Ward starts with, “I can explain,” which might not have been the best opening, as Skye lashes out at him, using all of the moves he taught her to hurt him as much as she can, while shouting at him in anger.  He handcuffs her to a railing, as she asks how he could betray them after all they went through together.  “I was on a mission,” he says.  “It wasn’t personal.”  “You didn’t not just say that!” Skye responds.  “It wasn’t personal?  God, you might actually believe that.  That is the twisted logic they teach you when you sign up to be a Nazi.”

Ward’s confused by the reference, but when Skye fills him in on the well known origins of HYDRA, involving the Red Skull “a big fat freaking Nazi” during WWII, he dismisses that as being in the past.  “You know you always had that Hitler Youth look to you, so it’s really not that surprising,” Skye adds.  He insists that he’s just a spy who had a job, but Skye wants to know if he’s going to kill her like he killed so many other people.  “No, I would never hurt you,” he says, but she doesn’t believe him, because she’s been shot before by Ward’s allies.  Ward insists he didn’t know that would happen, and that it was all Garrett’s fault, but she’s not buying it.

“You think I had a part in that?” Ward asks, looking genuinely hurt.  “That I would let that happen to you?  You know how I feel about you, Skye.”  She can barely believe what she’s hearing, that his feelings for her are real in spite of all of the lies he’s told to everyone.  He goes in close to her and holds her face, as her eyes fill with tears, and just as Ward thinks they still have a connection she backs away and says, “I’m gonna throw up.”  Ward gets angry now, telling her how hard it’s been for him, doing what he had to do and making the decisions he had to make, but he did it all because he’s a survivor.  “You are a serial killer, and you know what?  You were right about one thing.  I wouldn’t like the real you.”  He insists that someday she’ll understand, but she disagrees and tells him that she’ll never cooperate with their plans.

Up in the briefing room on the Bus, Peterson tries to decrypt the hard drive but fails and gets a message in his eyepiece that Garrett is done waiting.  He comes back to the cargo bay to finally get the answer from Skye.  She tries to appeal to Mike’s humanity.  “I don’t care what they did to you, you’re still Mike Peterson, you’re still a father, you have a son.”  This tactic doesn’t work, however, because the son that he left in SHIELD’s hands is now in the hands of HYDRA, who can do all manner of horrible things to him if Peterson doesn’t follow orders.  Skye still won’t cooperate, and she doesn’t think Mike will hurt her, because she believes there’s still good in him.  (I’m sure that hurts Ward, seeing that she still believes in Mike but not him him.)

It turns out he won’t hurt her, instead he fires a device at Ward’s chest, which sends him collapsing to the floor.  The device stopped Ward’s heart, but Mike can restart it if Skye gives them what they want.  Garrett is betting that Skye won’t let Ward die, but Skye points out, “He’s a murderer.”  “Yes he is.  Are you?” Mike asks.  She struggles to make a decision as Ward lies dying on the floor, and finally makes a decision, telling them that the drive unlocks at 35,000 feet in the air, regardless of location.  Peterson restarts Wards heart, and sets Skye loose to unlock the drive.  He wants Ward to get the plane in the air, and gives him an extra jolt of energy through the device to get him to his feet, though Ward rips it off before heading to the cockpit.

They maneuver the Bus down the runway, but find it blocked by a familiar looking smaller jet.  Maria Hill comes over the radio and gives Ward 30 seconds to stand down and surrender, as the two planes face off.  “Are you going to answer me, Ward, or do I have to come over there?” Hill adds.  Ward tells her that he’d hoped she went down with the Triskelion.  “And I’d hoped you weren’t the duplicitous lowlife you turned out to be, but here we are,” she sassily replies.  She tells him to give up Skye, but that’s not going to happen.  She continues to taunt him, saying, “I never liked you, Ward, not from our first sit-down, but I never figured you for John Garrett’s lapdog.”  Ward fights back, saying that a lot of people lost faith in Fury when he picked Hill as his second.  “If he wanted eye candy around he could have at least picked Romanoff,” he says.  “That’s funny,” she replies, “I’ll tell her you said that.”  She threatens him with sending F-16 to destroy the Bus, but Ward doesn’t buy it, both because he doesn’t believe she has that power but also because he doesn’t think Coulson would let that happen.  She gives one last push, telling him that he doesn’t owe Garrett anything, but he says she’s wrong, and he sends the Bus into the air.  Trip, who has been sitting next to Hill, wants to go after them, but Hill says no, as it was all a ploy to stall the Bus as long as possible.

They were stalling so Coulson could climb aboard, which he does in the nick of time as the landing gear retracts.  He gets inside and heads straight for the cage to rescue Skye, who greets him with a big hug.  She tells him that she unlocked the hard drive, but he’s more focused on taking the cockpit.  As they head out, Skye says, “Wait, you came alone?”  “It’s ok, I can take Ward,” he replies, sounding like a badass.  “Well I know, but how did you get past Deathlok?” she asks, which freezes Coulson in his tracks.  He’s a little confused but as Peterson appears at the other end of the hall, Coulson says, “New plan: run!”  She heads to the cargo hold as Coulson runs to a control panel and opens the cargo door.  Ward gets a warning light that the door is open and heads to investigate.

