One Door Closes has very strong sense of déjà vu, between the flashbacks to the day SHIELD fell and the events of the present as the ‘Real’ SHIELD makes its move against Coulson’s team.

The flashbacks mainly revolve around Bobbi, Mack, Gonzales and Hartley (Lucy Lawless reprising her role) on the day SHIELD fell and how they banded together to take back the ship that ‘Real’ SHIELD uses in the present. It goes a long way to make the characters who are positioned as the antagonists more sympathetic. Granted, they’re still shitbags who are hassling our team so it’s not THAT effective but it’s nice to see how they met. I wonder what is on the ship that was deemed dangerous enough for Fury to order Bobbi to sink it and if it will be used in the near future.

Back at The Homestead, tensions are high between Fitz and Simmons and I’m still backing Fitz all the way. Simmons has been out of bloody order ever since she got back from HYDRA, though she‘s clearly grown as an agent when she effortlessly outsmarts Bobbi and incapacitates her. Coulson confronts Mack as Bobbi returns and the shit hits the fan and ‘Real’ SHIELD storms the base, capturing everyone except May. Ming-Na Wen is on top form this episode, wearing both her badass cap as she fights Bobbi and her Mom hat as she warns Skye and stays behind and gets captured so she can look after FitzSimmons. She helps Coulson escape via a secret elevator even he didn’t seem to know about too!

Meanwhile, in the house that Banner built, Skye is struggling with her isolation but soon gets an unexpected visitor in the shape of Gordon. This is the first real, prolonged, interaction we’ve seen from him and he’s quite the emissary of his people. He breaks the ice with humour, stresses the gravity of the situation that Skye finds herself in but doesn’t force the issue, only offers a hand if she requires it. Once the ‘Real’ SHIELD head to The Retreat and in spite of Bobbi’s orders to only use Icers, Agent Tomas “Dickbag” Calderon packs a real piece.

This dickish plan goes awry as he fires on Skye and she focuses her powers into a shockwave that destroys the forest around them and knocks back Bobbi and Calderon, the latter getting skewered with a shard of tree for his troubles. Gordon pops in when Skye calls to him and takes her, presumably, to the Inhumans haven.

Stinger shows Coulson holed up in some seaside bar (is he literally in Tahiti!?) when Hunter rolls up and signs a napkin, finally accepting Coulson’s job offer.

One Door Closes should feel like the darkest chapter for the team since HYDRA but it doesn’t and that feels weird. Maybe ‘Real’ Shield isn’t REALLY a threat or maybe because we have other threats that are far cooler to contend with coming. Either way, it’s a pretty good episode and we’ll see where Skye went and what the fate of the team is in Afterlife.

The team are still trying to make sense of May’s actions as Garrett comes under attack from SHIELD UAV drones. They’re on a collision course with The Hub and tensions are running high as they find out who has been pulling the strings all this time. Hydra has infiltrated SHIELD at all levels and is making a power play for SHIELD’s assets.

Everyone is on top form in this episode, even more so than usual. The interpersonal relationships are stretched thin as Phil learns how deeply May’s betrayal runs, despite how much she personally trusts and cares for Coulson. She’s been reporting on him for Fury and was even responsible for assembling the team in a way. Coulson’s world is shattered even more as the man who has had his back when he’s been going rogue is revealed to be the Clairvoyant. John Garrett is the Clairvoyant and Bill Paxton switches between affable buddy to menacing mastermind beautifully. I think the other stand out performance for me was Iain De Caestecker as Fitz. He’s not combat material, he’s emotionally compromised and even facing imminent death, tears streaming down his face, he still has the brass cajones to tell Garrett to go fuck himself. Mucho respect.

But this next bit is for the Tumblr folks, specifically the SkyeWard shippers. YOU JUST GOT YOUR SHIT PUSHED IN, DWEEBS! Haha, seriously, this is classic Whedon shenanigans. Ward and Skye have a great moment and even share a kiss and then Ward goes and betrays the team for Garrett! He straight up murders three SHIELD agents (including Victoria Hand) as they transport Garrett to The Fridge. Gotta admit that Brett Dalton’s performance never gave anything away until the last possible second so kudos to him. I do love that he’s already turned heel on his twitter account too, just to add fuel to the speculation fire! This is something I haven’t mentioned up to this point but the cast has an absolute blast live-tweeting along with the show.

Turn, Turn, Turn is easily the highlight of the season. Hell, if this was the season finale, I’d be thoroughly satisfied but we still have more to come! In the fallout of SHIELD’s fragmentation, the team struggles to survive and encounter both new allies and new enemies. I’ll see you all next week for Providence!

This week sees the team takes a trip to Fitz and Simmons’ alma mater on the case some technological “pranks” that may be more than they appear. Meanwhile, Coulson and May are on the trail of the partner of the SHIELD agent who was murdered delivering Skye to an orphanage. Again, MAJOR SPOILERS for UK viewers who haven’t found another way of watching the show til March.

The SHIELD Science and Technology Academy (one of three academies designed to train would-be SHIELD agents) finds it’s origins with the Strategic Scientific Reserve (last seen in Captain America: The First Avenger) and FitzSimmons have been invited back to talk about a recent “prank” that went awry but when another student is victim to another freezing device, the team believe this to be enemy action and set out to find the culprits. Ward and Skye visit the SHIELD Wall of Valour, a memorial to all the SHIELD agents who have fallen in the line of duty and while she muses at her place in SHIELD (and not so subtlely foreshadows Bucky Barnes’ return) May and Coulson are on the hunt for rogue SHIELD Agent Richard Lumley.

The resulting interview with Lumley reveals the reason his partner (and many others) were murdered. The child they delivered, aka Skye, has some sort of latent superpower. SKYE WATCH! With this revelation, a new mystery is presented to us. What are Skye’s powers? Who were her parents? Is she a Mutant or an Inhuman? We’ll find out but for now, WILD SPECULATION! Coulson reveals some (though I’m not sure if he tells her she might have powers) info to Skye, much to her dismay and just goes to show how the relationship between Skye and Coulson has become something akin to a Father/Daughter relationship and I think that’s for the better.

The mystery at SHIELD Hogwarts thickens as the lonely savant Donnie Gill is revealed to be behind the frosty reception the team got as he conspires with a classmate to create some sort of snow doomsday machine under the contract of… IAN QUINN! Last seen in The Asset, Ian Quinn commission the two brilliant kids to build the device and on his word begin a demonstration, creating a superstorm. Donnie and the machine are struck by lightning but he’s soon rescued by the team. As he’s being lead away to The Sandbox, Donnie exhibits some cryokinetic abilities, further cementing his identity as Blizzard (An Iron Man villain in the comics).

Later, Ian Quinn inadvertently phones Coulson and Ian says that the Clairvoyant sends his regard, which is a brilliant stinger. Tying a one-episode villain in with the larger plot of Centipede is a great idea and gives the team more of an impetus to bring him down.

Overall, an enjoyable episode with lots of humour (May blurting out that her and Ward have been banging while on a stakeout with Coulson was hilarious), intrigue and building more plot points for the future. We’re having another short hiatus but we’ll be back February 4th as the team has a train to catch and are met with a very interesting guest star!