Things are coming into focus for the main plot lines this season, and they might be connected. The Chromicoms reveal why they need Fitz, while Sarge explains why he’s on Earth. It leads to some very tough decisions.

SPOILERS BELOW

This week’s episode starts with beautiful flashbacks of May and Coulson spending their final days together in Tahiti. It’s filmed in bright and cheerful colors. It may be an end for both of them, but it’s still special.

Contrast that to how the scenes between Sarge and May together. The scenes are dark with earth-like colors. It shows real tension between the two. Sarge couldn’t believe there’s another guy like him anywhere in the universe, and neither can May.

Sarge decides to “turn” her by forcing her to kill a man who has one of those bird parasites inside him. She has no choice, but she’s still upset she had to do that.
Then the episode finally reveals some details about Sarge and his mission. He’s been hunting these parasites called the Shrike. They were created by someone, and he’s after that person, too. The Shrike could cause major problems if it gets near ley lines, and attract planetary energy from there. They could kill billions, and maybe wreck planets. That’s why he’s hunting them. She’s almost on his side. Almost.

It’s also interesting how the show tries to prove Coulson and Sarge are two sides of the same coin. They both use phrases like “every dream is someone’s nightmare” but they have different meanings. Even so, they are still two different men. Sarge even admits he’s a hundred years old…and middle-aged.

Out in space, the Chromicoms, led by Altarah (Sherri Saum), tell Daisy, Jemma and her crew that their planet was destroyed. She thinks Fitz can solve everything because he was able to handle time travel. Maybe he can save their planet as they saved Earth last season. Daisy and Jemma say they are not even sure how they did it. Altarah doesn’t buy it, mainly because she is desperate. If she and her kind got some Confederacy ships, they are serious. They have Fitz captured on another ship, and will kill him if he doesn’t cooperate. They provide proof through a hologram.

Enoch isn’t comfortable with this, but he says Fitz can be persuaded if Jemma is in danger. It’s a bit simplistic, but she decides to stay behind while Daisy and her crew get back home. She thinks maybe they can figure it out, even at gunpoint. At least they’ll be together.
While it’s easy to see why the Chromicoms did this, it’s a terrible idea because of what they didn’t do. Altarah said her people had a chance to stop their world’s destruction but couldn’t decide how. Sounds like our debate over climate change, doesn’t it?
So their last chance is Fitz because he went 75 years into the future via cryo-state? They should have debated harder, and asked Enoch why he sent the other SHIELD agents into the future.
It seems likely the two plots might be connected by the Shrike. Did these parasites destroy the Chromicoms’ world as they might destroy Earth? We may soon find out.
In a way, this season may be a repeat of last year, which was dominated by time travel and stopping massive destruction. The only question is who created the Shrike, and whether he might be a variation of Thanos.

The crew is also shaken up by the death of Keller. Elena is upset she had to save Marcus (Barry Shabaka Henley) but let Keller die. Mack is also deeply worried about whether he’s living up to the job. There’s a lot of tension and doubt but they have a job to do.
There’s also concern about whether Marcus will fall into bad habits like booze. He says he’s doing his best, but he also does a good job comforting Elena over her decision. It would be great to add him to Fitz-Simmons, if they return.

Meanwhile, they figure out the Shrike’s physical structure is similar to the monoliths they’ve come across in past seasons. As fans know, one of them was a portal to another world, while another was a portal to 2091 and a broken Earth. There’s a third one, and they don’t know what it does.
This leads Marcus to propose a mission to investigate the places where they came from, and what “pachutukik” really means.

The episode ends with three great scenes. May and Sarge fight in the front of his truck, and manages to knock him out. The Zephyr has returned, but Daisy has to explain why Jemma isn’t with her. Then again, the crew has to explain Sarge to her. Finally, Enoch has to tell Fitz what he has to do for the Chromicoms. Fitz is angry, but Enoch insists he’s still his friend…right up to the point Fitz is gassed into unconsciousness.

This has to be tough on Enoch because he has to help his people by betraying his best friend, while Altarah accuses him of being soft. It looks like he’ll have to make another sacrifice to help Fitz.

Next week, Daisy learns about what’s been happening while she was gone, and Fitz and Simmons have to face their demons as well as the Chromicoms.