Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D IV: Oh, the Inhumanity!

[Lizard Lord]

Spoiler: Candidates

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There are, to my mind, the three likely candidates.

- Ego is the Inhuman. This is, to my mind, the least likely of the three possibilities, given Malick's story of the Inhuman actually being sent through the portal (which implies that the planet was there first). On the other hand, it's entirely possibly that the Inhuman eventually took on the aspects of the death world and became Ego, in a departure from comic canon. This would pose the question of what kind of aspects the Inhuman would take on, given a return to Earth-like conditions?

- Death. The MCU has hinted at the possibility of Death actually existing - the Stinger for the Avengers notwithstanding - with the word 'Death' being the translation of the old Hebrew text Fitz found, the title of the mid-season finale being Death, and such a power would certainly terrify the Kree, who as we know from Guardians of the Galaxy, are at least aware of Thanos. This would tie Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. into Cosmic Marvel in another big way.

- Last but not least, we have Thane. For many of the same reasons as Death, Thane would make a really interesting dynamic. Of all the possibilities, he's the only canonically Inhuman, and would be powerful enough to be banished to the other side of the galaxy (maybe by Black Bolt or another member of the Attilan royal family?) He also has strong ties to Thanos, being his son, and would certainly make one hell of a villain.

I agree with you, having the banished character not be a villain would be a good twist. That would probably put Malick and/or Ward up there as Season 3's ultimate Big Bads (Big Bad Duumvirate?). But given the most likely possibilities, I think for any of the above characters not to be evil would require a fairly significant departure from comic lore.

Not that I have a problem with that, of course.

There is also the Unspoken. In the comics he is an ancient Inhuman King that was usurped, sent into exile, and his name became taboo. He also has power to control the effects that Terrigen has on him meaning, as long as he has access to Terrigen, he can do just about anything.

[LaZodiac]

No new episode because of America Thanksgiving. Boooo.

[Milo v3]

America celebrates thanksgiving by taking away stuff they were going to give?

[LaZodiac]

America celebrates thanksgiving by taking away stuff they were going to give?

No but they're flooding TV with platitudes so no actual TV to watch v_v

[Kitten Champion]

I don't mind a week's delay, were soon going to be months without an episode anyways.

Still, looking forward to Agent Carter in January. That was a solid show to begin with, and they've gotten the "Woman in a Man's World jumps through flaming hoops to be accepted for her abilities by the menfolk" out of the way and can start the "Peggy Carter begins SHIELD" plot.

[Soepvork]

I finally managed to catch up with the latest episode, I must say that stirs things up a bit!

Spoiler

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The first thought of the Whedon fanboy in me immediately thought of the Wolf, the Ram and the Hart, who already had a brief cameo in AoU. Does that mean that the Buffyverse will retroactively be part of the MCU? That would be mind-boggling

[Pex]

Finally saw the episode. Had to miss it last week.

I really hope Rosalind is Honest True. Winter Soldier was a punch in the gut. Ward's betrayal was the knockout. Then we had the other SHIELD. I really cannot take any more backstabbing betrayals. I've had enough of that.

[LaZodiac]

Finally saw the episode. Had to miss it last week.

I really hope Rosalind is Honest True. Winter Soldier was a punch in the gut. Ward's betrayal was the knockout. Then we had the other SHIELD. I really cannot take any more backstabbing betrayals. I've had enough of that.

Considering Coulson's actions I think he is too. Rosalind is definitely legit though, after all of this. She just seemed suspicious to us because we're so used to the world Coulson is from, that someone from "regular" spy work seems suspicious due to their...normality, I guess.

[Philistine]

Hey, funny thing - remember back in late Season One, when Skye called Ward a (National Socialist) post-reveal and he rather weakly protested that Hydra wasn't really about that?

[BRC]

Hey, funny thing - remember back in late Season One, when Skye called Ward a (National Socialist) post-reveal and he rather weakly protested that Hydra wasn't really about that?

Eh, in the MCU, HYDRA had always been more about "Let's take over the world!" than any particular ideology.

Apparently, Taking Over The World has just been a way to get resources to help bring the thing back to earth.

[3SecondCultist]

Eh, in the MCU, HYDRA had always been more about "Let's take over the world!" than any particular ideology.

Apparently, Taking Over The World has just been a way to get resources to help bring the thing back to earth.

