S02.E01: Shadows

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Coulson and his team are now wanted fugitives with limited resources--but that's not stopping them from keeping the world safe from powerful and unseen threats everywhere. However, with new members they hardly know, will S.H.I.E.L.D. ever be trusted again?

[Wilowy]

AUGH!

[Ms5h]

AUGH!

Well said. Sad.

[RandomWatcher]

Poor Fitz, hope he gets better soon.

[Matt K]

I really enjoyed that,  Creel especially is an intriguing character and a nice antagonist. 

[AimingforYoko]

Fitz is brain-damged, Lucy Lawless lost her arm and the mission failed. They're really not messing about this season.

[Raachel2008]

This is not how you treat Lucy Lawless! These fuckers have no respect, I tell you.

Edited September 24, 2014 by Raachel2008

[Jediknight]

Fitz is broken and Simmons is gone?  You go to Hell Ward, you go to Hell and you die.  That damn bastard.  And they better not do a redemption arc for Ward, since he now feels bad and tried to kill himself.

 

I figured something had to be up because of Skye and Triplett, but Simmons being gone is just all kinds of wrong.  She better be back soon.

[ottoDbusdriver]

I thought that was a pretty good return episode for AoS -- until about the 45 minute mark when the script went to shit with some just unbelievably stupid stuff.

 

Knowing that Creel can absorb the properties of any material, they put him in a transparent box (WTF ?) and then he escapes.

 

The warehouse containing all the super-secret items of the former SHIELD is the worst secured location on the planet.  It wasn't even a bunker or something with thick walls, it was a run-of-the-mill industrial warehouse without any guards.

 

Plus, the soldiers on the base are horrible shots -- that guy was firing directly at May when she ran away and he completely missed.

 

How did Creel know which street the SHIELD team was using for an escape route in order to get ahead of them and take down the van  -- because the driver was incapable of simply swerving out of the way (they did this type of bullshit last season too with Deathlok).

 

How is that Hydra officer from WW2 not dead of old age -- he looks like he's in his sixties ? For what it's worth, I like that he was played by Reed Diamond.

Edited September 24, 2014 by ottoDbusdriver

[Amethyst]

The twist with Fitz and Simmons was really sad.  While I'm sure they will find a way to restore Fitz's mind to what it once was, it's depressing to see him this way, and Simmons isn't even there!

 

Sucks for Agent Hartley, huh?  Got her arm chopped off just to get in a car wreck moments later.  Still, not a good idea to grab anything alien related without gloves on.  Any idea on what was happening to her?  Thought she was turning into a Frost Giant.

 

I see you, Agent Carter!  That was an awesome opening.

 

Otherwise, it was good, but not great.  They were cramming a lot in; Coulson being Director, Fitz's problems, Ward being locked up...etc.  I felt they did a poor job of introducing Hartley and her crew, although I guess it doesn't mean much since two of them are dead.  They need to make Triplett an official SHIELD member, though.  

 

So glad they didn't have a lot of Skye/Coulson stuff, because they ran that into the ground last year.

Edited September 24, 2014 by Amethyst

[Lantern7]

Sure, when Lucy Lawless says "Absorbing Man," it's going to sound stupid.

 

So far, so confusing. I'm a good sport, so I'm game for anything. Still, it's hard to take in what's going on. I try to hang in with the standards, like how Talbot is a caricature of a general. Or how Patton Oswalt is now a semi-regular, and his "brothers" might be a conspiracy. And Ward has been shoved into a high-tech basement, which . . . redemption? For real? I can't buy it, even if he didn't kill that dog.

 

Here's Crusher Creel's profile. Given his origins, I'd say he's a good fit. I don't know if Lucy's character has a canon counterpart. I don't know any Marvel ladies who lost their arms. Then again, losing arms is more of a DC Comics thing these days.

 

So . . .  what happened with Simmons? I might have missed what happened. Did she just leave? And poor Fitz. He needs a hug. And maybe some experimental surgery. It would help more than the hug.

 

I still like Coulson. Liked him trying to channel Talbot. Kinda like seeing Kelsey Grammar doing that on The Simpsons.

[AimingforYoko]

And Ward has been shoved into a high-tech basement, which . . . redemption? For real?

No, for intel. Redemption is Ward's problem. I was a little surprised he tried to take himself out.

I try to hang in with the standards, like how Talbot is a caricature of a general.

He really is the punching bag of the Marvel Universe.

