Ian Quinn makes a purchase from Cybertek Industries, and a security team of mercenaries is hired to escort it to Quinn's mansion in the Italian countryside. Wanting to apprehend Quinn after he recently revealed he is allied with the Clairvoyant, Coulson's team boards the train carrying the merchandise, posing as ordinary passengers. May goes in pursuit of the package, but their communications suddenly cut out and Coulson and Ward are attacked by the security team, who eject them from the train and stun them with a grenade containing dendrotoxin, the chemical found in night-night guns. May is also forced to abandon the train and is captured by police chief Luca Russo, who is accepting bribes from Cybertek. Simmons is stunned by another dendrotoxin grenade, and Skye and Fitz hide her in a luggage carriage before following the security team to Quinn's mansion. May escapes Russo, who contacts Coulson and Ward and claims he was attacked by Cybertek; he meets them at the Bus but is killed by May. The three of them soon find the abandoned train, with a confused Simmons on board. Skye and Fitz activate a beacon device to alert the others, and Skye enters the mansion, going to find the Cybertek package in the basement. She discovers Mike Peterson in a hyperbaric chamber, before Quinn arrives and reveals that the merchandise is a highly advanced bionic leg, which he attaches to Mike. Mike kills the security team on the Clairvoyant's orders and then leaves, while Quinn shoots Skye twice in the stomach. Coulson's team arrive and apprehend Quinn, and they keep Skye alive temporarily in the hyperbaric chamber, rushing her to a SHIELD medical facility. In an end tag, at a playground, Mike asks the unseen Clairvoyant to let him see his son Ace, and receives a message through his eye implant saying 'Not yet'. It is revealed that the bionic leg was developed by Cybertek as part of 'Project Deathlok'.
Production
Development
In January 2014, Marvel revealed that the seventeenth episode would be titled "End of the Beginning", and would be written by Lauren LeFranc and Rafe Judkins, with Paul Edwards directing.
Casting
In January 2014, Marvel revealed that main cast members Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker, and Elizabeth Henstridge would star as Phil Coulson, Melinda May, Grant Ward, Skye, Leo Fitz, and Jemma Simmons, respectively. It was also revealed that the guest cast for the episode would include David Conrad as Ian Quinn, Carlo Rota as Luca Russo, T. J. Ramini as Mancini, Ludwig Manukian as the Conductor, Emily Baldoni as Sofia, and a special cameo appearance by Stan Lee. Manukian did not receive guest star credit in the episode. Conrad reprises his role from earlier in the series.
"T.R.A.C.K.S." was first aired in the United States on ABC on February 4, 2014.
Home media
The episode, along with the rest of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.s first season, was released on Blu-ray and DVD on September 9, 2014. Bonus features include behind-the-scenes featurettes, audio commentary, deleted scenes, and a blooper reel. On November 20, 2014, the episode became available for streaming on Netflix.
Reception
Ratings
In the United States the episode received a 2.2/6 percent share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, meaning that it was seen by 2.2 percent of all households, and 6 percent of all of those watching television at the time of the broadcast. It was watched by 6.62 million viewers.
