shows.  The moment when she threw herself on the grenade shows some serious bravery and a deep sense of caring for Fitz and Skye, and the way she excused herself from the group to privately break down and panic in the supply closet was especially touching.  All of the characters are growing on me, but Simmons is rising to the top.

Let’s not forget about the Stan Lee cameo.  While never a particularly big or important part of the Marvel movies, the Stan Lee cameo has become famous in its own right and a calling card for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  In many ways, you’re not a true Marvel work unless you have a Stan Lee cameo.  This one was fun, as it gave Stan Lee more to do than simply smile or drop a few words.  I feel like it legitimizes SHIELD in a way that doesn’t make a lot of logical sense but feels important anyway.

Don’t forget that Bill Paxton is joining the cast for four episodes as Agent John Garrett, another name that might be familiar to comic fans out there.  I’m a big fan of Bill Paxton, and I think he’ll bring a different sort of energy to the show.  We got a glimpse of him in the preview for the next episode, but not enough to get any real sense of the character.  I look forward to seeing how he fits into things as a seasoned SHIELD Agent.

What do you think?  Did you enjoy T.R.A.C.K.S.?  Do you think Skye will survive?  Did you like the storytelling device of multiple flashbacks as a way to keep the narrative interesting?  What do you think of the Deathlok reveal?  Are you looking forward to Bill Paxton joining the show for a bit?  Let me know in the comments!