[Guest Accused Dingo]

A Fitz without a Simmons just seems so wrong to me.

You killed Lucy Lawless....you bastards! Oh who am I kidding no one employs Lucy Lawless for just one episode. No one!

I like that the show is going dark.....you can tell by the dark clothing that Sky is sudden;y wearing.

Still Dark shows tickle my happy place....I am weird that way.

Edited September 24, 2014 by Accused Dingo

[JayKay]

I can't wait to see what Simmons has been up to while she was away. It was kinda sad that Fitz is so far gone, but Coulson saying he can't do anything was just... Ow? Ow!

Not okay to cut off Lucy Lawless' arm and then kill her. They're not playing around, but couldn't they have killed one of the other mercenaries to get the point across?

Ooh, poor, still ominously vague Ward. Still creepy Skye fixated Ward. He hasn't changed that much.

Loved May's "Hi, again" to Talbott with the gun. I'm also glad that Coulson is rather removed and emotionally distant. That lukewarm personality plays just fine into Clark Gregg's acting abilities.

I like the new guy and having Tripp on the team. There were also people doing things in the background! Imagine, a whole crew of people to get things done! What do you know, fewer allies and resources means having more allies and resources.

I didn't mind Skye at all. She seems more grown up. Overall, I enjoyed this premiere much more than last year's.

And can I watch Agent Carter right now? It's no fair making me wait after that opening. I'm excited.

[Sandman]

I think it's too soon to call it a redemption arc for Ward. I think Ward sounds more crazypants every time he opens his yap. And Herr Doctor Whitehall did say something about the Red Skull finding the answer to defeating death; he might be on to something.

 

I was NOT expecting the twist about Fitz(simmons). Poor busted Fitz!

 

An enjoyable beginning, although I agree that storing Crusher in a transparent plexiglass box was a dumbass move.

 

ETA: The opening sequence with Agent Carter and Dugan was so much fun!

Edited September 24, 2014 by Sandman

[Wilowy]

Dying for my Fitz, damn. Damn. 

 

Whatever, Skye.

 

Coulson must've said "help people" a thousand times.

 

Not enough May.

 

Go away Ward.

 

What's with all the Marvel "Kree", "Creel", villains? Still, I liked this bad guy.

[bmoore4026]

Fitz :(

 

Somebody get the man a little blankey and hot chocolate STAT!

Edited September 24, 2014 by bmoore4026

[Tim Thomason]

They fooled me with the Sixth Sense/Beautiful Mind fakeout, which seems so obvious in retrospect. I need to rewatch the scene with "Simmons", Fitz, and May for full effect.

 

There are really only two options for Ward, assuming they want to keep his actor around (and avoid cloning/robots/twins in his case). They either redeem him somehow, which most people don't want, or they have him broken out and join the bad guys. They can't really keep him in the basement passing cryptic information to annoyed ex-partners.

 

And the episode, as enjoyable as it was, was way too reliable on advanced technology. I thought at the end of last season was that we'd see some "old-school" style espionage and intrigue in the opener. All we saw was Coulson complain about economy class and then proceed to use sci-fi technology to grab fingerprints and impersonate a general. And the moral of the episode seems to be "We can't possibly exist as an organization unless we have the highest, coolest tech imaginable." I mean, the cloaking device was nice, but the 084 of unknown powers should've been the main target.

 

I hope Lucy Lawless comes back. Her eyes were open, but it's possible that next episode will open with her in a hospital. Creel is a classic Marvel villain, and I like that, but he was pretty dull outside his power. He barely talked and was just a large brute throughout the episode. Dethlok was the same last season, but at least we saw his personality in several episodes beforehand and after he turned good. Creel doesn't appear to be under the same type of control, so they should've found a way to expand on his personality. We have a hint that he might be fascinated with new materials at one point, so that should've come into play during the fight over the 084.

 

I assume the Nazi was immortal, although I'm not sure if I caught his name (Dr. Whitehall?). But maybe he'll tie into the Koenig subplot and we might see some Life-Model Decoys this year. Fingers crossed.

[madhacker]

I hate Ward just as much as the rest of you......but speaking strictly from the shallow end of the pool, damn he's got some nice biceps, and I'm kinda liking the beard (that's more of a complement to Brett Dalton whom I still like as an actor)

[Sandman]

My working assumption so far is that Koenig is a Kloenig.

[redfish]

Coulson must've said "help people" a thousand times.

