Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (SPOILERS)

[Eleas]

I think I may be the only one who actually thinks Ward is interesting. In part, I think it's because he's not Spike: he doesn't do what he does because it's convenient or fun, but because he was a screwed-up kid who got the wrong kind of (very charismatic) SO. I think he actually meant to help Fitz see his attraction; I'm pretty certain he considers the rest of the team friends.

To me, Ward seems like a true believer, but also someone who has begun to question what he's doing. Look at his reaction to Skye's line about Hydra being Nazis; he looked embarrassed and at a loss for words, like a kid making excuses for his idolized white supremacist family.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Oh he's certainly an interesting character. But I still want to see him get his comeuppance for betraying the team.

[The Romulan Republic]

Ward dumped the thing Fitz and Simmons were in into the water, though he wasn't happy about it. But I wonder if Ward's really that evil. He bought Fitz and Simmons some time. If he'd just spared them, Garret would have probably had someone else kill them.

Fitz using the EMP was awesome.

And damn Quinn is a slippery bastard.

Also, it looks like Garret has superpowers and Fury's showing up next time. Cool.

Edit: about buying Fitz and Simmons some time, that obviously depends on weather the thing they're in is waterproof.

[The Romulan Republic]

I think what's her name (the female scientist working for Garret) may switch sides. She seems rather displeased with Garret.

Edit: Also, I liked seeing more of a softer side of May and Coulson complimenting Skye for her compassion. And Triplet's Howling Commando gear.

[Eternal_Freedom]

That was a pretty damn sweet episode. May and Skye talking about anger and zen and stuff was really well done. The backstory of Ward is interesting and goes a long way to explaining what he's done.

The best bits though have to be Coulson and his hilarious inspection of the Howling Commando gear, he's such a geek at heart. That and his line "He's a murderer and we're going to stop him...plus I want my plane back." I don't know how he pulls off those one liners with a straight face.

As for Fitz and Simmons...damnit that was cold.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Ghetto edit: Oh, and the "get ready for a large file transfer" bit was just hilarious.

[Iroscato]

Yeah that was a great ep, a little lighter and breezier after the traumatic last few weeks. I must say I'd forgotten about the brief glimpse of Garrett's metal plate but it came back to me this week. I see the plot threads converging and beginning to tie themselves up, which is always nice to see.
Good to see the Howling Commandos helping to fight HYDRA, one last time. And it's always cool when old-school tech gets some love.
May and Coulson's undercover act was brilliant, especially May - she looked so harmless it was unnerving
The Ward/Fitz/Simmons scene was just horrible, but it definitely shows Ward might be cracking. Still, fuck him.
I'm glad I stuck with AoS through its slow start, the second half of the season has been immensely satisfying so far. Now we shall see if they can carry their momentum through to the big finale...

[Tsyroc]

Riana's (Flowers) additional anecdotal information about Skye adds more evidence to Skye being an Inhuman.

Monsters tore through the village looking for the baby girl and the monsters were the girl's parents.

[Batman]

Agreed on the 'large file transfer' being hilarious.
And yes, ex-Agent Ward is still vermin, but think about it-yes, he ejected FitzSimmons . But why was that compartment ejectable in the first place?

[bilateralrope]

Because they sometimes need the capability to eject dangerous cargo and/or those compartments are designed so they can be swapped out with specialty modules when necessary.

[Batman]

That's one possibility. Another is that the compartment was designed to function as an escape pod.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Whilst that's possible, it seems unlikely given how Fitz and Simmons were begging Ward not to eject it.

Although it would explain why they sealed themselves in.

[bilateralrope]

That's one possibility. Another is that the compartment was designed to function as an escape pod.

I doubt that. The ejection controls were outside the pod and there was no parachute.

Edit: Did the tracking trojan make its way into Garrett's implants ?

[Kojiro]

I think F&S will be fine- they're not 'over the gulf' yet so they can't be too far from land and the fall is well within TV show 'knocked around' levels. At worst they'll float around for a bit before using the quarter radio to call for aid.

