Izel searches for her temple while the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D. tries to figure out a way to stop her.
Tropes:
- Ambiguous Situation: It's not clear if the Flint we're seeing at the end of the episode is a creation of the Monoliths or the real one pulled backwards in time to the present.
- Berserk Button: Daisy hits May's by saying that whatever is inside Sarge is "not the man you loved". May responds with a calm but firm "Move".Skye: [planning to kill Sarge] The fact that you still think it's Coulson is exactly why it has to be me!
- Blatant Lies: Mack claiming that coming with Elena was a purely tactical choice. He later admits it too.
- Bluff the Impostor: Elena clues Benson in on Izel's possession of Mack by talking about Keller like he was still alive.
- The Bus Came Back: Flint from Season 5 makes a reappearance at the end of the episode as a creation from Mack and Yo-Yo's imagination.
- Came Back Strong: Literally: being killed and coming back gives Sarge Super-Strength, presumably through similar means as Izel's powers.
- Can't Kill You, Still Need You:
- Izel keeps Mack and Elena alive because she needs their minds to recreate the Monoliths for her.
- Daisy comes to a similar conclusion after re-awakening Sarge's memories and a shade of Coulson inside him, so that they'll be able to take on Izel.
- Ceiling Smash: When Izel inhabits Yo-Yo's body, she throws Mack into the ceiling of the Quinjet.
- Daddy Issues: Sarge, having been informed of Daisy and Coulson's past relationship, accuses her of this. Despite her claiming otherwise, Daisy's response proves that Sarge isn't far off the mark.
- Death Seeker: Sarge wants Daisy to kill him before he loses control.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Deke realizes the key to Izel's powers when Sarge mentions her song vibrating through his bones.
- Fate Worse than Death: When Benson tells Izel that he isn't afraid of death, she uses the power of the creation Monolith to bring his dead husband to life (see also Mind Rape below) and then kill him, threatening to repeat it over and over to torment him. He gives in to her demands rather than go through it again. Neither Mack nor Yo-Yo blame him for giving in; both admit they don't know what they'd do in the same situation.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: During Sarge's memory sequence, there is an extremely brief shot of what appears to be his true form as shown here
. - Genre Savvy: When Izel explains her plan to Mack and Elena, Elena points out it's a bad idea because the villains tend to die not long after that happens.
- Gone Horribly Right: Daisy wants to wake up the thing inside Sarge, so she kills him again since that got him to where he is now. He proceeds to backhand her across the room and punch right through the door of his cell. May actually warns her of this beforehand, and Daisy lampshades it after the fact.
- In the Back: How Izel disposes of the illusion of Benson's husband Thomas.
- Kick the Dog:
- Izel's psychological torture of Benson further emphasizes her cruelty, putting her right up there with the likes of Hive in terms of villainy.
- When May believes Coulson's memories are coming to him, Sarge shouts to her, "I'm not a cure for your loneliness!"
- Late to the Realization: It finally dawns on the other Chronicoms that Atarah's irrationality has reached a point where it's hindering them. When Malachi suggests that they should conquer a new planet as a backup, Atarah denies his request, convinced time travel is the only viable option. Realizing she's now a problem, Malachi kills Atarah.
- Mind Rape: Izel uses psychological torture to compel Benson when he makes it clear that death threats won't do the job; using the power of the Monoliths, she creates his worst fear, which turns out to be his late husband Thomas telling him that he made the wrong choice by taking him off of life support. (Benson had said he was brain-dead already, but it still set the family against him.) Izel then destroys the spectre of Thomas and threatens to recreate and destroy him again and again if Benson doesn't do what she wants, a threat that makes Benson finally cave in to her demands.
- Murder Is the Best Solution:
- Daisy decides that if Izel killing Sarge made his memories resurface, killing him again will have the same effect. Much to FitzSimmons and Deke's disapproval, she's right.
- While Atarah believes the information that Malachi gathered from FitzSimmons' memories proves time travel is still viable, Malachi suggests they conquer a new world as Chronyca-3 as a backup. When Atarah refuses to change her plan, Malachi shoots her dead with the other Hunters' approval.
- Neck Snap: Daisy breaks Sarge's neck with her powers so he'll revive and reveal the thing inside him.
- Not Afraid to Die: Having already lost what he loves the most, Benson is unmoved by Izel's death threats. She adjusts her tactics accordingly.
- Oh, Crap!: Elena's reaction when she realizes that Izel has been posing as Mack, with her unwillingly revealing that Benson is the only one with knowledge over the Monoliths. Later also when the creation Monolith has given life to her fear in the form of Flint, the one person she knows is capable of rebuilding the Monoliths.
- Power Nullifier: The reason Sarge's knives and sword can harm the Shrike is that they resonate at a frequency which disrupts the natural resonance of the crystalline Shrike, and by extension Izel. Deke, Fitz, and Simmons decide to reverse-engineer this effect to produce belts which can block Izel's attempts to possess them.
- Quiet Cry for Help: Yo-Yo subtly alerts Benson to Izel's presence in Mack this way after Benson mentions Agent Keller's ley line theory. Yo-Yo responds by acting as if Agent Keller was still alive, which the real Mack would know he isn't. Benson manages to delete the coordinates for the temple before Izel picks up on his apprehension and drops the act.
- The Reveal: The seeming contradiction between the fear dimension explanation and the real power of the creation monolith is explained. Namely: while humans possess great imaginations, they lack the capacity to truly control the creation monolith. So instead when the monolith accesses their minds it can only create things based on their strongest, darkest emotions, i.e. their fears.
- Shout-Out: Mack and Yo-Yo are tied to a pillar while Izel prepares to unleash horrors from another dimension, much like the ending of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Unlike the Nazis in the movie, however, Izel knows exactly what she'll be unleashing by using the Monoliths.
- Slashed Throat: How Izel murders the nameless S.H.I.E.L.D. agent when Benson refuses to cooperate.
- The Sociopath: Izel subjects Benson to a particularly horrific form of emotional and psychological torture and threatens to do it over and over again, showing that she understands human emotions, but has no regard for them beyond what she can use them for.
- Something Only They Would Say: When Sarge calls her "Skye", Daisy realizes that at least some part of Coulson really is inside him.
- The Starscream: Malachi murders Atarah to become the leader of the Chronicoms.
- The Stinger: In outer space, Malachi kills Atarah and takes over leadership of the Chronicoms.
- Suicide by Cop: After being killed a second time by Daisy, Sarge goes on a rampage through the base, trying to escape. When she grabs his sword to kill him, he encourages her to do it. She realizes that Coulson's instincts are driving him to sacrifice himself so the team will have a means to stop Izel.
- Super-Strength: After his first death, Sarge is able to put a sizeable dent in a metal table with his bare hands. After the second, he can punch a reinforced door with enough force to tear it and its mountings right out of the wall.
- The Unreveal: As Daisy chooses not to use it on Sarge, we still don't know for certain whether Sarge's sword can kill beings from Izel's dimension.
- Wham Line: When Sarge is encouraging Daisy to kill him with the sword:Sarge: Come on! What are you waiting for?! Do it! Kill me, Skye!
- Wham Shot: At the end of the episode, Mack and Elena refuse to help Izel repair the Monoliths, only for Izel to point out that the Monoliths accessed their memories to bring the one person through time who can:Flint: How did I get here?!