I've always gotten the sense that Hydra is really good at compartmentalizing its evil schemes. In the modern day, you've got Pierce, Strucker & List, Garrett, Whitehall, the rest of the 'council', and now Malick. They share info and resources, sure, but they obviously have different agendas. Better not to put all of the plans in one basket, as it were - everyone's got their own thing going on. It may very well have started out with an ancient order for the Monolith, but as we've seen throughout the MCU, Hydra is not afraid to change its colors and its methods when necessary.

All of these cells are independent, which makes Hydra as a whole adaptable - and that's one of its greatest strengths.

[Giggling Ghast]

Arnim Zola said the guiding principle of HYDRA was that mankind could not be trusted with its own freedom. They probably look at their existence as proving their point.

"Look at what a destructive species humanity is when it can foster the creation of an evil terrorist group organization like HYDRA!"

"But you're HYDRA."

"Exactly! And a monster like myself would never have been possible if there were monsters like myself ruling the world!"

[Rogar Demonblud]

Tautological, that. Fallacious as hell too, because if there are monsters like him running the world then monsters like him are not only possible, they're a given.

[Douglas]

Tautological, that. Fallacious as hell too, because if there are monsters like him running the world then monsters like him are not only possible, they're a given.

As if any good villain let a mere logical fallacy stop their plans.

[Carl]

I allways read his point as more "they'd have to operate within the constraints of the system." WS's HYDRA were all about being control freaks.

[Zalabim]

The most consistent theme would be that HYDRA believes mankind should be ruled by extra-human, or super-terrestrial power. Form of that power, or the form of the ruler has been pretty flexible. The style of rule has been pretty consistent. Tyranny enforced by might.

[Flickerdart]

Tautological, that. Fallacious as hell too, because if there are monsters like him running the world then monsters like him are not only possible, they're a given.

Sure, but think about it - isn't it better to have one monster in charge that crushes all the other monsters, than lots of monsters running around all willy-nilly on their own?

[Reddish Mage]

Tautological, that. Fallacious as hell too, because if there are monsters like him running the world then monsters like him are not only possible, they're a given.

That is both true and false.

Sure, but think about it - isn't it better to have one monster in charge that crushes all the other monsters, than lots of monsters running around all willy-nilly on their own?

Wasn't Hydra all about having many heads?

[3SecondCultist]

Wasn't Hydra all about having many heads?

This is my point.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Sure, but think about it - isn't it better to have one monster in charge that crushes all the other monsters, than lots of monsters running around all willy-nilly on their own?

Congratulations on forming the most coherent summary of Latveria ever.

[Carl]

This is my point.

see mine above.

Congratulations on forming the most coherent summary of Latveria ever.

Quick put operation Latveria into effect :p.

[Flickerdart]

Wasn't Hydra all about having many heads?

I always got the impression that the saying only applied to cases of decapitation - Hydra cells are perfectly happy to follow one leader, at least on the surface, until that leader gets bumped off.

[Giggling Ghast]

I was joking more than anything, but HYDRA's philosophy does seem to be "Better living through Tyranny."

[LaZodiac]

New episode of Agents of Shield.

Spoiler: Spoilered for size, language

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**** YOU GRANT WARD!

Spoiler

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This is a pretty tense ****ing episode holy ****. Coulson and Ward's war is in-****ing-sane. Seeing the length's they'll go, seeing just how far our heroes will go. This is the type of spy stuff I love, right up there with the stuff we saw with Roz last episode. It's super crazy and I love it.

Mack's gotta deal with the idea of leadership too, and while that's not the most compelling aspect of this episode it's still a very good part of it. Mack's the most well adjusted of the team so it's interesting to see what they do with him. And it turns out this is leading up to Skye's Inhuman team to finally get field duty. Which is awesome as hell.

The bits with Fitz and Simmons were really sad. Seeing how nuts everything is...how far they've been pushed as well. It's crazy. This episode was basically flawless and I think may of beat out last episode as the best. And that episode finale...my god. What a cliffhanger. Coulson's finishing this, one way or another.

One episode remains until we go into Agent Carter. Your thoughts?

[Solamnicknight]

Wards evil levels are probably measured in millions of kilonazis now. I want to see him not die but maybe get a fate worse than death somehow! Anyway my theory on the creature on the other planet.

Spoiler: Dun dun dun

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It's not exactly a creature per say, its the Red Skull. Maybe when Cap busted the tesseract it blasted the Skull through space and time, thus allowing him to found Hydra earlier.

[Palanan]

Frack me, that was intense. Best episode of the season.

