Phil Coulson said it best: “After all the carving and obsessing searching, I’m pretty damn curious to see what all the fuss is about.” The winter finale witnessed the unleashing of the Diviner, and how it destroys and creates new destinies for the Agents of SHIELD, Whitehall and Skye’s dad, who finally has a name.

AS USUAL, SPOILERS AHEAD…

The episode picks up just after Whitehall (Reed Diamond) orders HYDRA planes to shoot down SHIELD’s Bus. Thanks to some fancy flying by Agent May that Wash from Firefly would admire, she tricks HYDRA into thinking it shot down the Bus. Now they have a bigger problem: Skye is in HYDRA’s hands, and she’s on her way to see her father (Kyle MacLachlan), at last.

As the crew prepares to return to San Juan, Hunter (Nick Blood) talks to Morse (Adrianne Palicki) about what’s happening, while she tries to hide a thumb drive that has some information she’d rather not reveal. He does notice it, and asks her to trust him, or, at least, try.

Meanwhile, Ward takes Skye to her father, who calls himself Cal. He hoped for a better reunion, one with flowers and almond cookies. She says he is a killer and a monster, both terms he agrees with. Still, he wanted to be with her when she fulfills her destiny, and the Diviner is somehow involved.  Raina (Ruth Negga) is also there, and so is Whitehall and Agent 33, who is still disguised as May.

MacLachlan does a great job portraying Cal is a man who is tortured by the loss of his wife and child, but still dangerously insane. He knows Whitehall killed his wife, and wanted to use him to get Skye back before taking his revenge. Whitehall is interested how much Skye may be like her mom, the woman who didn’t age. He orders her to pick up the Diviner, and she is unharmed. She uses it to overcome a HYDRA guard, but is still surrounded. Cal tries to attack Whitehall, but he is subdued by a remote-controlled taser.

As for SHIELD, it wants to seal up the alien temple, and keep HYDRA from getting there. Fitz, Simmons and Triplett (BJ Britt) hope to use bombs to do just that. However, Simmons is worried that Mac (Henry Simmons) may be under control of the alien city, ready to stop any threats. This is despite the fact he fell down the shaft to the tunnels last week.

The team discovers that HYDRA is at an abandoned theatre just above the temple. A shootout occurs, and Cal gets his chance at Whitehall. Coulson, however, shoots Whitehall dead, which upsets Cal because he wanted to kill him himself. They start fighting over this, and who cares about Skye more.

Meanwhile, Ward frees Skye, and is thanked by a couple of bullets fired by her. He finds out the hard way how much she’s grown as an agent. She also wants to avoid whatever destiny is planned for her. Agent 33  finds him, and they struggle to leave. It looks like he’s about to have a partner in whatever goals he hopes to meet.

Skye finds Cal attacking Coulson, and she tells him at gunpoint, and even calling him “Dad,” to stop. Although she threatens to kill Cal, she doesn’t, and he leaves. He warns that after the Diviner changes her, people won’t understand because “change is terrifying”. He also reveals that her real name is Daisy. That may be familiar to Marvel fans, because it’s also the name of a hero who can shake things up.

When Skye looks at Coulson, she weeps that she couldn’t kill her dad, but vows to get back the obelisk from Raina. Coulson tries to stop her, but he’s too injured. Chloe Bennett has really added more dimension to Skye this season, especially in her scenes with MacLachlan.

It comes down to a confrontation between Raina and Skye. Mac led Raina to the temple, while Skye got there a few minutes later. Raina is eager to see what new life the Diviner will create. As it’s about to be activated, Triplett arrives. When he found out Skye and Coulson were near the temple, he was barely able to stop the bombs. Now, he, Raina and Skye see the Diviner while Coulson is trapped outside.
The Diviner releases something that covers the three in a crust. Marvel fans call it the Terrigen Mist. Then, there’s a tremor, and the tunnel’s about to collapse. Raina’s crust falls apart, and it looks like she’s changed into some sort of animal. Skye, however, ejects her crust, and looks like she hasn’t changed at all.  However, she witnesses Triplett’s body crumbling into several pieces. It looks like the tunnels are about to crumble, too.

Cut to a room, which has another alien obelisk in a box is glowing. A man calls someone to say there’s someone new, and he will investigate. He may have a tough time…because he has no eyes.

So what happens now?

It’s still not certain who will get out of the tunnels after the earthquake, but it’s sad to see Triplett go. He will be missed.

It’s a surprise Whitehall was killed so quickly, but it’s safe to say that while HYDRA’s head may be cut, at least two will take its place…and claim to be in charge. One of those heads could be Bakshi, if he can escape from SHIELD.

Then there’s Ward and Agent 33. He told her she was free after Whitehall died, but she doesn’t know who she should follow. It looks like it will be Ward, as he decides what to do next. Maybe he’ll also try to take over HYDRA, or become a competitor to that and SHIELD

Then there’s Morse, and that thumb drive. It should be interesting to see what’s on it, and how it will affect her status with the group.

The biggest issue, of course, is Skye. Now that she has survived the Diviner, how has it changed her, emotionally, as well as physically? Will she get new powers, and is it the start of her road to being an Inhuman? Of course, there’s also the reaction the crew will have once new powers do show up.

As for her dad, he may be gone, but maybe not for long.

There’s also Mac, who is no longer under the spell of the alien temple. Does this mean he’s still alive, but will need a lot of time to recover?

Of course, we’d also like to know how a man with no eyes can do any investigating.

Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tanchareon gave some hints to Enterainment Weekly shortly after the episode. It reveals, for example, who Cal really is, and what may be next for Skye. There’s also an article with BJ Britt about Triplett’s death.

While fans will be speculating what may be next for the Agents of SHIELD  when the second half starts in March, they’ll see how the organization got started in the eight-part limited series, Agent Carter, starting January 6th.

There’s also confirmation that there will be a connection between the show and Avengers: Age of Ultron. Blastr has more details on this.

Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD returns in March 2015 on ABC.