I think that actually Ward isn't cracking so much as he is becoming irredeemable to himself, and Garrett seems to like pushing this point ("It's not a weakness, is it?"). We see younger Ward who couldn't pull the trigger on a dog but contemporary Ward pulled the lever on Fitz and Simmons. He has become *worse* over time and I think he knows it. Any pretence of mission, duty or loyalty has been eroded and I think he's finally realising that he is an immoral, murdering monster.

That said I thought this episode was going to try and make us sympathetic to Ward but his final act- crossing off (even if it is in the end unsuccessful) two former friends just made him more of an abomination. I did love Coulson's performance in this one though, and May (though since when have cartwheels been faster than sprinting?). The file thing was also gold.

However it happens I'm looking forward to Ward (and Garrett) getting their comeuppance. I'm not sure I care for Fury to be reappearing- at this point he's been talked up so much that I doubt he could ever live up to the hype. After all we've never seen him be exceptionally awesome.

[FaxModem1]

I think F&S will be fine- they're not 'over the gulf' yet so they can't be too far from land and the fall is well within TV show 'knocked around' levels. At worst they'll float around for a bit before using the quarter radio to call for aid.

I think that actually Ward isn't cracking so much as he is becoming irredeemable to himself, and Garrett seems to like pushing this point ("It's not a weakness, is it?"). We see younger Ward who couldn't pull the trigger on a dog but contemporary Ward pulled the lever on Fitz and Simmons. He has become *worse* over time and I think he knows it. Any pretence of mission, duty or loyalty has been eroded and I think he's finally realising that he is an immoral, murdering monster.

That said I thought this episode was going to try and make us sympathetic to Ward but his final act- crossing off (even if it is in the end unsuccessful) two former friends just made him more of an abomination. I did love Coulson's performance in this one though, and May (though since when have cartwheels been faster than sprinting?). The file thing was also gold.

However it happens I'm looking forward to Ward (and Garrett) getting their comeuppance. I'm not sure I care for Fury to be reappearing- at this point he's been talked up so much that I doubt he could ever live up to the hype. After all we've never seen him be exceptionally awesome.

I thought, while watching the episode, that while he couldn't just straight up shoot the dog in the face with his pistol, he was able to shoot the dog with his rifle as it was running away, showing that he was always capable of killing those he cares for, as long as not confronted by them.

[Kojiro]

I thought, while watching the episode, that while he couldn't just straight up shoot the dog in the face with his pistol, he was able to shoot the dog with his rifle as it was running away, showing that he was always capable of killing those he cares for, as long as not confronted by them.

See I wasn't sure it was Ward that was looking down the scope, mainly because (and this could be my ears) I didn't hear a shot. It could have been Garrett checking in from afar to see if he really had the balls to murder the dog. At least that lines up with my idea that Garrett knows he has that softer streak and hence is always pushing the 'weakness' angle. I'll grant you that this is not in any way definitive and Ward may well have done the deed from afar but it seems an odd touch for someone with so very much blood on his hands. He was- or so it appeared- prepared to shoot May at point blank until she said she was leaving. You could argue he let her go rather than kill her as an aversion to such killing but I think it's more likely May is not worth engaging unless you absolutely have to. Lastly he only jettisoned F&S because he couldn't shoot them. Granted we never see if he could actually do it but he certainly seemed intent on it. I suppose it depends if that cargo module has regular Bus glass or Fury's car glass.

[Alkaloid]

From memory, the part of the bus they ran to was the storage/service sort of area, and they looked to be in a storage compartment, which makes a fair bit of sense. Don't truck everything up the cargo ramp to load it, just pop the container out and load it up then pop it back in, or switch out an armoury for a room full of lab kit if you need to.

I'm fairly sure Ward killed the dog. It's not so much that he's an evil murderous loon as it is he's weak, and will do pretty much anything anyone he perceives as stronger than him tells him to do, he just doesn't have the balls to confront what he does, thus shooting the dog while it's running away or ejecting Fitzsimmons into the ocean rather than making sure the job got done.

Also, the writers need to stop reading TV Tropes. References to Mary Sues, growing beards and shooting dogs don't make you look clever, they make you look obvious.

