Line #36 Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS1E14TAHITI


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/agents_of_shield_-_tahiti_7818.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:''Not'' a magical place.]]
3
4	Coulson goes on the attack to save Skye--enlisting the aid of Ward's former S.O. John Garrett--and uncovers shocking truths about his own life and S.H.I.E.L.D.
5	----
6	!!Tropes:
7	* BondOneLiner: Garrett tells a dead mook "No hard feelings, Bob" after looking at the ID on his corpse.
8	* BreakTheHaughty: Quinn's smug facade gets shattered in this episode repeatedly. First, May's assault leaves him shaking and begging for mercy, then when Garrett tells him that the Clairvoyant has abandoned him to face trial for his crimes, Quinn can do nothing but remain quiet.
9	* BritishStuffiness: After Garrett jokes to Fitz about them walking into horrible death in the secret lab, he reacts to Fitz's horrified look by saying that "you Brits are too serious". Fitz recovers his composure enough to give one of his usual sardonic jokes right back, to Garrett's amused approval.
10	* CoolPlane: The Bus' coolness is lampshaded. After seeing the fully stocked minibar, Triplett jokes to Ward that the brig where they're holding Quinn must be between the jacuzzi and the squash court.
11	* ConcealmentEqualsCover: The two guards at the Guest House hide behind a wire-frame shelf with objects on it, and a shelf that seems to be open except for boxes on it. Since the whole "office" was designed to facilitate an ambush, it might be bulletproof. The glass door certainly is.
12	* ExtremeMeleeRevenge: May gets this on Quinn; beating him bloody for shooting Skye.
13	* FunWithAcronyms: Played with; the meaning of "T.A.H.I.T.I." is not explained in this episode.
14	* GoodNewsBadNews: The good news for Quinn is that he still has his tongue.
15	* HealingPotion: The G.H. serum basically acts as this (albeit an intravenous one); seconds after it is injected, the patient begins to heal in ways human science could never manage. It fixed Coulson's heart after it was ''split in two'' by Loki's spear, and in this episode the injuries to Skye's stomach and intestines.
16	* HeroicBSOD: After Coulson sees what's in the T.A.H.I.T.I. room, Garrett finds him wandering down the hall like a zombie.
17	* HumanResources: The G.H. serum is extracted from the mangled body of an alien.
18	* ItsAllMyFault: Fitz, Ward, and Coulson all feel some measure of personal responsibility for Skye getting shot. May, on the other hand, blames the guy who shot her and [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown retaliates accordingly]].
19	* ItsPersonal: Coulson and Garrett both have personal reasons for being after Quinn -- Coulson for what he did to Skye, Garrett for killing three of his team members.
20	* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: Garrett starts off his interrogation of Quinn by grabbing him and threatening to remove his tongue.
21	* KickTheDog: Quinn mocks Garrett about the agents he lost trying to track Quinn.
22	* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Quinn gets one courtesy of May; hurting defenseless people is something of a sore point with her, especially when she knows them well.
23	-->'''Quinn:''' But you can't!\
24	'''May:''' Why?! Because you're defenseless?! Like she was?!
25	* NotSoStoic: The normally calm and unflappable May delivers a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown to Quinn for wounding Skye.
26	* OneWordTitle: Played with; the meaning of the acronym T.A.H.I.T.I. is not explained in this episode.
27	* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: Two guards are killed and a facility housing a potential source of a HealingPotion is destroyed in the team's effort to save Skye. The loss is considered unfortunate by Team Coulson, but the fact that they broke into a secure facility they had no jurisdiction over, prepared to do whatever it took to save their teammate, is washed over. The narrative treats it as them doing what had to be done to save a teammate.
28	* PunchClockVillain: The guards at the Guest House are clearly friendly, ordinary men doing their jobs. Whether they know what they're guarding is unclear, but they know it's more important than one girl's life. They express some admiration that Coulson's team managed to get past the door, and one of them even warns them about the timer before he dies.
29	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Garrett surprisingly turns out to be one; after a tense meeting where he and Coulson both lay out their reasons for wanting their hands on Quinn, they come to an agreement and work fine together.
30	* RuleOfCool: Instead of forcing Coulson's plane to land and then board it, Garrett's plane just docks with it. This fits in perfectly with a comic-book styled TV show.
31	* SadisticChoice: Quinn reveals he shot Skye as a ploy to force Coulson to discover the means behind his resurrection, since she cannot be saved by ordinary medical intervention. Either he finds the secret and thus gives that knowledge to the Clairvoyant, or he lets Skye die to prevent that from happening.
32	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Dr. Streiten has disappeared following Coulson's confrontation with him.
33	* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Mocked and defied by Garrett to Quinn at the end.
34	-->'''Garrett:''' It turns out the only psychic power your buddy has shown is the ability to predict that if you tell a rich, entitled dirtbag he's going to get away with murder, he'll believe it.
35	* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Coulson defies orders, gives Fitz-Simmons a classified document above their clearance level, and attacks a facility even he doesn't have clearance for, all in order to save Skye.
36	* SequelHook: Lorelei, the villain of the following episode, shows up in the stinger.
37	* ShipTease: Two in one scene: Skye and Simmons, and new Agent Triplett and Simmons.
38	* SpySpeak: When the team arrives at the Guest House, they are greeted with "How was the drive from Istanbul?" None of them know the counterphrase, it's not listed in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database, and the guards refuse to respond in any way other than repeating it.
39	* ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption: Two counts and two different outcomes
40	** Coulson and Garrett both want Quinn and it escalates to Ward and Triplett coming to blows, but once they talk things over they agree to work together.
41	** The guards at the Guest House refuse to grant Team Coulson entry and it comes down to a shoot out.
42	* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Garrett's interpretation of why the Clairvoyant isn't bothering to rescue Quinn.

Context Recap / AgentsOfSHIELDS1E14TAHITI