Coulson and company discovered "the city" this week, but what happened to Mack on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 2 Episode 9? Do you think it's fairly obvious now that Skye and Raina are Inhumans?

Join TV Fanatic staff writers Kathleen Wiedel, Jim Garner, Allison Nichols, Christine Orlando and Hank Otero - plus Andy Behbakht of the Helicarrier Podcast as we discuss those topics and share our overall thoughts on the season so far in this week's round table.

What did you make of Skye's weird dream? Was it a memory? What's with the music box?

Kathleen: The "dream" was clearly a memory to me, with Coulson and May standing in for her father and mother. Skye was wearing a flower dress in the scene, like Raina, too - a visual cue linking them together. I suspect that the music box represents whatever they're going to find in the temple.

Jim: I suspect that the dream was her brain trying to interpret a memory from being a baby when her parents (or SHIELD Agents) left her alone as a baby.  

Allison: I'm with Jim. I think Skye's brain is going into overdrive trying to dig up memories from when she was a baby. These are memory fragments that her brain is trying to piece together. I'm pretty sure we should be wary of all music boxes from here on out. Don't trust them. Don't touch them.

Christine: I saw it as a combination dream, possible pieces of memory and a bad omen of what's to come. I'm with Allison on the music boxes. Don't touch them. Don't open them. Run in the opposite direction.

Andy: I saw somewhere that the music box was playing a song named "Daisy something" and they thought it was a hint that she could actually be the character Daisy Johnson aka Quake which I wouldn't mind at all. I think the "dream" (what do we call it, really?) was some of her inner fear playing in combination of some repressed memories.

Hank: My initial impression was that it was a memory. However, like Andy I read the Daisy Johnson (Quake) theory and now it seems the real takeaway was the musical cue played by the musicbox. The S.H.I.E.L.D. writers tend to drag certain mysteries out too long, they better give us something significant in the finale. The Skye thing has grown old.

Share your thought's on Simmons discussing her underwater nightmare and her feelings toward Fitz with Bobbi.

Kathleen: It's good that they finally talked about the whole mess, because it desperately needed addressing. As Mack pointed out later, "The awkward silence is killing me!" It's rough for both Simmons and Fitz: Fitz put himself out there, put his heart on the line with his confession of love for her, but all she wanted with him was friendship. Talk about friend-zoned! That said, I'm not going to be angry at Simmons. It would be worse if she didn't tell the truth about her feelings, and it's perfectly alright to be friends instead of lovers. But it doesn't make it any easier on Fitz.

Jim: Most. Drawn-out. Romance. Ever. -- could Simmons just kiss Fitz and admit she loves him already (sigh).

Allison: I'm really glad that Simmons opened up to someone about Fitz. We have heard Fitz's view, and Simmons hadn't really shared. I am also loving Simmons' and Bobbi's friendship. They are so fun to watch. I hope to see more of them.

Christine: I felt so sad for Fitz. If they are never anything else, they are best friends and Simmons should tell him the truth about how she feels and all that happened that he doesn't recall. It's simply not fair to keep him in the dark about what she's thinking and feeling.

Andy: I sort of want to ship Bobbi and Simmons after that scene. Henstridge and Palicki have great chemistry and I feel it's nice that she has someone she can open up to regarding those things because I think both her and Fitz need some therapy after what they went through.

Hank: I'm with Jim, another storyline that has been overly dragged out. I believe Simmons only cares for Fitz as a friend, it doesn't need to be romantic (at least from her end). If that's the case, let's move on and get her romantically involved with someone else. You know?

Watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 2 Episode 9 Online

How did you feel about the Old San Juan adventure? Are you upset that Mack was killed off?

Kathleen: Honestly, I kept on waiting for Bobbi's San Juan contact to double-cross them or something, even though it would make no sense. I was disappointed that they killed Mack off, since I think that his relationship with Fitz has been one of the more interesting additions to the show this season. I hope Mack gave Coulson his toy Lola before they went out on the mission!

Jim: Are we sure Mack is dead? We've seen other team member possessed, there is still a chance they can rescue him right? If he is dead, I'm gonna be pissed off, as he was actually an interesting character.  

Allison: I am in denial. Mac better pop out alive and well in the next episode. He was a great addition to the team. There is definitely at least one character who could die and it would be okay because that person didn't really do anything. I still have faith that Mac will come back. Fitz won't let his friend go without a fight.

Christine: As Coulson said, that wasn't Mack, in which case there is still a chance he'll survive this. He'd better! I've really enjoyed his friendship with Fitz. As for the Old San Juan adventure, the scenery was gorgeous. I don't know exactly where they filmed but I'd like to visit…minus the alien booby traps.

Andy: My rule with comic book TV is that unless we see a body, that person ain't really dead. I don't think Mack is dead at all because the sound we heard when he fell down, is mysterious. We will have to wait and see next week!

Hank: As I mentioned in my Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 2 Episode 9 review, I loved seeing San Juan again (haven't been there in years). The tunnel adventure was a blast, very Indiana Jones. I agree with everyone, if Mack's gone it's a real shame and a waste of a great character. If he's Inhuman though, perhaps he's evolved and survived that fall. Hope we find out next episode.

Raina and Skye shared an important chat where The Kree were finally name-dropped. Are you more convinced than ever that they are Inhumans?

