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

[Hawriel]

Another headbanging bad episode. However this were some small things that were good.

Ward is told that the Asgardian they are going specializes in mind control and is highly dangerious. She specializes in putting the wamy on men. So of couse he is written into a situation were he is alone with her. Problem is he the super awesome warrarior that he is did not shoot Lorelie the second he saw her. Nor did he shoot her the 3 or 4 times he could have shot her in between first seeing her and Lorelie walking up very slowly running her mouth and touching him.

Really ****ing shoot her. Even if the knock out ammo does not work on her at least it would not have been a stupid, because plot scene.

So Lorelie and ward hop on a motorcycle and run off. OK I understand that. Problem is they did it 10 feet away from the rest of the shield team who also brought back up. This was utterly amazingly dumb. They are at a biker bar in the middle of no ware next to a small two lane road. They were just on the other side of the building then jump on a very loud bike, turned onto the same road that all the shield agents cars, and more agents were standing on, then got away.

One minute later Coulson claims they can be any were by now. NO THEY ARE NOT. They are one minute down a desert road! Get in your car and chase them down! How could any one not see them drive right past you on a laud bike?

One nice touch, the assault team that hit the hotel room were all woman. Other than that, the show was dumb per usual. Still crap.

[huttj509]

Was there an episode yesterday?

No, it was a 1 hour marvel cinematic universe retrospective/preview.

Actually was a whole lot more fun than I thought it'd be.

[SeeDarkly_X]

Was there an episode yesterday?

The next is the first week in April (U.S. scheduling anyway.)

[Pex]

I do recall another successful male liberation movement - Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. A matriarchal world captures male space pilots and auctions them off for mating. They aren't killed afterwards. Buck becomes one such captured pilot. He eventually learns the planet is matriarchal only because most of its males were captured in a lost war against another planet, with whom Earth has a trade treaty. Shenanigans later, the planet agrees to stop capturing pilots. Word of their plight is instead used as a volunteer recruitment. In any case, a new treaty with the enemy planet has them release the male prisoners into the happy arms of the women.

[RoboChap]

The UK premiere of Winter Soldier was this evening and I was lucky enough to get tickets to a showing...and it will definitely 100% affect Agents of SHIELD in a big way...I'll refrain from posting anything too spoilery as the main release is still a week away here and two weeks away in the US, but I am now really excited for how the show is going to deal with things!!

[Archonic Energy]

so, the UK has seen up to TRACKS.
next week is T.H.A.I.T.I

so it looks like...

Spoiler: TRACKS

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Skye's super power isn't being bullet-proof.
and Robo-Gunn looks like it could be fun.

[TheOldCrow]

so, the UK has seen up to TRACKS.
next week is T.H.A.I.T.I

so it looks like...

Spoiler: TRACKS

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Skye's super power isn't being bullet-proof.
and Robo-Gunn looks like it could be fun.

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Yeah, I made a comment at the end of TRACKS to my husband that it didn't appear like her super power was regenerating like Wolverine. He had had a more fitting theory at the end of Seeds: "I know what her super power is! It's optimism!"

I wonder how we'd all take it if she ended up not having any super powers at all?

It looks like the UK will be two episodes behind the U.S. for the rest of the season, as the rest of the episodes for the season are airing without any more hiatuses here in the U.S. Too bad it's not more in sync.

[Solamnicknight]

I think agents of shield has improved as it has gone on, though the hiatuses have been annoying. My theory on the Clairvoyant based on the episode 16 promo is

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Modok since the promo shows a strange figure in an even weirder wheelchair viewing multiple TV screens. Also Deathlok looks awesome in the promos in terms of abilities.

[Codex]

Another headbanging bad episode. However this were some small things that were good.

Ward is told that the Asgardian they are going specializes in mind control and is highly dangerious. She specializes in putting the wamy on men. So of couse he is written into a situation were he is alone with her. Problem is he the super awesome warrarior that he is did not shoot Lorelie the second he saw her. Nor did he shoot her the 3 or 4 times he could have shot her in between first seeing her and Lorelie walking up very slowly running her mouth and touching him.

