YoYoMack

"I'll see you soon… Yoyo."

- Mack to Elena, Bouncing Back.

YoYoMack is the het ship between Elena Rodriguez and Alphonso Mackenzie from the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fandom.

First Meeting in Bogotá
Elena and Mack had a hostile meeting as they both viewed each other as a threat. She uses her powers to kidnap him, but Mack gets free. Once Elena realizes that he is not a threat, their feelings begin to change, with Mack fondly calling her Yo-Yo—after her powers.

After undergoing Terragenesis, Elena believes that her new-found powers are a gift from God and should be used as resistance to the Spanish police, who had been abusing their status of policemen. Mack, along with The S.H.I.E.L.D. team arrives in Bogotá the next day to investigate. As Mack searches, he spots a woman with heavy boots. The woman, Elena, notices him and instantly believes him to be a threat. Hence, she uses her powers to take Mack's gun out of his holster and points it at him. She then uses her powers to force Mack into the back of a van and kidnaps him.

To her annoyance, Mack wakes up and watches Elena with her cousin talking in Spanish. She later talks to him, but because of the language barrier; they were unable to understand each other. Mack comments that his powers are "like a Yo-Yo" However, Mack manages to convey that her powers manifested because of the fish pills, instead of God. Their conversation is soon cut short when Daisy Johnson and Joey Gutierrez interrupts and forces Elena into an S.H.I.E.L.D. containment pod.

After Joey convinces Elena that they are not a threat, Mack discusses the role their faith plays in their lives. After this, Elena begins to trust Mack. Both of them help each other to defeat Lucio.

While Elena is distracted talking with Joey, Mack tells Daisy that it would be good to keep Elena close to the team as it is safer. Daisy gives Mack a pointed look with a smile. Mack tells Daisy not to look at him in that way.

Later, Elena apologizes to Mack for kidnapping him and says thank you, in English. He fondly calls her Yo-Yo in response and hopes that he will see her soon.

Elena Helps Rescue Mack
When Mack is taken hostage by Giyera aboard the Zephyr One, Daisy calls Elena for help to rescue him and the rest of the team as part of the Secret Warriors. Elena is seen practicing greetings in English while waiting for a bus when she gets the signal from Daisy to help rescue Mack. After infiltrating Z1 and subduing the Hydra agents, Elena releases Mack from the room where he is being held and greets him using the English phrase she had been practicing earlier.

Under Suspicion
Back at the Playground, Mack shows Elena around the base while describing things in Spanish. She speaks to him in English and compliments his improved Spanish skills. Mack deflects by saying that it's a new S.H.I.E.L.D. requirement.

Mack shows Elena a number of weapons and explains S.H.I.E.L.D.'s policies on non violent methods, hoping to alleviate Elena's lingering doubts about the organization. Later, Gideon Malick convinces Coulson and the other human team members that the Inhumans could be compromised by Hive's mind control. Mack begins to secretly investigate Elena and the other Inhumans, monitoring her movements in the base. This leads to him suspecting Elena of stealing one of the bombs he showed her earlier as one turns up missing and is used to kill Malick.

When Mack joins Coulson and May in trying to contain Elena and the other Inhumans, Elena questions his earlier assurances that S.H.I.E.L.D. wants to protect people. Mack tries to reassure her again but the situation devolves and Elena speed races to grab a gun and points it at Mack. The Inhumans separate themselves from the humans and lock themselves in a room in a panic, Elena included. While speaking with the other Inhumans, Elena is shown to have returned to her previous negative opinions about S.H.I.E.L.D.

When the situation calms, Elena demands that she be allowed to leave. When Elena is being escorted to quarantine by armed guards, Mack calls out "Yo-Yo" but Elena pointedly says her name is "Elena" and walks by him without looking at him.

An Encouraging Word
After Daisy is swayed by Hive, Elena returns to S.H.I.E.L.D. to help with the fight and save Daisy. She finds Mack in the kitchen, still injured from his fight with a swayed Daisy, but realizes that he is not happy to see her after their time apart. Mack says it is because he is worried that what happened to Daisy would happen to "other people he cares about," meaning Elena. Elena helps Mack with the medical brace around his waist.

Mack also says he's worried about the fight against Hive and expresses feeling overwhelmed about fighting someone he considers a "biblical" evil. Elena tells him he needs a beer and faith. Mack begins to question the usefulness of faith and Elena tells him an old saying from Colombia: "El mal presa a los debiles porque teme a los fuertes," which Mack translates to, "Evil preys on the weak because it fears the strong." Elena winks at Mack with a smile when he finishes his translation.