 

Yeah, that speech didn't help either. It was kind of overwrought and had all the subtlety of a hammer to the face. So now they're like the X-files meets the A-team. Augh. I think it's kind of arrogant of the Coulson/Shadowy Shield to act like they're the only ones capable of handling it all. That they are smarter than all the rest. Isn't that kind of hubris is what got them in that mess (ex. Hydra) in the first place? I don't think they really learned anything from the experiences in season 1, except don't get caught and they're the misunderstood heroes even though from what was revealed in Captain America2, Shield did a lot of questionable things and such, and they weren't quite the ethical branch of the government either. I wished someone had given them the reality check speech and deconstruct what they thought they were and what they were in truth and ask themselves what they do they really want to accomplish because they should have really start over from scratch because it just looks like business as usual without any real soul searching or self-realization. And for an organization that is suppose to start from scratch they seem throw tech around like nothing has changed. I thought with no support from the government how are they being kept going? Secret bank accounts? Things still cost money.

 

It was kind of weird to see Skye play a mini-May version of May.

 

Also. Why isn't Ward in a real military prison? They're just keeping him around to play Hannibal Lector for intel? Okay. If they do a redemption arc with him after all the crap he pulled I'm going to lose it.

[Sakura12]

Did they just kill off Lucy Lawless? That can't be right, you don't get LL for just one episode.

 

Poor broken Fitz, I'm going to have watch his scene with May again now that I know that Simmons wasn't real.

 

If they plan on redeeming Ward they better make him work his ass for it. Not just be nice, give some info then magically he's back on the team. I like Tripp and would rather he stay on the team. I also liked the May/Skye team, since the others were mercenaries. 

 

Also loved seeing Agent Carter, can't wait for her show to start. 

[SnoGirl]

Fitz is broken?!? I mean, I was hoping for realistic consequences, but damn, that crushed me.

And Simmons left?? She left Fitz. That's, I mean, I just can't believe she left him. They're Fitz and Simmons. She had to have left out of guilt right? Right? Oh FitzSimmons.

Loved this Skye, can we keep her? I just hope she doesn't fall under Ward's spell. I'm sort of disappointed that she didn't reference FitzSimmons at all during Ward's speech of how he tried to off himself. But she was so much better then last season.

Lucy Lawless was only really signed for one episode? I'm surprised she did. I really liked her character.

I hope they get up the air again as a team, I sort of hate that they're all separated. Ugh. And I'm so sad about Fitz. But all and all, I'm totally in for this season.

[Chicago Redshirt]

I think that the premier did a few things that I wanted, a few things that surprised me and not much that annoyed me, so I'm pretty pleased overall.

 

I'm glad that Coulson is apparently not going to be in the field much. I'm glad that they've (at least for one episode) toned down the special snowflake Skye (and for what it's worth, it looks like they purposely de-glammed her). I sort of like Hannibal Lec--I mean Grant Ward. But I figure that will get old after a while. I do wish he just spilled what he knows about ParentQuest.

 

May: still awesome. Tripp: OK, but I kind of get a dead-man-walking vibe.

 

New peeps, I'm not sure about. I will watch Lucy Lawless in just about anything (and it seems like she too was deglammed a lot too.) The mercenary who was like "I just care about getting paid" is getting a little old already. 

 

I like Adrian Pasdar too. They could have done more to make it seem like he's not just an antagonist for being an antagonist's sake. I mean, why chase Coulson and them when there are clearly bad guys out there? I know that he's known for hunting the Hulk but they should make him more gray IMO. (And I guess I'm not sure I get that he's married with a kid. The classic Glenn Talbot was, as far as I know, only interested/married to Betty Ross.)

 

I'll join the chorus of people who are sad about Fitz and disbelieving that Simmons would just up and leave him. This, I think also remedies one of the issues the series had last season of not getting people to care enough about the stars. If you didn't feel something for how Fitz was, well, I don't know what to say. I do have to wonder about the cloaking tech deal, though. Obviously, cloaking tech exists in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Helicarrier has it, as seen in The Avengers. The Quinjet that was stolen this episode also has it. So it doesn't seem like it should be that difficult a problem to adapt that tech to the Bus. Now maybe that's a deliberate choice to show that Fitz is so broken that he can't make a relatively minor modification.But why would Coulson and co. need Fitz to do it.