Really ****ing shoot her. Even if the knock out ammo does not work on her at least it would not have been a stupid, because plot scene.

So Lorelie and ward hop on a motorcycle and run off. OK I understand that. Problem is they did it 10 feet away from the rest of the shield team who also brought back up. This was utterly amazingly dumb. They are at a biker bar in the middle of no ware next to a small two lane road. They were just on the other side of the building then jump on a very loud bike, turned onto the same road that all the shield agents cars, and more agents were standing on, then got away.

One minute later Coulson claims they can be any were by now. NO THEY ARE NOT. They are one minute down a desert road! Get in your car and chase them down! How could any one not see them drive right past you on a laud bike?

One nice touch, the assault team that hit the hotel room were all woman. Other than that, the show was dumb per usual. Still crap.

I figured that the her voice was enough to keep him off balance long enough for her to touch him, even if it couldn't outright control him.

[bmosley45]

I was somewhat excited for the show when it was first announced, and I've been following it pretty closely - - I ended on the episode that introduced Lorelei at the end.

The show is...just not good. I want it to be good. It should be good. I can't really figure out why it's not working. Whedon is fantastic as a creative person and his direction is usually awesome.

Maybe it's the characters? I actually don't really seem to care about them, too much. The dialogue seems rushed, the plot just barrels on and seems cookie cutter/monster of the week, and over all, the show seems to just be watered-down, spirit-less version NCIS but with the supernatural. Also, there doesn't seem to be too much of a tie in with the movies.

The Avengers think that Coulson is dead...yet he's traipsing all over the world. Wouldn't any of the Avengers find out that he's alive? Like, by now, they should've found out by accident!

Heimdall: You know that big fight in New York you had?

Thor: Yeah, what about it?

Heimdall: You know how this Agent Coulson's death spurred you to action?

Thor: ....uh, yeah....

Heimdall: Yeah, well, he's alive. I see him walking around down there, eating a corn dog in a cafe.

Thor: Fury!

That being said, I have a lot of faith in Whedon and will continue to watch the show for a bit more in hopes that it will get better. Sometimes, you need to give things a chance and let it grow. I'm curious to see what's all the Hullabaloo about Sky, and although most characters come off as flat to me, Sky has some spark to her that I like.

[LaZodiac]

I was somewhat excited for the show when it was first announced, and I've been following it pretty closely - - I ended on the episode that introduced Lorelei at the end.

The show is...just not good. I want it to be good. It should be good. I can't really figure out why it's not working. Whedon is fantastic as a creative person and his direction is usually awesome.

Maybe it's the characters? I actually don't really seem to care about them, too much. The dialogue seems rushed, the plot just barrels on and seems cookie cutter/monster of the week, and over all, the show seems to just be watered-down, spirit-less version NCIS but with the supernatural. Also, there doesn't seem to be too much of a tie in with the movies.

The Avengers think that Coulson is dead...yet he's traipsing all over the world. Wouldn't any of the Avengers find out that he's alive? Like, by now, they should've found out by accident!

Heimdall: You know that big fight in New York you had?

Thor: Yeah, what about it?

Heimdall: You know how this Agent Coulson's death spurred you to action?

Thor: ....uh, yeah....

Heimdall: Yeah, well, he's alive. I see him walking around down there, eating a corn dog in a cafe.

Thor: Fury!

That being said, I have a lot of faith in Whedon and will continue to watch the show for a bit more in hopes that it will get better. Sometimes, you need to give things a chance and let it grow. I'm curious to see what's all the Hullabaloo about Sky, and although most characters come off as flat to me, Sky has some spark to her that I like.

Why would Heimdall tell him that? Additionally, he's been busy fighting in the other realms the entire time he's been gone up till Thor 2.

[Palanan]

So, finally a new episode tonight, and worth the wait. Fast, fun, twisty, involving.

