Agents of SHIELD season three. [Spoilers]

[biostem]

There was also an episode of Agents of Shield where some Firemen took a Chitauri helmet as a trophy, and ended up contracting a disease from it.

I imagine that Hydra, having infiltrated Shield during the events of Avengers 1, had no problem redirecting some of the cleanup crews and the alien tech, to their own facilities.

I'm interested to know how they managed to construct the new "Bus" for the current season of the show - it appears much more advanced than the previous one. I suppose if they can recover and rebuild the original Helicarrier, than something the size of the new Bus shouldn't be a problem.

I hope we see Dethlok again soon.

[Dalton]

They'll carry through with that. They won't dangle something like that and do nothing about it, especially since it's tied up with Inhumans.

[Dalton]

Re: the real SHIELD - I think they merged operations with Coulson's group, which explains them having enough resources to build a new bus (complete with what looks to be Stark-style pulse jets). The helicarrier is likely still out there too under the care of Fury and Hill.

[Dalton]

Merging...

[Dalton]

Regarding the Chitauri tech, there's a new series coming that's about the cleanup crew for that kind of stuff. However, we absolutely know for sure that a lot of Chitauri tech made it into Hydra's hands given the fact that one of those flying worm things was in Strucker's Sokovia hideout along with the Scepter.

[Dalton]

About the Helicarrier: it survived the HYDRA uprising and secretly repaired by Coulson - remember Theta Protocol?

[The Romulan Republic]

Okay, not such a great episode tonight.

Hunter's going a little grimdark in his pursuit of Ward, and I can see a rift forming between him and May.

And while we're on the subject of May, the implied attempted rape of May was gratuitous, though she handled it easily enough.

I can see some similarity between the hunt for Inhumans and Islamophobia/profiling in the War on Terror, but it doesn't really work with Lincoln. I can't really buy the idea that he's just a persecuted victim when he used to be part of Daisy's mother's group. He actually does have past terrorist affiliations. And he has killed of late, even if he didn't mean to and was defending himself.

That said, Rosalind's group of jackbooted bigots can fuck off. And I really question the wisdom of Coulson throwing in with them. I get that he was in a tough spot, he was trying to protect Daisy, and he didn't want to fight them. But there are a few problems with that.

1. Rosalind's people are bigoted assholes.
2. He took a course of action that was gaurunteed to further alienate perhaps the best member of his team (and why not, since her boss just sided with people hunting her because of her race).
3. As a result of the above, his effort to avoid fighting Rosalind greatly increases the chances that he's going to end up fighting the aforementioned Lt., Daisy.

Now, granted, Coulson really shouldn't be picking a fight with a US government-backed agency if he can possibly avoid it, for moral, legal, and practical reasons. However, I don't think it was a decision made based entirely on ethics or reason. He seemed to come to that decision very quickly. I suspect it was a knee-jerk choice driven by emotion. That Coulson is burnt out by everything he's had to deal with to an extent and protective of Daisy, and that impaired his judgement.

Now, maybe he's playing some sneaky game to undermine the Inhuman hunters from within, but if not, I'll be very disappointed in his leadership. I'm honestly a little surprised that Daisy didn't either turn on him or just walk out on him.

Of course, I think this is at least partly due to an unfortunate tendency to write for the sake of twists and drama over what makes sense for the characters and plot.

Also perhaps trying to set up Civil War. I hope that doesn't go down with Daisy on one side and Coulson on the other.

All that aside, interesting bit with Simmons at the end their. I wonder what she has in mind, and if this interstellar stuff is setting up a Guardians of the Galaxy tie in.

[Gaidin]

Rosalind is flying blind and has the resources of a country. Coulson isn't and doesn't have the resources. He can try and fight her and lose. Or he can try and advise her and effect the outcome. Policy wise for an agency that has one agent that is Inhuman, but the rest are aware of the strategies and what has to be done, that is the decision a Director needs to make from the Director's chair. The Field Agent doesn't like it, they can resign.

[The Romulan Republic]

Like I said, you can make a pragmatic case for Coulson's decision. However, I also think its pretty obvious he was making the decision for emotional reasons at least as much as pragmatic ones. That doesn't necessarily make the decision the wrong one, but I do think Coulson's judgement at this stage is... questionable.

And I wouldn't blame Daisy for a second if she walked out on Coulson over this. Again, her boss/friend just aligned herself with people who hunted her for her race. Add to that that Coulson's new allies immediately proved themselves manifestly untrustworthy by trying to arrest Daisy, apparently violating their agreement with Coulson even after Coulson held up his end of that odious bargain, simply because they weren't able to contain Lincoln. And that it took Coulson literally threatening to start a war to get them to honour their fucking deal. Does that sound like a viable alliance? It sounds to me like "Jump when we say Jump, and the moment you're not useful to us and we can get away with it we'll discard you." That's what Coulson has evidently signed up for.

