Episode Summary from en.wikipedia.org:
Agent Coulson and the team investigate a series of deaths, involving levitation and gravitational anomalies. The cause of the anomalies is discovered to be an alien virus that found in an alien Chitauri helmet salvaged from the Battle of New York. Agent Simmons is infected by the Chitauri virus and losing hope of finding a cure nearly commits suicide, whereby Ward manages to save her before she plunges to her death from the plane. In the final scene, the helmet is delivered to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters to the possession of Agent Blake.
Episode Recap from abc.go.com:
[i]In Wrigley, Pennsylvania, a group of boy scouts are a bit on edge as ghost stories are told by the campfire. The scout leader hears a humming sound in the distance. He steps deeper into the woods to investigate. Lightning strikes near the campfire. Call it an electrostatic anomaly. The scouts are scared. Screams from their leader are heard in the distance. The scouts step forward to investigate. They see their leader. His lifeless body hangs suspended in mid-air.
Skye is still in the doghouse with Ward. She’s envious of the relationship Fitz and Simmons have with each other. They are so tight. They also have no idea how the scout master is still suspended in mid-air when they arrive in the woods. When Simmons steps up to the scout leader, a spark goes off. She created a shock. The victim falls to the ground. The dead troop leader, Adam Cross, was as good a guy as Captain America as far as Skye can tell. Simmons says the victim’s brain was zapped by something twice as powerful as a lightning bolt. Another electrostatic signal is detected. The race is on to find its source.
The team arrives at a barn where the source of the anomaly occurred. Inside, they find another dead body suspended in mid-air with a burn mark to the head. The first victim also had the mark. They were both friends who worked as volunteer firefighters. Both men were called into action during the battle of New York. The team believes they were killed by the same person. It could be a mystery individual who is seen polishing a metal mask that emanates a definite electric charge.
Coulson informs the remaining firefighters about their fallen partners. He notices that one of the men seems a little off. The souvenir helmet firefighter Tony Diaz cleaned is the source of an alien infection. He knows he’s going to end up like his friends. Coulson orders everyone out while he talks to the guy. He tells him he doesn’t have to be afraid. Coulson says he died once. It was more than eight seconds. He says he wasn’t here anymore, but where he went was beautiful. This puts Tony at peace. He tells Coulson to leave the room. He knows what’s about to happen, and he’s okay with it.
With three firefighters down, the others are quarantined. The helmet is flown to a research facility known as the Sandbox. Simmons is ordered to find a cure for the infection in case the other firefighters show signs of illness. When she learns that the virus spreads through electrostatic shock from person to person, Coulson realizes that Simmons has been infected. She’s quarantined inside her lab immediately. Fitz keeps his frightened friend company on the other side of the glass. Simmons is the only one who can find a solution for her problem. If she doesn’t, the electric pulse she’ll create will kill her and everyone aboard the bus.
Ward and Skye bond over the fact that they both feel so helpless. Couslon learns from Agent Blake that if he has infected cargo on board, he must dump it. That’s an order. Coulson lets Blake know that he didn’t hear that last transmission before signing off. Down in the lab, Fitz bickers with Simmons. It’s an argument spawned by fear, panic and caring. The two agents realize that they can create an anti-serum by scraping cells from inside the helmet. Fitz steps inside the lab to help his partner. They are going to fix this. Together.
The other agents watch from the other side of the glass as Fitz and Simmons work. Despite their best efforts, they fail to achieve their goal. Simmons knows the protocol for such situations. She asks to have a moment alone with Fitz, who refuses to give up. That’s why she knocks him unconscious. Alarms sound. Someone is lowering the cargo hold ramp. It’s Simmons. Fitz watches in horror as his partner stands on the edge. Then she steps off into the air. Fitz realizes the anti-serum works. He wants to save Simmons, but Ward grabs the parachute from his hands. He jumps out of the plane to bring back his fellow agent.
Ward catches up to Simmons in the air. He saves her life. Coulson reads them both the riot act once they are both back aboard the bus. He’s very glad they are alive. So is Skye. She gives Simmons a big hug. As for Coulson, he lets May know that his health test results indicate that everything is fine. But he doesn’t feel fine. He feels different. May checks out the wound on his midsection. She says the point of the scar is to remind him that there’s no going back. There’s only moving forward. As for Simmons, she assures Fitz that he’s a hero for what he did for her before giving him a sweet kiss on the cheek.
Agent Blake is waiting for Coulson at the Sandbox. He warns him that if keeps disobeying direct orders that someone may just take away his little dream team. Coulson says. “I’d like to see them try.” Blake sees this isn’t the same man he used to know. Coulson agrees. He advises Blake to get used to it.[/i]
Please use this thread to discuss the series’ sixth overall and first season sixth episode FZZT. Rule: Please keep spoilers limited to those revealed during the series up to this episode only.
