SPOILERS for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 5 episode 'Inside Voices' ahead

In the latest episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., 'Inside Voices', Coulson dies - and comes back to life - but what exactly does it mean for season 5? Ever since the season 5 premiere revealed the Earth is cracked apart at some point in the near future, the team has been trying to save it. Meanwhile, viewers have been trying to piece together how exactly the world is destroyed. We've been given few clues, such as someone called the Destroyer of Worlds being involved, but the mystery remains.

When Yo-Yo ran into herself in the future, her future self told her that one way for the agents to save the world was to not save Phil Coulson from dying. Specifically, future Yo-Yo said Coulson was already dying and the agents had to let him. After returning to the present, it was revealed Coulson is dying from his Avengers injury. According to him, his deal with Ghost Rider undid the Kree tech that brought him back to life. However, the latest episode of the show offers a curious development with Coulson and the season 5 mystery.

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In this week's episode, 'Inside Voices', Coulson dies and comes back to life in what seems to be a key moment of the season 5 story. Further, the episode features some other interesting developments related to both Coulson and the Gravitonium in Hale's possession. But what impact, if any, does any of it have on the overall season 5 mystery? We break it down.

• This Page: Coulson Dies & Comes Back to Life - What it Means

Coulson Dies & Comes Back to Life - What it Means

In this week's episode, Coulson attempts to fight off one of General Hale's android guards, but the android punches Coulson directly in the heart. This results in Coulson's heart stopping and when Glenn Talbot checks for a pulse, he doesn't find one. Thankfully, Carl Creel uses his abilities to send an electric current through Coulson's heart that restarts it. And Coulson is brought back to life once again. After Coulson is brought back, Talbot quips, "You know, you die more than anybody I've ever met." While it's undoubtedly a funny line, it also might foretell what's to come on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

We knew Coulson was going to die and we knew his life hanging in the balance was a key part of the events that lead to the Earth being destroyed. Based on future Yo-Yo's warning, it sounded like the agents could save the world if they simply let Coulson die. Due to these comments, it seemed she was talking about Coulson's Avengers injury that's slowly killing him - again. However, the agents have been searching for a way to save him, despite him having come to terms with dying for good.

As a result, viewers have been lead to believe the agents will be unable to change the timeline by letting Coulson die because, as we've seen with the team's efforts to find a way to save Coulson, they can't simply watch their leader die. Additionally, Yo-Yo didn't share what her future self told her in regards to Coulson dying potentially saving the world. Though, given how Simmons, Yo-Yo, and Fitz have taken the fact that they make it to the Lighthouse in the time loop for granted, it's not surprising that the agents may make the same moves and decisions they always do in the loop.

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But, what if Coulson's death in 'Inside Voices' is the death needed to change the timeline? Earlier in the episode, Robin, the future-seeing Inhuman, says of Coulson, "He's gonna die." When May says they're going to save him, Robin looks skeptical - potentially because she knows it's about to happen and there's no way to stop it. It's possible Coulson's death in this week's episode is part of what helps the agents save the earth, though it's unclear how exactly. Or, if it's part of the time loop, it may be another event leading directly to whatever destroys the Earth.

We still know very little for sure about what exact events lead to the destruction of the world. As revealed in last week's episode, we don't even know the true identity of the Destroyer of Worlds. However, 'Inside Voices' offers new insight about both Coulson and the Gravitonium that might help us understand the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 5 mystery.

Why The Gravitonium Wants Coulson Dead

Perhaps the biggest revelation from 'Inside Voices' is that the Gravitonium has some form of consciousness. Though this isn't outright stated in the episode, it is established that the Gravitonium has wants and goals. Creel says, after touching it early on in the episode, that "it's alive." Later on when he's attacking Coulson and seeing visions from the Gravitonium, Creel says it hates Coulson and wants him dead. Presumably, the Gravitonium's consciousness comes from the people it has absorbed.

For much of the episode, the only character viewers know to have been absorbed by the Gravitonium was Dr. Franklin Hall. In season 1, Hall fell into the Gravitonium after a scuffle with Coulson, and it was revealed later on that he was still alive - in a fashion - within the mass. As 'Inside Voices' reveals, however, Hall isn't the only person in the Gravitonium. The final scene flashes back to four years ago and reveals what happened to Ian Quinn: He was also absorbed by the Gravitonium, with the help of Raina. Eerily, Raina tells Quinn, "It wanted you." This indicates the Gravitonium, or perhaps Hall inside it, had chosen Quinn.

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It's unclear for certain why the Gravitonium seems to have a consciousness, whether it's the result of the people inside it or they were absorbed because of a preexisting consciousness. But we do know that it despises Coulson. The most likely conclusion is that the Gravitonium hates Coulson because of Hall's own feelings toward the agent. Still, it would seem that Quinn's consciousness is also alive and well in the Gravitonium based on Creel's comments about his visions. He says that they - presumably Hall and Quinn - argue, but they both hate Coulson.

In the comics, Hall is a supervillain by the name of Graviton, whose molecules were infused with sub-nuclear graviton particles during an explosion that gave him gravitational powers. It would seem that the Gravitonium is Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s way of adapting the comic book supervillain Graviton. But, of course, Graviton takes human form, whereas the Gravitonium is a shapeless mass in the show. At least, for now. Remember that Hale plans to use Hydra's Particle Infusion Chamber to infuse someone's cells with the Gravitonium. It's unclear what would happen to the consciousness of Hall and Quinn if the Gravitonium is infused in someone else's body - would they be erased? Or would their consciousness be added to that of the person whose body is infused?

Coulson is Key to Saving Earth

As of now, we have a number of pieces to the puzzle about how the Earth is destroyed and how the team can potentially save it. We know Coulson's death is a pivotal moment. We know the Destroyer of Worlds is involved, though who exactly that is remains unclear. We know Gravitonium plays a role, likely because it's infused in the cells of whoever becomes the Destroyer of Worlds.

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However, now that we know the Gravitonium has a consciousness thanks to the people trapped inside it, the creation of the Destroyer of Worlds becomes even more complicated. Perhaps it doesn't matter who is chosen to become the Destroyer of Worlds - whether it's Daisy, Ruby or someone else - because their consciousness will be overridden by Hall and Quinn in the Gravitonium.

Still, we don't know how it all fits together, aside from knowing Coulson is key. In 'Inside Voices', Robin says of Coulson, "He can put all the pieces together." As with all her other predictions, Robin is vague about what pieces Coulson can put together, but we do know that he has the most information about how to stop the Earth from being destroyed. He now knows of Hale's plan, about the impending alien invasion she's trying to prevent, as well as everything he learned while in the future.

Perhaps Coulson's death in 'Inside Voices' is an indication the agents have already changed the timeline, and they just need him to put all the pieces together to figure out how to prevent the world's destruction - and how the Destroyer of Worlds and Gravitonium factors in. That seems a little easy, especially with six episodes still left in season 5. But with the season heading toward its end, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will have to wrap up the mystery of the Earth's destruction soon enough.

Next: What Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Season 6 Renewal Chances Are

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 5 continues with 'The Honeymoon' Friday April 13 at 9pm on ABC.