“All Roads Lead…” is episode eighteen of season five of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
In the previous episode, “The Honeymoon”, Daisy and May had found and rescued General Talbot and Coulson. In Herefordshire, Fitz, Simmons and Yo-Yo had found part of the particle infusion chamber and destroyed it. Only for Ruby and Werner to turn up – Ruby had locked her mother in her room. They want Fitz and Simmons to fix the machine they broke. Yo-Yo was outside when Werner and Ruby arrived, having jumped out of a window on top of Anton. Daisy had also allowed Talbot to make a call to his wife. Unfortunately, General Hale’s assistant, Lee, was with his wife, getting her to read from a script. It looks like Talbot has been compromised by Hale.
This episode opens with Talbot in a lift talking to himself, telling himself to ‘complete the mission, soldier.’ He goes into an armoury and takes a handgun – just one, out of many – then goes elsewhere to take a look at the complex’s security camera feeds, tampering with one just before Mack enters. Mack tells Talbot he needs rest, and the latter says that he is happy to comply.
Fitz is trying to fix the part of the chamber than he and Simmons broke, but Ruby isn’t helping. She’s throwing her disc into some crates behind the chair that Simmons is tied to. Fitz convinces Ruby that he needs Simmons to help, so she unties her. Werner also tells Ruby that he’s found Anton, and that there has to be someone else around to have taken him out. So Werner has reprogrammed one of the mechs to hunt and kill whoever it is down. They also have the gravitonium – that has the minds of two people trapped inside it. Fitz and Simmons are talking about stopping the destruction of the planet, but proceed with fixing the chamber. Just very slowly. Yo-Yo herself is having problems – her new mech arms weren’t designed to cope with her superspeed.
Daisy is found Hale’s base – a decommissioned military bunker – and is planning an attack on it. Coulson is to stay behind, and Daisy wants Mack to work on the space engines for the Zephyr. Deke is also remaining behind to help. Deke’s feelings for Daisy – which he revealed in the previous episode – are affecting his behaviour. Once Daisy leaves, Deke tries convincing Mack and Coulson and this isn’t the case. It doesn’t work. Then he asks them for advice. That doesn’t work either.
Hale is freed from Ruby’s room by Lee. Hale asks how Creel is doing, and Lee says he’s worse. Much worse. In “Inside Voices”, Creel had touched the gravitonium. Now he cannot get Hall and Quinn’s voices out of his head. Hall had absorbed Quinn out of revenge – now they are stuck together. Creel only touched the gravitonium briefly; Hale is now very concerned about what will happen to Ruby if she absorbs it all. So, when Daisy and May arrive, Hale wants their help.
Is any progress actually being made on changing the future? Or is everything that’s being done simply part of the process that caused it?