| "Paradise Lost" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode | |||
| Episodeno. | Season 3 Episode 16 | ||
| Directed by | Wendey Stanzler | ||
| Written by | |||
| Cinematography by | Allan Westbrook | ||
| Editing by | Joshua Charson | ||
| Original air date | April 12, 2016 (2016-04-12) | ||
| Running time | 43 minutes | ||
| Guest appearances | |||
| Episode chronology | |||
| |||
| Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.season 3 | |||
| List of episodes | |||
"Paradise Lost" is the sixteenth episode of thethird season of the American television seriesAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Based on theMarvel Comics organizationS.H.I.E.L.D., it followsPhil Coulson and his team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents as they learn of their new enemy,Hive. It is set in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and acknowledgesthe franchise's films. The episode was written byGeorge Kitson andSharla Oliver, and directed byWendey Stanzler.
Clark Gregg reprises his role as Coulson from the film series, and is joined by series regularsMing-Na Wen,Brett Dalton,Chloe Bennet,Iain De Caestecker,Elizabeth Henstridge,Henry Simmons, andLuke Mitchell.
"Paradise Lost" originally aired onABC on April 12, 2016, and according toNielsen Media Research, was watched by 3.01 million viewers.
In 1970, a teenageGideon Malick and his younger brotherNathaniel inherit their father,Wilfred's estate following his death, and become the leaders of the religious branch ofHydra, who periodically select one of their number to be sent to Maveth through the Monolith, as a sacrifice tothe ancient Inhuman. The brothers reluctantly visit an imprisonedDaniel Whitehall, who is dismissive of their belief in the Inhuman, believing it to be mythical. He reveals that Wilfred used sleight of hand to ensure he would never be chosen as a sacrifice, leaving both brothers upset at both his deception and cowardice. They're disappointed to discover that he was not the man they thought he was and vow to each other to become better men than he was. Malick, however, later uses the same trick to avoid being sent to Maveth, ensuring Nathaniel is sent instead, who's horrified at his brother's betrayal.
In the present, realizing that the Inhuman from Maveth is possessingGrant Ward's body,Leo Fitz andJemma Simmons determine that the Transia board members were eaten alive by a microscopic insectoid swarm, deducing that the Inhuman is made up of an amalgam of these alien organisms.Phil Coulson is left disillusioned that he may have unleashed a far worse threat by killing Ward. Hydra seize control of an agricultural company related to Transia, who are studying means of inoculating animals and plants against invasive organisms, leading Simmons to theorize that their studies could be used against the Inhuman. While the rest of the team go there to investigate,Lincoln Campbell takesDaisy Johnson toSouth Dakota in search ofJames, an Australian mercenary and inactive Inhuman who was banished from Afterlife for stealing aKree artifact and information about the ancient Inhuman from their archives. In exchange for a Terrigen crystal, James reveals that the creature, "Alveus" (Latin for "Hive"), was one of the firstInhumans, who led his kin in a revolution against the Kree, driving them from Earth. Some of the other Inhumans became fearful of Hive, and united with humankind against him, ultimately banishing him to Maveth. Lincoln grabs the spherical artifact but double-crosses James, refusing to relinquish the promised crystal, believing he does not deserve Terrigenesis. James is outraged and warns Daisy that Lincoln is not to be trusted. Due to what James let slip, Lincoln is forced to confess to Daisy that he once drunkenly caused a car crash that nearly killed his previous girlfriend, prior to coming to Afterlife. In return, Daisy tells Lincoln about her vision of a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent's death in space, possibly her own or someone on the team.[a]
A terrified Malick confides in a disbelievingStephanie Malick that he will soon be killed by Hive, according to the visionCharles Hinton showed him. Hive visits the Malicks' home to arrange a meeting of Hydra's inner circle, revealing himself to them as proof he is indeed the one he professes to be, he morphs into his true tentacled form, leaving them all agape. He also tells Stephanie of her father's betrayal of Nathaniel, whose memories and persona he still retains. A distraught Stephanie, disappointed she's been lied to all these years, tells Hive to punish Malick however he sees fit, and as Malick watches, Hive kisses Stephanie, unleashing his parasites into her body and killing her from the inside. "Now you understand sacrifice", Hive tells a shock-stricken Malick. Meanwhile,Giyera is captured at the agricultural company, afterMelinda May defeats him in a fight. However he later breaks free of containment and telekinetically flies the plane to Malick's headquarters in theNetherlands, with Coulson, May, Fitz, Simmons andAlphonso "Mack" Mackenzie trapped on board. In response, Daisy and Lincoln decide to bring inJoey Gutierrez andElena Rodriguez for a rescue mission.