I also think that you're underestimating Coulson's strength in a hypothetical fight, because Coulson has Tony Stark and the Avengers as potential allies. And Cap, at least, I can't imagine going along with Rosalind's crowd. However, at that point we're talking open revolt against the US government, and I don't blame Coulson for a second for not going down that road.

But I expect we'll see something like that play out in Captain America: Civil War.

[Batman]

I think Phil went with the least evil available, which I won't deny went well with his emotional need to protect Daisy. He can't prevent Rosalind's organization (I can't for the life of me remember their acronym) from hunting Inhumans, he no longer has the resources for that (the theoretical availability of the Avengers notwithstanding). At least this way he can influence how they're treated once caught and try to limit collateral damage. The way I see it he picked the least shitty one of the shitty options available to him.
Why the hell does Simmons want to back to Obelisk Space?

[The Romulan Republic]

Yeah, I'm wondering about that last one myself.

Something she left behind? Or someone (was she lying about their being no animal life their?)? Some outside influence manipulating her? Some sort of psychological damage she suffered?

[Gaidin]

Like I said, you can make a pragmatic case for Coulson's decision. However, I also think its pretty obvious he was making the decision for emotional reasons at least as much as pragmatic ones. That doesn't necessarily make the decision the wrong one, but I do think Coulson's judgement at this stage is... questionable.

And I wouldn't blame Daisy for a second if she walked out on Coulson over this. Again, her boss/friend just aligned herself with people who hunted her for her race. Add to that that Coulson's new allies immediately proved themselves manifestly untrustworthy by trying to arrest Daisy, apparently violating their agreement with Coulson even after Coulson held up his end of that odious bargain, simply because they weren't able to contain Lincoln. And that it took Coulson literally threatening to start a war to get them to honour their fucking deal. Does that sound like a viable alliance? It sounds to me like "Jump when we say Jump, and the moment you're not useful to us and we can get away with it we'll discard you." That's what Coulson has evidently signed up for.

I also think that you're underestimating Coulson's strength in a hypothetical fight, because Coulson has Tony Stark and the Avengers as potential allies. And Cap, at least, I can't imagine going along with Rosalind's crowd. However, at that point we're talking open revolt against the US government, and I don't blame Coulson for a second for not going down that road.

But I expect we'll see something like that play out in Captain America: Civil War.

Judgement at any stage for a Director should seem questionable. He's making policy and forming guidance and making decisions for an agency. This is not necessarily about just the characters that we know. This is about every blue dot we saw on that map in Season 2. And from there it comes down to every Inhuman he can get his teams into contact with. Remember who Coulson is. This is a very morally hard decision and involves bodycounts, but not as a matter of "Do we send people in". It involves bodycounts as a matter of "Do we work with these people in the hopes of showing them how to damn well do this. Especially when we know there's some other Inhuman out there they're either not admitting or not aware of?". Which one brings less blood to either side?

[The Romulan Republic]

Like I said, you can make a pragmatic case for Coulson's decision. However, I also think its pretty obvious he was making the decision for emotional reasons at least as much as pragmatic ones. That doesn't necessarily make the decision the wrong one, but I do think Coulson's judgement at this stage is... questionable.

And I wouldn't blame Daisy for a second if she walked out on Coulson over this. Again, her boss/friend just aligned herself with people who hunted her for her race. Add to that that Coulson's new allies immediately proved themselves manifestly untrustworthy by trying to arrest Daisy, apparently violating their agreement with Coulson even after Coulson held up his end of that odious bargain, simply because they weren't able to contain Lincoln. And that it took Coulson literally threatening to start a war to get them to honour their fucking deal. Does that sound like a viable alliance? It sounds to me like "Jump when we say Jump, and the moment you're not useful to us and we can get away with it we'll discard you." That's what Coulson has evidently signed up for.

I also think that you're underestimating Coulson's strength in a hypothetical fight, because Coulson has Tony Stark and the Avengers as potential allies. And Cap, at least, I can't imagine going along with Rosalind's crowd. However, at that point we're talking open revolt against the US government, and I don't blame Coulson for a second for not going down that road.

But I expect we'll see something like that play out in Captain America: Civil War.

Judgement at any stage for a Director should seem questionable.

I'm not sure what you mean by that. If its that someone in Coulson's position will have to make difficult decisions, yes. If its that someone in Coulson's position should be under scrutiny, then again, yes.

Unfortunately, on that last point, I'm not sure their really is anyone exercising oversight on Coulson besides maybe Fury (who seems to be taking a fairly hands-off approach). And of course Coulson's own subordinates, like Daisy. Who does Coulson report to, since he's head of SHIELD, the council that oversaw SHIELD is gone as I recall, and he's clearly at odds with the President's team on the Inhumans issue?