In the cargo hold, Skye is trying to put on a parachute, but Coulson tells her to forget that and get in Lola.  They hop in just as Peterson and Ward show up, and Coulson flips a switch that activates Lola’s machine guns hidden behind her headlights, firing at them.  Ward puts a few bullet holes in Lola before they back out of the plane as Coulson shouts, “Buckle up!”

They free fall from the plane and Skye gets separated from the car, but Coulson grabs her and pulls her back in.  “I told you to buckle up,” he observes, as he tries to fire up Lola’s flight mode.  They fall fast, as the repulsors fail to ignite as they should, sending them into a spin.  As they fall past a Ritz Carlton hotel in LA, he finally manages to fire up the thrusters, bringing them to a hard but safe landing in front of L.A. Live.  Lola’s in rough shape, Skye’s hair is a tangled mess, and Coulson looks like he might cry, as a parking attendant comes up and demands 20 bucks for their spot, and Coulson reaches for his wallet.

On the Bus, Ward wants to land the plane and go after them, but Peterson says that they don’t need to do that, as they’ve got what they came for.  He says that Garrett wants them back right now, but Ward rounds on him and says, “I’m not just gonna forget what you did to me back there.  You try anything like that again, I will kill you.”  “It wasn’t personal,” Peterson says.  “I was just following orders.”  It seems like Ward might have a lot to think about.

Coulson and his team have taken shelter in a motel.  Hill’s surprised that Ward shot Lola, but Coulson can’t even bring himself to talk about it.  She’s not surprised, however, that Coulson’s going after Ward.  But when he asks for weapons, a base of operation and backup she tells him to slow down.  She says there’s no more backup and no more hidden bunkers.  Coulson says that he knows Fury had others, but she insists there’s no more Fury.  “We’re not getting the band back together again, Coulson.  It’s over.  There is no SHIELD anymore.”  “Well, not officially,” Coulson replies.

She tells him that she understands taking down Ward and Garrett, but that it’s not a sanctioned mission, it’s a “personal vendetta.  And when it’s over you should walk.  Let your people go your separate ways.”  He asks what he’d do without a mission, turn himself in or work in the private sector.  “You know Stark would take you in a heartbeat,” she tells him, but that’s not Coulson’s style.  Hill has to leave, but makes it clear that Coulson can find her if he needs her.  “Say hello to Stark for me,” Coulson says, but then remembers, “oh yeah, nevermind.  He thinks I’m dead.”

Outside, Fitz and Simmons are sitting with their feet in the pool, discussing what’s happened.  Fitz thinks that there must be a reason Ward betrayed them, but Simmons thinks “Some people are just evil.”  Fitz would rather not believe that, however.  In a truly heartbreaking moment, Fitz blurts out, “Tell me that you’re not HYDRA.”  Skye looks at him like he’s crazy.  “I know that it’s ridiculous but I need to hear you say it.”  She looks at him seriously and tenderly, puts a hand on his knee and says, firmly, “I’m not HYDRA.”  Fitz says that’s good, because he’s not either, and adds, “Because if you ever did, I don’t know what I would do.”  “You’ll never have to find out,” Simmons reassures him.

Skye is surprised that Trip is eating junk food from a vending machine, but he observes that he’s on vacation.  Skye wants to know for how long, and Trip points at Coulson, just coming out of his room, and says, “Until that man tells me it’s time to work.”  Coulson tells him to take the night off and live a little, which to Trip means having another bag of chips.

Coulson tells Skye that he’s never been homeless before, something Skye can relate to, as he gets a candy bar from the snack machine.  He looks seriously at Skye and says, “We’ll get him,” but Skye already knows that, because she left them a “little present” when she decrypted the drive that should help, earning a smile from Coulson.  He gives her half of his candy bar as they sit back, enjoying the night and thinking about everything that’s happened to them in such a short amount of time.

After the credits, May shows up in Coulson’s room with the info she found in his grave.  Coulson had been hoping she’d come back, and starts to tell her that Ward is HYDRA, but she already knows because Hill told her.  They fire up the T.A.H.I.T.I. report on Coulson’s laptop, hoping to find out who was behind the project.  Coulson presses play, and his own face appears on the screen, addressing himself to Fury.  He says he’s handing in his resignation, because he can no longer in good conscience let the testing continue.  He says that the program was started in order to potentially save a mortally wounded Avenger, but the side effects are too extreme.  The regenerative properties of the alien tissue were successfully tested, but the subjects would then mentally deteriorate, displaying all manner of conditions including complete psychosis.  They didn’t know if it was a biological issue or the awareness of what was done to the subjects that caused the problems, but there was very slight promise in cases where memories were replaced.  The video Coulson recommends that the project be shut down, and that “under no circumstances should these procedures or drugs be administered to anyone, ever.  The cost is far too great.”  Current Coulson watches in horror and heartbreak as the video plays, processing a plethora of emotions, and when it ends he stares blankly at the screen before letting out one of his trademark, surprised “huh!”

