"Paradise Lost" originally aired on ABC on April 12, 2016, and according to Nielsen Media Research, was watched by 3.01 million viewers.
In 1970, a teenage Gideon Malick and his younger brother Nathaniel inherit their father, Wilfred's estate following his death, and become the leaders of the religious branch of Hydra, who periodically select one of their number to be sent to Maveth through the Monolith, as a sacrifice to the ancient Inhuman.
He reveals that Wilfred used sleight of hand to ensure he would never be chosen as a sacrifice, leaving both brothers upset at both his deception and cowardice.
In exchange for a Terrigen crystal, James reveals that the creature, "Alveus" (Latin for "Hive"), was one of the first Inhumans, who led his kin in a revolution against the Kree, driving them from Earth.
Lincoln grabs the spherical artifact but double-crosses James, refusing to relinquish the promised crystal, believing he does not deserve Terrigenesis.
Due to what James let slip, Lincoln is forced to confess to Daisy that he once drunkenly caused a car crash that nearly killed his previous girlfriend, prior to coming to Afterlife.
Hive visits the Malicks' home to arrange a meeting of Hydra's inner circle, revealing himself to them as proof he is indeed the one he professes to be, he morphs into his true tentacled form, leaving them all agape.
However he later breaks free of containment and telekinetically flies the plane to Malick's headquarters in the Netherlands, with Coulson, May, Fitz, Simmons and Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie trapped on board.
In March 2016, Marvel announced that the sixteenth episode of the season would be titled "Paradise Lost", to be written by George Kitson and Sharla Oliver, with Wendey Stanzler directing.
[1] After the previous episode, executive producers Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen discussed how the title characters would be affected by the reveal that Hive was walking around in the body of Grant Ward, going into this episode, with Whedon saying, "This is going to be the most shocking for Coulson because he did something dark but for a good reason, and now he knows he didn't achieve much.
"[2] Bethany Joy Lenz was briefly introduced as Stephanie Malick in "Parting Shot",[3] ahead of her larger role in this episode, on which Tancharoen explained, "We definitely wanted to explore what it's like to be a family that grew up in the religion of Hydra, if you will.
"[4] In March 2016, Marvel revealed that main cast members Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge, Nick Blood, Adrianne Palicki, Henry Simmons, and Luke Mitchell would star as Phil Coulson, Melinda May, Hive, Daisy Johnson, Leo Fitz, Jemma Simmons, Lance Hunter, Bobbi Morse, Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie, and Lincoln Campbell, respectively.