Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Spoiler tags for most current ep.)

[Hime-Chan]

Spoiler:

Why the hype did Skye come out of hiding?? It would buy her time in which Coulson and the others might come to the rescue. And Triplett is the Grandson of who??? Also, could've expanded more on Blackout's character and Audrey's life beyond Coulson.... They seemed too one dimensional.

Spoiler:

Well, she didn't know when they would come back, and Ward would have come to get her anyway, she didn't have that many places to hide in a bunker! I think she left a little message. And I liked the way she got herself together, I was terrified. At the moment, Ward doesn't suspect her, she still has control of a lot of things, and I'm sure she'll be able to contact the team while in the plane! (That, and Maria Hill coming to the rescue ~ )

I wish we could learn more about Triplett, his character is lovely. I'm guessing Gabe Jones would be his grandpa, since his name is Antoine, and that Gabe Jones spoke french, maybe he married a french woman, or he's the grandson of someone else.

[Hime-Chan]

Woaah, best episode so far, it was brilliantly done, there were a bit, well, too many references to Cap 2, at some point it stops being funny. But Skye really impressed me, and so did Ward!

[mangaluva]

Just caught up and while I still think it dipped for a while in quality, I really like how it's gone the last few episodes.

Spoiler:

Sif is perfect. Asgardian lady swordfighting is perfect. I want more Sif kicking ass on earth. Girl got a point-blank shotgun blast to her side and looked like nothing happened. My goddess.

Also, I like the episodes running along the events of The Winter Soldier. The on-the-ground look at the chaos and the paranoia was really intense.

I read spoilers about Ward being Hydra. Not surprised. Out of the team, the most likely Nazi is totally the white macho man. I didn't really like Ward anyway so it's fun to anticipate somebody shooting him in the face. I'm really impressed with every moment of Skye after figuring out he was Hydra. She pulled a Sansa on him, playing dumb and playing him in a way that so NEARLY worked. If it hadn't been for Mike, it would have (MIKE BBY I HOPE YOU DON'T DIE) and then she completely didn't let him talk his way out of it. She didn't let him make any excuses, seduce her or gain her sympathies. She reminded him and us EXACTLY what Hydra are: Nazis. And anyone who follows Hydra's goals is a Nazi. Ward is a Nazi and he cannot keep trying to deny that fact.

I just want either Skye to shoot him in the face or May to snap his neck with her bare hands.

Also Maria sassing anybody, up to and including the FBI agents coming to arrest her, is a beautiful thing. The woman is a joy and a treasure. So is May and I hope that woman has a serious plan going. May is everything that is good and beautiful in the world.

I wanna give Fitz a hug, though. Poor guy is so hurt by Ward turning out to be a Nazi. I mean, he's saved all of their lives more than once. The fact that he can do all that and still be willing to let them all die when necessary... that's frightening.

[Hime-Chan]

Just caught up and while I still think it dipped for a while in quality, I really like how it's gone the last few episodes.

Spoiler:

Sif is perfect. Asgardian lady swordfighting is perfect. I want more Sif kicking ass on earth. Girl got a point-blank shotgun blast to her side and looked like nothing happened. My goddess.

Also, I like the episodes running along the events of The Winter Soldier. The on-the-ground look at the chaos and the paranoia was really intense.

I read spoilers about Ward being Hydra. Not surprised. Out of the team, the most likely Nazi is totally the white macho man. I didn't really like Ward anyway so it's fun to anticipate somebody shooting him in the face. I'm really impressed with every moment of Skye after figuring out he was Hydra. She pulled a Sansa on him, playing dumb and playing him in a way that so NEARLY worked. If it hadn't been for Mike, it would have (MIKE BBY I HOPE YOU DON'T DIE) and then she completely didn't let him talk his way out of it. She didn't let him make any excuses, seduce her or gain her sympathies. She reminded him and us EXACTLY what Hydra are: Nazis. And anyone who follows Hydra's goals is a Nazi. Ward is a Nazi and he cannot keep trying to deny that fact.

I just want either Skye to shoot him in the face or May to snap his neck with her bare hands.

Also Maria sassing anybody, up to and including the FBI agents coming to arrest her, is a beautiful thing. The woman is a joy and a treasure. So is May and I hope that woman has a serious plan going. May is everything that is good and beautiful in the world.

I wanna give Fitz a hug, though. Poor guy is so hurt by Ward turning out to be a Nazi. I mean, he's saved all of their lives more than once. The fact that he can do all that and still be willing to let them all die when necessary... that's frightening.

Spoiler:

Yeah, exactly, I think this should have been put slightly more forward in the film, although, I do admit it was a lot to fit, but Skye's reaction to it "You make me want to throw up" was what was needed, especially since Ward was trying to tell her that it changed!
I really hope they don't redeem Ward, he's a lot more...interesting? that way.

