Whatever happened to Deke Shaw?
This week, we finally find out, as he gets involved with SHIELD’s battle with Sarge.
SPOILERS BELOW
SPOILERS BELOW
If you were from the future and got stuck in the past, what would you do with the knowledge you had? In the case of Deke (Jeff Ward), you’d use just enough to create some really cool tech and make some really good money. Thanks to his knowledge of the Framework from the future the agents experienced last year, he’s made a lot of cash with VR games (including Daisy as a spy who’s really into him) and pompous nonsense that sounds convincing. Supporting a post-food movement, though, doesn’t quite work. Aside from that, he’s hidden himself from SHIELD pretty well. All that, and an Instagram gal named Sequoia (Maurissa Tanchareon, co-showrunner) makes his life sweet.
Naturally, this act will be exposed, soon.
Meanwhile, Sarge and his friends track down a guy named Harold who has been hiding from them for an unknown reason. Sarge stabs Harold, and Harold dies as his body sprouts mutated crystals.
It’s later revealed he’s infected with a parasite bird that gets inside a body to hijack the host. It looks like it was inside Harold’s body for sometime before the stabbing.
They’re also looking for someone else, someone who doesn’t belong.
Yeah, it’s Deke.
Meanwhile, Mack has a talk with Keller (Lucas Bryant) over having personal relationships with other agents. Mack doesn’t get too specific but he means Elena. Mack thinks it’s a good idea Keller and Elena shouldn’t be in the same missions. He has a point. It also explains why Mack broke up with Elena.
While she’s not happy about this, it shows Keller really wants something more with Elena. Again, it sounds like something out of Grey’s Anatomy, but will get more complicated than that.
Sarge finds Deke, who thinks it’s Coulson and says too much about SHIELD. Oops, Deke figures out it’s not Coulson a little too late.
Sarge says he’s been tracking people like Deke, and other guys who exist where they shouldn’t, for a long time. It would be interesting what Sarge means by that, but Deke’s buddy Khan arrives and tosses a bomb.
Khan works for SHIELD, which means they did know about what Deke’s been doing. It’s not long before SHIELD clashes with Sarge and his crew, with Deke and eventually Sequoia in the crossfire.
Back at the base, Marcus (Barry Shabaka Henley) does an autopsy on Harold and discovers the parasite inside him. The thing suddenly flies into the vents… and then into Keller’s body. Uh-oh! Elena is shocked, begs Marcus to save Keller, but the parasite turns him into a crystal zombie.
This was a horrible end for Keller and a reminder how big the stakes may become later this season.
The SHIELD crew is able to help Deke and Sequoia, Deke still acting like the very reluctant hero. At least he makes an effort to save Sequoia and hopefully he’ll become braver in future episodes. He doesn’t know about how his “grandma” Jemma Simmons is trying to save Fitz in deep space. It’s safe to say if they fail, he doesn’t exist.
May, meanwhile, is not so lucky. After beating Snowflake in a knife fight she’s kidnapped by Sarge. They drive away in his truck, but to where? They’re going to have a lot to talk about, maybe the word “Coulson” will come up many times.
It ends with Sequoia’s Instagram of the past 24 hours, including her upcoming date with Deke, the battle that just happened, and sharing a boba (bubble tea) with a new friend.
The episode advanced the overall plot a little more than last week, still a lead-in to what’s coming later. The main job of this episode was to bring Deke back because his fate is uncertain due to what’s happening elsewhere.
Maurissa was still cute as the social media influencer who thinks it’s important not to use front doors. Fans should check her out in an episode of Dollhouse, and in the movie Lust For Love as really quiet girl. She’s also well-known for the musical commentary from the Doctor Horrible DVD.
The show takes a break next week for the NBA playoffs, so in two weeks the issue about Fitz “tampering with the universe” re-emerges, and a space gangster gets involved.
