There was blood everywhere on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 2, episode 8. Read our recap and share your thoughts on “The Things We Bury.”
Austria, 1945
Werner Reinhardt/Daniel Whitehall forces a terrified Asian woman to touch the Obelisk.
“Discovery requires experimentation,” he explains.
Instead of burning her, the Obelisk glows with its alien patterns. Reinhardt and the woman are both shocked; he orders her “prepared for surgery” but when news comes of the Red Skull’s death, he has her caged instead.
Goals
In the modern day, Reinhardt/Whitehall demands that Skye’s dad tell him how to use “the weapon.” SkyeDad calls it a key that can “divine” if the holder is worthy of unlocking its true power.
Oh, and if one of those special people takes the special thing to a certain special place, the Obelisk won’t just kill, SkyeDad promises. “It will do something much, much cooler.”
Aloha
Skye, Trip, and Fitz are on a mission to Hawaii with Coulson can beat Whitehall to The City. Coulson sends Skye and Trip to deliver a poisonous watch and a radioactive button. He tells Fitz to practice building a transceiver in the field in six minutes.
They return from their bizarre errands and encourage Fitz. Coulson directs the plane to the Australian outback.
Q&A
At the Playground, Bobbi interrogates Bakshi. Bakshi is mutant Hydra and proud, and utterly devoted to Whitehall, who apparently shares the Red Skull’s vision.
Bobbi’s interest is piqued by Whitehall’s implied first-hand connection to the Red Skull, and agrees with May that Bakshi’s phrasing is “current.”
Hunter points out that this makes no sense – Whitehall would be like, a thousand. But Simmons suggests they go through Peggy Carter’s files, conveniently stored at the Playground.
Hey brother
Ward kidnaps his brother Christian and drags him to the site of the fateful well, where Ward alleges that Christian forced him to nearly drown their brother Thomas.
The well has been covered up. Ward forces Christian to dig.
Visiting
1945 again. Peggy interrogates Reinhardt; she has no intention of offering him a deal. Reinhardt tells her that some of his collection are sourced to a legend in which a star bearing blue angels fell from the sky to save humanity.
But, he says, the visitors actually came to conquer the world.
In the present, SkyeDad clarifies that they came to end mankind – except for a chosen few. He promises to lead Whitehall to the city’s temple with the Obelisk, and assures him that he has no aspirations to power.
“I’ve lost everything that’s important to me,” he says. “And I want to kill those who took it, and finally be reunited with my family… in the afterlife.”
*cue scary violins*
I’ve seen a face
Simmons finds (and geeks out over) Peggy Carter’s file on the original 0-8-4, replete with references to Reinhardt – but none to Whitehall. May reveals another vault. “Agent Carter buried a lot of things here.”
Hunter unearths Reinhardt’s file, and Simmons is like, “That’s totally Whitehall, WTF??” It’s as though he stopped the clock, she marvels.
“Or turned it back,” May corrects, revealing a photo of an older Reinhardt/Whitehall.
The fountain
Peggy locks Reinhardt in “the Rat” and throws away the key. There he remains for 44 years, aging normally, until Undersecretary Pierce had him released in 1989. Why?
Because the young Asian woman has been found – and she hasn’t aged a day. Reinhardt subjects her to the surgery she barely escaped 44 years ago.
“Discovery requires experimentation,” he hisses, gleeful.
Reinhardt has the woman surgically destroyed. He takes “everything I possibly could” from her… and is restored to his evil youth.
Intensity
Armed with the information, Bobbi continues her interrogation of Bakshi. She susses out that he fears Whitehall’s judgement and reveals that Bakshi has inadvertently betrayed him.
Bakshi’s response is to bash his head against the table, opening a cyanide capsule embedded in his cheekbone, which is like… way hardcore.
After stabilizing Bakshi (barely,) Hunter and Bobbi argue about trust and then make out hotly.
Oh, well
As Christian digs up the well, Ward demands that he confess to forcing Ward to drown Thomas. Christian refuses; they continue to play mind games.
Ward uncovers the well and prepares to toss his big brother inside. Terrified, Christian screams out his guilt.
“I wanted [Thomas] dead,” he moans. “I’m sorry! I wanted him dead!” Christian knew how much his mother loved – and did not hurt – Thomas. I wanted her to feel our pain, but I didn’t have the courage to do it myself.”
“That’s all I wanted to hear,” Ward says. He pulls his brother close, smiling. “It’s time we went home.”
Complications
Coulson and co. land in Australia. Coulson reveals his plan to create an EMP in Hawaii with the watch and the button that will turn on a network in Australia, which Fitz will tap into with the transceiver, which Skye will hack, and they’ll find The City.
Just go with it.
Also, Fitz can do the transceiver thing!
Coulson, Fitz, and Trip infiltrate Australia, but are ambushed by Hydra when the EMP goes off. As Fitz begins the transceiver, Tripp is shot.
UNCOOL.
SkyeDad steps from the shadows. “I can help,” he says. “I’m a doctor.”
Rights and wrongs
SkyeDad pretends to cut out the bullet, but calls Coulson “Phil” and cuts Trip’s artery (further UNCOOLness) to cover his ass. SkyeDad and Coulson argue about who is the better father for Skye.
SkyeDad also reveals that the Obelisk has something powerful inside it, and is psyched for the big showdown between Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D.
“Who knows how it will shake out?” he gushes. “All I know is, my baby’s going to be right there in the middle of it!”
He tells Coulson how to save Trip and they promise to continue their conversation when no one is dying. SkyeDad bails, Coulson and Fitz stabilize Trip, and Fitz gets the transceiver going. Skye begins to map the earth from the Bus.
But Coulson can tell Skye this, the satellite turns up a match for The City.
Do-over
Whitehall offers Ward a second chance. Ward says he knows what it takes to “move forward,” and Whitehall believes him, because, hey, breaking news!
Ward has burned down his family home, with Christian and his parents inside – and has framed Christian with his recorded confession about Thomas.
*cue scary violins again*
SkyeDad joins them, intrigued that Ward was “like family” with Coulson’s crew. He was glad to meet Coulson. “It’s always good to look your enemy right in the eye,” he says, glancing at Whitehall.
Remains
And he would know. 25 years earlier, SkyeDad is devastated to find the crumpled remains of Reinhart’s young woman. Who is his wife.
Who is SkyeMom.
“Oh, my love,” he moans, gathering her to his chest. “I’ll find him… and I’ll tear him apart!”