In the wake of Daisy’s betrayal in the previous episode, SHIELD is left reeling, picking up the pieces.  Coulson is convinced that Daisy intentionally limited the damage she inflicted, but even if she did, the plan to counter Hive with the “Secret Warriors” is all but lost before it ever really began.  And as mentioned in previous reviews, this presents the series’ take on the Civil War scenario about to play out on the big screens.

This episode is very heavy on the FitzSimmons and all the better for it.  The two of them have been circling each other from the very start, and this season has been a slow march towards consummation of the deep emotional ties they’ve developed over the years since they met.  Which is reflected, in a sense, in the revelation that Hive doesn’t directly control his followers, so much as amplify emotions that already exist.

That makes the situation so much harder for Team Coulson to resolve, because it’s not like they can “cure” Daisy with some quick medicinal fix.  This is as much the culmination of the relationship between Daisy/Skye and Hive/Ward as the evolution of the relationship between Fitz and Simmons.  And because this is a show in the Mutant Enemy stable, I have more than a little anxiety over the fate of my favorite SHIELD couple.  Things tend to go badly when couples get together on their shows!

For all that, there is still a part of the equation that is Hive’s influence, as was revealed rather well at the end.  Daisy doesn’t want to hurt her friends, but Hive has the ability and capacity to exert his will and drive her to kill if necessary.  Daisy and Hive were clearly closely connected and the warning to Fitz seemed to be more Hive than Daisy.  But was her emotional connection also affecting him, driving him to a degree of mercy he wouldn’t normally employ?  It’s a crucial question for the future.

Part of the equation is that Daisy has been drifting from her SHIELD family all season long.  Despite Coulson’s attempts to continue playing the father figure role, Daisy had come to identify herself less as a member of the SHIELD family and more part of the growing Inhuman one.  Even if Hive wasn’t amplifying the personal emotional ties, the familial aspect was already strong enough to divide her loyalties and now they are in overdrive.  Exactly how is Coulson supposed to counter that?

Meanwhile, with Malick gone and Hive no longer pretending to give a damn about Hydra, there was a nice little moment where Hydra gets effectively eliminated in one final off-screen operation.  Is it a bit anti-climactic?  Yes, but much of the season was devoted to establishing that major elements of Hydra were devoted to finding a means to bring Hive back to Earth.  That happened, and Hive repaid them in rather predictable fashion.  I’m not so sure Hydra is gone for good (or won’t return in some new form in Captain America: Civil War), but this helps keep the focus on the current enemy.

I don’t want to overlook the fact that there were some great moments for Fitz and especially Simmons during their field mission, which reveals even more of the growth they’ve experienced.  And it’s no surprise that a Cap fanboy like Coulson would eventually want a shield of his own, right?