Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. II: It's A Magical Thread

[Palanan]

Second thread for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Figured I'd pull the trigger on the night-night gun.

Originally Posted by Eldan
...how has it been, lately? Because I stopped about halfway in, it seems. Worth watching the rest?

The last few episodes have picked up nicely, and the most recent two or three have really been good.

Not long ago I was about ready to give up on it, too. Glad I stuck with it. The ending of this week's episode...wow. Hoo hah. Yeah, I'll keep watching.

.

[HardcoreD&Dgirl]

I still really like the show. Om the last thread someone asked what made Coulson so special...

MY friends and I have a theory. He is to Fury what sky is to him. A good trusted friend who has been under his wing. They didn't send a random agent to handle stark... they sent the guy Fury can trust... they didn't put a random guy in charge of the hammer... they sent someone Fury can trust.

Imagine you worked with your best friend, and you could talk shop or BS... and you trusted him with everything... what would you do to save him? Now imagine the soldier that becomes a brother with another solder what would they risk to save each other? moving heave and earth seems like exactly what you would do.

[LaZodiac]

I still really like the show. Om the last thread someone asked what made Coulson so special...

MY friends and I have a theory. He is to Fury what sky is to him. A good trusted friend who has been under his wing. They didn't send a random agent to handle stark... they sent the guy Fury can trust... they didn't put a random guy in charge of the hammer... they sent someone Fury can trust.

Imagine you worked with your best friend, and you could talk shop or BS... and you trusted him with everything... what would you do to save him? Now imagine the soldier that becomes a brother with another solder what would they risk to save each other? moving heave and earth seems like exactly what you would do.

That's completely reasonable and simple, and the only reason I didn't say it (and it would of been said worse then how you said it ) is because I figured it was self evident.

[Petrocorus]

Maybe Fury was grooming Coulson for his job, and didn't want to start from square one?

Honestly, before the start of the show, just by his characterisation in the movies, i was really under this impression.

Concerning the clearance level, in the stinger of the episode 7, Coulson sees really surprised his clearance level doesn't grant him access to his Death and Recovery file. He might have believed that his clearance level was just below Fury's one.

Anyway, Coulson has been able to get away with several rules infringements so far, there is certainly a reason for that, and probably the same that justified his resurrection.

[Eldan]

It's generally been getting better with every episode (more or less), though any particular person's Threshold of Good (or Threshold of Good Enough) will, of course, vary. Did you have a particular reason for stopping or just put it down and never picked it back up?

There was a break of one or two weeks, I think, where no new episode came out and after that, I just kind of... forgot it still existed, really. For me, it had just about reached that threshold of "I could probably watch this tonight, if the Simpsons rerun isn't anything good..." A time waster, not something I was looking forward to that much.

[Cheesegear]

"I could probably watch this tonight, if the Simpsons rerun isn't anything good..." A time waster, not something I was looking forward to that much.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. What to watch when there's nothing else to watch!

Seems accurate.

[DigoDragon]

MY friends and I have a theory. He is to Fury what sky is to him. A good trusted friend who has been under his wing. They didn't send a random agent to handle stark... they sent the guy Fury can trust... they didn't put a random guy in charge of the hammer... they sent someone Fury can trust.

If his little roles in the movies are counted, then yeah, I agree. Coulson certainly seems to be Fury's reliable agent that gets the job done. They probably have one of the longest histories together in the department too.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. What to watch when there's nothing else to watch!

Considering the only show I regularly watch is a cartoon, there really isn't anything else in my case.

[lt_murgen]

The facility was listed as a WWII bunker.

I suspect that they are borrowing from Von Strucker's history, combining it with the Red Skulls in the Cinematic Universe.

As such, the G in GH could be gnobian.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Maybe it's a SWORD facility?

Just a random thought based on 1) I am hazily aware that there is a thing called SWORD which is vaguely tied to SHIELD somehow in the comics.
And 2) I kind of want to see Jessica Drew at some point, and I'm vaguely aware of a SWORD tie for her.
Also 3) SWORD is a much cooler name.

[Joran]

Maybe it's a SWORD facility?

Just a random thought based on 1) I am hazily aware that there is a thing called SWORD which is vaguely tied to SHIELD somehow in the comics.
And 2) I kind of want to see Jessica Drew at some point, and I'm vaguely aware of a SWORD tie for her.
Also 3) SWORD is a much cooler name.

Funnily enough, Joss 'Someone really tried hard to make the initials spell SHIELD' Whedon created SWORD when he was writing for X-Men.