First, the warm and fuzzy:

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Skye finally makes Level 1. It's a nice moment, and rounds out a minor plot arc that had seemed to get lost in recent episodes. Her reaction with the various team members is great--restrained and respectful with Coulson, a giddy hug with Jemma, something more nuanced with Ward.

It was a nice bit of accomplishment, and a reminder that apart from alien transfusions and cyborg killers, there are humbler but emotionally significant milestones as well.

And then the operational:

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I enjoyed the double-blind approach to running down the various suspects, and wish they'd been able to spend a little more time with the three field pairs.

That said, why are the standard-issue S.H.I.E.L.D. agents going in with headgear and body armor, and Coulson and Ward go in with no head protection whatsoever?

Seriously, He Shot First!

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The encounter with "the Clairvoyant" certainly smelled fishy from the start, especially when Deathlok hightailed it instead of engaging with the S.H.I.E.L.D. folks. For a little while I was wondering if the earlier hint about Nash's being able to influence behavior was really a factor in Ward's action--but no, Coulson worked his way through it and we learned who it really was.

A little rushed, maybe--it might have been nice to stew over things for an episode or so--but by the same token, fast and confusing fits the scenario very well.

The Big Reveal, Sort Of:

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So, Victoria Hand is the Clairvoyant. This is...mildly interesting, and makes sense within the logic of the story, but somehow it's a disappointment. Not just because the Clairvoyant isn't AIM or Modok or whatever, but because it seems so pedestrian. Hiding in plain sight, key senior agent running a shadow service, yadda yadda yadda.

We've seen this...how many times? Like the grand secret of Coulson's death and revival, it ends up being very meh, and one can only hope there's more story behind it.

Ol' Eyepatch Is Back:

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And a very nice transition into the movie segment at the end: "Meanwhile, as Col. Nick Fury races for his life...."

They've done a very nice job seaming the series together with the release of Winter Soldier, all the more so when they've had to coordinate the timing from Dark World as well. That side of it didn't flow as convincingly (the chaos-staff thing was fairly random, and the Lorelei episode was very rushed and mediocre) but they've led up to Winter Soldier rather handily.

(So to speak. ; )

And one more bit of theorizing:

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I have a feeling that May has been in touch with Fury on the secret hardline, keeping him apprised of Coulson's progress on Figuring Things Out. It makes no sense for May to be an informant for Victoria Hand, since Vickie has the psych files to get inside everyone's head.

Now that Fury is out of commission...well, I guess we'll see on Friday. (Apart from the lucky Brits who've already seen it....) I'm assuming that Victoria Hand won't figure to any degree in Winter Soldier, since she's been built up in the TV show but wouldn't have any recognition value in the movie. But as RoboChap implied, it sounds as if there are major changes ahead for S.H.I.E.L.D....

I'm really, really psyched for Winter Soldier. Hopefully I'm not setting myself up for disappointment. Counting the days 'til Friday.

[The New Bruceski]

The Big Reveal, Sort Of:

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So, Victoria Hand is the Clairvoyant. This is...mildly interesting, and makes sense within the logic of the story, but somehow it's a disappointment. Not just because the Clairvoyant isn't AIM or Modok or whatever, but because it seems so pedestrian. Hiding in plain sight, key senior agent running a shadow service, yadda yadda yadda.

We've seen this...how many times? Like the grand secret of Coulson's death and revival, it ends up being very meh, and one can only hope there's more story behind it.

Ol' Eyepatch Is Back:

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And a very nice transition into the movie segment at the end: "Meanwhile, as Col. Nick Fury races for his life...."

They've done a very nice job seaming the series together with the release of Winter Soldier, all the more so when they've had to coordinate the timing from Dark World as well. That side of it didn't flow as convincingly (the chaos-staff thing was fairly random, and the Lorelei episode was very rushed and mediocre) but they've led up to Winter Soldier rather handily.

