What's Next for Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.?

 Story by Matt Cummings

**Warning: This post is loaded with spoilers for Episode 17 of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.**  

If you missed Turn, Turn, Turn on ABC last week - and it looks like many of you did - then you missed the AofS we had been hoping for since the pilot.  The series is in freefall now, with news of HYDRA infiltrating the spy agency, revealing sleeper agents even on Coulson's team.  With S.H.IE.L.D. in shambles and Victoria Hand dead, Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) and what remains of his team are on the run, cut off from their support system and with a new-old enemy in their rear view mirror.  The video above features the cast reacting to Turn, but it's the last five episodes that will determine whether the series returns for Season 2.  Stuck in 3rd gear for the first third of the season, viewers need answers to several burning questions, some of which we include below:

• Who's that blue dude?  While searching for a cure after Skye was gut shot by The Calirvoyant's bitch, Coulson came face to face with a blue alien that was having its...whatever pumped out of it and into vials.  We've pontificated about what race this alien could be, but this is a critical question AofS needs to answer and soon.  
• Why is Skye a "0-8-4"?  She's hot, can't act, but somehow was designated a “0-8-4″ (object of unknown origin) as a youth, leaving several SHIELD agents dead in her wake.  What's her story, and what specific skills (besides obvious female ones) does this little number have?  
• What will become of HYDRA goons Raina (Ruth Negga) and Deathlok (August Richards)?  Hopefully, we'll see both get the bullets they deserve, especially Raina who you know Coulson would love to dispatch with extreme prejudice...extreme.
• Will the REAL Calirvoyant please stand up?  Apparently, we'll found out in the upcoming episode Providence.
• Ward, a HYDRA Agent??  Talk about something coming out of left field, this one was so shocking that many are wondering if the move was in an effort to spice up those frankly awful ratings.  Only time will tell who's gonna put a bullet in him first.

While some of these will be answered soon, tonight's episode Providence airs one hour later (9pm EST) following a re-run of last week’s game-changer.  We have a preview of the episode below:

Here's the official synopsis for tonight's episode:

Providence” – With Colonel Glenn Talbot now on their trail, Coulson and his team seek refuge in the last place anyone would look, where they begin to uncover S.H.I.E.L.D.’s most dangerous secrets–secrets that could destroy them all, on “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” Guest starring are Bill Paxton as Agent John Garrett, David Conrad as Ian Quinn, Adrian Pasdar as US Air Force Colonel Glenn Talbot, Ruth Negga as Raina, B.J. Britt as Agent Antoine Triplett, Patton Oswalt as Agent Eric Koenig, Patrick Brennan as Marcus Daniels, Rich Paul as Agent #1, Bayardo De Murguia as Agent #2, Kylie Furneaux as Agent, Jeffrey Muller as Agent, Pia Shah as female scientist, Alex Goode as hacker, Alysha Del Valle as ABC reporter, Ramon Hilario as barber and Patrick Quinlan as guard.

With promises from Jeff Loeb that we'll see Samuel L. Jackson and Colbie Smulders in future episodes, the series is heading into the final stretch.  Whether AofS survives past that point is anyone's guess, but the lack of confirmation from the studio can't be promising.  Besides, what will Coulson and team return to once the dust settles?  If the series does get cancelled, this would be a great time to introduce new connections to the upcoming Avengers 2: Rise of Ultron, which will feature HYDRA in some form.

Are you excited or even interested in this series?  Let us know!  Brett Dalton who plays Ward sure has accepted his new role - check out his recent Twitter post:

Out of the shadows. Into the light. #HailHydra
— Brett Dalton (@IMBrettDalton) April 9, 2014

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