kennyab

Good catch, HistoryGirl. I figured they'd want to bring along some of Coulson's crew, but I hadn't quite put it into that context.

Yeah, just look at any sitting president when things go wrong. It doesn't matter if the policies of previous administrations were at fault, people always yell at the person currently in charge, especially if it's politically expedient.

I like the "real SHIELD" story. It makes total sense to me that after such a monumental collapse, there would be different groups each considering themselves the real deal. As Latverian Diplomat said, it's basically been drawn down Pro-Fury/Anti-Fury lines, which is a fairly reasonable divide and based on the comics. Coulson went around recruiting, so they know he's out there, they just don't like the idea of a Fury loyalist being in charge. So they have Bobbi and Mack (and presumably Hartley) infiltrate, they find out that Fury gave Coulson a box full of toys, and they have a mission to get Fury's stuff and shut Coulson down.

Daisy's not a mutant. In-story in the comics, she originally believed herself to be a mutant, but SHIELD scientists found out that she actually inherited her powers from the her dad's experimentation with the Hyde serum -- she doesn't have the X gene, which is what categorizes a person as a mutant (and I believe the comics that established this were published long before Agents of SHIELD, so it wasn't a retcon to allow Quake to be used here). While the Kree were originally introduced in Fantastic Four, they aren't very strongly associated to the FF. Most of their big stories -- Captain Marvel, the Kree-Skrull War, Operation Galactic Storm, and the whole Ruul thing -- were Avengers-based. And most of the modern Ronan/Kree stories were part the Guardians of the Galaxy branch of the MU. The Inhumans are more tightly associated with the FF, but they've had plenty of standalone stories. And many of Crystal's stories, aside from dating the Human Torch, have actually been Avenger-related, so they're probably somewhere in that gray area like Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.

Then Thor needs his eyes checked. Jane's a total wet blanket compared to Sif. It's like watching one of your friends date a person who's totally wrong for them. Totally, Loki's no dummy. He's probably extremely curious as to what a Kree would be doing on Earth. And after Loki's dealings with Thanos, he may be paying attention to the Mad Titan's goings-on, meaning he may know about Ronan. If that were the case, he'd probably take even more interest in a Kree coming to visit (I totally love this shared universe...it's like being a kid again).

I read it that May let Skye get to that point, performing at Skye's level as part of the training.

I think the strange part is that it's following them around, first in Puerto Rico, then at their base, then in wherever that hospital was. Earthquakes don't usually hide in your carry-ons.

Only if he does it shirtless (cue google search for Brett Dalton and puppies).

Yeah, I also think it was specifically the activation in the Puerto Rico temple, not the the act of Terrigenesis itself. Presumably the Inhumans in Attilan have been using Terrigen crystals for the last few thousand years, having taken over the experimentation/breeding from the Kree without the Kree knowing. I don't think Eddie's character can detect any old activation, they just found out that the old city was active for the first time in forever. I love Eddie McClintock, and I can even forgive him for that awful final season of Warehouse 13, cause I know it wasn't his fault. But he's just a little too goofy (in a good way) to be Mar-Vell. It even came out a couple of times here pre-amnesia. I'd love for them to bring him back, I thought he was a lot of fun, but he's not Mar-Vell.

Amen. Much to my surprise (and I think this is an opinion shared by many who made it all the way through the show), the Red Queen ended up becoming an incredibly sympathetic character and a real bright spot in that series. It was Regina's story done right, and she and Will were awesome together. They better end up fixing this one (and I wouldn't argue against having Ana on for a few episodes, but not so many that they end up ruining her).

Unless it's Nick Fury-issue reinforced like in Winter Soldier. And most Lexus SUVs don't have a machine gun option like the one Lance was driving. It doesn't seem too much of a stretch to assume that SHIELD's fleet has been, let's say, ruggedized.

