# Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D S02E08: The Things We Bury (open spoilers)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e08-the-things-we-bury-open-spoilers/705051>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [November 19, 2014, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e08-the-things-we-bury-open-spoilers/705051 "2014-11-19T06:10:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 11\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\
**Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e08-the-things-we-bury-open-spoilers/705051/61 "2014-11-21T07:03:13Z")

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> [@levdrakon](#):
>
> So, Diviner vs. Mjolnir. Which wins?

Mjolnir, if there is something hard enough to serve as an anvil, otherwise it’s a draw.

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**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\
**Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e08-the-things-we-bury-open-spoilers/705051/62 "2014-11-21T11:47:52Z")

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> [@sachertorte](#):
>
> Jungle != Austria.

As some others have said, I watched the episode thinking the 1989 stuff happened in China (well …_after_ Whitehall’s release from “The Rat”). But, upon rewatching, **muldoonthief** is right. The villagers are brought to Whitehall at a castle that is tagged as “Austria 1989”.

However, it’s a darkly lit scene when the body is found. I had assumed jungle because I thought the previous scenes happened in Asia, but rewatching it looks like it could just as easily be woods instead of jungle. I see no reason why Whitehall would have the body transported back to the original village then dumped in the jungle.

> [@muldoonthief](#):
>
> Either Hydra killed everyone else in the process of kidnapping the village elders, or Dr. Dad killed everyone else when he went insane.

Yeah, this is the question that is still unanswered.  
We’ve been told that Skye’s village was slaughtered by “monsters” or “a monster”. Was the word monster simply being used to describe people who act cruelly and viciously and without empathy? ie Hydra goons slaughtering the village during the kidnapping of the elders?

Or was the word monster used to describe something not at all human?  
If the body was dumped in Austria in the woods (rather than jungle), that would mean DAD had tracked the kidnappers to Austria …and presumably left his baby daughter with a trusted person in the village.

Upon finding his wife dead he thinks “Oh no! Now they’ll be after my daughter!” So, he goes back to the village and finds that his baby is missing and goes crazy and kills everyone?

All Hydra ops in 1989 could have been combo Hydra/SHIELD ops since this was while Hydra was hiding within SHIELD. Maybe Hydra’s use of SHIELD resources for the kidnapping raised some flags within SHIELD. SHIELD goes to the village to investigate and finds a baby that is being protected by the villagers. DAD returns to the village and conflates SHIELD Agents with the goons who kidnapped/killed his wife (understandable since Hydra and SHIELD would have appeared to be the same organization). He goes nuts, SHIELD Agents think they have to protect this baby who the villagers have deemed special, DAD has now got to kill everyone- villagers and SHIELD alike -to get to his baby (which makes him seem to those protecting the baby as if he is a threat to the baby)?

> [@muldoonthief](#):
>
> Undersecretary Pierce, the big bad in the 2nd Captain America movie, had him released because he thought Reinhardt “was only following orders.”

That was the official reason given for his release, but since it was Pierce we can safely assume that Whitehall was being releases specifically so he could come back to work for Hydra. The SHIELD Agent who escorted Whitehall was a secret Hydra agent- probably not by coincidence.

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**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\
**Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e08-the-things-we-bury-open-spoilers/705051/63 "2014-11-21T11:58:27Z")

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> [@levdrakon](#):
>
> DAD never touched the obelisk/Diviner. He seemed to know better.
> 
> Or something.

When Whitehall was shoving him toward the Diviner, he seemed concerned about accidentally touching it, but of course it’s also possible he doesn’t want to tip his hand and reveal that he _can_ touch it, lest Whitehall put him on a dissection table.

Didn’t Rayna successfully touch the Diviner? Is she now immortal, too?

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**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\
**Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e08-the-things-we-bury-open-spoilers/705051/64 "2014-11-21T12:09:51Z")

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IMHO the Diviner doesn’t automatically make someone immortal, it activates the genes the Kree left in the Inhumans and gives them their superpowers. Dad knows better than to touch it because he’s seen what it can do, or else he didn’t want to touch it because he didn’t want to tip his hand to Whitehall that he’s someone Special.

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**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\
**Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e08-the-things-we-bury-open-spoilers/705051/65 "2014-11-21T13:14:45Z")

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> [@bienville](#):
>
> That was the official reason given for his release, but since it was Pierce we can safely assume that Whitehall was being releases specifically so he could come back to work for Hydra. The SHIELD Agent who escorted Whitehall was a secret Hydra agent- probably not by coincidence.

