This episode of SHIELD definitely makes mention of characters and plot points of The Avengers: Age of Ultron but I don’t think it is necessary to have seen “The Dirty Half-Dozen” before watching the film. However, it was necessary to have seen Captain America: The Winter Solider before watching the next SHIELD.

This episode does open with Raina having a dream of seeing Gordon with a bloody gash on his forehead, Lincoln being experimented on and Skye being reunited with Coulson in a mission. Jiaying has been watching Raina and learns from her that Lincoln was in her dream and in danger.

Gordon returns with Skye and Call, who is all pissed that his wife wanted to abandon him. Cal also spills the beans to the entire Afterlife complex that Skye is their daughter. Skye gets Gordon to go back and get Lincoln. However, Gordon returns with a bloody gash on his forehead and says that HYDRA was waiting for him. Raina sees Gordon and realizes she wasn’t having a dream but a vision.

Later on we see Cal apologize to Jiaying for his behaviour and tells his wife not to trust Raina and to be careful around her.

On the bus, Gonzales questions Coulson about why he gave himself up. Coulson says that he wants to infiltrate a HYDRA base that is doing experiments on enhanced humans and needs SHIELD’s help. Coulson offers up Fury’s toolbox as a measure of good faith. Meanwhile, on the quinjet, Hunter and Fitz are disgusted and the lovey doveyness of Agent 33 and Ward. Ward made a promise to Agent 33 to bring her back to SHIELD so she can reclaim how she was before HYDRA.

At the HYDRA base, Lincoln and Deathlock are cell neighbours and introduce themselves to each other. Bakshi and List are observing them. Baksi says that Deathlock’s powers are man made while Lincoln’s are part of him. List mentions how none of to their experiments really worked on anyone except for the twins (i.e. Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch) but they are in Sokovia.

As the team arrives back to the base, Ward and Agent 33 get an armed escort while the SHIELD head honchos are looking at a live feed from Deathlock’s eye as he is being operated on. The feed is cut when Deathlock’s eye is taken out.

Coulson explains his plan and it is put to a vote. Morse and Gonzales are on board but Weaver and Oliver are not. May becomes the swing vote. Before making her decision, May talks to Coulson alone and demands some answers like what is Project Theta. Coulson doesn’t answer but explains that he saw May’s ex-husband because he needed a therapist to talk to about the alien writing thing.

In their lab, FitzSimmons discuss Ward and Agent 33. Fitz says that he did attack Ward on the quinjet for what he did to him. Simmons suggests that they some splinter bombs to kill Ward while on the mission. Fitz doesn’t think it is a good idea but Simmons is out for revenge.

Back at the Afterlife, Skye wants to go find Lincoln but Gordon thinks it is a bad idea. Raina shares her vision that Skye does indeed help out Lincoln and convinces Gordon to teleport Skye so she can rescue Lincoln.

Simmons, who initially wasn’t part of the team, convinces Coulson to let her join. When the bus doors close, a noise is heard and they all think it is another Ward betrayal but it is actually Skye. Ward sees that the team is the original agents of SHIELD pre-Captain America 2 he seems very happy about it.

Coulson finds it weird that Ward is debriefing them from Bakshi’s intel. To release the tension, Ward tries to explain his actions but his one regret is that he lost being part of the SHIELD team.

Back at the base, Hunter and Mack make amends and Bobbi reaches a helping hand out to Agent 33.

The team approaches the base and HYDRA is alerted to their presence and shoots down the cloaked plane. But this all part of the plan. The team infiltrate the base thanks to Bakshi who joins Ward’s group that consists of Simmons and Skye. As the team splits up, Fitz hopes that Simmons is careful.

Ward’s group encounters tons of HYDRA soldiers that Skye uses the Force push to dispatch them away. The group makes it to find Deathlock but Lincoln was taken away before the attack. List also got away.

Coulson’s team of him, May and Fitz make it to the server room to disable the base’s missile systems so SHIELD jets can bomb the HYDRA base. May notices that Coulson is at another terminal downloading something and realizes that is the real reason why he wanted access to the base.

While Ward is busy looking for something to carry Deathlock in, Simmons makes her move to kill Ward however, Bakshi grabs the bomb himself and explodes. Simmons then goads Ward to kill her but he doesn’t and simply walks way telling Simmons that she has changed.

Skye finds Lincoln in an operating room but he is flatlined. Skye uses her quake powers and in combination with Lincoln’s powers gets his heart to restart.

Everyone is rescued and returned to the SHIELD base while the HYDRA base is destroyed. Coulson gets a call from Ward asking him to take care of Agent 33 and to remind her she was a good SHIELD agent and is where she is supposed to be. Coulson promises to try and help.

Coulson then gives Gonzales the tool box but warns that Fury may not be happy about it. Coulson then receives a call from Maria Hill.

In a video chat, Hill and Coulson discuss the information he found in the HYDRA base and it is all about Loki’s scepter, the one that killed Coulson in The Avengers. The scepter apparently can control minds but something that HYDRA is unaware of. Coulson then informs Hill that the scepter is in Sokovia with Strucker. Agent Hill then asks if Project Theta is ready, which Coulson replies that it is and it is time to call in the Avengers. At the same time, we see Raina have a pretty violent vision of the same scepter and mentions a lot destruction that involves a lot of metal humans (i.e. Ultron).

Let’s see if what happens in The Avengers: Age of Ultron does have a ripple effect in the next episode or are we just setting up the InHumans. Will find out as I am seeing the movie next Tuesday.