Agents of SHIELD Uncovers a Mole & a New LMD

SPOILER WARNING: This article contains spoilers for "Wake Up," the latest episode of "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."

The "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." have a mole problem. First, Holden Radcliffe installed an LMD version of May to be his eyes and ears in the team, and now there's another mole on the loose -- as well as another secret LMD. In "Wake Up," the latest episode, both were uncovered, but they will have a major impact on the struggling organization nonetheless.

True to his nature, Radcliffe has broken bad (again). When his first attempt to have Aida secure the Darkhold went sideways in the mid-season premiere, he decided to defect and teamed up with none other than Senator Nadeer. He feels that, under Nadeer, he'll have more flexibility to do what he needs to find the Darkhold, which he hopes to use to find a path to immortality. Nadeer has only one requirement before he joins her mission: he must meet the mysterious Superior.

This kind of move certainly isn’t out of line for Radcliffe, who could be described as morally ambiguous at best. After all, he voluntarily worked with Hive last season as the ancient Inhuman attempted to transform everyone on Earth into an Inhuman. Additionally, when Simmons and Fitz first met him, he was in eager pursuit of cybernetic enhancements, so it appears his goal hasn't changed too much. Seeing as Nadeer was willing to kill her own brother to eradicate the Inhuman threat, it seems likely the two will get along.

Radcliffe's meddling resulted in big trouble for S.H.I.E.L.D. He was able to give Nadeer a heads up about Coulson's plan to break into her office and plant surveillance bugs, so she anticipated their arrival and caught them in the act; this being the case, she was able to parade Coulson and Yo-Yo in front of a committee hearing about Daisy's vigilante acts, thereby landing S.H.I.E.L.D. in a lot of hot water. From hereon out, S.H.I.E.L.D. will have to tread lightly, thanks to the Senate cracking down on them in the wake of this failed subterfuge.

What's more, Radcliffe introduced a new LMD to S.H.I.E.L.D. This time, however, he made an LMD of himself, which proved useful when Fitz discovered that Radcliffe was gunning for the Darkhold. When Fitz revealed his findings to S.H.I.E.L.D. and S.H.I.E.L.D. went to capture Radcliffe, they got a convincing LMD version of Radcliffe instead. Fitz confirmed his suspicions by shooting the Radcliffe LMD in the head, thereby disabling it, but not before it told him that Radcliffe thought of him as a son.

The May LMD also confronted Radcliffe about her condition, only to discover that she was subject to his programming no matter how she tried. During their conversation, she attempted to bludgeon him, but was unable to do so. He then told her that she would follow his directive to secure the Darkhold even with the knowledge that she was programmed to do so, and that she could never voluntarily reveal what she was to her team. According to Radcliffe, there's no way to tell where May begins and the programming ends, damning her to recognize her condition but be unable to do anything about it.

Meanwhile, the real May has been squirreled away to a new location now that Radcliffe has switched allegiances. Though the episode appeared to show May's daring escape, Aida eventually revealed that May was in a simulation to keep her mind busy. However, when May proved herself to be too adept at the simulation, her scenario was changed -- and it brought her right back to Bahrain, where she was finally able to rescue the Inhuman girl in the end.

Airing Tuesdays at 10 pm ET/PT on ABC, “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” stars Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson, Chloe Bennet as Daisy “Quake” Johnson, Ming-Na Wen as Melinda May, Iain De Caestecker as Leo Fitz, Elizabeth Henstridge as Jemma Simmons, Henry Simmons as Alphonso “Mack” Mackenzie and more.