(So to speak. ; )

And one more bit of theorizing:

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I have a feeling that May has been in touch with Fury on the secret hardline, keeping him apprised of Coulson's progress on Figuring Things Out. It makes no sense for May to be an informant for Victoria Hand, since Vickie has the psych files to get inside everyone's head.

Now that Fury is out of commission...well, I guess we'll see on Friday. (Apart from the lucky Brits who've already seen it....) I'm assuming that Victoria Hand won't figure to any degree in Winter Soldier, since she's been built up in the TV show but wouldn't have any recognition value in the movie. But as RoboChap implied, it sounds as if there are major changes ahead for S.H.I.E.L.D....

I'm really, really psyched for Winter Soldier. Hopefully I'm not setting myself up for disappointment. Counting the days 'til Friday.

Re: big reveal

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I dunno what's going on there. I suspect next episode we'll jump back in time to Simmons's side of the hardline conversation, pick things up from their viewpoint in a manner similar to the train episode. Hand could be capital-E Evil, she could be a flunky, it could be completely out of context and someone else is playing everybody. I do think that Winter Soldier is going on directly parallel to this stuff, from the trailer for next time it definitely happens between now and next week. Or the schism happens next week and gets resolved in WS. Or they're completely separate somehow and there's two different schisms at the same time. I really don't know anymore.

As far as Eyepatch, that clip has had pieces in trailers for a while now and on broadcast it went straight into the Winter Soldier logo and "this Friday" so I'd say it's separate from Agents of Shield and not "at this very moment, here's what Fury is doing". A trailer cut to be misleading and then inserted into the end of a commercial break. It was even advertised separate from the show in an earlier break, "coming up: an extend look at Winter Soldier" or something like that. Doesn't make much difference except to insufferable pedants, but I'm a card-carrying member of that club. Or I would be, if we had a club. And cards.

[ryuplaneswalker]

So first things first

Spoiler: RE : Last Episode

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So, we are really going to just ignore what happened to Ward last episode completely then? Okay, I am just going to set that over here for later

I enjoyed this episode

Spoiler: May

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Wow that started to matter sooner than I thought, I would have sworn that was going to be a second season thing, though I will say I am ashamed of May you NEVER leave your super secret equipment installed where the IT guys go, I am hoping May is on the side of good with this thing though, two hidden conspiracies in what is supposed to be the good guy organization.

Spoiler: The Clairvoyant

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I like the twist conceptually, and it works I just sorta wish we had some time as "SHEILD are the good guys"

Spoiler: The plan

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I loved the plan to capture the Clairvoyant, it felt very Burn Notice to me and I loved me some Burn Notice, I think that is something this show really misses on the super spy front, I think in retrospect May could have benefited from some Burn Notice style tactics to set her apart from Ward. One is the best of the best Generic Soldier man, the other will destroy you with what is at hand.

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Huh, he shot an unarmed prisoner civilian with no proof that it was really the badguy. BAD WARD don't make me rub your nose in it!

[BWR]

Nice episode. Again, I want most of the characters to die in a fire, but the basic plot was good. Traps, intrigue, (apparantly) tying nicely in with the stuff going on at SHIELD with Winter Soldier.

Personally, I believe May is reporting to Fury. Fury wants someone Coulson trusts keeping an eye on him since he knows Coulson isn't quite stable and wants to keep an eye on sideeffects of the process.
I'm probably entirely wrong about this because I almost always guess wrong in these matters.

And what the hell does everyone see in Skye? We keep hearing Coulson saying she's so special and looks at things so specially. I guess it's good he's there to tell me things because I don't see it at all. Everyone seems to like her and for the life of me I can't see why. If they make some sort of reveal that she has charm powers that make everyone like her regardless of her actual ability or personality, it might just be worth it, but I doubt they will go that route.

[Rakmakallan]

Given the tie-in with the Captain America movie, I was

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honestly expecting the name Dell Rusk (or any of the Skull's aliases) to appear at some point.

