Spoilers ahead for the third episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 7, called "Alien Commies from the Future."
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. traveled the time tides in "Alien Commies from the Future" to Area 51 circa 1955, which was a far cry from 1931 New York City. After saving Freddy Malick from the Chronicoms to guarantee the rise of Hydra, the agents next had to stop the Chronicoms from activating an ion fusion device that would take out the entire early S.H.I.E.L.D. brain trust and change history.
In the process, Simmons got to cosplay Agent Carter, Coulson got to meet Daniel Sousa, everybody got to look fabulous in their 1950s duds, and Mack and Deke even got to threaten a racist with alien abduction. That said, it wasn't all fun and games, and the episode left some foreboding questions to consider as we look ahead to Episode 4 and beyond.
What Happened To Yo-Yo?
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. had previously revealed that Yo-Yo wasn't able to use her powers, but "Alien Commies from the Future" seemed to confirm that her powers aren't entirely gone. She is still able to see at super-speed, but the rest of her body won't cooperate. I initially thought that she might be suffering some kind of psychological block after what she went through in Season 6, but I'm beginning to think that it's genuinely a physical problem. Her new arms could be the cause, or some leftover effect from the Shrike, but S.H.I.E.L.D. hasn't shed any more light.
Seriously, What's Wrong With May?
I was already asking what was wrong with May after Episode 2, but the plot has officially thickened on the May front. Any theories that Simmons' healing tech somehow turned her into a Chronicom or even part-Chronicom/LMD seem to be disproved thanks to May remaining standing despite the EMP. After her breakdown when trying to chase the Chronicom through the smoke, my current theory is that May is suffering from some kind of PTSD from the end of Season 6, and her gasping for air was actually a panic attack. She has certainly been through more than enough trauma, and she did technically die not that long ago!
What Is Simmons Hiding?
Simmons' EMP thankfully seems to have debunked the theory that she's an LMD, but she's still hiding a lot from her friends, and there's still a big discrepancy. If Simmons was gone for a "considerable" amount of time but seemingly hasn't aged, something is definitely fishy. Is there something to Sousa's comment about her accent, or was it just a fun joke? Is it weird that she was able to make the EMP herself, when Fitz is the engineer? Could she be a clone, and FitzSimmons really did already live their lives and are now old and/or dead? Look, call me paranoid, but I'm way too used to bad things happening to FitzSimmons not to assume the worst. My fingers are crossed that this is just a secret baby scenario.
How Does LMD Coulson Work?
S.H.I.E.L.D. already revealed that the Season 7 version of Coulson is the most advanced LMD available, which was very good news for Daisy and Simmons in "Alien Commies from the Future" when Coulson was able to hold off a Chronicom. He's not so high-tech that he couldn't be taken down by Simmons' rushed EMP, however, but he was already sparking back to "life" before the final credits rolled. Is LMD Coulson impossible to "kill," short of dismemberment? Is he part Chronicom, and the others would have sparked back to life too if they hadn't self-destructed? How does he work?
Where's Enoch?
Speaking of Chronicoms, where on Earth is Enoch? The poor guy was left behind in 1931 when he wasn't able to make it back to the Zephyr before it jumped ahead to 1955, and his expression was downright heartbreaking when he realized. That said, if any member of the team was going to be left behind in the past, Enoch was the ideal choice. As a Chronicom, he doesn't have to deal with the pesky inconveniences of aging, and he was perfectly willing to stand guard over frozen Fitz for the better part of a century. Enoch can come back, and his alliance with Koenig seemed to make it likely he'd have S.H.I.E.L.D. ties. But where was he? And when is he coming back?
Does Sousa Have To Die?
"Alien Commies from the Future" revealed some key details about Sousa: he and Peggy Carter apparently weren't in regular contact, he had suspicions about Hydra infiltration in S.H.I.E.L.D. that were serious enough that he reached out to the CIA, and he might have already seen too much for him to have a long future. Nothing points toward him absolutely having to survive for the timeline. Peggy winds up with Steve courtesy of Avengers: Endgame, the extent of Hydra's infiltration isn't revealed on a large scale until Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Coulson probably would have known if there was anything in the S.H.I.E.L.D. history books about the legendary Agent Sousa living to tell the tale of what happened at Area 51.
Throw in the trailer for the next episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. along with the episode description, and fans may want to start preparing for a tragic end to Agent Daniel Sousa. And he seemed destined for a happy ending when Agent Carter wrapped, too! That said, it looks like the heroes aren't prepared to just let Sousa die, no matter what the history books say, and the next episode promises to be a noir episode unlike anything S.H.I.E.L.D. has even attempted before.
See what happens next on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. with the next new episode, called "Out of the Past," airing on Wednesday, June 17 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC. For more viewing options now and in the coming weeks, be sure to check out our 2020 summer TV premiere schedule. You can find the previous six seasons of S.H.I.E.L.D. streaming on Netflix, and both seasons of Agent Carter (along with a whole lot of other Marvel Cinematic Universe content) streaming on Disney+.
