Ariah

And it's far better that way, because the book Jace was insufferable after a while.

I wonder if the roles were reversed and Zanetti was explaining to Rhodes his behaviour - would that be called womansplaining? I don't believe his actions should be looked down upon, but hers should. She was endangering not only herself (and her future as a surgeon) but also the potential patients, walking around and self-medicating before Rhodes noticed something. Don't get me wrong, I'd probably be doing the same as she was, afraid the diagnosis would put me off work for too long. It's understandable. Is it justified? Not really. I always thought "mansplaining" meant a situation in which a man projects his own insecurities on a woman's behaviour and provides totally wrong explanation to "female frustrations" (like: she's on her period, or she just broke up with that guy). Rhodes was in the right in this situation.

Helen's sudden liking to Will - Chicago Boy - Halstead made me chuckle. I kind of wish I was shipping Will and Nat, because this could actually be fun, with the mother-in-law pushing Will onto Natalie. Still, I'm here for Rhodes and the dramatic semi-medicine stuff (yes, I'm that easy).

I've dropped Fire from the Chi-Trilogy (even though I love Jesse Spencer) and I'm not rethinking the decision. I like Rhodes a lot, he makes mistakes, he owns them and he's not attacking his fellow doctors (yet, who knows what the writers will make him do next time). Imagine the same scenario on Shonda Rhymes show - Rhodes would be punching Halstead Doc, Severide and an innocent bystander by the end of the episode! I do dislike Halstead Doc, but I kind of like Halstead Original (must be my soft spot for the cute actor and his dimples). But I agree, both Halsteads acted way out of the line this episode... Though I do question my own doctors when I'm at a hospital, so maybe I'm just looking at a mirror and feeling uncomfortable. Speaking of hospitals and questioning... I can understand the older lady not getting a second opinion, but those younger women? If they really didn't have cancer, why would they stick with this one doctor and his diagnosis, why not seek a second opinion? Speaking from experience here, when cancer occured in the family we've chcecked all options and consulted three different specialists. We've analysed our blood work and tomo. Granted, I don't live in the US, perhaps there the accessibility is different? I just can't imagine a doctor convincing me I have cancer and not showing me exactly where the thing is WITH PHYSICAL EVIDENCE! But again, this may be my inborn attitude to question doctors with everything.

I'm pretty certain Simmons just happened to be at a wrong place in a very wrong time - just as the moons on Blue Planet were set in the correct position, the monolith liquified and grabbed at the first organic object it found near (and since the doors to it container were unlocked...). In the flashback to the castle in 1839, where the Hydra/RamHead of old was gathering and deciding who to put in the monolith chamber (ep 3.02)- it was before the installment of the early 20th century sonic amplifier (Professor Asgardian said there was no chamber in 1855, when he visited the castle). Most probably, the Hydra of old figured the irregularities with which the monolith opens, with a slight margin for mistake, and was just putting "sacrifices" in a close proximity to it at one special time of the year ;) Later on, they've came across the sound/vibration correlation and were using it. And then they've lost the monolith. The irony is, that had Fitz shot that shotgun at the monolith half a minute later, he would have been taken as well, because the portal opened just after that. I know a lot of people think it was triggered by Daisy, being an inhuman, but that never aligned afterwards (in the castle, for example). Just a coincidence.

Seeing BTS photos from the kiss-episode: http://www.disneyabcpress.com/abc/shows/marvels-agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d/episodes/many-heads-one-tale/photos/ especially this one: a) it's lovely b) isn't the director about to re-enact the first kiss with Elizabeth? :)

I really appreaciated how, even though the matters pictured in the film are very serious, there was a surprisingly healthy dose of humor as well. Also, I kept thinking Donovan was a real-life Atticus Finch (from the first book).

I had this totally crazy and completely out-of-the-left-field thought some time after the finale... Imagine: Maveth is an amalgam of all these previous lives, memories and feelings. But what if Will's feelings for Jemma were so powerfull, Maveth is now completely filled with them (plus hatered for Coulson and SHIELD, but mostly love for Jemma). Instead of trying to take over the world with Malick, he spends his days dreaming of Jemma's smile and the sound of her voice. Finally, he decides to make Jemma his Queen. He can even let her keep her Fitz, if she so desires. Hydra, as an organization, is not amused, and thus Malick begins to plot how to get rid of this pesky god... (hey, i could watch this as half-hour comedy series!)

Ok, if the effects are going to be fine in the movie, but are not ready yet - don't put the unfinished scene in the trailer, simple as that. Right now, from the looks of it, the effects look like from a regular network tv show. (Oh, and I liked Ultron enough. Not as a story, but visually, most of the time. Didn't watch in 3d, though)

The spoiler gives me one thing to think about, though: it says: "we’ll see them dating when the show returns for the second half of the season" , so it could mean we have a time jump. I don't think I want a time jump.

