Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 3 Episode 2: The Purpose In The Machine Recap With Spoilers

The episode opens with a flashback to Gloucestershire, England in 1839. Men dressed as nobles blindly pull pebbles out of a bag. All are black but one, which is white. That man who pulled the white pebble receives gifts from the others to help him on this journey he has been selected to undertake, including a sword. The man nervously walk to a door with a symbol carved into it. The man is shoved through the door, and then the door is barred. Behind the door is a cell with the monolith inside. From outside, screams can be heard as the monolith consumes the man. Another man says that no one, in all of history, has ever returned.

Daisy and Mack are debating Joey's viability as a team member. Mack says Dr. Garner will do an assessment. Daisy is annoyed because it will take too long and their ranks have grown thin. Bobbi and Lance barge in and tell them that Fitz broke containment on the monolith.

Fitz is still pounding on the solid, uncaring monolith. The team comes in and pulls Fitz out of the containment unit just before the monolith liquefies. Coulson arrives and is unhappy. Fitz says he just can't give up. He insists he missed something. He rubs something between his fingers, and runs out of the room.

Fitz pulls up a display and explains the substance on his finger is "impossible sand." Fitz says the sand is a billion years older than the Earth. It must have come from a planet on the other side of the monolith's portal. Coulson realizes this means Simmons is out there, but it's been months. She could still be dead, but the team is determined to find out for sure. Fitz gives Coulson a list of what he needs, and Coulson says he thinks he can get it. Coulson lets Bobbi know that he knows she's been covering for Fitz, then sends Lance on a mission.

Lance and Bobbi discuss Ward, Hydra, and Bobbi's recovery. Coulson tells Bobbi she's going to pick up Dr. Randolph, the Asgardian they encountered previously who has been hiding on Earth after arriving via portal. Lance takes off to find Ward.

Ward is driving a fancy car with its owner desperately hanging on to the hood through a parking garage, as new Hydra recruits stand there and watch. He monologues to Kebo about how the man represents the old, fat, lazy Hydra. Ward invites the man to prove his worth to Hydra. He wants to know where the kid is.

Randolph tells Coulson he can't help. He's laying low since the world is a little twitchy about aliens right now. He's also in jail because he got drunk and used Asgardian strength to destroy some property. Coulson reminds Randolph that he saved his life, and threatens to rat Randolph out to the ATCU. Randolph agrees to help, and rips the door to his cell off its hinges.

Garner arrives on Zephyr One. Daisy tries to butter him up immediately, and he sees through her. Daisy asks about May, but Andrew says she should ask May herself. Daisy points out that she doesn't know where May is.

May is at a driving range in Sun City, Arizona with her father. Her father wants to know why May is suddenly "daughter-of-the-year" after her trip with Andrew.

Randolph arrives just in time to see the monolith liquefy and reform. Fitz says it occurs randomly, but Randolph believes it's attuned to a pattern on another planet. Randolph admits that he only came to confirm the portals exists and then destroy it. He does agree to find Simmons first, and Coulson agrees to those terms. They tell him its Kree, maybe, and hand him the parchment with the Hebrew word for "death." Randolph says he's seen it before. Fitz recites the monolith's known history, up until it was lost in England in the 19th century. Randolph knew this because he saw the Hebrew word carved into a castle in Gloucestershire. They all go to the plane.

Ward and Kebo are watching a young man partying on a boat in a dock. Ward says the young man needs to see the world for what it really is, and says he can open many doors for them. Kebo swims onto the boat and lets rats loose, scaring the guests. Ward fights his way through bodyguards and onto the ship. He knocks out the kid.

Coulson and team arrive at the castle. Randolph says he was here for a costume ball. The Hebrew word is on the wall. Randolph clarifies its translation as "death by punishment." Coulson finds it carved again above an archway, then pushes on a lose stone to reveal a hidden passage. They enter.