 

Onto the villains: I still fear that the Absorbing Man will require the team to be punching above their weight class. But hey, they've already managed one takedown of him, so kudos on them. I wish they had the fancy electrogun when they were trying to take out last season's super-soldiers, but what can you do?

 

The Hydra guy Dr. Whitehall is potentially interesting as a villain. I look forward to finding out more about what is behind him and the obelisk (the original 0-8-4!). As to how he's apparently so long-lived, he had access to any number of doohickeys in 1945 and the years hence that could have prolonged his life. It seems like one of the items confiscated by the Howling Commandos was a blue-skinned alien that could be the same torso that was milked for Skye's survival and such. 

[Amethyst]

And the moral of the episode seems to be "We can't possibly exist as an organization unless we have the highest, coolest tech imaginable." I mean, the cloaking device was nice, but the 084 of unknown powers should've been the main target.

 

IA, the reveal was puzzling at first.  It would have been nice to know the real reason for the mission, but in the end, it wasn't about the quinjet, it was about Fitz not being mentally capable of creating the cloaking device they needed.  In addition to Simmons being gone, that was the bombshell they wanted to drop on the audience.

 

But the tone of the series seems to be darker now and I'm cool with that.  Coulson's been so self-righteous, and I'm hoping that being the new Director will knock him down a peg by seeing what Fury dealt with on a daily basis.  Fury takes a lot of heat for what he's done in the name of SHIELD, but no one actually wants his job because of the difficult choices he's had to make, like the one Coulson had to do tonight.

[redfish]

Tripp: OK, but I kind of get a dead-man-walking vibe.

 

ITA. Why do I get the feeling they assembled this larger group of new Shield agents at the season premier just to eventually winnow it down one by one until it's the original core including Ward for the finale.

[benteen]

Dark new direction for the show but a good one.  I really enjoyed it.

 

Nice set-up for the eventual Agent Carter series in the beginning.

 

I like how the new Shield is being set up though I could have done without another corny Coulson speech.  I expect a LOT of sanctimonious speeches and hypocrisy from him this season.

 

I thought they actually had a good reason for keeping Ward around.  Liked the scene and we'll see how it goes from there.

 

The Absorbing Man!  Cool to see a character that goes way back to the Lee days and a nice addition to the show.  The FX is good and he even got to use his trademark wrecking ball.

 

Actually liked the use of Talbot in this one, they didn't make him a total cartoon character.  They showed a human side and a little bit of reasonableness with him.  A surprising change but a welcome one.  Not like the cliché that the Lance character is.

 

Tripp looks way too young to pull off being a general.

 

I thought Lucy Lawless was supposed to be a recurring character so I didn't expect her to get killed, especially after losing her hand.  They definitely aren't playing around.  I found Lance to be a boring cliché of a character.

 

Nice seen with the Simmons fakeout.  Poor Fitz, that was handled well.  Can't believe Simmons left him though.

Edited September 24, 2014 by benteen

[Lady Calypso]

Simmons left Fitz? No, no way. Maybe she didn't leave by choice. Maybe she got kidnapped by Hydra. Maybe...oh damnit. I like how they're not shying away from a mentally broken Fitz, at least. His journey to get better this season will be great. And I wonder if we're going to continue seeing hallucination Simmons for a little while before real Simmons comes back. 

 

This Skye was all kinds of awesome, especially with crazy Ward. Look, it sucks that he feels bad, blahblahblah, but he did do some shitty stuff so I hope the show doesn't go for Ward/Skye again. Skye/Tripp had more chemistry this episode than Ward/Skye ever has. I also like this softer side of May, but also one that hasn't lost the badassness. 

 

I'm ok with Lance Hunter so far. I'm guessing his character has a romantic affiliation with Lucy's character? Also, Mac is ok but still eh.

 

I like Creel a lot. He's a creepy villain and one I hope sticks around for a bit. Talbot was used better too in this episode.

 

Great start to the season. I like the darker undertones.

Edited September 24, 2014 by jessied112

[Amethyst]

FWIW, I don't think Hartley (Lucy Lawless) is dead, and even if she is, she can still return.  Coulson was dead for quite a while before he was revived, remember?  I don't think they would pull a TAHITI situation (Coulson probably wouldn't allow it) but maybe they'll cyborg Hartley or use robotics, like her friend mentioned.  Or whatever that alien artifact that she grabbed got into her bloodstream and will help to sustain her somehow.  This is Marvel, they've pulled crazier stuff than this.