Oh, of course, I didn’t mean to imply differently. Just that the official reason was that Reinhardt didn’t have a choice other than to work for Hydra. But the Hydra agent who released him said that the reason they were letting him go was because they “found the woman”, and needed Reinhardt to continue his research on her.

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**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\
**Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e08-the-things-we-bury-open-spoilers/705051/66 "2014-11-21T14:28:54Z")

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> [@bienville](#):
>
> As some others have said, I watched the episode thinking the 1989 stuff happened in China (well …_after_ Whitehall’s release from “The Rat”). But, upon rewatching, **muldoonthief** is right. The villagers are brought to Whitehall at a castle that is tagged as “Austria 1989”.
> 
> \<snip\>
> 
> Yeah, this is the question that is still unanswered.  
> We’ve been told that Skye’s village was slaughtered by “monsters” or “a monster”. Was the word monster simply being used to describe people who act cruelly and viciously and without empathy? ie Hydra goons slaughtering the village during the kidnapping of the elders?
> 
> Or was the word monster used to describe something not at all human?  
> If the body was dumped in Austria in the woods (rather than jungle), that would mean DAD had tracked the kidnappers to Austria …and presumably left his baby daughter with a trusted person in the village.
> 
> Upon finding his wife dead he thinks “Oh no! Now they’ll be after my daughter!” So, he goes back to the village and finds that his baby is missing and goes crazy and kills everyone?

The writers made all this excessively confusing. Though to be fair, I had simply assumed all along that Dad had found his dead wife at the site of the slaughtered village people.

(Heh, heh. An image just popped into my head of the bloody bodies of a Native American, Cop, Construction worker, Soldier, and Cowboy.)

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**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\
**Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e08-the-things-we-bury-open-spoilers/705051/67 "2014-11-21T14:40:04Z")

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> [@levdrakon](#):
>
> So, Diviner vs. Mjolnir. Which wins?

The Batarang.

If it’s prepared.

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**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\
**Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e08-the-things-we-bury-open-spoilers/705051/68 "2014-11-21T17:42:47Z")

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My crazy fan theory is that the city they are looking for isn’t Attilan… but Kun’Lun… and this whole thing has been a set-up for the Netflix Iron Fist series.

I like what they are doing with Mac. They are definitely sowing the seeds of something with him. He doesn’t like aliens or trust. He doesn’t trust Coulson anymore and isn’t shy about spreading dissent. I could see a cool heel turn for him or at the least a good excuse to have him leave the team/show.

I also like the nugget about Simmons thinking she (or someone else) was potentially brainwashed while working for Hydra.

Bobbi has made Hunter a far more tolerable character even though their story is hackneyed.

I was really worried about Tripp when he got shot. The actor is on another show which according to the showrunners is why he wasn’t made a “regular” this year–they could easily kill him off.

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**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\
**Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e08-the-things-we-bury-open-spoilers/705051/69 "2014-11-21T19:08:58Z")

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> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#):
>
> When Whitehall was shoving him toward the Diviner, he seemed concerned about accidentally touching it, but of course it’s also possible he doesn’t want to tip his hand and reveal that he _can_ touch it, lest Whitehall put him on a dissection table.
> 
> Didn’t Rayna successfully touch the Diviner? Is she now immortal, too?

Yup, he made her touch it. I wonder if he was already pretty sure she was a “special” or he didn’t care. But he didn’t touch it, and there wasn’t really any reason for him not to during that scene. I got the impression that while he knows a bit about the Diviner, it isn’t native technology to him. I suppose it could be a fake out. Now I’m dying to know where Rayna is, and whether she gained any special ability from the Diviner. Rayna and Skye (for sure!) are the only two who could use the Diviner to gain access to the Kree city.

What happened to the other people who passed Whitehall’s test? Was Skye’s mom the only one he got around to experimenting on? Are the other “specials” still around somewhere?

Regarding Mac: I like him, but it does seem possible he was brought in to replace Tripp while the actor is busy with other projects, and when he comes back Mac will get offed. I hope not. He’s been a good pal to Fitz.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\
**Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e08-the-things-we-bury-open-spoilers/705051/70 "2014-11-21T19:35:40Z")

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> [@levdrakon](#):
>
> What happened to the other people who passed Whitehall’s test? Was Skye’s mom the only one he got around to experimenting on? Are the other “specials” still around somewhere?

You mean like Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch? They may show up sometime. 😉

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**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\
**Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e08-the-things-we-bury-open-spoilers/705051/71 "2014-11-21T20:37:12Z")

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> [@silenus](#):
>
> You mean like Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch? They may show up sometime. 😉

It’ll be interesting if Attilan ends up on Wundagore Mountain.

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