"Girl in the Flower Dress" is the fifth episode of the ABC/Marvel series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. It premiered October 22, 2013.
Plot[]
A street performer is doing an illusion show in Hong Kong but when his guests are unamazed, he shows his real power: firethrowing. A female spectator convinces him to take her back to where he lives. She wants him to show his fire powers but he only does so reluctantly. She tells him he has a gift and for him to close his eyes, however, when he opens them, men in flameproof suits are there to take him away.
Grant and Skye play a game of Battleship and Grant "comments" that he is surprised that she is picking up on her training so fast. Coulson and May watch the two agents, glad that she is coming along so well. May offers to set up the mats so that the two senior agents can spar like old times but an alert begins to go off, informing them of Chan Ho Yin the pyrokinetic street performer who is on the S.H.I.E.L.D. watch list. They contact Agent Chen who is searching Chan's apartment. He tells them that recently a member of the Rising Tide had hacked into the database and had taken information on the pyrokinetic. To shift the blame from herself, Skye traces the hack.
Raina, the woman who abducted Chan, wakes him up and he thinks she is with S.H.I.E.L.D. She tells him all she wants to do is perform tests on him and that if he leaves he will only be a forgotten magician. She says he will be even better remembered by calling himself "Scorch".
Skye tracks the hacktivist to Austin, Texas and discovers his name is Miles Lydo. Grant finds Miles and chases him but Miles drives away with Coulson not far behind. Using his hacking abilities, Miles creates gridlocked traffic to cut Coulson off. He gets back home to find Skye already inside. She makes sure that he was not followed and he thanks her for the text warning him. The two rekindle an old flame.
Afterwards, she reveals that she hides a secret data drive in her bra. When she opens the door, May is standing there very unhappy with Skye. The agents show up and Coulson is angry that she tipped off an active suspect. May begins interrogating Miles who refuses to talk. Coulson tells them to take both prisoners, Miles and Skye back to the plane.
Raina introduces Chan to the lab where he can work out and be monitored while under the effects of a power-enhancing serum. His fire powers are greatly increased and he begins loving the extra power without limits.
Miles and Skye bicker in the interrogation room as Fitz-Simmons dig through Miles's files. Coulson admits to May that he was wrong to trust his gut on Skye, but she tells him to still listen to his gut which tells him Skye is hiding more than she lets on. Simmons comes in to tell them she has found something. Grant reveals to Skye that her "boyfriend" was actually selling information instead of giving it free and that he received a million dollars. Miles claims that the company is harmless, only experimenting on centipedes. Grant and Skye realize what it really means is the Centipede Project and Chan is in extreme danger.
Raina talks with Debbie, the scientist who also performed the Centipede experiments on Michael Peterson, about the platelets in Chan's blood causing him to be flame-resistant. If they drain the platelets they can be used to stabilize the extremis formula to keep the subjects from exploding. The Centipede scientists begin extracting Chan's platelets painfully.
Grant is forced to stay behind to watch the prisoners, who are both still arguing. Skye's conscience causes her to be very mad at Miles for selling out an innocent man for money.
Coulson, May, and Agent Chen go in through the roof of the building Chan is being held in. They blow open a door and take down the guards but because of an extra dose of Extremis serum, Chan frees himself and kills Chen with a fireball through the chest.
Because of Coulson's exigent state, Grant removes Skye's handcuffs and the two come to rescue Coulson.
May attempts to negotiate with Chan but he becomes more irate. Coulson tries using dendrotoxin on Scorch but he blocks himself with a fire wall. Grant fights his way through the hallways with Skye in tow. Debbie is afraid to tell her superiors of the danger at hand but Raina knows that without his platelets, Chan will combust. Skye releases the locks but Scorch escapes Coulson and May. Coulson orders Fitz-Simmons to uncuff Miles who can help them hack into the building's system. Scorch finds Debbie, abandoned by Raina, but he burns her into a pile of smoldering ash. Coulson distracts Chan as May injects him with two more doses of the serum. As he heats up and the agents escape, Miles activates the locks so that the explosion will be routed to the roof.
Back on the bus, Coulson gives Miles a choice between an electronic device monitor wrist band or jail. Miles takes the monitor but is shocked when Coulson informs him that he has given an "anonymous donation" to Agent Kwan's family and that he is being left in Hong Kong. Skye however is called into Coulson's office. On the way there, Grant gives her the cold shoulder when she tries to convince him to sit in on the meeting. Coulson confronts her about lying and her secrets. He gives her one chance to reveal them and she produces her data drive with all of the records she has compiled while looking for her parents. Coulson gives her another chance at becoming an agent with a electronic device monitor wrist band.
The episode ends with Raina talking to a mysterious man who is stuck in prison. He mentions that he hopes her program will help his current state. She tells him he must talk to "the Clairvoyant".