I've actually read that series (yay, I can contribute to Marvel lore!) and SWORD stands for Sentient World Observation and Response Department and basically protects Earth against extraterrestrial threats. It and SHIELD sometimes collaborates, but I'm also hazy on what exactly their relationship is.

[RoboChap]

I still really like the show. Om the last thread someone asked what made Coulson so special...

MY friends and I have a theory. He is to Fury what sky is to him. A good trusted friend who has been under his wing. They didn't send a random agent to handle stark... they sent the guy Fury can trust... they didn't put a random guy in charge of the hammer... they sent someone Fury can trust.

Imagine you worked with your best friend, and you could talk shop or BS... and you trusted him with everything... what would you do to save him? Now imagine the soldier that becomes a brother with another solder what would they risk to save each other? moving heave and earth seems like exactly what you would do.

I think this sums it up pretty perfectly. If they had headlined the show with Agent Sitwell then yeah, he is "just another agent"; Agent Coulson is front and centre because that's where Fury wants him. Thinking more about it, I would love to see a more indepth cameo from Sam Jackson in the show with some flashbacks revealing his earlier relationship with Coulson, especially as the likes of Agent Hand and Blake have already commented on why Coulson gets preferential treatment from the head honcho...

[Calemyr]

Comparing Coulson to Skye is quite accurate, I believe. Coulson was there at the beginning, when they couldn't get anyone to stand still long enough for him to say the name of his department. Coulson has been the go-to agent for dealing with anything from god-complex inventors to literal gods, has been there to give his quirky, nerdy, quasi-rebellious approval to each of the heroes we've come across. He's been there, he's done it, and he's had his boss's back the whole time. He is the trusted right hand - trusted to get the job done, that is, not trusted to follow orders. Only a fool would expect him to do that.

Also, as May points out, when you put everything on the line for the world, it is very important to have someone willing to put everything on the line for you. Coulson may lack the exceptional talents of the others, but he is the one standing at the center - orchestrating everything and supporting and backing up everyone in his charge. Middle management may not sound like an impressive position, and it rarely is, but when a middle manager knows his stuff, truly knows his stuff, then the end result becomes far greater than the sum of its parts.

Skye is a lot like that. She's become a common thread between individuals that have difficulty connecting on their own (mainly the brains vs the brawn).

I think the importance of Coulson, however, is reflected in his opinion of Skye, particularly when he tells her the truth of her origin (as they know it): "What I told her should have destroyed her faith in humanity. So how is it that instead she can turn around and restore some of mine?"

[Petrocorus]

Remember also, that it seems that Coulson was a specialist like Ward or May, and as been promoted away from the field. The one-shot "What happened on the way to Thor's hammer" (IIRC) show he's still pretty badass compare to regular people.

All we have seen in the different movies and the show let us think he's really one of Fury's trustees.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Funnily enough, Joss 'Someone really tried hard to make the initials spell SHIELD' Whedon created SWORD when he was writing for X-Men.

I've actually read that series (yay, I can contribute to Marvel lore!) and SWORD stands for Sentient World Observation and Response Department and basically protects Earth against extraterrestrial threats. It and SHIELD sometimes collaborates, but I'm also hazy on what exactly their relationship is.

Sounds like they're positively... Clairvoyant .

[Cheesegear]

I've actually read that series (yay, I can contribute to Marvel lore!) and SWORD stands for Sentient World Observation and Response Department

SHIELD is temporarily replaced by HAMMER. Which does't appear to stand for anything at all. But, someone wanted their organisation to be 'HAMMER' and so it was.

[huttj509]

Remember also, that it seems that Coulson was a specialist like Ward or May, and as been promoted away from the field. The one-shot "What happened on the way to Thor's hammer" (IIRC) show he's still pretty badass compare to regular people.

All we have seen in the different movies and the show let us think he's really one of Fury's trustees.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer.

[Joran]

SHIELD is temporarily replaced by HAMMER. Which does't appear to stand for anything at all. But, someone wanted their organisation to be 'HAMMER' and so it was.

Homeland Agency for Mighty Military Enforcement... Rangers.

[Sith_Happens]

Spoiler: Speculation

Show

Now that I think about it, the last episode heavily supports the idea that the Clairvoyant is in or has infiltrated SHIELD. Consider: The one thing he/she/it explicitly doesn't know about happened at an off-the-books, seemingly non-SHIELD facility.