In an end tag, Hive informs a grief-stricken and mutinous Malick of the S.H.I.E.L.D. team's capture, and assures him that he has nothing further to fear, as Nathaniel has been avenged to Hive's satisfaction. He places a hand on Malick's shoulder, and in Nathaniel's voice utters, "Together, till the end."
In March 2016, Marvel announced that the sixteenth episode of the season would be titled "Paradise Lost", to be written byGeorge Kitson andSharla Oliver, withWendey Stanzler directing.[1]
After theprevious episode, executive producersJed Whedon andMaurissa Tancharoen discussed how the title characters would be affected by the reveal thatHive was walking around in the body ofGrant Ward, going into this episode, with Whedon saying, "This is going to be the most shocking for Coulson because he did something dark but for a good reason, and now he knows he didn't achieve much. Maybe he even did something or created something worse with that act. I think that Coulson's real feelings about Ward will come to the surface. For everybody else, obviously it's going to be a very large threat." Tancharoen added, "Up until this point, Coulson has been coping with what he did to Ward back on Maveth by just pushing forward, not really thinking about it. Now, basically Ward's face filled the screen in his office and he literally came face-to-face with the person that he killed. And he's no longer a person, so what is he is still a question. We've been alluding to the fact that he's the ultimate symbol of evil, so that's not good."[2]
Bethany Joy Lenz was briefly introduced asStephanie Malick in "Parting Shot",[3] ahead of her larger role in this episode, on which Tancharoen explained, "We definitely wanted to explore what it's like to be a family that grew up in the religion of Hydra, if you will. How that is the backbone of their beliefs and their bond. It's a very interesting dynamic, this father-and-daughter relationship in that world of Hydra."[2] On the character kissing Hive moments before her death, Whedon said, "Is it creepy that she's basically kissing her uncle? Yes. But she's caught up. This is the most powerful thing that she's been taught to worship her whole life that's paying attention to her. If she took a step back, maybe she would think a little harder about it. But in the moment, she's just enthralled."[4]
In March 2016, Marvel revealed that main cast membersClark Gregg,Ming-Na Wen,Brett Dalton,Chloe Bennet,Iain De Caestecker,Elizabeth Henstridge,Nick Blood,Adrianne Palicki,Henry Simmons, andLuke Mitchell would star asPhil Coulson,Melinda May,Hive,Daisy Johnson,Leo Fitz,Jemma Simmons,Lance Hunter,Bobbi Morse,Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie, andLincoln Campbell, respectively.[1] It was also revealed that the guest cast for the episode would includeReed Diamond asDaniel Whitehall,Powers Boothe asGideon Malick,Mark Dacascos asGiyera,Cameron Palatas as youngGideon Malick, Alexander Wraith as AgentAnderson,Joel Dabney Courtney asNathaniel Malick,Axle Whitehead asJames, Mark Atteberry as Kurt Vogel, Ana Zimhart as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent,Henry LeBlanc as mourner andBethany Joy Lenz asStephanie Malick.[1] Wraith, Atteberry, Zimhart, and Leblanc did not receive guest star credit in the episode. Diamond, Boothe, Dacascos, Wraith, and Lenz reprise their roles from earlier in the series.[3][5][6] Blood and Palicki do not ultimately appear.
"Paradise Lost" was first aired in the United States onABC on April 12, 2016.[1]
In the United States the episode received a 1.0/3 percent share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, meaning that it was seen by 1.0 percent of all households, and 3 percent of all of those watching television at the time of the broadcast. It was watched by 3.01 million viewers.[7]