I may be in a minority, but I really don't liked the trailer. The effects were sub-par (especially the Quicksilver one, so great in the previous film, now a tv show from the '90? really?) I'm too fed up with Mytique being front and centre - she's a secondary character in the comics, but due to the actress' stardom, the films elevated the character to a leading postion, which does not work. Mystique shouldn't be running around the film universe with "Oh, Charles!" "Oh, Eric!" "Oh, Charles!" and an occassional "Oh, Hank!". Mytique is a tough villainess, mother of Nighcrawler, foster mother to Rogue. Not this wishy-washy... Teenage sensation. Sansa Stark... Jean Grey. Again, I'm probably the only person on the planet who dislikes Sophie Turner's acting and am not thrilled for her interpretation of this character. Cyclops looks twelve if not younger. I need to stop being so bitter. Perhaps the movie just needs a better trailer?

The problem with Linc is that he's being described first and foremost as a love interest. Nothing more, nothing less. Daisy had to have someone to cuddle and Ward was out of the question (thank god!), so Linc was introduced. But the whole affair was not organic (as with FitzSimmons) and I still fail to see the chemistry. I do appreciate Linc with May and their little scenes. I like Linc. But I fear he's the one to bite it in 3b, to further change Daisy into Quake. Heroes need to have their losses...

I've been reading some online reviews of Maveth and I found a bit that was equally funny and mean: "The reason Ward wanted to sacrifice Fitz to the Inhuman God was because Fitz is a virgin." ... Ok, that was just on the Ward's "do you want to pull the trigger" level of snark.

On a rewatch (yes, don't judge me too harshly) I looked for things signifying Will is no longer human: - the head/neck movement he does when answering Ward's question how long he had been on the planet "Seems like forever" - the "I can leave" phrase instead of "I can go home" which would have been more natural - asking Fitz about Hydra and gathering intel on how are things back on Earth - chosing knife over gun to kill the Hydra goons. The knife is something more familiar to an ancient inhuman - and the great reveal preceded by a knowledge info-dump. Now, I don't know why the Inhuman was sleeping in Will's bed. Perhaps each time it jumps host, it mergest with the persona to an extent? And as such the Mav!Will still felt for Jemma, liked his cave and would have been looking through selfies if he had a phone. When Fitz found him, he was initially too surpised to act (seeing all these new people around, so many choices) but then he realized it's his ticked back to Earth, so he played along. When he asked Fitz if Ward was the one to figure out how the portal works, he was assessing who he needs alive - when Fitz admited he was the one to get the portal working, Mav!Will decided to keep him close and lose Hydra goons, who were a tad upredictable. I kind of think Mav!Will liked Fitz, but once the secret was out, he had to kill him. Now I wonder if Mav!Ward will keep part of his magnetic personality.

As far as mid-seasons finale go, this was... predictable. Really, we've predicted most options here, on this boards. And some of our ideas were much more interesting and logical! But, to the point. It wasn't a bad episode, but it surely was not a ground-breaking one. Those who died, were either already dead or remained un-dead, so... no great loss. Main cast remains intact, but shaken. I'm not holding my breath till spring, I can wait in patience. It's better for my heart and liver, that's for sure. I appreciate that. I liked that Jemma used her skills to free herself. Her freeing Andrew/Lash was a decision I would have made as well. Yes, it turned out to be lethal to innocents, yes, it may haunt her. But at that time, in that moment, it was the only decision she could have made. Coulson... Oh, Coulson. You should have shot Ward in the head once you saw Fitz and Will in the distance. The Maveth crossing is on you. (But you were a badass, I give you that) Ward... I'd like to be able to say that you died with dignity and that your final moments were fine. But you went out like you lived most of the time - snarking at people who did nothing bad to you, jabbing weak puns. You shouldn't have gotten that "wailing music of sorrow" in your final moments. Still... We cannot say "rest in peace". Now your decomposing corpse (I guess that's what was happening to Will as well) will try to take over the world. But first, it needs a car. And a change of clothes. As Maveth retained Wills' memories (was it lying in the cot dreaming of Jemma?), the creature now inhabiting Ward could be a shifty one at best. Will Ward's corpse try to flirt with Jemma? Maveth seemed pretty shippy on the Planet Blue, mentioning that Simmons loves Fitz. (Imagine: the evilest evil that ever eviled will spend its days drawing flowers and hearts around Jemma and Leo's pictures and thinking of a special scenario it can come up with to put these two together. "Put them in a container and drop them to the bottom of the sea", says inner!Ward. "It'll work as a charm!" "Shut up, Ward!" says Maveth, scribbling Jemma FitzSimmons on a piece of paper.) Fitz on the planet was my favourite part (no woder, as Fitz is my favourite part always). I hope either Bobbi or Hunter teach him some self-defense moves, because even science nerds should know how to throw a punch and not get kicked around. True, Mav!Will was much heavier than him and couldn't feel pain, so on the whole Fitz did pretty good. Still, some basic self-defense wouldn't hurt. Maybe next half-season. Also, one can always count on a Scottish engineer to talk ugly truths and some of the lines Fitz placed on Ward were golden. Topped with "Grow up, Ward" after Grand decided to tease about the linked beds. Silly Ward. Like that's the most important thing ever. The flare shot to finish Mav!Will? Nicely done. Too bad it's going to be really tricky to explain to Jemma. I'm thinking some details will be left out... But once Maveth in Ward appears and starts spilling the beans... Oh boy. It's not going to be pretty. But count me in as one of those who wanted Jemma to chose by herself and not by default. What is worse, Fitz will now feel guilty and - probably - unworthy. Which will give Ian good material to act and some great scenes, but also frustrate me to no ends. Side note: that kiss between Lincoln and Daisy? No build-up. The guy just left her to possibly die in the rubble, orders be damned. And now he's kissing her because what? Reasons? (And I like Lincoln, really. But this scene just made me roll eyes so hard I sprained a muscle)

