Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: “Ye Who Enter Here” recap

by Kayla Kenney, Writing Intern

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returned, after a week off, with a bang. In the previous episode, Phil (Clark Gregg) and Skye (Chloe Bennet) encountered Skye’s father (Kyle MacLachlan). They witnessed just how disastrous and crazy he really is. Also, at long last, the S.H.I.E.L.D. team discovered the location of the alien city they’ve been searching for.

“Ye Who Enter Here” begins with an obvious dream sequence—Skye’s. She’s haunted by the encounter with her father.

The episode continues with Fitz-Simmons (Iain De Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge) on eggshells. The two have failed to reunite as the dynamic duo they once were. Now, they barely even speak to each other. Trip (B.J. Britt) pushes Fitz to talk to Simmons. Meanwhile, Simmons discusses the complications of their relationship with Bobbi (Adrianne Palicki). Eventually, the two break their silence. This only leads to more awkward tension, after Fitz says he wants to stop working in the lab and hand it all over to Simmons.

Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images

Meanwhile, HYDRA finds Raina (Ruth Negga). Phil sends in a team, including Skye and May (Ming-Na Wen), to retrieve her before Whitehall (Reed Diamond) does. Phil believes Raina will open up to Skye about the Obelisk. She does. She informs Skye that the Obelisk will lead whoever can touch it to the alien city. She also informs Skye that the city and the Obelisk will reject whomever it deems unworthy.

Skye tries to warn Phil and the rest of the team. She can’t reach them. Mac (Henry Simmons) goes underground, into the city. He lands and comes in contact with a surface. He becomes infected. After failing to kill the rest of the agents, he falls into the 100-foot hole. Phil retreats without reluctance. He claims that that was no longer Mac.

HYDRA catches up to the other half of Phil’s team on their plane. They tracked Raina there. They threaten to blow up the plane if S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t release her. In the twist of the show, Ward (Brett Dalton) comes aboard. He ends up leaving with Raina and Skye.

Whitehall wants the S.H.I.E.L.D. plane shot down.

“Ye Who Enter Here” opened with a really dark scene. Skye’s dream introduced a new side of the show--a darker side. The opening is unexpected. Then, the episode sort of drifts off into its normal tendencies. Someone’s captured.  Cool fights happened. The Raina retrieval exemplifies this.

Raina’s character stays true. She’s always misleading. No one knows where her loyalties lie. During the retrieval, she attempts to give herself over to HYDRA. Then, once S.H.I.E.L.D. has her, she apologizes. When Ward comes to take her, she gladly goes with him. She remains mysterious.

Though the episode drifts into predictability, the last half of it punches you in the gut. The parallelization of Skye and Raina talking about the Obelisk with Phil and his team going down into the alien city was beautiful. Then, the show bounces between locations.

At the city, electricity doesn't work. Mac’s lowered down into the hole that reaches the city. It’s pitch black. Raina tells Skye how the city will reject those who are unworthy. Skye rushes to contact them, but the signal is blocked. Then, Mac touches the ground. Everything turns for the worse for Phil’s team. The entire sequence is played out perfectly. Nothing’s given away too soon. Nothing’s too predictable.

Equally unpredictable--Ward’s appearance on the plane. They won’t be killing off this character anytime soon, if they haven’t already. He’s a good guy turned evil. No one saw it coming. No one liked it. They deserve credit for keeping Ward so malicious. He isn't even an ounce of the good guy everyone once thought him to be. Or is he? Whatever the case, he can’t get over Skye. She left with him. The whole scene blew my mind.

The episode ends, as always, with a cliffhanger. The shock came in two parts. First, Ward was supposed to destroy the plane. He didn’t. Maybe there is a shred of decency left in him after all. Second, it ends with an order to blow up the plane. Frustrating. Now I’ll have to tune in next week to find out what happens.