What a crazy, wild, exciting and emotional episode!  This is as low as we’ve seen our heroes, without a base or even the Bus to call home.  The stage has been set for a final showdown between our team and Garrett’s, with just a few episodes left.  This episode delivered on all cylinders, from the emotional battle between Skye and Ward, to the devastation that the team is feeling, to a great guest appearance from Maria Hill to a surprising development at the end.  It had some thrilling action, some genuinely suspenseful, nail-biting moments, some solid humor thrown in all topped off with scenes to make you cry.  SHIELD has matured so much, so fast, and I really hope we hear soon that it’s been renewed for another season, as it’s now most definitely my favorite show on TV.  It’s such a change from the first handful of episodes, it’ll be great to see where they go from here.

 S.H.I.E.L.D. Thoughts

Skye (and Chloe Bennet) were seriously impressive tonight.  She was obviously in a situation far bigger than anything she’d prepared for, but she handled it well and cleverly.  She obviously knew to stall for time, and the emergency dispatch was a great idea, but I was really impressed with how well she played Ward.  Despite several moments where things could have gone badly fast, she kept her cool and really worked things to her advantage.  I know there are fans out there who don’t like Skye, and perhaps this episode will help change their minds.  It was all brilliantly acted by Chloe Bennet, who had to play a wide range of emotions all while trying to hide them from Ward.  She really got to let loose on him once her plan failed, and it was great to see her not simply forgive him just because he confesses his feelings for her were true.

How do you think the Ward story will play out?  It’s such a complicated thing.  On the one hand, he seems to be truly in love with Skye, and it’s clear that his faith in Garrett has been shaken after Peterson stopped his heart, so there’s the possibility of him switching sides again.  On the other hand, I don’t think there’s any way that Coulson and company would just take him back.  If he’s just all about following orders no matter who he hurts, he can’t really be trusted, and no sobby backstory will excuse the actions he took.  It’s possible that he ends up back with the team eventually, but I also think it’s likely that he doesn’t survive the season, perhaps sacrificing himself at the last moment to save Skye.  Trip seems like a worthy replacement on the team if Ward doesn’t make it.

I loved having Maria Hill back.  She really got to shine here far more than she did in either of the films she’s been in (though she had some good moments in both).  I like that she’s using Stark to protect her, but also seemingly has him on board with continuing SHIELD’s work.  She’s obviously a badass and smart, but she’s also lots of fun and brings a unique energy to the show.  I’d love to see more of her, especially now that Cobie Smulders’s other show is over.  Also, any scene that she and May share is automatically going to be awesome.

Everyone else cried when Fitz freaked out about finding out that Ward was with HYDRA, right?  It was just me?  It was such a heartbreakingly real reaction to that news, and I can’t imagine myself reacting any differently.  To be betrayed by someone you trusted so much has to hurt more than I can imagine, and I liked seeing them all react differently to the news.  It’s clear this is going to leave scars for a long time.  Poor Fitz has fallen so far that he’s even asking Simmons if she’s HYDRA (which is also a fan theory, but not one that I support).  They all have major issues to work out next season.

Let’s not forget the final scene, which was interesting but I’m not entirely sure what it means.  Obviously, it’s tragic that Coulson recommended shutting down TAHITI, only to have it used on him in the end.  Given all of the extreme side effects he listed, it seems like at some point Coulson and Skye will have bigger things to face, and perhaps a new cure to find.  It’s interesting that Coulson said he was offering his resignation in the video, as I’m not sure what to make of that.  If he was resigning from SHIELD, when was this video filmed, as he was obviously still around to get stabbed by Loki?  Maybe he was just resigning from that project?

Don’t miss next week’s penultimate episode before the end of the season.  It looks like we’ll be getting a big chunk of backstory on Ward that will show us how he became who he is.  While I’m sure there’s lots we can learn that will give us some sympathy for the man, I don’t see how anything they show can excuse his actions.  It also looks like our team will confront him once again, and that their lives will be in his hands.  The ending of the season looks action packed, exciting and dramatic, and I can’t wait to see Coulson try to get his plane back.

What do you think?  Did you enjoy “Nothing Personal?”  What did you think of how Skye handled Ward?  Do you think that Ward can be saved?  Were you devastated watching Fitz’s reaction to the news?  Did you like having Maria Hill back?  Do you think we’ve seen the last of Talbot?  Will Coulson be able to trust May again, now that she went out of her way to find answers for him?  Is there anything we can learn about Ward next week that will make you change your mind about him?  Let me know in the comments!