Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Episode 1.16 End of the Beginning

Agents Garrett and Triplett are back. These two were first seen in T.A.H.I.T.I. Currently, they are setting themselves up in a safe house that doesn't live up to its name once Mike Peterson bursts through the door. The intruder wears body armor that deflects any and all counterattacks dished out by the agents. This includes an ice bullet to the head. The bionic leg Mike now wears as part of the Deathlok project allows him to launch skyward. He crashes through the roof of the safe house to make his escape.

Agents Victoria Hand, Jasper Sitwell and Felix Blake are among the high-ranking visitors who board the bus to meet with Coulson and Garrett. The topic of conversation is the Clairvoyant. His super soldier bodyguard, Mike/Deathlok, likely came after them because they are getting close. Coulson has someone on his team who can help narrow down a list of potential suspects. She'll need to be granted as full access to all information. In other words, she'll need clearance. That's why Coulson welcomes Skye as a full-fledged agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The Clairvoyant provides Deathlok with a rocket launching arm and the declaration that it's time the two of them met. Skye develops a game plan to keep the Clairvoyant from knowing that they are coming. Agent Hand will not be involved in the hunt. Neither will Agent Sitwell, as he's been called away to a situation at sea. Ward and Triplett are off to the U.K. as part of the manhunt. Coulson and Garrett are going back to school to track down a coed at Ball State. May and Blake are in Georgia looking for their target, the catatonic Thomas Nash. Instead, they find Deathlok.

Blake's attempt to talk to Deathlok as if he's Mike Peterson fails. He's hurt bad. Deathlok uses his arm to fire a rocket at May. It's a near miss. Blake is in critical condition by the time help arrives. Thomas Nash is now their prime suspect. One of the bullets Blake fired was a tag round Fitz created. The team tracks Deathlok to an abandoned race track. A gun/rocket fight ensues. Coulson and Garrett chase Deathlok into the basement. Someone else is down there. It's a quadriplegic man who talks via a computer voice. It's Thomas Nash. All indications are that he's the Clairvoyant.

Nash assures Coulson that he will see him even after he's locked up. He says Skye has something they want. She'll die giving it to them. Nash continues to spew out threats when… BANG! A shot rings out in the underground lair. Nash has been shot. The person who pulled the trigger: Agent Grant Ward. Nash is dead. Agent Ward's weapon is confiscated. He's to face a S.H.I.E.L.D. review board. He did all this to make sure Skye would be safe. Not even the Clairvoyant could have seen any of this coming.

While doing some snooping, Fitz loses a phone transmission with Simmons. Just before they were cut off, she said agents are storming the situation room at the Hub. Coulson worries Ward killed the wrong man. What if Nash was just a prop? Skye believes the classified S.H.I.E.L.D. files may be how the Clairvoyant knows so much about them. Their foe doesn't have abilities. He has security clearance. He's an agent. Or perhaps "he" is a "she." Fitz wonders why Agent May would have an unauthorized encrypted hardline dedicated to one receiver. Skye orders him to cut the line. May, with her gun drawn, makes her way through the bus.

BANG! BANG! May fires two shots in Fitz's direction. The bulletproof glass of his lab protects him from getting hit. Coulson and Skye each point a gun at May, who claims her bullets were just icers. She vows it's not what they think. What they think is that she's a traitor. May is thoroughly confused. She has no idea what's happening when someone takes control of the bus. Back at the Hub, Agent Victoria Hand gives an order. She says, "When that plane touches down, take out everyone onboard. Except Agent Coulson. He's mine."