"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." has three episodes left until its fall finale and Director Phil Coulson has found "something new to chase" after discovering the meaning behind the alien writing.
Coulson and his team need to hunt down the mysterious city depicted in those alien carvings before Hydra. The two sides will come face-to-face tonight to uncover an ancient secret and the battle could leave "S.H.I.E.L.D." one member down.
The episode also flashes back to 1945 and checks in again with Agent Peggy Carter, who conducts a one-on-one interrogation with Hydra leader Werner Reinhardt (the future Daniel Whitehall).
Here are a few things to know before tonight's episode entitled "The Things We Bury."
Ward And His Brother's Not-So-Happy Family Reunion
Ward made an unnerving call to Skye at the end of last week's episode. While he spoke, the rogue agent packed up his stuff, which included some unusual objects - duct tape, shovel, gas cans and matches - along with a newspaper that had his brother Sen. Christian Ward on the front.
Ward will stage a little family reunion this week with his big brother and take him on a violent trip down memory lane. The younger Ward will seek out some revenge against Christian, who tortured his little brother by throwing him down a well when they were kids.
The former double agent holds no real loyalties to anyone at this point in the game except maybe Skye. Brett Dalton, who plays Ward, insists his character has not lied once this season, although he may be holding back some truth. Now that he's escaped S.H.I.E.L.D. custody and turned over a top Hydra operative to his former teammates, it's unclear what will be his final end game.
Agent Carter Returns To Grill Werner Reinhardt A.K.A. The Future Daniel Whitehall
Hayley Atwell will make her second appearance on "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." as Agent Carter. She and her SSR team apprehended Werner Reinhardt in the premiere episode of season two and this time she sits down with the Hydra leader to learn more about the items they collected from his organization's stations around the globe.
Reinhardt wants to cut a deal like the other German scientists who the United States enlisted to help them create military weapons. Carter informs him the U.S. won't avail him the same courtesy.
Reinhart claims that he could help "save all of humanity" and set the record straight on the "stars that fell from the heavens." The visitors who previously came to Earth had no intention of saving the world, but only of conquering it, according to Reinhardt's retelling of history.
Future Reinhart, Daniel Whitehall will continue his quest to discover the power behind the Obelisk, which The Doctor has returned to his facility. The father of Skye gives the ominous warning that the device "won't just kill. It will do something much cooler."
Fitz Heads Back Into The Field
The FitzSimmons dynamic duo has gone solo for most of this season. Fitz has struggled to regain all his faculties after Ward pushed him and Simmons out the Bus in a metal box and into the ocean at the end of last season.
With Simmons undercover at Hydra headquarters, Fitz found a new friend in Alphonso "Mac" Mackenzie. The mechanic has helped the scientist relearn skills and regain confidence in his innate abilities.
The two have made enough progress for Coulson to trust sending Fitz back into the field to install a transceiver. He must work quickly as Coulson is only giving him six minutes to complete his mission. Fitz will need to practice the procedure "over and over" given he only has one hand that works well right now.
Why Did Bobbi Morse And Lance Hunter Break Up?
"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." will continue to explore the relationship between exes Bobbi Morse a.k.a. Mockingbird and Lance Hunter. Morse appears to be interrogating Hydra's Sunil Bakshi, who Ward gift-wrapped for Coulson's team last week, while Coulson and Hunter watch from the control room.
Bobbi and Hunter will continue to learn how to work together after they left their relationship on such a sour note.
"It's definitely complex, as most relationships are. You have two people in this weird world that they live in. When she goes undercover she sometimes uses her sexuality to get what she wants, and he has some insecurities," Adrianne Palicki, who plays Mockingbird, told TVLine.
The Marvel TV show has the option of adding another twist to Bobbi's love life if the movie side allows the show to connect her character to Jeremy Renner's Clint "Hawkeye" Barton. Their characters share a strenuous relationship of marriage and divorce in the comic books. Renner has expressed his interest in making a possible guest appearance on the show and Palicki also wants to see Marvel explore that avenue.
"The interesting thing is her relationship with Hawkeye did happen. It's a big part of the character. I'm interested to see if that ever comes up or is brought to light or is mentioned in the future," Palicki told Zap2It.
"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." airs on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on ABC.