 

Coulson said Simmons left because she felt she was impeding Fitz's recovery, so it doesn't sound like she just up and bailed on him.  But I think she's working on something to bring his mental faculties back, something that is probably against protocol and no one else knows about, LOL.  This wouldn't be SHIELD if there weren't plenty of secrets being kept.

[Actionmage]

Just because a character appears to die in the celluloid Marvelverse, does not mean the character is- to quote The Munchins- most sincerely dead. Even then? I'd have some doubts. I hope Lucy/Izzy is still with us to add to the ladies kickin' ass around the place.

 

ITA that teasing us with Peggy and DumDum, the Ol' Walrus, wasn't fair! *sniff* I liked the faltering of knowing the German word for "nuts." The solution was elegant in it's simplicity. Sort of. *g*

 

The mission succeeded, despite the mercs flipping out; a cloaked quinjet was taken. Was that May on the motorcycle, or Skye? I was thinking May and was hoping the bike would cloak as well! Sadly, there was no trust from Izzy's associates to SHIELD, so they helped Hydra obtain the very thing they were looking for- for 60-odd years. As brilliant as Talbot's command putting Creel in a transparent box and the guards opening said box! Did no one read the damn floor! the big, red DO NOT CROSS was stenciled clearly and legibily, soooo....::waits for good enough explanation Talbot & Company::

 

Speaking of Talbot- a) Adrian Pasdar on my tv is a Good Thing (tm Martha Stewart) and b) not surprised at the super-bleached white undies!  The Only smart thing the man did was to immediately shoo his family away from him. So we know he's just willfully stupid, as opposed to just ignorant.

 

Ward. Looks good in the beard. Wants to tell Skye about her dad. Must think more on him.

 

Leo? Broke my damn heart all over the place. Like, whenever he was on-screen. Tears, folks! I need to dust more apparently.

 

Super happy that Trip is still around ( and making the suit look good indeed!) as well as having the delightful Henry Simmons added as our mechanic. Love the new eye-candy.

 

The shot of Skye with the alien/Kree script/schematic/whatever was cool.

 

It was a fast hour with lots to set up for round 2. So much to look forward to!

[benteen]

IGN wasn't sure it was realistic for the team to be keeping Fitz around and wondered why they didn't drop him off with any family and friends.  I would have thought that was obvious...last season they wiped their identities out and they're fugitives.  There's no turning back.  Though that doesn't explain how Simmons was just able to leave unless she's traveling with Fury.  That would be awesome but we're not going to see that.

[JayKay]

I still love that theory that somebody had last season about Simmons secretly working for S.W.O.R.D., a counterpart agency to S.H.I.E.L.D. and comic creation of Joss Whedon. Coulson did say that he's been out looking for allies. Simmons could be secretly helping him out. I don't know, I just can't see her leaving the team simply to help improve Fitz's condition, especially since it hasn't done a thing to help his condition. She's a big picture kind of person, too.

[MartinKSmith]

I'm not sure I'd even seen so much as a trailer going into this season of SHIELD. I trudged through last season, enjoying it more as it went, but still not loving it, even by the end. 

 

I did enjoy this opener though, and hopefully it'll only get better as the season goes. 

Not long after the episode had started, I tweeted out "I'm just glad Fitz is alive.", that was before I knew just how bad he was. Come back Simmons. Make him better. 

 

This is not how you treat Lucy Lawless! These fuckers have no respect, I tell you.

 

hah, I'm not the biggest Lawless fan, but even I had this thought process. Great minds? I don't know.

[MadyGirl1987]

I enjoyed it! I may or may not have cheered when Carter and Co. turned up... Can't wait for Agent Carter to be a weekly fixture on my TV!

 

Ward was really creepy. On an unrelated note... For some reason I couldn't shake that he, with the beard, reminded me or Noah Wyle on ER.

 

When Coulson talked about Simmons leaving I was confused, until it was revealed he was imagining her. Then I was just heartbroken... Poor Fitz! :(

[quarks]

Loved the Agent Carter stuff at the beginning. And now, I need that show. Like, now.

 

I'm not at all convinced Ward's on the road to redemption yet - the show might decide to take him there, but if he was really redeemed and interested in Skye's best interests, not in playing helpful so he has a chance to get out, he should have led with telling Skye about her father.

 

And poor Fitz.  Does this mean Simmons is just going to be a ghostly figure for the next few episodes?

[VCRTracking]

Man, did not expect Simmons to be a figment of Fitz' imagination. That was gutting.