[Eldan]

That being said, I have a lot of faith in Whedon and will continue to watch the show for a bit more in hopes that it will get better. Sometimes, you need to give things a chance and let it grow. I'm curious to see what's all the Hullabaloo about Sky, and although most characters come off as flat to me, Sky has some spark to her that I like.

Whedon isn't really involved with the show. I think that actually explains a lot. He wrote, produced and co-directed the pilot, but since then hasn't directed or written anything.

[dehro]

so... the reveal:

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or is it? I don't read the comics and only know SHIELD from the show and movies... it seems to me that for all we can tell now, she might be the Clairvoyant's right Hand lady. nudge-nudge...
I must say I am really not that surprised about her being a bad one. Agent Hand had "evil boss-lady" kinda written all over her from her first appearance.

MAY: I think it's fairly obvious, and has been since we saw it first happen, that May reports to Fury himself and is still one of the good guys.
If they really have tried to push us into doubting her loyalty, they haven't done a great job of it.

WARD: I'm afraid he's going to pull a Skye.. and get away with cold-blooded murder. this annoys me considerably. by rights, he'd have to be booted off the team and into a cell indefinitely.

the effort to add some tension by seemingly have all 3 teams walk into traps was.. lackluster at best. Like it would be possible for the main surveillance personel in a prison to suddenly vamoose.
Also, what was the use of Ward and his partner scarper as soon as they got the mayday from May? They were in England, it's not like they could do any good by just dropping the ball.
I feel this episode would have benefitted from another 20 minutes of time...or a drastic cut in "things they were trying to do"

[LaZodiac]

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The three separate ambushes, one for each team, is part of Hand's plan, clearly

Anyway, this was a good episode. Not much to actually say on it that hasn't been said, but I enjoyed it. Now to see Captain America 2.

[JadedDM]

Whedon isn't really involved with the show. I think that actually explains a lot. He wrote, produced and co-directed the pilot, but since then hasn't directed or written anything.

Well, technically speaking, Whedon is heavily involved. Jed Whedon, that is--Joss's brother.

[theNater]

Okay, let's talk about the reveal. Lots of speculation as well, in case you worry about that.

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Prior to the reveal, I had my money on Hand being the Clairvoyant. That, combined with some excess paranoia, makes me think that the reveal is a fake-out. What we are actually shown is that Hand turned the Bus around: no more, no less. If the attack on Fury happened at the time that bit aired, recalling all teams to the Hub for lockdown is a reasonable response on Hand's part.

By my count, at this point there are 5 agents who could plausibly be the Clairvoyant. I'll list them here. The order is based on how likely I think it is, from most likely to least.

1. Agent Hand: Everything that made me suspect her initially is still true. The only reason I'm no longer confident is an oversensitivity to tropes; I may easily be overthinking it.

2. Agent Garrett: Makes a point of telling Skye about how he's been injured. This suggests a couple of possible motives-he's given so much to the agency he deserves to get some back, or he wants the supersoldier boosts for personal use so he doesn't get injured again. Between Ward and Triplett, there's lots of potential drama there. (Bonus insane theory: Garrett has been replaced by a shapeshifter. Note how he tells Coulson a war story that Coulson was there for, and tells it wrong).

3. Agent Sitwell: Garrett also tells us Sitwell has never been seriously injured. This seems unlikely, given how dangerous being a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent is. But if Sitwell's been manipulating things inside the agency so he doesn't get assigned dangerous tasks, and outside the agency so he can get some tasks that seem dangerous, it would make sense.

4. Agent Blake: Get yourself injured to throw off suspicion is the oldest trick in the book, and Deathlok totally could have killed Blake in the time they had alone. Did he survive because of plot armor, or did he survive because Deathlok was ordered to injure but not kill him? Given the extent of his injuries, I'm guessing the former, but I recognize the possibility of the latter.

5. Agent Ward: The Clairvoyant wanted Nash dead, and Ward shot Nash. I believe Ward when he says he wasn't acting under orders, but that's still true if he's the one giving the orders. Also, the Clairvoyant didn't display interest in Coulson until after Ward learned Coulson had survived New York. I really doubt this one-I rate it lower than shapeshifter Garrett-but if the writers go for it and can make it make sense, they will be forever ranked among my favorite writers.

