Melinda (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)

"**Melinda**"
"Melinda"
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode
	"The Art of Evolution" poster for the episode.
Episode no.	Season 2; Episode 17
Directed by	Garry A. Brown
Written by	DJ Doyle
Editing by	David Crabtree; Paul C. Domick;
Original air date	April 14, 2015
Running time	43 minutes
Guest appearances
	Kyle MacLachlan as Calvin Zabo; Henry Simmons as Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie; Dichen Lachman as Jiaying; Jamie Harris as Gordon; Luke Mitchell as Lincoln Campbell; Ruth Negga as Raina; Christine Adams as Anne Weaver; Derek Phillips as O'Brien; Terrell Tilford as Hart; Winter Ave Zoli as Eva Belyakov; Kris Lemche as Ethan Johnston; Blair Underwood as Andrew Garner; Ava Acres as Katya Belyakov;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "Afterlife"	Next →; "The Frenemy of My Enemy"
	Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 2
	List of episodes

"Melinda" is the seventeenth episode of the second season of the American television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division), revolving around the character of Skye as she learns about her abilities, her parents, and her titular S.H.I.E.L.D. mentor Melinda May, whose dark past is explored through flashbacks. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and acknowledges the franchise's films. The episode was written by DJ Doyle, and directed by Garry A. Brown.

Clark Gregg reprises his role as Phil Coulson from the film series, and is joined by Chloe Bennet as Skye and Ming-Na Wen as May. Recurring guest stars Kyle MacLachlan and Dichen Lachman portray Skye's parents, while series regulars Iain De Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge, Nick Blood, and Adrianne Palicki also star. This episode reveals May's history, which had been teased since the beginning of the series, and which not even Wen had known about before reading the episode's script. Efforts were made to differentiate the younger May shown in flashbacks to the present day version of the character, and Blair Underwood guest stars as May's then husband Andrew Garner.

"Melinda" originally aired on ABC on April 14, 2015, and according to Nielsen Media Research, was watched by 4.04 million viewers.