[LaZodiac]

Spoiler: Speculation

Show

Now that I think about it, the last episode heavily supports the idea that the Clairvoyant is in or has infiltrated SHIELD. Consider: The one thing he/she/it explicitly doesn't know about happened at an off-the-books, seemingly non-SHIELD facility.

That's a good idea.

I still like my idea that the Clairvoyant is...well, us, the viewers.

[Codex]

I still like my idea that the Clairvoyant is...well, us, the viewers.

We're Ian's boss?

[Sith_Happens]

I still like my idea that the Clairvoyant is...well, us, the viewers.

In that case it's going to be really anticlimactic when SHIELD finds out what I want those supersoldiers for.

[Shinken]

SHIELD is temporarily replaced by HAMMER. Which does't appear to stand for anything at all. But, someone wanted their organisation to be 'HAMMER' and so it was.

There is a scene when Osborn takes over and calls his organization HAMMER, and someone goes "what does it stand for?" and he goes like "I couldn't care less".

[Clertar]

In that case it's going to be really anticlimactic when SHIELD finds out what I want those supersoldiers for.

LOL

[Petrocorus]

In that case it's going to be really anticlimactic when SHIELD finds out what I want those supersoldiers for.

It's going to be anti-climatic when SHIELD finds out that all the Clairvoyant wants is to seduce the Black Widow.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Ha! I was verily pleased with this week's stinger (I finally caught up to it; I'm watching with a friend, and we haven't had the occasion to catch up), because I recognized the new character immediately.

As to Coulson...

Spoiler: I've got a theory

Show

Coulson is the guinea pig for the much larger T.A.H.I.T.I. project. Fury resurrected him with alien juice because he trusts Coulson to be strong enough to handle the injection. But TAHITI was never intended solely for the use of Coulson; it's a much larger project. Much larger project. After all, it's the MCU Lazarus Pit.

Fury doesn't necessarily need Coulson so badly that he'd make this whole experiment to bring him back. However, if they're making the experiment and he has to answer the question "who are you going to try to bring back with TAHITI?", the recently-deceased Coulson is the perfect choice.

[Palanan]

That's one of the better theories I've seen on the matter. It makes a lot of sense.

That said, fan-sense and Whedon-sense are sometimes very different things.

[TheOldCrow]

As to Coulson...

Spoiler: I've got a theory

Show

Coulson is the guinea pig for the much larger T.A.H.I.T.I. project. Fury resurrected him with alien juice because he trusts Coulson to be strong enough to handle the injection. But TAHITI was never intended solely for the use of Coulson; it's a much larger project. Much larger project. After all, it's the MCU Lazarus Pit.

Fury doesn't necessarily need Coulson so badly that he'd make this whole experiment to bring him back. However, if they're making the experiment and he has to answer the question "who are you going to try to bring back with TAHITI?", the recently-deceased Coulson is the perfect choice.

Spoiler

Show

I do think you are right about TAHITI being some larger project that dead Coulson was brought to because it was conveniently available. TAHITI could have been used to repair and brain rewrite any number of people up to now.

I'm still holding out hope that Coulson is alive/was resurrected because of being stabbed with Loki's Tessarect-infused staff in the Avengers movie. Don't know if that will be the case, but it would be cool if it all ties together.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Oh, another thing on a different topic...

Spoiler: Skye

Show

Whaddya wanna bet that being infused with G.H. (grey humanoid? I dunno what it's supposed to stand for) will cause her latent 0-8-4 powers to activate soon?

[TheOldCrow]

Oh, another thing on a different topic...

Spoiler: Skye

Show

Whaddya wanna bet that being infused with G.H. (grey humanoid? I dunno what it's supposed to stand for) will cause her latent 0-8-4 powers to activate soon?

On that different T.A.H.I.T.I. topic...

Spoiler

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I'm not betting you, because I think you are 100% right on that. I have a theory that when Coulson mentioned the drug to the dying guard and the guard mentioned the timer, the guard was talking about the drug-- not the explosives. So I'm thinking a certain amount of time passes, and then something happens to whomever was injected with the drug. Probably nothing wonderful for Coulson, because he is human-- but Skye might be a different matter

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by TheOldCrow

Spoiler

Show

I'm still holding out hope that Coulson is alive/was resurrected because of being stabbed with Loki's Tessarect-infused staff in the Avengers movie. Don't know if that will be the case, but it would be cool if it all ties together.

Spoiler

Show

That was an early thought of mine as well, and I agree it would be cool, since it gives Coulson a tinge of cosmic power.

I wonder if he pings on Detect Magic.