But must every villain in the MCU be sexist? I mean...calling Hill eye candy, wow. There's going to be a queue of people wanting to beat him up.

Oh, and the bit with Lola was hilarious, a bit scary, but funny.

Edit: while I'm at it, I must remind my new found love for Antoine Triplett, I hope we'll get a season 2 so that we can know more about his family, and where he comes from, and more backstory with Garrett and Ward!

[mangaluva]

Spoiler:

I prefer my villains being sexist to my heroes. MOFFAT.

Also, y'know, if anyone's gonna be a bigot, it'll be a Nazi. Admittedly Hydra doesn't really play the racial superiority angle (Sitwell's Latino and Pierce happily promoted Fury as the best man for the job, although admittedly, aside from Sitwell I can't think of any Hydra goons or members shown onscreen that weren't white guys, not counting brainwashed/controlled people like Mike and Raina) but I still feel like the kind of person who is all for the ideology of people needing to be controlled is probably going to be someone who believes that the world can be split into the people who need to be controlled and the people who are fit to do the controlling, and that's a form of dividing people into superior and inferior groups. Once you're making the division between superior and inferior, you're opening yourself up to be all kinds of bigot.

But yeah, I really don't want Ward to be redeemed. As he is now, he's actually pretty much some sort of parody/commentary of your stereotypical White Macho Man action hero. He's been playing them so thoroughly the whole goddamn time that if he hasn't realized by now that he's wrong, he's not going to. I am totally up for permanently replacing him with Triplett. I like that guy. His name is Antonine and his grandad was Gabe Jones. Keep that guy. I mean, he's intruding very slightly on my eternal love for FitzSimmons but still. He's a better character than Ward. Much less bland.

I also want twelve million percent more screentime with May please. PLEASE. May and Maria shooting people together. May and Maria sassing people together. Maria. May. More. PLEASE.

Another thought I had was (spoilers for The Winter Soldier

Spoiler:

I wonder what would happen if Bucky ever ran up against Mike. They're sort of similar, Hydra puppets with cybernetic parts. But Hydra's method of controlling Mike leaves him room to retain who he is, while they controlled Bucky by taking everything he was away from him. I imagine a) epic fighting, b) Possibly Bucky saving Mike if he could because birds of a feather and c) epic revenge streaks happening as a result.

[Hime-Chan]

Another thought I had was (spoilers for The Winter Soldier

Spoiler:

I wonder what would happen if Bucky ever ran up against Mike. They're sort of similar, Hydra puppets with cybernetic parts. But Hydra's method of controlling Mike leaves him room to retain who he is, while they controlled Bucky by taking everything he was away from him. I imagine a) epic fighting, b) Possibly Bucky saving Mike if he could because birds of a feather and c) epic revenge streaks happening as a result.

Spoiler:

I think the main difference also comes from Garett, while I do believe he's a horrible villain, I think he mostly went into Hydra for personnal gain, not ideology, besides, Mike has a kid, and that's the kind of leverage Bucky doesn't have.

[kkslider5552000]

so since my brother decided to see the movie with some friends when it came out instead, I didn't find a reason to bother watching it (or going and paying for it with what little money I had to be exact) so now I'm super behind on the series. :/


while I'm obviously fine with the crossover continuity, this immediately makes me against having mid-season story revelations for a series involve something that just happened in a movie that just came out

[Conan-chandesune]

Finally, the evil that is the endsems are OVER.... Just reached my home. And my online home. So.... let's get started.

Spoiler:

Yeah, so the last episode was awesome. Hill's line about the Man-Thing really spoke volumes to lil old perverted me. I liked how they depicted Hill as selfishly giving the military Coulson's team, which got me nodding in agreement. From the start, Maria Hill has, until recently, been a selfish woman, not being able to sympathize or help people doing the right thing, only wanting to make her own life easier. And, i agree, May and Hill together ,kicking ass, would be awesome. Talbot being shown as a man refusing to understand the team's plight was also nice. And one of the best parts of the episode was Fitz's breakdown and Skye's talks with Ward. One thing which confused me was, why did Coulson go on the plane alone?? Wouldnt it be better if he took backup with him?? At least Triplett could have come, as Hill was distracting Ward. Also, i think Hill could become a regular in season 2 if it gets renewed, as HIMYM has ended, leaving Cobie free. Also, the last part, about Coulson being project TAHITI's coordinator was awesome and shed new light on the level at which Fury betrayed Coulson..... It should come to a head when Fury returns for the season finale.