Ideally, of course, the legitimate government would be exercising oversight of Coulson's people, which I guess is a point for him working with Rosalind, damn it.

He's making policy and forming guidance and making decisions for an agency. This is not necessarily about just the characters that we know. This is about every blue dot we saw on that map in Season 2.

And a whole lot more. I know that, of course.

The question is weather aiding Rosalind's jackboots will help anyone in the long run.

Their is also a certain illogic to Coulson's decision that I'll get to in a moment, and again, it very much seemed like a snap decision driven by emotion as much as reason.

And from there it comes down to every Inhuman he can get his teams into contact with. Remember who Coulson is. This is a very morally hard decision and involves bodycounts, but not as a matter of "Do we send people in". It involves bodycounts as a matter of "Do we work with these people in the hopes of showing them how to damn well do this. Especially when we know there's some other Inhuman out there they're either not admitting or not aware of?". Which one brings less blood to either side?

The question there is weather Rosalind's force will work with Coulson in good faith and listen to him. Considering their response to failing to take Lincoln was to immediately try to arrest Daisy, invalidating their deal with Coulson... well, that should be a red flag that these people are not necessarily going to act in good faith.

I have a bad feeling that Coulson hasn't so much avoided infighting, as he apparently wants, as briefly delayed it (and risked turning some of his own people against him). The question if the deal does break down is weather his temporary alliance will leave him in a better position when everything goes to hell.

[Gaidin]

The question there is weather Rosalind's force will work with Coulson in good faith and listen to him.

Come on. Your entire post is summable to this one sentence. Welcome to intelligence. Both of them know this and know it very damn well. They're both gambling with their people's lives. And we as viewers should know it with the damn KGBanter(LOL) scene in the subway. They have the authority. Directors DO THIS.

[FaxModem1]

Does Coulson really answer to anybody at this point? So far it really seems that SHIELD is some sort of odd militia that's answerable to no one, funded by no one, and does what it wants on the whims of whoever is controlling the place's funds(namely Coulson).

That's one thing that's been bugging me since the beginning of season 2, where's the money coming from? They have facilities that nobody but Fury apparently knew about, but this and the 'real SHIELD'(if they're not merged with Coulson's branch by now) both seem to be operating without any sort of oversight, jurisdiction, or anything to that affect.

Essentially, this means that poor Gutierrez was kidnapped, legally speaking. It'd also be good to know what is happening with that guy. Is he just eating meals in the null room and loafing about?

[The Romulan Republic]

The question there is weather Rosalind's force will work with Coulson in good faith and listen to him.

Come on. Your entire post is summable to this one sentence.

Great excuse to ignore everything else I said.

And as you can see, my answer to the question, based on Rosalind's forces' actions, leans toward "no", which is kind of an important point if we're arguing the merits of Coulson's decision.

Welcome to intelligence. Both of them know this and know it very damn well. They're both gambling with their people's lives. And we as viewers should know it with the damn KGBanter(LOL) scene in the subway. They have the authority. Directors DO THIS.

No doubt they do it. And I'm not saying that they don't have the authority to (well in this case, Rosalind might, but I'm not sure what Coulson's legal position is). I'm not even saying it was necessarily the wrong decision to make at this point (I'm on the fence about it). It certainly was better than starting a war with Rosalind and by extension the US government.

I'm saying that I question Coulson's reasons for making the decision, that I would have very little hope that it will work out well for him, and that Coulson needs to be actively preparing for the day when he will have to go against Rosalind in some way.

And that if Daisy decided she didn't want to play nice with the racist jackboots and walked away, I couldn't blame her in the slightest.

FaxModem1, I too am uncertain about who, if anyone, holds Coulson accountable. And if he is answerable to no one, that is a reason why he has to take extra pains to act in a moral/ethical manner. Its the same reason a cop or the courts can kill a man and Batman can't-because they have a legitimate authority and oversight that the vigilante does not (leaving aside Batman's personal reasons for having a problem with killing).

Edit: Of course, its possible that by working with Rosalind, Coulson gains greater legal legitimacy.

I'd also be very interested to know what the Marvel universe's laws say about superpowered vigilantism. I wouldn't be surprised if Stark has the clout to get a law passed specifically to exempt the Avengers, especially after they saved the Earth twice.

[The Romulan Republic]

Another factor to consider regarding Coulson's decision to work with Rosalind: credibility.

Coulson is trying to protect Inhumans and build a team using them, and they are being threatened by bigots like Rosalind's folks. How will it look to the Inhumans he encounters if they find out he's working with Rosalind's force and sold out Lincoln to them? And it will get around, at least to any Inhumans he recruits onto his team. Daisy, at least, knows Coulson and probably knows that he's a basically decent man who's intentions are good. Others may just see a liar who will sell them out. Lincoln, certainly, will likely never trust SHIELD and will be dead set against them, and oh goodie, he's still on the lose. Do you think he won't fry the next SHIELD person he sees? Do you think their's any chance of talking him into surrendering without a fight?

