It’s Agents of SHIELD‘s first episode of the new year. Fitz finally finds Simmons, the Kree are still making Inhumans for profit, and Daisy fights for her life. An interesting fact about Enoch is also revealed.

SPOILERS BELOW

The episode is also notable because Clark Gregg is directing. He’s done this before in two movies he’s also written, but he makes the most out of this opportunity. He’a able to make Fitz into a real bad-ass. Adopting the identity of Kolbach the Marauder, thanks to some help from Enoch, Fitz is pretty good at being a heartless alien interested in buying living weapons like Daisy the “Destroyer of Worlds”.
However, he still has his romantic side. When he meets Jemma at last, he pours out his heart to her, determined to be with her even if the universe seems to stop them. He even pops the question. It’s too bad she can’t hear him because Kasius turned off her hearing. It makes that scene a bit heart-breaking, but it doesn’t mean things are hopeless between them.
Still, he’s able to get into Kasius’ head, discovering the ruthless Kree is just trying to get his father’s favor again while his brother Faulnuk seems to get all the attention. Fitz can relate.
It’s all part of an effort to rescue Daisy and Jemma, but he plays his role well. It’s a great job by Iain de Caestecker.

The other main storyline is the emergence of Flint (Coy Stewart) . When the episode starts, he goes about his day at the Exchange in the Lighthouse, trying to trade bits of metal into tokens. Then, the Kree Vicar (Isaac C. Singleton Jr.) harvests kids for terregenesis. It’s part of the Kree’s sale of Inhumans, and the Vicar hopes to advance by selling Flint. Thanks to some slight-of-hand by Elena, Flint is saved. Grill does discover him and the other agents, and is all set to sell them out to Kasius dead or alive. It’s at this point Flint’s ability emerges. He’s able to control stones and use them as a weapon. He literally merges several stones into a big boulder that eliminates Grill (Pruitt Taylor Vance).
Flint is stunned by this, because the Kree may be more interested in selling him than ever. For now, Tess (Eve Harlow) and the agents try to get him out via trawler.
However, the Kree grab Tess and kill her. Seeing her dead and floating in mid-air is a tragic thing to see, and the agents hope to keep Flint away from this.

Back at Kasius’ (Dominic Rains) event, it’s believed Daisy will be pitted against the mind-reading Inhuman Ben (Myko Olivier). Instead, Ben gets to battle….Agent May, still with a wounded leg. It’s a pretty even fight, only because Ben is holding back. He doesn’t want to kill May, but he still refuse to work with her to fight the Kree. Losing means being Vrell-Nexian food. He does defeat her, but Fitz pretends to be bored by what’s happening. He wants to see Daisy fight, so they can double-cross everyone.  He also suggests May be sent to the surface, hoping to save her before the V-N’s get her.

Before that, Kasius suspects Ben was keeping something from him, like maybe there are other people from the past in the Lighthouse, Sinara (Florence Faivre) winds up killing Ben, while Daisy looks in horror.

So, it’s Daisy and Sinara in the “battle to the death”. Fitz still hopes to stop the fight, but Faulnuk (Samuel Roukin) has arrived to see Daisy. He looks like a preppy college student with blue skin, and is clearly the brother Kasius resents.
Sinara tries to get the jump on Daisy by attacking her with her flying balls before Daisy’s inhibitor is turned off, and almost does. Although Daisy does use her power, it’s mostly a two-fisted battle with is even until Sinara has the edge because she is a Kree warrior.

Then Fitz and Simmons make their move. She slashes Kasius’ throat, while he knocks out some of the audience along with Sinara. When Daisy makes her move, Faulnuk turns on her inhibitor. The agents still get out, and Simmons accepts Fitz’s proposal. They’ve been quite a pair, and should stay that way. Curses and the universe should step aside, and it’s safe to say they will.
It’s not certain if Kasius is dead or just wounded. He was an interesting bad guy because his Inhuman plan was a way for his family to respect him again. It was evil, but with a purpose. The Vicar was doing the same thing. It’s another reminder how the future is very cruel.

Then there’s the last scene. The Vicar meets Enoch…who is blue. Yes, he’s a Kree but still knocks the Vicar out. Is Enoch someone who doesn’t like what the Kree are doing, or does he have his own plan the agents may not like? All he says is, “I am not a person”.

Aside from this week’s events, there was a good scene where Elena tells Flint how she got her powers after eating a fish taco. Flint doesn’t know what a taco is, which upsets Mac in some way. It’s why he hates life in 2091. There’s also a nice scene where Daisy and Jemma wonder how Fitz got there. They’ll find out soon enough.

With several deaths this week, and the rescue of Daisy and Jemma, the “SHIELD in space” story line may be winding down. Even if that’s true, dealing with a general who is after a young girl who can predict the future could be their next problem.
Next week, the agents unite to save the Lighthouse and find out who is living on what’s left of Earth. They also have to get May out of there before the V-N’s get her.