SHIELD “Seeds” Recap: Fitz and Simmons are Celebrities

By Felicia Kudronowicz

Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is making the second half of its season all about history. The show is giving away bigger and bigger chunks of exposition which explain how this team got to where they are today. This week it was Fitz and Simmons turn.

“Seeds” opens with some SHIELD cadets going for a swim when the pool suddenly freezes over in a matter of seconds, almost trapping them inside. The students are a part of the SHIELD science academy that Fitz and Simmons graduated from. Fitz and Simmons are basically legends of the school. All the students know who they are, so it’s unsurprising that it’s they who are sent to do some damage control and explain why it’s important to be careful with the knowledge they possess.

It was endearing seeing the scientists of the group being treated like rock stars. They talk to a lecture hall full of students who are hanging on their every word, when suddenly a student freezes just like the pool did. This process was the best use of special effects all season. The ice rapidly takes over this student’s body until he is a human icicle.

In order to find out where these attacks are coming from, Ward, Skye and Simmons go to the on campus club (The Boiler Room), which seems like a modern day nerdy version of The Bronze from Buffy while Fitz visits the now thawed Donnie.

In the meantime, May and Coulson are following a lead on Skye’s origins. They track down a former agent who disappeared after Skye was delivered to SHIELD. They learn that whoever had Skye was later hunted down and killed. Subsequently, a method was found to keep her in foster care over the years in order to keep her moving. Many however died just because they were associated with her. May tells Coulson not to tell Skye, but of course he does. He is still reeling with the fact that his memories were changed; he doesn’t want to keep secrets from Skye. She takes the news well. Instead of feeling responsible for all these deaths she is glad to have answers and to know that SHIELD has always been looking out for her.

Back at the SHIELD academy, Fitz is helping Donnie with a project he is working on. He quickly finds out that this project is the freeze machine that has been causing problems on campus. Donnie staged the attacks to get Fitz’s attention and to help him make it more powerful. Donnie’s friend Seth convinced him to build this machine in order to sell it to Ian Quinn who was introduced earlier in the season.

The two students attract Quinn’s attention by creating an ice storm with their new device. Donnie and Seth are trapped in the eye of the storm and try desperately to reverse it but they both get zapped. Seth goes into cardiac arrest and dies, while Donnie’s fate is unknown. He is taken to a SHIELD facility and the last we see of him he’s making a window frost at his touch. Could Donnie be yet another future villain?

The best part of this episode was definitely seeing Fitz and Simmons in their element. They truly are geniuses and it was charming to see them being treated like celebrities. The pieces of Skye’s past are starting to come together too, but it’s still unclear as to why she was being hunted down. Hopefully new episodes will divvy up some answers. It’s also going to be interesting if they ever call back to these villains they regularly hint at.