Elena “Yo-Yo” Rodriguez has not been herself, having problems trying to reclaim her super-speed powers. She’s hoping a visit to a secret Inhuman base in 1983 will restore her.
The agents face other problems, like a broken Time Drive that could kill them and the return of Nathaniel Malick (who’s gotten an upgrade).
SPOILERS BELOW
The episode starts with what had happened while Deke was making his SHIELD squad (who apparently is staying in 1983). The Time Drive was damaged, but they can’t fix it. Touching it while it’s pulsing will be fatal, and it’s making the Zephyr jump repeatedly. One jump too many, it’ll be fatal.
If Elena was back to her super-fast self, she could fix the drive. She and May take the Quinjet to Afterlife, the secret residence of the Inhumans and Daisy’s mom Jiaying (Dichen Lachman). They’re hoping her knowledge of Inhuman biology can help. This was before she killed Robert Gonzales in 2015 because she didn’t trust SHIELD, and the agents aren’t sure she’d trust it in 1983.
She looks a lot younger than she did in 2015, along with her fellow Inhuman Gordon (Fin Argus), who can teleport. She is still determined to keep her fellow Inhumans safe from the outside world, and vice versa. She and a guy named Li (Byron Mann), who can make daggers appear out of thin air, are trying to keep a girl named Kora (Dianne Doan) from escaping. She’s having problems controlling her power of shooting fire from her hands. It’s already caused a lot of damage at Afterlife.
She also has another secret which we’ll discuss later.
Seeing Elena and May figure this out is interesting. Elena’s a little spooked by May’s empath skills (might remind people of Mantis from Guardians of the Galaxy). May’s not too happy about this, either, because she can practically feel Elena’s stress.
A training fight does help Elena look back at bad memories, like the death of Ruby Hale. She also recalls how she hid with her brother when she was eleven, looking at their uncle be attacked by drug dealers. She tried to get her grandmother’s necklace, but that lead to their uncle being killed. May says Elena must learn to forgive herself, but it doesn’t restore her powers. It does show their friendship is important. Natalia Cordova-Buckley talked about this scene at TV Line.
Meanwhile, Kora is about to kill herself with a gun, but someone disassembles the gun with his mind.
Yes, Nathaniel Malick (Thomas E. Sullivan) is back and he’s copied Daisy’s Inhuman powers. Thanks to Sibyl guiding the Time Waves, he found Afterlife and Kora, and he has some ideas about how to use the powers of the Inhumans there. Having Kora at his side is only the start. Seeing Nate charm Kora is creepy, but also compelling. He’s actually become a more capable Big Bad than Sibyl of the Chromicons…and that should freak out viewers.
Back at the Zephyr, Simmons and the other agents have to deal with half a Coulson, time jumps that happen more and more often, and Sousa feeling like a Neanderthal (followed by Enoch recalling a meeting with them). It’s a stressful time, but they’re doing their best. Simmons even promised Sousa a new knee (which Howard Stark claimed he could do for him on Agent Carter). She also sends a video message to Fitz (remember him?), saying it’s getting difficult because she won’t give up. Let’s hope he sees it, probably after the mission is over.
Things get worse when Nathaniel and Kora attack Gordon and Jiaying. She tries to reason with Kora, but once she burns one of the Inhumans with her hands, it’s too late. It’s also revealed Kora is Daisy’s sister. This will lead to a stressful family reunion if Daisy meets her mom. There’s even doubt Daisy will even be born judging on how the timeline is being scrambled.
May and Elena manage to return, while Gordon and Jiaying decide to hide.
Elena tells Mack she was disappointed she could restore her power to be a very fast Yo-Yo.
Then it occurs to her….if she just runs, she can be super-fast again. That works. She’s able to stop the time jumps, and there’s a reprieve.
Her revelation may have come out of nowhere, but sometimes that’s how it’s done. As far as her fans are concerned, Yo-Yo is back, and they hope Daisy is next.
Nathaniel is still out there, planning to “shake things up” in Afterlife. One thing is for sure: if Nathaniel was Black Bolt’s brother instead of Maximus, Inhumans would have lasted a little longer. However, will Nate try to be an Inhuman with more than one power? If so, the Chromicoms may start getting worried…if they can.
As LMD Coulson powers down, and Daisy is back at the healing tube, things settle down at the Zephyr. Of course, that’s when the Time Drive shorts out, and the ship heads to…where?
Next week: it’s Elizabeth Henstridge’s directing debut, as Jemma and Daisy relive the day everyone dies in a time storm..again and again. The title hints it could be Enoch who will find a solution.