[mangaluva]

Spoiler:

IDK if Maria's ever acted in a manner I'd call "selfish". She didn't tell the military about them to make her own life easier, she told the military because she's already accepted that SHIELD is gone and done and that if any of them want to be able to do a thing about Hydra they're going to have to do it as part of other organizations. She bailed with Coulson as soon as she found out that Talbot was not about to play ball and wanted every single member of SHIELD, Hydra or not, either arrested or quite possibly killed. I think she's all about doing the right thing, but can be ruthlessly pragmatic about it and isn't one to let her own feelings get in the way, though she is faultlessly loyal--she's the one and only person that Fury actually trusts, after all. She clearly didn't WANT to drop the helicarriers with Cap still inside, but she did it because it had to be done ASAP.

I would totally love Maria as a regular character in a second season, though.

[Conan-chandesune]

Spoiler:

IDK if Maria's ever acted in a manner I'd call "selfish". She didn't tell the military about them to make her own life easier, she told the military because she's already accepted that SHIELD is gone and done and that if any of them want to be able to do a thing about Hydra they're going to have to do it as part of other organizations. She bailed with Coulson as soon as she found out that Talbot was not about to play ball and wanted every single member of SHIELD, Hydra or not, either arrested or quite possibly killed. I think she's all about doing the right thing, but can be ruthlessly pragmatic about it and isn't one to let her own feelings get in the way, though she is faultlessly loyal--she's the one and only person that Fury actually trusts, after all. She clearly didn't WANT to drop the helicarriers with Cap still inside, but she did it because it had to be done ASAP.

I would totally love Maria as a regular character in a second season, though.

Spoiler:

Well, in the comics, she is ruthlessly selfish. That is part of what makes her character interesting. Your arguments are right tho. I may just have seen what i wanted to see. But she knew that Talbot would arrest the juniors of the team, as she herself said. And she did it for herself when she was caught at the start of the episode, in exchange for her freedom (That was heavily implied in Coulson's dialogues). So i couldn't but help thinking that they were portraying her as in the comics. Also, i feel sad for Hand. She died too early. She didn't even get the chance for proper development. Also, I think they have introduced enough comic book characters for now (Blizzard, Graviton, Blackout, Garret, Deathlok, Triplett etc...). It is time to develop their characters and see what makes them tick. I think the focus on the characters has made this series better after a mediocre first few eps......

[mangaluva]

Spoiler:

There's a pretty strong online campaign going on just now to get Hand brought back like Coulson (well, not EXACTLY like with alien blood and stuff, but for her to somehow turn out to be alive). I'm all for it. I found her character interesting, even if I often didn't agree with her actions. She has a personality type that seems to be EXACTLY the sort to fall in line with Hydra... but she didn't. The reasons she didn't, how she feels about Hydra's ideals and methodologies, are stuff I would've liked to know. So I really hope she comes back.

After all, in comics, nobody stays dead except Uncle Ben, and between Loki, Bucky, Pepper, Fury and Coulson, the MCU doesn't seem about to buck that trend.

[Conan-chandesune]

Spoiler:

There's a pretty strong online campaign going on just now to get Hand brought back like Coulson (well, not EXACTLY like with alien blood and stuff, but for her to somehow turn out to be alive). I'm all for it. I found her character interesting, even if I often didn't agree with her actions. She has a personality type that seems to be EXACTLY the sort to fall in line with Hydra... but she didn't. The reasons she didn't, how she feels about Hydra's ideals and methodologies, are stuff I would've liked to know. So I really hope she comes back.

After all, in comics, nobody stays dead except Uncle Ben, and between Loki, Bucky, Pepper, Fury and Coulson, the MCU doesn't seem about to buck that trend.

Spoiler:

Yeah, i am all for it too. She was a very interesting character in the comics but she didnt even get a chance here. Same with Koeing. I think the show should keep all their "name" characters... i.e. characters based on comics alive and if someone is being killed off, kill off the side characters. Or at lest kill off the name characters after giving them in-depth development. Also, nobody stays dead except The Stacys, The Waynes and Uncle Ben. And, manga, i advise ye to see Arrow. It has been stellar so far despite a bit of a bumpy start. I think ye would like it.

[Conan-chandesune]

Spoiler:

I knew they were going the "repentant but bad" route. They also disposed of the GH-325 plotine too.... But the episode was good, staying with the "new" quality standard for this series. I really enjoyed "Get ready for a large file transfer." line. Garrett's being part-cyborg "reveal" didn't surprise me at all. Cuz of the comics. And the good ol' super solider selling plot will take center stage..... we have come full circle from the season premiere and back to the original premise. But everything has changed. I kinda like it.......

[Hime-Chan]

Wow, what an episode!!
It was so much fun, and...suspens-y too, I loved it!

It must have cost a LOT of money to make though!

Spoiler:

FITZ, oh no, Fitz, saying "he's alive" isn't good! What's going to happen to him?? I'm really scared!
I'm so glad we'll have a season 2, maybe we'll learn who that alien was, and what are those things Phil's writing on the wall!
(I loved it when he blew up Garrett!)