Recent online reaction to mid-season finale of Once Upon a Time made me think female pain (fem-pain?) is also looked down upon, so it all depends on fanbase... I don't understand it either, it's like the fact of even showing weakness makes a person... unworthy? I don't know. I like my characters human and this means flawed. I like them being torn emotionally, being weak and rising up to the task. Making mistakes. I don't care if they're male, female or any other designation. I think Jemma was shown as the stronger of the pair and I don't see how Fitz's choice lessens her sacrifice.They both chose what's best - Jemma chose the world and Fitz chose Jemma. Fitz is the romantic lead in this pairing.

Would Jemma trying to grab the gun be more interesting? :) True, Fitz didn't think it through. I'm guessing being close to Ward hinders his logical thinking which is understandable. He's human, he makes mistakes. He's interesting (ha!). At least Ward confirmed by suspicions about Jemma's life being leverage and then Fitz poked at Ward's sense of purpose, with success. Of course Malick forced Ward to cross over for a nefarious purpose... And I'm guessing that has to do with him being a new host for the It.

Perhaps it's also a type of punishment - to have a possible exit / escape route, but only as a tease. Like Sisyphos and his stone, a door that closes anytime you're near it.

About those 12 hours - I was wondering why didn't Malick tell Simmons and Fitz that if the team Hydra is not back on time, if Fitz fails to lead them to the extraction spot, Simmons dies. Perhaps it happened off-screen. But that's a pretty good leverage. Maybe Ward will bring that up on the planet, when he notices Fitz is stalling. I wonder about the miniliths - we only saw one time someone got back through the portal - and it exploded. Perhaps it's the way it should work? At first I thought it was because of Daisy's powers and being open too long. But what if it's another layer of the security system? It lets objects through, but self-destructs so that the knowledge gained is useless. Naturally, those who made the great monolith did not account for Hydra people cutting the miniliths out.

Slow and intimate death? (Perhaps Andrew/Lash with May witnessing? Fitz? Coulson kills Ward slowly and up-close and personal?) Mack sacrifices himself? I'm kind of certain Ward will die, but the actor will soldier on, as a vessel to the Inhuman. There's the change that will resonate. (And I'm really afraid for Fitz.)

True, I was wondering about the fact that Jemma would not help Hydra while Will was the only one on the other side, but once Fitz is there... It's a whole different game. (Unless she's trying to manipulate Malick, as you said). I hope all this mentioning death with Fitz's name only means he's not dying this episode.

That's why I believe there's a guard / security system that keeps the Inhuman away from the opening portal everytime it's close: - the storm wasn't there when Jemma first came through, because Will was not close to the opening portal, - the storm was there when Jemma and Will were running for the portal and flare, - the storm is there when Fitz and Ward cross - perhaps the Inhuman is near. I know the Will = Inhuman theory has more holes than a cheddar cheese. On the other hand, the obvious solutions that a thing everyone calls evil will trully be evil is rather rare on AoS. (Side note regarding the second sneak peak: Jemma correcting Hydra on their calculations because Fitz on the other side? Girl needs to sort out her emotions, quick.)

Sneak Peak 2: chilly.

Ah, you see, my experience with DaCascos has been vastly different - I first saw him in Crying Freeman and appreciated the physique. Then, in French Brotherhood of the Wolves, he played a Native American ninja warrior... Or something to the extent. I remember him from those kick-ass roles and realy enjoyed him then. Actually, I find him pretty underused here, as a telekinetic with hands-off approach. (And I still don't understand what he did with the hammer and the plumber wrench, because the use of such heavy tools should do more damage than a slight cut... Unless we'll see heavy bruises on Jemma's abdomen next episode.)

THAT would have been a twist... (It's a pity they didn't introduce an Inhuman whose touch could cause enormous pain - that would explain the screams and "beauty is never tranished" look)