I think he's the right director for the moment. To rebuild, SHIELD needs someone in charge who can cooperate with other people and not make it into a dick-swinging competition (with Talbot, for instance). They need to be able to win back people's trust, and Coulson's a much better person for that than Fury. I mean, he's no Peggy Carter, but no one is. And he's growing in the role. The first half of the season was him trying to grow into the role and having his own doubts. But this episode we saw him become much more confident in the role and take out five high-ranking HYDRA leaders with one smooth operation, a move that I think Fury would have been quite proud of. And he still delivered Bakshi to Talbot, further gaining his trust and cooperation. I like that Coulson doesn't think in terms of acceptable civilian losses, and I don't think SHIELD has the luxury right now of having a leader who does. And I like that he's not a perfect leader, because that would be boring to watch. But I think we're going to see a more focused and driven Coulson in the second half of the season.

I believe the only thing we know for certain is that it led them to the new HQ. I think it's mainly supposed to a bunch of Fury's personal intel to help the team. I think part of it is that she was surprised that Simmons was the one acting this way and didn't like the fact that Jemma seemed to be letting her grief get the best of her. That, and Rayna's often one step ahead and can usually provide important info.

Difference being that Bobbi's trying to ingratiate herself with everyone because she's actually got her own agenda. First with Simmons, now with Skye.

We saw everyone in the underground city feel the tremors Skye produced in the winter finale. They think it was an earthquake. Not cave-in, earthquake, two different things. Skye saw Rayna's empty cocoon, and she thought that what happened to Trip also happened to Rayna. Yep, they did. They showed part of his cocoon in a wheelbarrow, and Simmons told them to be very careful. I'm not sure we saw the exact timeline. But if Skye's 25, she would have been born in 1989-90, seven years after the flashback in the first scene. He doesn't think it's a contagion and realizes that Simmons is being a bit extreme. He figured out that Skye got powers, and they've known that she was different ever since she received the GH serum and didn't go crazy. Why not? He's having muscle control issues since the accident, it's really not far-fetched. Budget. I'll take Simmons word for it. Trip was just a baseline human, and his body didn't react well to the Terrigen crystal that lodged itself in his torso.

That was a dang bloody episode. No more ICERs for team SHIELD. So we have NoEyes and Raina, Mr. Hyde the Index List crew, Ward and Agent 33, and all the rest of Hydra on Coulson's plate, plus whatever's going on with Bobbi and Mac. The team has their work cut out for them the next 11 episodes, and it doesn't look like there's much room for filler. Which is awesome. It was nice to see Fitz come round at the end, and I thought Chloe Bennet did a nice job with Skye's breakdown at the end. Simmon's paranoia is unexpected, but in a good way. Trip's death really hit her hard. Good way to open up the second half of the season, some fun plot setup and nice character work. I'm looking forward to what's next.

I have to think they have big plans for him later in this season and didn't want to risk scheduling problems (the scuttled plans with Lindsay Crouse on Buffy come to mind). Perhaps the Sorcerer/Author plot is going to delve into how the different worlds are tied together and bring Wonderland back into the mix. Otherwise, yeah, bone-headed move, no matter how charming Socha can be.

Everyone in the present-day Enchanted Forest (and Mulan's land and Arrendelle and Mermaids) speak English. And it's not's just a Portal Translation Circuit, because the result is the same whether flying on the Jolly Roger or swimming the seas. So I can totally fanwank that the two worlds share ancient languages as well. That's the least head-scratchiest moment of the episode for me. I mean, yeah, what's the deal with Cruella? Maybe in Once-Land, everyone knows that 101 Dalmatians was a "fake" story about the real Cruella De Vil (who sold the rights to use her likeness and was raking in the bucks)? Been there's the age thing. Maybe she's pretending to be being Cruella Jr, and the stories were supposed to be about her mom? Maybe she's playing it off as being an eccentric millionaire who's changed her whole personality/name to match the fictional character? I'm a fanwanker extraordinaire, but I don't see how this one's not going to be a big mess of plot holes, if they even try to get it to make sense.

There are a lot of things that April has expressed disinterest in before and then come around (such as caring about anything). I think that's it not as much that she disliked the thought of kids as she was insecure about having kids. That makes sense, as she's generally just a really insecure person. If she were with anyone else, I don't think she'd go for it, but Andy's her rock. As much as she and Andy have taken care of Leslie and Ben's kids, I think it's fair to say that she actually likes (some) kids. And it's not that the show is making a statement that having kids is necessary. Neither Donna nor Tom ended up with children (at least the best we can tell), and they don't seem to have any regrets about it. But I think it makes plenty of sense for Andy and April.

