Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Episode 2.02 Heavy Is the Head

After the massive car crash that occurred in "Shadows," an injured Lance Hunter realizes that Hartley and Idaho are dead. He orders May to chase after the fleeing Carl Creel. Soldiers swarm the area. Hunter is captured. He's tossed in a trunk and dropped in a field where General Talbot choppers in to pick him up. Negotiations begin to see just how much it'll take to turn over Coulson. Hunter wants $2 million and a proper burial for Hartley.

May wants to take down Creel, but Coulson orders her to drop back into surveillance mode. They need to find out who is giving the orders to this absorbing man. Creel makes a stop at a roadside diner. He makes contact with a waitress, who has an adverse reaction causing her body to be consumed by what looks to be lava-rock. Creel touched the obelisk and absorbed its deadly powers.

Skye lets Coulson know that the obelisk had the same markings as the ones she's been researching. She later joins Trip and Mack as they dig into the Quinjet's cloaking device. They need help from Fitz, who goes back to talking to an imaginary Simmons while digging into Carl Creel's DNA makeup. He works with Mack to determine that the answer to this riddle can be found in one of his old designs.

Hunter returns to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. He lets Coulson know that he has 48 hours to turn him over to Talbot. He leaves out the part about getting $2 million if he does so. Turner later has a chat with Skye about Hartley as well as the idea of her becoming a mercenary someday.

Creel searches for something to fight the obelisk's effect. His Hydra contact lets him know that they are all very well aware of his condition. This is just before Raina, aka "The Girl in the Flower Dress," shows up to offer him carbyne, a substance three times harder than diamond with an added bonus of being able to store energy. Creel swipes the carbyne, so Raina calls Coulson. She doesn't want Hydra to get their hands on the Obelisk.

Raina lets the team know that the carbyne has a tracking device. A team is sent out into the field to track down Creel. Hunter follows orders right up until the moment he ices May and Skye. He also takes down Trip. Meanwhile, Creel is in the midst of exchanging the obelisk with his Hydra contact. The deal goes south when Hunter tries to shoot Creel. The bullet bounces off his carbyne-filled body. Creel chases after Hunter. During the chaos, the case holding the Obelisk is swiped by a woman who looks to be wearing a flower dress.

Creel is about to take down Hunter when Coulson steps in to save him with a device that completely neutralizes the big, bad absorbing man. A short time later, Hartley gets the proper burial she deserves. Hunter is there to witness it. Coulson is there, too. He offers Hunter a job. It won't be easy working with May after he shot her. She's been known to hold a grudge. Coulson knows that Hunter has made some mistakes and he may betray them again, but he needs skilled people in the field. He also wants Hunter to sell him out.

Skye worries there might be something wrong with Coulson. May assures her that he's fine. In reality, he's overdue for another one of the episodes he's been having in private. It involves etching a massive display of symbols. May videotapes Coulson as he works.

Raina is gazing at the Obelisk when a figure steps out of the shadows. The man orders her to pick up the object. Raina does as she's told. Symbols rise up on the Obelisk. Raina is told that the object let her live. She wants to know how it works. The man says, "Bring me my daughter and I'll show the both of you."

A caravan of black sedans travels out to the middle of a field. General Talbot steps out of one of them. He meets with Coulson, who has a peace offering. That would be Carl Creel. Coulson advises Talbot to get him into a secure location soon. He wants a little breathing room for turning over this little gift to the government.

Talbot is not willing to negotiate, so Coulson shows him just how far S.H.I.E.L.D. has come in recent days. The bus appears in the sky after having used its now-working cloaking mechanism just as Coulson makes a hasty exit on a cloaked Quinjet. General Talbot can only watch him slip through his fingers yet again.