[mangaluva]

That episode was glorious.

Spoiler:

They brought the BERSERKER STAFF within reach of MELINDA MAY. I haven't seen a villain fail that badly since Loki tried to intimidate the Hulk. I want that thing to be May's signature weapon. She's all about controlling and channelling her feelings, after all.

Also, kinda shipping Trip and Coulson a little bit. Those two keep flirting over vintage SHIELD spycraft.

I cried kind of a lot when FitzSimmons were discussing death and arguing about who was going to take the oxygen. FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITZ BBY NO T_T

But then I genuinely shrieked when NICK MOTHERFUGGING FURY appeared to save them. YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

The May/Ward battle was also truly glorious. I will never get tired of seeing May beat up Ward. I may have yelled "FINISH HIM" when she went after him with the power saw. I am also 200% not surprised that Ward was never on top. And the bit with the nail gun? Utterly brutal, but I loved it. I am not here for Ward redemption and I'm glad they're not going that way. That asshole may have been badly led, but he still had the agency to make his own choices, unlike Mike or Bucky, and he chose to be a goddamn Nazi and to try to kill the only people who ever gave him a shot and to be REALLY SUPER SEXIST once he was out as a Nazi. I am so down for the whole lifetime of torture thing they were discussing for him. Let May use him as a punching bag every week or so. And tell Natasha that he called her "eye candy" and let her join in.

I screamed again when Fury turned up to save Coulson. And gave him THE DESTROYER GUN. "I know what it does." YES YOU DO. BEAUTIFUL. Also, Coulson and Fury are my new favourite BroTP. I especially loved them riffing on Garett's crazy speech. "You didn't tell me he'd gone this crazy." "He ramped it up a notch." Fury and Coulson's relationship in general in this episode is just so fantastic. Can we talk about this bit?

"It was a 'break glass in case of emergency' kinda situation."
"That emergency was meant to be the fall of an Avenger!"
"Exactly."

COULSON'S FACE WHEN HE REALIZES THAT FURY CONSIDERS HIM AN AVENGER. Does he know that Tony counted him into the Avengers too, when he was counting off the people that Loki pissed off? And I saw the greatest comment on tumblr about the "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Thor's Hammer" short, where people were discussing if Coulson was pretending that he was Captain America while fighting the criminals: "Coulson is a man who's spent so long pretending to be his hero that he hasn't realized that he's become everyone else's hero in his own right." Fury trusted him enough to put him in charge of rebuilding SHIELD. Protip, Coulson: don't take on any Nazi scientists. Just don't.

Also, can I get a HELL YEAH for Mike FINALLY being free? And the first thing he got to do was shoot Garett in the face and then STOMP him. It was everything I wanted for him. I really wish he'd joined the team, but my other fondest hope is that while he's wandering around seeking redemption (WHICH YOU DON'T NEED, MIKE, NONE OF IT WAS YOUR FAULT) he ends up meeting Bucky and forming a badass former-manipulated-Hydra-cyborg-assassin duo of REVENGE. Look me in the eye and tell me you don't want to see them tearing through Hydra bases together. And getting coffee and PTSD counselling from Sam together. Literally everybody needs to sit down with Sam Wilson at some point.

Although, correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't there a shot of army people or whoever was doing the cleanup boxing up and taking away Garett's body? How was he still there to get all Deathlok'd up? Not that I have any problem whatsoever with Coulson disintegrating him. I'm just glad they aren't making him a recurring supervillain or anything. I am 250% done looking at that crazy asshole's face.

Only thing I'm still really upset about right now? WHAT HAPPENED TO FITZ? Fury said that HIS BRAIN WAS WITHOUT OXYGEN FOR A LONG TIME. Coulson said that he'd NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN. Simmons said HE'S ALIVE. What exactly has happened to him?! It sounds a lot like brain damage. It sounds a lot like REALLY BAD BRAIN DAMAGE. Somebody tell me Fitz is gonna be okay. Somebody tell me that he and Simmons can continue to putter around being adorable and sciency. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD JUST TELL ME EXACTLY WHAT STATE HE IS IN. FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITZ

Also, am I the only one wondering if that alien that Coulson saw in Project Tahiti was a Jotun? It wouldn't be out of this world for Skye to be a Jotun baby that glamoured itself as a human one... wouldn't be the first time a Jotun baby put on a glamour to look like the species that was holding it, after all... also, I can't quite tell if the father/mother that Raina was talking to at the end looked like they were missing some skin of their own, or if all the red and drippy belonged to other people. Either way, I'm looking forward to finding out in season 2.

Also, for a split second I thought that Eric Koenig was still alive. Let's face it, who actually stays dead in the MCU? Ever? BRING BACK VICTORIA HAND.