Its also another reason for Daisy to be pissed. Not only did Coulson damage his own credibility, he damaged her credibility as well, at least with Lincoln. She worked to convince Lincoln to trust her, and then Coulson turned on him. That makes it look like she was complicit in a deception at worst, and like Coulson used her at best.

Sure, you can say she just has to suck it up and accept that these sort of double-crosses happen in the spy world, and there's truth to that. But it must really suck to have your boss undermine you in a very obvious way that may make it harder for you to do your job in the future.

Edit: To be fair, if Coulson hadn't made a deal with Rosalind it would have made Daisy's life rather harder too. But it still doesn't change the fact that she can't trust her boss to support her actions, and that this was demonstrated in front of a lot of people she's going to have to deal with in the future.

[Gaidin]

Lincoln is damaged goods anyways. As someone who tried to move against the human race, had to be talked back from it, and is now on the run from the human race, I'd like to see him try to be a mouth piece for the Inhumans with what Coulson knows of him.

[The Romulan Republic]

I'd rather Rosalind's crowd not get their hands on him, but I doubt he is or ever will be trustworthy, both because of his involvement with Daisy's mother's group and more recent events.

Though Coulson's actions here, and the inability of Rosalind's people to hold him (where were those snipers of hers' that they threatened Daisy with?- I wonder if that was a bluff) greatly reduced the chances that he can ever be apprehended without a bloodbath.

[Gaidin]

I think he can be trustworthy, trust is just a two way street. Thing is Coulson has shown a willingness to play dirty with people he likes when he has to (Berserker). I'd say Coulson is neutral at best about this guy if he really wants to bring him in but will sell him and himself(functionally by access) down the river to keep another Agency War from happening despite being willing to visit it down if they fire the first shot.

[GuppyShark]

I think we'll find this is all just setup for Civil War, AoS seems to have its course charted by the MCU rather than its own long term narrative interests. I too find it strange that this secret SHIELD organisation continues to exist without anyone actually backing them.

Hopefully MCU Civil War won't be as pants-on-head stupid as the comic version.

[The Romulan Republic]

Perhaps the worst part about the pact with Rosalind is how utterly worthless an ally she revealed herself to be from the start. Seriously, it took all of roughly two minutes for her to backstab Coulson. Does that sound like a viable long-term partnership?

It also occurs to me that Rosalind is lucky Coulson was a more decent and honourable person than she is. I didn't see a lot of security around Rosalind when she met with Coulson. He could have taken her hostage when she turned on Daisy if it had come down to it, unless she's got Black Widow-level combat skill she has yet to demonstrate. Of course, that would have put him in direct conflict with the US President, but if it had come down to a fight...

[The Romulan Republic]

So, their was a new episode on Tuesday. I caught some of it.

It appears the big blue Inhuman hunter can change to look human. Daisy saw its shadow as it transformed, but didn't see its face.

And May's ex-husband seems to have bought it thanks to Ward and Strucker Jr. I thought they'd drag that plot out longer, but things seem to be happening very fast this season. I wonder if they're writing it as they go or if they have a long-term plan beyond "Tie into Civil War".

The interpersonal melodrama is getting a bit tired.

Also, Ward seems to have become a much less interesting villain. Just a whiny, manipulative sadist, not the complex villain he seemed to be before. Not liking this.

I'm interested in where they're going with Strucker Jr. though.

And what the hell happened to Simmons? Looks like we'll see next week. Glad they're revisiting what happened to her while she was on another world.

[biostem]

I know things will likely *not* play out this way, but it would be hilarious, given the diversity of inhumans we've seen, that the big hunter guy simply comes up against one that is too powerful for him to kill, and he just dies making the attempt... "so much for this subplot".

It still bugs me that no one has apparently asked what Jemma ate or drank during her months on that other world. They could have at least referenced her coming across supplies from that group that had been sending people through since the 1800s - maybe salted pork and hardtack kept in the other planet... at least it'd be something.

The thing that bugs me with Ward is how he just doesn't seem that creative anymore. They go through this whole ordeal to get Hunter in, meanwhile him and May (Mae?) both knew that Ward would recognize him the whole time? I suppose Shield no longer has those nifty face-changing sheets anymore?

It also bugged me that having a cybernetic hand apparently made Coulson's entire arm, shoulder, etc strong enough to lift the guy up, (or maybe I am just misremembering and he just kinda squeezed him)?

Dammit I wanna see more Dethlok!

[Batman]

Looked more like mere squeezing to me and lifting a guy that size by the neck doesn't really require superhuman strength anyway.