Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Recap: "The Writing on the Wall"

Written by Shae

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

I don't know about you guys, but I wasn't allowed to write on the walls, ever. It seems that, even when you're having a psychotic melt down due to alien DNA in your bloodstream, writing on the walls is bad. Even worse is carving into them. Well, I guess Coulson has some explaining to do. Thankfully Skye is there to babysit while May, Hunter, Triplett and Morse are off hunting down Ward. Skye is a little upset at Coulson about his behavior, but he can't help it! The rest of the team, Simmons, Fitz, and Mack, are starting to worry.

In an effort to solve the problem Coulson reveals the machine Raina had. That very mind reading device that got us to realize what happened to Coulson in the first place. Against everyone's wishes the Director puts himself into it. Project T.A.H.I.T.I. was his after all. Unlocking the memories of that couldn't be too bad, could it? It can...several agents were brought in to do the test trial. Coulson was well aware of the alien and it's DNA. The original trials were a success, until they weren't. The alien's DNA was imprinting memories onto the subjects, making them carve the strange symbols into anything they could. In the case of one agent, Derek, the carving moved from surfaces to flesh. These carvings lead Coulson to the path of T.A.H.I.T.I., erasing their memories entirely and giving them false ones, new names, and new lives. 

All this was brought about because Derek happens to be the man covered in the crazy symbol tattoos and is out to awaken the others in the trial with him. Fully aware of his past memories, pain brought his back, surely it'll help the others? Sadly, it results in killing all but one man. Coulson, out of the machine and in a panic, tricks Skye and locks her up so he can go save the last guy himself and confront Derek. Things never really go according to plan, however. Derek is fully aware of Coulson and is waiting for him. The scuffle ends quickly, with only a few cuts to poor Phil. And soon, the final piece of Coulsons' puzzle is realized. The last survivor of the trials was a welder. The symbols? They're really a map of a city, an over view. With that, Coulson no longer feels the need to carve the symbols anymore, nor does he have any weird compulsions....he does explain to the team what happened to him, and their new goal. Find the city and what it means before HYDRA does.

Meanwhile May and her team are on the trail of Ward. Everyone wants him alive, so sadly Triplett can't shoot him. Ward seems to be wearing enough C4 to do some serious damage. Bobbi attempts to take him down but her cover is blown before hand. Thankfully Hunter is all set as a backup. They follow Ward to a bar where he meets with one of HYDRA's top agents. Instead, Ward turns on him, ties him up, and leaves him for the team. He's left without a trail to follow. An eerie phone call to Skye promises more HYDRA agents and an eventual meet up.

Ward being on the loose terrifies me to say the least! I don't know about you guys, but I really need the team to take him back down, sure he may be acting like a friend right now, but how can they trust him after everything he's done? I know I can't. Sometimes this show is just too much, but I love it, and now I have to wait with all of you until next week.  

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