"Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." will make its first solid connection between the show and the movie studio's latest blockbuster "Guardians of the Galaxy" in the Dec. 2 episode.
The blue alien blood coursing through Director Phil Coulson's (Clark Gregg) veins comes from the humanoid Kree race, the same alien species that Ronan the Accuser belongs to in "Guardians," according to TV Guide. The connection will remain a mystery for Coulson and his team, though.
"Our people don't know anything about the Kree or that there's a planet full of them," executive producer Jeffrey Bell told TV Guide. "What they do know is that the strange carvings created by Coulson after he was injected with the Kree serum are actually the map of a city, and they need to find that city before Hydra does. But where is it? Here or on another planet?"
Coulson discovered the link between his carvings and a city map in the episode "The Writing on the Wall." The director has now made it S.H.I.E.L.D.'s mission to find the city and team member Skye (Chloe Bennet) represents one half of the key to get in. The other half, the obelisk known as the Diviner, rests in the hands of Hydra, specifically Daniel Whitehall (Reed Diamond) and his new cohorts the Doctor (Kyle MacLachlan) and Grant Ward (Brett Dalton).
Raina, "Girl in the Flower Dress," may possess the same powers that Skye holds and their connection will also be explored in the upcoming episode.
"You'll find out that Skye and Raina have something in common - and it's not that they're brunettes," Bennet told TV Guide. "Some of our überfans think the two of them are aliens. Or maybe they're something else - something different and special. It's all leading to a reveal that's mother-effing crazy."
Raina (Ruth Negga) has guarded her motivations for most of her time on the show but she is on a path to better understand the stories of evolution and destiny she's heard her whole life.
"It's very much part of her lifelong quest to achieve this goal of hers. The Kree are part of the stories she's heard her whole life," executive producer Maurissa Tancharoen told Marvel.com.
Negga also stressed the importance of her character's dedication to "growth and progress, not just for herself but for the world."
"These stories that her grandmother has told her promise the arrival of something. A change that's coming that's been promised for however many years, passed down from generation to generation. The return of something that was once here that will come again and bring about something better, more progressive. I think that's what the Kree represent for Raina," Negga told Marvel.com.
Coulson first came face to face with the Kree creature last season in the episode "T.A.H.I.T.I." It then made another brief appearance in the season two premiere when the show flashbacked to Agent Peggy Carter shutting down a Hydra outpost after World War II.
Skye also had the blue alien serum pumped into her last season when she was on the cusp of death, but wasn't compelled to carve alien writings into the wall like Coulson and Agent John Garrett, who also injected himself with the alien blood. Raina was able to touch the obelisk without suffering incineration like the others who had clasped onto the device. How the two anomalies connect still has yet to be seen.
In addition to Coulson's role in previous Marvel films, "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." has connected with the films "The Avengers," "Thor: The Dark World" and "Captain America: The Winter Solider." Given that "it's all connected," the show will most likely link to the upcoming movie "Avengers: Age of Ultron."
"It is all one universe," executive producer Jed Whedon told Marvel.com. "We always say that, and one of the privileges of this gig is getting a peek behind the curtain at some of the stuff that's coming up and getting read scripts early. We're well aware of what the films are planning far ahead, and whenever we can we want to weave in and out of those stories."
"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." will return on Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 9 p.m. on ABC. It will air its winter finale on Dec. 9 before making room for the new Marvel TV series "Agent Carter," which debuts on Jan. 6.