I'm so mixed on this finale. Not the quality of it, it was so well handled. It's a rare finale that can sum up a series and provide so much comfort to the viewer. Mike Schur and Amy Poehler understand just how emotionally attached Parks viewers are to the cast, and it was great that they provided such a gentle ending. But part of me wishes we didn't get see all of the major points in the characters' lives, as I could have easily seen the team regrouping in a few years for an Arrested Development type run on Netflix (or some other channel). The political satire they do so well is evergreen, and this is a show that I could see coming back every once in a while to update us. Not to say they couldn't come back and fill in some gaps, but there are very few question marks left for us. The tragic passing of Harris Wittels, though, demonstrates that we can't depend on ever getting the group back together again, so it's understandable to want to take full advantage of the present. If any show has earned the right to fast-forward us through its characters' journeys, it's this one. And we now have an entire timeline to work in, with Schur having freed himself from the shackles of strictly linear storytelling, which would be a boon to any theoretical continuation. On the balance, if the decision is a bit less room for potentially revisiting the characters vs. the catharsis that comes with seeing that they turned out alright, Schur made the correct choice. If I win the lottery, though, I do plan on funding the production of another season :)

9 CST.

I think a lot of it has to do with jump from sparkly kid TV format to the standard Parks format -- it just intensifies any foreboding already being conveyed. Had everything looked like the show normally does, I think it would have just come off more as April's typical hyper-anxiety she has when conflicted, but the tonal shifts exaggerated to an unfortunate degree. So a combo directing/editing thing, I'd say.

I certainly wouldn't put any money on the show being renewed. But ABC is demonstrating that they want to do mini-seasons and that they don't want the 2-month block to be re-runs, as having a re-run or two here and there plays differently from having a big block of them. They may try a cheap reality show next time to fill the void, but I don't think they're ready to give up on the concept of new winter material, and that's where I think there may be a bit more leeway for another season, as I believe it's been the best performing of the winter fill-in shows they've tried. Between ABC's on-going schedule experimentation, Agent Carter's place within the Marvel/Disney behemoth, and a built-in ability to rework the show for a second season with the possibility to somehow tie in more with Ant-Man/Winter Soldier stories, I think the show just has some advantages that other series with similar ratings don't. My feelings certainly won't be hurt if I'm wrong (well, other than being disappointed that we won't get more of the show), and if we were looking squarely at numbers I'd fully expect to see the cancellation bear come a'visitin. I just don't think the numbers tell 100% of the story this time out. Of course, I'm also not cynical enough to be a network exec, so there's that :)

I'm doing as much as a rewatch as I can before the finale, and I just got to "End of the World" tonight. Gah, what a lovely episode. It just had so many moments that felt real. Sitting with friends discussing the mysteries of the universe, young love on a road trip, the exhilaration of being at the world's greatest party and the catharsis of walking into the sun when the party's over. And the great thing about a show likes Parks and Rec is that its usual lack of music makes it incredibly impactful when present. It helps that they pick good music. And the tag, where we see that the crazy old cult actually just uses their end-of-the-world predictions as an excuse to get together, and Leslie's acknowledgement of that without trying to ruin their fun. It's not the funniest episode of the show by any stretch, but it's a wonderfully beautiful statement on our fears of isolation and the ways we try to reach out to others. My favorite episode of the series, and probably one of my top 10 favorite episodes of anything of all time.

I'm still cautiously hopeful. Assuming AoS is renewed, which I'm pretty sure it will be, it'll come down to whether the powers that be decide if it's worth creating new content for the winter break. I believe the re-run ratings for AoS last season were < 1.0, so stabilizing at 1.4 is a big improvement over that. I doubt they have anything else that will do any better during that 8 weeks. I think it's pretty clear that ABC has decided that mini-seasons with minimal interruptions are the way to go for their more serialized series (see Once Upon a Time). But since people don't watch reruns anymore, that leaves them with 2-month holes in their schedules. Considering that the parent show is doing, what, 1.6-1.7 now for the overnights, I'm not sure that plateauing at 1.4 with very strong timeshifting and strong possibility for long-tail sales with DVD and Netflix syndication is the worst thing in the world.