Garner tells Daisy that Joey needs time, but Daisy says they're running out of time. Garner warns that desperation leads to mistakes, like Fitz opening a portal to save one life. Garner says Daisy is changing, turning into a leader. He says he understands the need for these "Secret Warriors," but Daisy says it's about showing them they have a place to belong. She wants Inhumans to take action with S.H.I.E.L.D. to make a difference.

May is preparing a meal for her father. He pulls out a box of old trinkets, including a trophy and a photo of May skating as a child. May notices a shadow pass by outside. She opens the door, and puts a knife to Lance's throat.

Coulson and team find some sort of lab or workshop. Fitz flips a switch and lights come on. Bobbi hears water. Another switch opens a door in the floor. The chamber looks like it was meant to hold the monolith, and Fitz believes the machines in the lab could control it.

When the boy awakens, Ward tells him he's taking everything from him, and that he has to earn everything from now on. He leaves Kebo to extract the boy's password through whatever means necessary.

Lance chats with May. He found her because he was searching for Hydra and found out that she was looking for the same leads. Lance wants her skills, but May says her father needs her. Her father broke his hip in a car accident. They never found the driver. She's worried that Ward is going after the people she cares about. May insists that she's out. Lance leaves her with information about his covers if she changes her mind. He says she's never really out if she's still looking over her shoulder.

Coulson's team lowers the monolith into place. Mack and Daisy show up. Daisy fills Coulson in on what Garner said about him. Mack and Fitz work the machine. Gears start to turn. The room starts to shake and the monolith liquefies. They toss a flare into the pit to provide light, but it just falls into the portal. Daisy begins to feel pain in her head. The gears become locked. Daisy's nose bleeds. The machine breaks as Daisy passes out. Coulson and Bobbi wake Daisy. She says the there was a pulsing sound that was causing her pain, but no one else heard it. Fitz says the machine locks the portal and they can use it to send a probe to see the other side, but they have to repair the machine first.

Kebo continues to beat the boy until the boy grabs a pen and stabs Kebo with it, then beats him with a phone. Ward enters and reveals that the boy is Werner Von Strucker, son of Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker, the recently deceased head of Hydra (killed in Avengers: Age of Ultron). Ward tells Werner that he's earned a drink and tacos.

May's father asks if she's hiding from unfinished business. She says she just wants to see if she can have a normal life. Her dad says there's no normal when she's hiding a gun in her golf bag. He pulls out the photo and reminds her how quickly she'd get up after she fell. He says his daughter always got back up.

Strucker says he should have Ward killed, but Ward tells him that Hydra is fractured and they need to rebuild it the right way. Werner says his father rarely let him see that world. Ward says it's his world now.

Mack and Fitz are trying to put the machine back together when he has a brainstorm. The machine, the whole lab, is meant to resonate a frequency like a speaker. Daisy then realizes that she can do that with her powers, but she can only hold it for a minute before it hurts her. Bobbi prepares a probe. Coulson stresses caution. Randolph is concerned and confused. Daisy begins the process of tuning the frequency, then points it at the monolith. It opens and Fitz dives in.

Fitz lands on the other side and is caught in a sandstorm. He calls for Simmons. Daisy struggles to hold the frequency. Fitz hears Simmons and runs towards her. Simmons finds him through the dust and reaches for him. Coulson tells Mack and Bobbi to pull him back. They retract his line and Simmons slips out of Fitz' hand. He struggles to reach her again, but the monolith explodes into rock and dust. Fitz emerges from beneath the rubble, with Simmons in his arms.

Simmons is recovering. Coulson says she would have never found Fitz if not for the flare they sent through earlier. Randolph asks what Daisy is. Coulson says she's one of the Inhumans. Randolph says he hasn't heard that term in a very long time.

Andrew calls May. He tells her the team pulled off a miracle getting Simmons back today. He invites her to come see Simmons, but May just says she's glad she's safe. She's already with Lance, who suggests celebrating with beers.

Simmons suddenly wakes up, and immediately moves into a defensive position with a sharp object in her hand. She sees Fitz sleeping sitting up next to her bed, and rests her head on his lap.

At school, Werner asks to enroll in Andrew's psychology class.