We always had a feeling we couldn't truly trust Radcliffe (John Hannah) and our suspicions were proved correct last week on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. when it was revealed that he'd been pulling Aida's strings all along during her quest to obtain the Darkhold, all a part of his master plan to use the powerful book to unlock human immortality.
And in this sneak peek of Tuesday's new episode, exclusive to E! News, the shady scientist reveals that he's got big plans for his Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) decoy now that he's tricked everyone at S.H.I.E.L.D. into thinking that Aida (Mallory Jansen) is out of commission after having her robot head chopped off.
"If Agent May isn't aware of her mission to retrieve the Darkhold, then she won't be able to reveal herself. Her programming will present as human emotion. She'll instinctively climb the ranks, gain access, and get closer to Agent Coulson—the man who knows just where this book is," he tells his AI humanoid assistant, who seems unconvinced.
"It might be quicker for me to search the base myself," she suggests.
But he's not having any of it. "No. I've tried the quick way," he says. "Now, we're playing a longer, more nuanced game—hopefully with less violence." (He's still a little upset that Aida resorted to homicide with poor Agent Nathanson, after all.)
"But isn't the real Agent May already prone to violence?" she replies. Judging from the pained expression on his face, that's not really something he'd worried about yet.
Elsewhere in the episode, while separated from the team, Coulson (Clark Gregg) and Mack (Henry Simmons) discover a shocking secret about Mace (Jason O'Mara), leaving all of S.H.I.E.L.D. in a precarious position.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on ABC.