“Agents of SHIELD” takes a page from an 80s classic in their latest episode, “Alien Commies From the Future,” in which Team SHIELD must stop the Chronicoms from wiping out the top branch of SHIELD before they form the organization.
Undercover | Following the last time jump, Team SHIELD end up in 1955 Nevada, the sight of Area 51, which as Coulson reveals, is an old SHIELD base, proving Daisy’s conspiracy theories right. After Mack chews out Daisy and Deke for almost killing Freddie, the team moves into an old diner to track their mark, Sharpe (“Fringe’s” Michael Gaston), who is touring the base as a D.O.D. employee. Daisy drugs him, as Coulson assumes his identity and Simmons tags along, impersonating none other than Peggy Carter. Good thing she’s British!
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An Old Friend | As Mack and Yo-Yo interrogate Sharpe, who proves to be a tough nut to crack, and a racist at that, Coulson and Simmons learn that SHIELD’s lab invented an early prototype for the Apple Watch and more importantly, an experimental reactor called Helius, which powers anti alien weapons in Deke’s future.
As Coulson and Simmons test the employees of SHIELD to see if they are Chronicoms in disguise, someone arrives at the base and his name is Daniel Sousa, Carter’s old partner. He immediately sees through Simmons and Coulson’s ruse and has them arrested, but Daisy turns up pretending to be a CIA agent to convince Sousa to work with her to stop the Chronicoms.
Bringing in the Calvary | Mack and Yo-Yo get nowhere with Sharpe, so they send in Deke, because, and I kid you not on this, he’s white. Even then, Sharpe doesn’t crack, but he does reveal that Helius is a dud that can’t be turned on by anything on Earth. Deke realizes that the Chronicoms have the power to make Helius go nuclear and wipe out the top minds of SHIELD, who are visiting the campus.
As a Chronicom in disguise overloads the reactor, Yo-Yo takes the still off kilter May to stop her, but May has an unexpected emotional breakdown and Yo-Yo is still unable to use her powers. Sousa frees Coulson and Simmons, who subsequently lock him up to keep him out of harm’s way, as May and Yo-Yo chase after the Chronicom while Daisy, Coulson and Simmons start evacuating the base, The Chronicom begins to plug herself into the reactor, preparing to go nuclear, while Simmons and Daisy repair an old EMP to knock out the reactor and the Chronicoms. They activate it, which saves the day and kills the Chronicoms, but also knocks out the LMD Coulson, which Sousa witnesses.
“Agents of SHIELD” airs Wednesdays on ABC.