Excited (or scared) for the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. mid-season 3 finale? Here are six hints to prepare you for “Maveth.”

‘Maveth’ lives up to its name

Let’s get this out of the way: Yes, there are casualties in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. mid-season finale. The deaths are as slow, intimate, and strange as anything Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has yet provided — and will make a profound and lasting impact on the show going forward.

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Trust us — the people we lose in “Maveth” are definitely not destined to be forgotten.

Coulson makes a crucial choice

Phil Coulson is actually missing for chunks of the action in “Maveth,” having been left unconscious after his ill-conceived intergalactic skydive. But when he comes to, the currently-not-Director is faced with an opportunity fraught with danger on every side.

The choice Coulson ultimately makes is audacious, both personally and on a greater story level. It also serves to close several thematic circles that have been threaded through Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – and it begins the gradual, ominous unspooling of several more.

Maveth is revealed… sort of

The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. mid-season finale provides fans with further clues on the nature and identity of Maveth. But while we are delivered a few straight-up, quite surprising facts, much remains the providence suggestion and hint. The true meaning of Maveth’s powers is probably there, but it remains tantalizingly shrouded in mystery.

And of course, the arcane elements of “Maveth” are meant to be exactly that. After Tuesday, fans will have three long months to parse over these clues, and trust us, you’re going to want to.

Ward makes a change

Grant Ward remains a driving force in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. mid-season finale, but not exactly in the way he (or, presumably, fans) may have expected. The change that comes over the series’ long-term antagonist is by turns surprising and natural, and, like so much in “Maveth,” promises to have a compelling impact on the story still to come.

Director Mack FTW

On a light(ish) note, the episode also allows Mack to earn A+ marks as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Which is not to say that everything goes right — far, far from it. But Mack’s decisiveness, bravery, and selflessness probably earn make him one of the best leaders the organization has ever had — and it’s only his first day.

Mack believes in his agents in a way that Coulson has struggled to do since season 2; everyone from Daisy to cinnamon-roll newbie Joey shines under his leadership. Whether they’ll have the chance to continue working under Mack, though… well, that’s something the explosive events of “Maveth” leave in question.

That ending! Oh boy, that ending

Like executive producer Jeph Loeb teased us last month, the conclusion of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. mid-season finale is a symphony of surprises. When the screen goes black, there will be little doubt of where the characters’ allegiances are arranged — though how they feel about it is a drastically different, and much more complicated matter. It’s the meaning of these allegiances that remain (occasionally frighteningly) opaque.

Once again, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. proves to be television’s most fearlessly chameleonic hour. Where last year’s mid-season finale was a literal earthquake, the midpoint of season 3 seems is the kind of evolution that seems subtle, until you see what’s under the surface. “Maveth” does not just change the rules. In the span of less than a minute, it changes the entire game.

The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. mid-season 3 finale, “Maveth,” airs Tuesday, Dec. 8, at 9:00 p.m. on ABC.

Tell us your predictions for the events of ‘Maveth’!