TV RECAP: Agents of SHIELD’s “Melinda” Delves into the Past

By Felicia Kudronowicz

This week on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, we got a closer look not only at Skye’s history, but May’s past in an episode appropriately titled “Melinda.”

The episode opens seven years ago, with May and Coulson on a mission, as they search for a “really gifted” individual. Her name is Eva Belyakov, a Russian woman with the power of extreme strength. They try to approach her and take her to a more secure location, but she runs into a building. A team of SHIELD agents run in after her, but in less than a minute all 12 of them drop off the grid. May and Coulson are left trying to decide what to do next.

Back in present day, Skye is having her first lessons with Jiaying. Skye learns that her power is all about controlling the frequencies of objects. In her first lesson is able to start an avalanche. Her next lesson is to create music using crystal glasses and her power. She is able to get all the glasses to reach the same note and hold it briefly before the glasses explode. Jiaying tells Skye how proud she is of her progress. They bond, which leads Jiaying to confess that she is really Skye’s mother. We also find out that Skye’s birthday is July 2, 1988, making her a year older than she previously thought. Jiaying says that they still have to keep their true relationship a secret, which is when she tells a story that actually combines with the flashback from the beginning.

We learn that back in Bahrain, May went in to rescue the SHIELD agents and apprehend Eva, but then realized the true power was coming from Eva’s daughter, Katya. Katya went though her transformation at such a young age that she couldn’t handle it and she went insane with power. May tried to talk her down, but instead was forced to put her down. This experience led to May leaving fieldwork, which is where we saw her in the pilot episode of the show. This incident also created new protocols for Jiaying and her organization. Mother daughter relationships are seen as powerful and somewhat dangerous in that organization, which is why Skye has to keep her relationship to Jiaying a secret. They know how strong that bond is and how a mother will do another for her daughter even if it isn’t logical. The last time we see Skye this episode, she is having dinner for the first time with both of her parents.

Throughout the episode we also got a look at how SHIELD is doing with Coulson out of the picture. Bobbi tells May that Coulson has been keeping some major secrets, including getting help from May’s ex, Andrew. He also has a secret mission that involved Mike Peterson. May is still on Coulson’s side, but his story is starting to unravel. It’s unclear what exactly we should believe.

We also get a look in at Raina this episode. She is still unhappy with her transformation, but Gordon (no eyes) says she can’t be seen in public. She has to stay with them and figure out what her power/purpose is. I definitely understand her frustration, but I think there’s some weird power just hiding, waiting for the right opportunity to come out.

At the very end, we also get a glimpse of Fitz unlocking Fury’s box. It helps him get in contact with Coulson, so hopefully we will have a proper Fitz/Coulson reunion next episode as well as finding out what is in that box!

I’m eager to see what will come next this season. We have several open ended story lines, and we still don’t know where Ward is. Would it be too much to ask to have a complete team reunion before the season ends? Only time, and ScreenSpy, will tell.