[B5B7]

Watching the last few episodes, I have two questions:
Who controls the helicarriers?
How does Garrett pass SHIELD medicals when his body contains Deathlok tech?
Riana is interesting. When she first appeared she seemed a typical merc, but she is an idealist, and it will be something to see how she develops. Also, how does she know the monsters were looking for their child?

[Eternal_Freedom]

How does Garrett pass SHIELD medicals when his body contains Deathlok tech?

Easy, he just makes sure whoever checks him over each time is also HYDRA.

[SCRawl]

I think that they got Coulson's voice right for the first time this series. It made for an enjoyable episode, and it's a shame it took so long.

[Iroscato]

I think that they got Coulson's voice right for the first time this series

Care to elaborate?

[SCRawl]

I think that they got Coulson's voice right for the first time this series

Care to elaborate?

I don't mean literally his speaking voice, I mean the way he's usually depicted communicating in the films, in particular the lines being written for him. His humour is usually dry and playful; he has that (usually implied) smirk; and while he can be caught flat-footed at times he's more or less unflappable, even at the moment of his death in "The Avengers". More often than not this season he's had to be shown as too introspective, too harried, too grit-your-teeth-and-get-it-done.

I get that the ups and downs of an extended look at the character have necessitated a greater range of responses. It's just that this was the Agent Coulson I remember seeing from "Iron Man", "Thor", and "The Avengers".

[Kojiro]

Who controls the helicarriers?

Which helicarriers are you talking about? We don't really have any confirmed numbers on them other than the four we've seen, three of which are now wrecks. The fourth was commanded by Fury but there's no hint of it's current location or who might be in charge of it. Possibly Fury still- especially if it's been given the same engine overhaul as the newer carriers. Remember Fury said they were designed to never need to come down. While 'never' is probably an exaggeration I could easily see him having one tucked away with its cloaking on.

That said when Coulson asks Fitz about vanishing he's told 'Only SHIELD helicarriers have cloaking technology' which implies it's a feature of more than one vehicle- he didn't say 'the helicarrier' so there may well be several but like everything SHIELD, who commands them is up in the air just now.

Riana is interesting. When she first appeared she seemed a typical merc, but she is an idealist, and it will be something to see how she develops. Also, how does she know the monsters were looking for their child?

I'm not sure idealist is the word... she's well aware of the people she's in bed with and the crimes they commit. She is interesting though and I could totally see her flipping to help Skye in the future.

[The Romulan Republic]

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been renewed.

www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-27338698

Despite struggling in the ratings, Marvel's Agents of Shield has been renewed for a second series.

US TV network ABC also ordered a new spin-off show, Marvel's Agent Carter, based on Hayley Atwell's Captain America character.

Both series tie into the Marvel film series, which includes star-studded titles like Iron Man and Thor.

They add background to events on the big screen, providing an overarching story to the so-called Marvel Universe.

Agents Of Shield was created by Joss Whedon, who scripted the Avengers Assemble film, and previously created Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Firefly.

The drama resurrected the character of Agent Coulson, who was killed in Avengers Assemble, with his character's miraculous recovery the central mystery of the opening episodes.

Played by Clark Gregg, the character took charge of a team of law-enforcement agents, tasked with investigating super-human individuals and unusual events.

Eventually, the plot of the series overlapped with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, in which the SHIELD organisation was brought down from within.

Hayley Atwell
Atwell will play Agent Peggy Carter in the Captain America spin-off
When the series debuted in the US in September 2013, it garnered 12.12 million viewers, marking the biggest network drama debut in four years.

Audience figures fell by nearly 4 million between the first and second episode, while figures for recent episodes average 5.5 million.

In the UK, where it is shown on Channel 4, the show's audience has also plummeted - from 4.5 million in September 2013 to 1.1 million last week.

However, the series plays well with young men, a much sought-after demographic with advertisers, and its ratings tend to recover once time-delayed viewing is taken into account.

Agent Carter, which follows the story of secret agent Peggy Carter, is being hailed as a "bridge show", which will be screened during Agents Of Shields' mid-series hiatus.

Meanwhile, Marvel comics is preparing another four series - Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Luke Cage - via its partnership with Netflix.

[Eternal_Freedom]

That's good news. The bit about an Agent Carter series is...interesting. Not sure if I'm excited by it but I'll give it a go.