[Leia1979]

I can't wait for more Agent Carter on my TV. This episode was just chock-full of guest stars!

 

I was kind of meh about Fitz in season one, but oh the feels tonight. Imaginary Simmons was heartbreaking.

 

Skye was less annoying, but I hate her new haircut.

 

Anyone else get an Indiana Jones vibe looking for the 084 in the warehouse?

[Minneapple]

Well, holy fuck that was depressing.

- Fitz and Simmons separated and Fitz seeing Simmons and his temporal lobe damaged -- that just about broke me at the end of an already jaded, dark, cynical episode. The image of Fitz, holding his own shoulder like Simmons' hand is there? I CAN'T.

- Even Skye was depressing (she's rocking the Bangs of Sadness) and normally she's annoying. I do like her and May being a team now though. And I liked that she was all, "whatever" to Ward's "woe is me, I tried to kill myself in many ways" speech.

- I have no doubt that they're going for a redemption arc for Ward. It will probably make me want to strangle him and everyone who's all, "well, it was ok that you killed all those people as long as you tell Skye about her dad." If that's the direction they go in. Man, I really have trust issues with TV writers.

Edited September 24, 2014 by Minneapple

[Dusty]

I'm not sure if they're going for redemption for Ward (although I won't be surprised.) but he sure did have those crazy eyes thing down.  When he said "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes" my first thought was 'Whoa, he did go nuts.'  I looked into his eyes and all I saw were crazy pants.  He even had that crazy tone to his voice. You know that "Yes, everything is calm. I am calm. We're calm. Everything is cool, UNTIL I FLIP THE FUCK OUT!"

 

Who else thinks that when Simmons left she put her hand on Fitz's shoulder?  Simmons COME BACK!!!!  I hope she does come back soon because I think the figment of Fitz's imagination thing can get old fast.

 

Also.  I would really appreciate it if they cut down on the Coulson speeches.  They are just terrible.  They have never not been terrible.

Edited September 24, 2014 by Dusty

[VCRTracking]

My theory is Simmons went away to find a cure for Fitz on her own. If she stayed she would have had to spend most of the time working on SHIELD business.

[Sarahastro]

I am hoping that Simmons might have gone off to find Agent Weaver. In "Turn, Turn, Turn" right before Weaver's holo-call-thingy cut out, she said something about how Simmons knew how to find her.

 

Not much else to add except to say that like most people, I liked the darker tone, and I wish Coulson would stop with the sanctimonious speeches (and I like Coulson most of the time). Also if they redeem Ward, I will scream, but I don't see how they can at this point. Everything about him screams "creepy serial killer."

[2KllMckngBrd]

They got me w/the reveal that Fitz was alone all along. That was well done. Sad but great reveal.

 

I like Agents of Shield, but I feel like I never really understand what's going on. There's always so many characters, and stuff you have to recall from the show, and the movies. It's just a lot. I need some sort of scorecard that I can pull out before each issue. 

 

May is still her bad ass self. Skye is still interesting, but always looks like she's just playing at "growness". And she is also now playing at being May 2.0. We'll see. I don't know what the hell they're going to do w/Ward, and not sure I care anymore. I like Coulson as Furry lite, but he needs to lighten up on the "speech-ifying".

 

I like that they are adding more folks of color, but want them to do more and speak more. But it's only ep 1 so too soon to call.

 

That scene in the interrogation room w/Coulson was fun. Especially the part where Patton Oswald (forget characters name) was so proud of Coulson getting the guy to grap the armrests of the chair.

 

Btw. Patton Oswald must be wetting himself being on this show. He seems like a complete fangirl when it comes to Marvel.

Next, the show should find a role for Chris Hardwick.

Another nerd, and I mean that in the most wonderful way, who would be thrilled to guest star.

[mrsdalgliesh]

Did not see the FitzSimmons reveal coming.  Heartbreaking.

 

I'm down with May and Mini-May.  That dynamic works.   Love Tripp being a regular part of the team.  The stupid (like the warehouse where all the really important stuff was kept unguarded) still burns, but there was enough going on with the characters and the mission to keep me engaged.  That's an improvement.

 

I'm going to hope Coulson's speech for was any newbies and we'll be done with that until at least the February sweeps.

 

When I saw Ward in the glass box, all I could think of was Angel in the basement cage.  No real connection, that's just what happened.  I'm okay with a redemption arc, but it had better be long and it had better be awesome.