So much, so much. Everything coming together.

Spoiler: Didn't See That Coming

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I really wasn't expecting Rosalind to be taken out in the first two minutes. And just when the banter was rolling.

Dammit, I was starting to like Rosalind.

Spoiler: Two Sides of the Same Coin

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They certainly played up the similarities between Coulson and Ward, epitomized by the angry hurling of phones.

Not to mention kidnapping people and all. I tend to get bored with "driven leader crosses the line" stories, and I was especially dubious of Coulson's telling Ward they were on the way. As Bobbi rightly pointed out, Coulson was making irrational decisions all the way through, and I hope he starts acting more professionally on the alien planet.

Really, Ward was more together than Coulson for most of this episode, apart from the moment with the phone.

Spoiler: Leadership Vacancies at the ATCU

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Well, there goes everyone we know at the ATCU.

And did I hear correctly that all of the Inhumans in stasis were taken by HYDRA? Did we know this before, or did they just slip that in tonight?

Spoiler: Two Heads Are Better Than One

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Interesting dynamic that's developed between Ward and Malick, with Ward finally accepting Malick's guidance--or at least playing along for now.

I've been enjoying the contrast between Ward as the young gun and Malick as the old silverback, especially with Malick's admission that he needs Ward to do the job on the alien world. I'm wondering if that's what convinced Ward to put his vendetta with Coulson on hold--the fact that Malick needs him, the opportunity to play hero in HYDRA's saga. Even if Ward knows he's being manipulated, he can tell himself he's doing it because no one else can.

Spoiler: HYDRA's New Groove

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I'm still not especially thrilled with the massive retcon (if that's what it is) that HYDRA was founded solely to open the portal and bring back the Uber-Inhuman. Old-fashioned global domination always seemed to be more their trademark, which was done well enough in the Captain America movies, and it feels much too pat to reinvent the organization's entire history just to conform to this season's storyline.

But that's the charm of HYDRA--all their different branches go their separate ways, so I prefer to think this is just one portal-obsessed strain of the broader movement.

Spoiler: Why Bring A Parachute...

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…if you're not going to open it?

Coulson leaped out with his parachute-pack and made a flawless insertion into the castle, through the conveniently unroofed tower, straight into the portal an instant before it closed.

Very dramatic and all, but why didn't he open it once he came out onto the alien world? And for that matter, why didn't he come out in the middle of the pack of HYDRA goons?

[Bulldog Psion]

I just started watching this, starting with Season 1, naturally. A bit expensive on Amazon Prime, but ...

Anyway, thus far, the series is kind of strange for me.

I'm not totally enthusiastic for it like I was, say, for Justified. I don't really like any of the characters yet, other than slightly liking Coulson occasionally. But for whatever reason, I keep watching it. And not just because I already bought it.

I've watched through episode 8 so far, and thus far it seems like it's mostly standalone episode stuff.

Can someone please tell me -- does it stay like that (which is kind of unsatisfying) or does it develop into more of an ongoing storyline later on?

[Carl]

Given so much has clearly happened and i'm going to be on recaps for at least a few days, (i still get to see it via a relative's dvd recorder so gonna be a few days at least), could someone give a suitable spoilered status update on the major characters? The fragemtnts i'm getting here and elsewhere have got me worried for just about everyone...

Can someone please tell me -- does it stay like that (which is kind of unsatisfying) or does it develop into more of an ongoing storyline later on?

It does develop. Anything more than that is massive spoilers but it's episode 16 or 17 before things really kick off.

[Bulldog Psion]

It does develop. Anything more than that is massive spoilers but it's episode 16 or 17 before things really kick off.

Thank you!

Further reinforcing my intention to keep watching is this review I just found on Amazon:

Good,bad,bad,bad,bad,bad,bad, terrible,one last try,ok,ok,good,ok,ok,good,good,huh!,great,great,gr eat.

That's all the review says. But it gives me some extra oomph to keep going, since the one I just watched over dinner is "terrible" (agreed, pretty much) and from here on out it looks like it picks up.

[Carl]

Also every single episode becomes important eventually, so don't dismiss any of them no matter how bad they may seem. the entire first two thirds of the season is basically "midnight on the firing line" episodes. I actually miss the old days of season one TBH. Whilst recent events seem to be fixing it with regards the two most affected characters the style change hasn't benefited everyone equally. And when your two favorite characters are the mostly sidelined ones. Yeah it annoys.