Later, Elena joins Mack in his room on the base and finds his drawings/schematics of a motorcycle. She asks Mack now sees a future and he jokes that maybe he's just seeing a fast getaway. She asks him if he still believes the team cannot win against Hive even now that Daisy has returned to the base free of Hive's sway. He says he's not sure but he's now ready to fight. Elena asks him to close his eyes and hold out his hands. As she tells him to "keep the faith," she slips an item into his hands and leaves. After she is gone, Mack opens his hand to find her golden cross, which was previously seen in the vision of death from the future.

Final Battle Against Hive
In the final mission against Hive, Elena and Mack are tasked with setting up the modified memory machine to help slow Hive down. Elena and Mack bicker about his slow speed in setting the machine up. Mack says he wants to be precise to ensure the trap works because if Hive gets through they will all die or worse, for the Inhumans, be swayed. Elena asks him if he would use the bomb vest on her and when he looks away she tells him the vest is a good thing because she would rather die than be enslaved by Hive. Mack then tries to return Elena's necklace for her protection but when she rebukes him for trying to return a gift of faith, he keeps it.

When Radcliffe's Primitives later infiltrate the base, they attempt to attack the agents using machine guns. When Mack is about to be shot and killed, Elena tries to speed run and catch the bullets. She saves Mack's life but misses a bullet and is severely injured with a gunshot to the stomach. Mack is distraught and tells her not to risk her life for his own. When being patched up by Lincoln, Elena insists that Mack be the one to cauterize her wound, trusting him to keep his hands steady and help stabilize her until she gets to the hospital.

Fraternizing
In the months following the defeat of Hive, Elena decides to stay with S.H.I.E.L.D. and sign the Sokovia Accords, (events in Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot). Mack takes on the position of her case worker as a result. This means that it is now against regulation for them to date so Mack begins to pull away from their budding relationship even though Elena states that they have already been to dinner at least once.

Mack is in Los Angeles chasing a lead on a missing Daisy and uses Elena's routine check up as a cover. When Elena arrives, they flirt while going through a few questions. Elena teases him about his insistence on following the rules, saying that S.H.I.E.L.D. moves too slow and she prefers to go fast. As she says this, she grabs him suggestively. Mack is shocked at her forwardness but Coulson interrupts them before it can go any further.

Quotes
"Just because we can't work together, doesn't mean we can't live a little."

- Elena to Mack when he rebuffs her flirtatious advances, The Ghost, 4x01

"I want to be with Mack forever, and I want to have children with him."

- Elena to Simmons after falling from her hospital bed, Principia, 5x13

"We'll protect you, mi amor. Even if it's from yourself. That's what family does."

- Mack to Elena to stop her from pushing herself before she's fully healed from her amputation, The Devil Complex, 5x14

Behind the Scenes
"I think, in this season, we see the true conclusion of their relationship, in terms of it getting really rooted and grounded. You know, it started super passionate. She saved his life a bunch of times and he falls in love with her and she falls in love with him and they save each other. I think Yo-Yo and Mack have some of the most beautiful moments together. It's a very adult relationship. There's no kiddie stuff or childlike. It's more they hold such responsibility for the team and for S.H.I.E.L.D. and the significance of it that they're willing to even sacrifice their own relationship for it."

- Natalia Cordova-Buckley on her character's relationship with Mack in Season 7 CBR.com

Fanon
YoYoMack gained a decent amount of popularity after the eleventh episode of season 3 premiered. Many fans adored how Mack affectionately named Elena, Yo-Yo. Thus, their ship name became YoYoMack which was popularized as their ship name, immediately after the episode. Also, some fans theorized that either Mack or/and Elena are the ones in space in the flash-forward scene. Fans were distraught at the idea of this and the effect it could have on their relationship.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Elena/Alphonso tag on FanFiction.net
 * Elena/Alphonso tag on FanFiction.net

TUMBLR

WIKIS

ARTICLES
 * Unlocking The Key to Mack and Yo-Yo's Relationship on 'Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' by Christine Dinh, Marvel.com


 * 'Agents of SHIELD' Season 7 Episode 7: Mack and Yo-Yo reunite, fans say 'mom and dad are back together' by Aharon Abhishek, MEAWW.com

Trivia

 * In the comic universe, Earth-616, Elena's name is Yo-Yo Rodriguez. While in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Mack gives the nickname "Yo-Yo" to Elena, similar to how he nicknamed Daisy Johnson as "tremors".

Media
Official Videos/Clips