[dehro]

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Hand turned the Bus around: no more, no less. If the attack on Fury happened at the time that bit aired, recalling all teams to the Hub for lockdown is a reasonable response on Hand's part.

you seem to have missed her instructions:

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kill everybody except Coulson. Coulson is mine...
the chances that she's one of the good guys are kinda slim, after that.

[theNater]

you seem to have missed her instructions:

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kill everybody except Coulson. Coulson is mine...
the chances that she's one of the good guys are kinda slim, after that.

I somehow forgot that. You are 100% correct, and I guess I need to take a nap or something.

[dehro]

mind you.. she was never going to be one of the good guys.. not without some serious surgery.

[theNater]

A thought occurs:

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What if she reached the same conclusion as our heroes at roughly the same time? Most of the other Clairvoyant possibilities are on the Bus; if she kills 'em all she's sure to take out the Clairvoyant. She'd probably see the others as acceptable collateral.

Seriously, though, I really need to get some sleep.

[LaZodiac]

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It's a triple blind play, Modok is using psionic powers to subtly influence things. After all, Fitz's dwarf drone got pulled to where the fact Clairvoyant is.

[Joran]

And what the hell does everyone see in Skye? We keep hearing Coulson saying she's so special and looks at things so specially. I guess it's good he's there to tell me things because I don't see it at all. Everyone seems to like her and for the life of me I can't see why. If they make some sort of reveal that she has charm powers that make everyone like her regardless of her actual ability or personality, it might just be worth it, but I doubt they will go that route.

Someone joked here that Skye's super power is "OPTIMISM!".

I thought Raina might have that particular charm superpower. She definitely knows how to push people's buttons to get what she wants.

[RoboChap]

Okay, let's talk about the reveal. Lots of speculation as well, in case you worry about that.

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3. Agent Sitwell: Garrett also tells us Sitwell has never been seriously injured. This seems unlikely, given how dangerous being a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent is. But if Sitwell's been manipulating things inside the agency so he doesn't get assigned dangerous tasks, and outside the agency so he can get some tasks that seem dangerous, it would make sense.

Minor spoiler from Captain America: Winter Soldier (literally the intro of the very first scene)

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Agent Sitwell is on a ship called the Lumerian Star at the very beginning of Cap 2. Agent Hand specifically mentions that Sitwell has been ordered to report to the Lumerian Star, which is the last point we see him in the episode. It would be logical to assume that he goes straight there (which also answers the question I had regarding where Cap:Winter Soldier and AoS fit into the timeline), and so, in my mind, is unlikely to have a chance to do everything the clairvoyant has done before we see him in the film. Without putting any larger spoilers out there regarding the film, I think Sitwell is unlikely to be the clairvoyant on that basis (although if he is REALLY good at manipulating things behind the scenes, then being on a boat is a pretty good cover for not being on the mission...

Is the film out in America yet by the way? I really want to talk about it in relation to AoS!

[Giggling Ghast]

Pretty good episode overall, especially since the last episode was a bit lacklustre. Excited to see what happens next week.

Personally, I believe May is reporting to Fury. Fury wants someone Coulson trusts keeping an eye on him since he knows Coulson isn't quite stable and wants to keep an eye on sideeffects of the process.
I'm probably entirely wrong about this because I almost always guess wrong in these matters.

I agree with that theory.

And what the hell does everyone see in Skye? We keep hearing Coulson saying she's so special and looks at things so specially. I guess it's good he's there to tell me things because I don't see it at all.

Yes, there's a bit of Character Shilling going on.

She has been demonstrated as a capable individual. I don't know why they need to keep going on about it, though.

[Eldan]

Maybe I should stop asking questions like this, but...

Once you see that this guy has metal skin, why aren't you bringing antitank weapons?