Kathleen: I held a private moment of victory when Raina name-checked the Kree; this is what the fans have been discussing all along, and with their discussion of the Kree, it seems clear that we're moving to the introduction of the Inhumans. Sweet.

Jim: YES! GOD YES! Given that Inhumans are a direct result of the Kree messing with human DNA, I'm not sure they could be any more obvious short of saying the word "Inhuman"

Allison: Okay, I'm the person who knows nothing about the comics. If Jim's little history lesson of sorts about the Kree and Inhumans is right, then I say yeah, I'm pretty sure we are dealing with Inhumans.

Christine: Umm… what are Inhumans? I'm afraid I'm learning this universe as I go.

Andy: Absolutely. I was shouting "Agents of I.N.H.U.M.A.N.S" a lot that night because at this point, if its not the Inhumans, then shame on Marvel. It's definitely the introduction of the Inhumans and I will die of geekdom if they say the name next week.  

Hank: I've been convinced this is an Inhumans story arc for a while now. I just want to hear someone say it already!

Ward let the bus go, what's that say about his loyalties? Is he seeking redemption from Coulson as well?

Kathleen: I smirked when Agent 33 informed Whitehall that Ward hadn't actually shot the Bus down. Yeah, Ward doesn't actually care about HYDRA - I wouldn't be surprised if he turned on them again at some point. Ward's pretty much three fries short of a Happy Meal. I'm not sure if he's seeking redemption from Coulson, but I'd say it's certain that he's still trying to look after Skye in his creepy psycho way. Taking her off of the Bus (they name-dropped it as SHIELD-616 again!) would help keep her out of the line of fire if HYDRA forces shoot it down, as they originally intended.

Jim: Letting the bus go was about keeping his promise to Skye and nothing more. He could give a rats-ass less about the rest of the team, but he is bat-crap crazy over Skye.

Allison: I think it shows that he has been honest with Skye about keeping his word. His goal is to win back Skye's trust, and he has continuously shown that he will never lie to her. Of course, he also murders a bunch of people, but hey, he is honest with Skye. I feel like he would want to win back Coulson's trust because it would help him with Skye.

Christine: I think promising not to shoot down the plane was simply about winning Skye's trust. I don't think he cares about SHIELD or Coulson but he definitely wants Skye on his side.

Andy: First of all, is anyone else getting tired that Ward is constantly winning? Anyway, I don't think he is seeking redemption at all and Coulson would never forgive him if I know him right. Ward is psycho, I love to hate him and I desperately need to know what is going on in that pretty head of his.

Hank: If it's true Ward has not lied to Skye this season, then he never meant to kill Fitz-Simmons but give them a fighting chance. He's twisted sure, but there's a part of me that believes he truly grew to care for these people. At least we know for certain he's not team-HYDRA.

Share your overall thoughts on the first half of the season heading into the Midseason Finale.

Kathleen: Before I get into thoughts on Season 2A overall, I want to mention how wonderful I found Patton Oswalt in this episode as the Agents Koenig, working together to bring Raina in and even using cool spy gadgets like the invisibility umbrella. Plus, they didn't forget that Ward murdered their brother in cold blood, either! Honestly, I wouldn't mind at all getting a webisode miniseries on the adventures of the Koenig brothers! As far as the rest of the season goes: there have been so many interesting developments that it's pretty hard to list them all. I have to compliment the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. folks for incorporating so many new cast members into the series so smoothly, with special mention to Mack and his friendship with Fitz. I also think that they did a fairly good job handling the map-carving obsession, Coulson's fear and devolving psychological state. Reed Diamond has been excellent as Daniel Whitehall, a more staid psychopath to complement Red Skull's ostentation. I wonder if Coulson will ever have the chance to just punch the guy in the face. Overall, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has done a great job so far; it's just too bad the first half of season one wasn't this good!

Jim: I really hope we start seeing SHIELD growing stronger and not just "reacting" to the things HYRDA does. Also, it would be nice after this long to learn the truth behind Skye.

Allison: I just learned that after the midseason finale, SHIELD isn't back until March 3, so I'm freaking out a bit about that. My main thoughts are: Skyeward, father daughter reunion, save Mac! I would also like some answers about Skye. It's been a season and a half. Let's wrap up this mystery.

Christine: My only disappointment has been that FitzSimmons is moving at a snail's pace. They've barely had a conversation all season and it's just not fair. Other than that I'm really enjoying season 2 and I'm looking forward to more.

Andy: My mind keeps getting blown over how flawless these 9 episodes have been because I can't think of one of these episodes that I didn't enjoy. I enjoyed them all, I'm going to do a marathon this weekend to get ready for the mid-season finale next week. I can't wait to see what will happen and what kind of bombs they will drop on us before leaving until their return in March 2015.

Hank: For me, these first 9 episodes continued the storytelling that brought me back to the series. Yes, I dropped it in the first half of Season 1. I still have a few issues with the writers wrapping up storylines or dragging things out too long. That's said, the fact Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is must watch TV for me now says it all. Looking forward to Marvel's Agent Carter and the return of Coulson and Co. in March.

Please share YOUR thoughts on the installment in the comments below. Then, check back with us next week for the final round table of 2014.

Don't miss the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Midseason Finale next Tuesday, December 9 at 9/8c. Here's a quick sneak peek:

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Winter Finale Clip