 

And I will forgive several things if Henry Simmons does the next episode shirtless.

 

ETA:  The army guys did not know about Absorbing Man's power, so they didn't know the cell wouldn't hold him.  Right?

Edited September 24, 2014 by mrsdalgliesh

[Lebanna]

How come Absorbing Man's pants turn into whatever he turns into? Or are they not really pants at all, but just where he's absorbed some denim on his lower half?

I feel that we all deserve an explanation, damn it.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The grammar police who live in my head cringed when Skye said "for you and I." It's like nails on a chalkboard when I hear people use subject pronouns in place of object pronouns. I can never tell if the writers are deliberately trying to make the characters sound ignorant or if the writers are dumbasses who don't know basic grammar rules.

 

Part of me loved seeing Ward locked up and Skye refusing to get sucked back into whatever game he is playing. But shouldn't they confiscate his shirt while he's locked up? You know, for reasons.

 

Poor Fitz. I thought something was weird because she kept touching his shoulder and he kept putting his hand on top of hers. In the past, they weren't seen as that touchy feely, but I thought maybe this was Simmons doing everything she could to reassure him. Now that I know he was just imagining it all, it seems even sadder.

[FurryFury]

I liked the episode, mostly. They are definitely going "darker and edgier" this season, courtesy of new time slot, and it shows already. A failed mission, the stuff with Lucy Lawless' hand (which made me cringe, also - I don't buy she's dead already), and, of course, broken Fitz. Is it weird that for the first time since the start of the show, I'm finally interested in him? Because the former Fitz was all kinds of boring. I really hope the writers have an arc in mind for him and it wasn't done just for the shock factor. Also, Simmons leaving felt a bit contrived, but I can roll with it. I wonder what she's doing.

 

I really liked Skye in this episode - all her scenes felt genuine, and her loathing of Ward always makes me root for her a little bit more. Her friendship with Triplett was also nice - not overdone, just simply buddy stuff.

 

The amount of storylines and characters, though... It's really too much, and will be hard to handle all at once. I hope they'll put the Coulson's visions arc on the back-burner for a while (actually, I won't mind even if they put Coulson himself on the back-burner. At this point, I'm not sure the show really needs him).

 

The villain was boring. But yay, Reed Diamond! With an awful German accent, but whatever.

[shrewd.buddha]

After last season, I was already tired of the Fitz&Simmons BFF Care Bear Cuddle scenes, but they're still at it -- even tho it's in Fitz's head. Ugh. If Fitz's character is always going to be a sad sack who needs Simmons to pat his head and give him hugs and pep talks, I'd rather he be gone. 

...Though the notion of Simmons being a regular character, but only in Fitz's head,  is intriguing ... 

 

Ward as Hannibal Lector just feels forced to me. It appears as if the writers just want to keep the actor no matter if it makes logical sense or not. And Ward only wants to redeem himself in Skye's eyes only? Perhaps they could decorate his cell with pictures of the people he killed, you know, just as a reminder... 

 

I'm not sure if Lucy Lawless' character is dead or not -- but if she is dead, I hope they are not going to create as much media hype in the future for guest stars that are only going to be cannon fodder..

 

Overall, it still feels like the same show to me... Still centered around Skye, still over-explaining everything, still trying to be a band of sympathetic misfits and high-tech bad-asses at the same time.. 

[JTMacc99]

How come Absorbing Man's pants turn into whatever he turns into? Or are they not really pants at all, but just where he's absorbed some denim on his lower half?

I feel that we all deserve an explanation, damn it.

The explanation is that this is an ABC show and not an HBO show.  Therefore, he has pants. And is a man. 

 

 

Ugh. If Fitz's character is always going to be a sad sack who needs Simmons to pat his head and give him hugs and pep talks, I'd rather he be gone. 

...Though the notion of Simmons being a regular character, but only in Fitz's head,  is intriguing ...

I'm putting the over/under on how long Fitz is a sad-sack at 11 episodes.  They made him man-up (for lack of a better term) at the end of last season, and we all liked it.  But this story needs to play out before he gets his brain back from some sort of artifact/magenta alien serum.

[RandomWatcher]

As far as the pants go, that's what tv tropes refers to as magic pants

 

When Coulson said he was looking at England for allies, I kept thinking 'Captain Britain?'

[ChelseaNH]

Fitz doesn't need a cure; he needs rehab.  But that's not how Hollywood handles debilitating injuries.