S02.E10: What They Become

[missbonnie]

I thought it was hands down the best winter finale of all the shows I watch. I thought the slo-mo shot with Skye/Daisy/Quake's transformation was awesome. I thought Ward's reaction to her just flat out pumping 4 bullets into him and casually walking off was funny as hell. Whatever Raina turned into I hope it's as ugly as she is on the inside. Still loving Coulson. Bummed that Tripp bought it but loved that Mac is back. The opening sequence with Mae flying the bus was also great. I still love that character. Not sure what Bobbi's end game is. I also loved that Fitz-Simmons seems to be back. Hopefully Whitehall stays dead and I think I am the only person on the planet that really doesn't like Skye's father or the actor playing him. He's just a big sweaty mess to me. I really love this show and it's gotten better progressively as it's went along. While I will give Agent Carter a shot, I really, really hate that we have to wait clear till March for this to come back. And I have two questions. First of all WTF was that no eyed thing at the end supposed to be? And did Tripp end up with the pieces of the obelisk in him because he kicked it or was that due to Skye's seismic transformation sending them there? I wasn't 100% if he'd kicked it but went back and slow motioned the dvr and he did.

Edited December 10, 2014 by missbonnie

[romantic idiot]

I've loved Season 2 and I can intellectually appreciate this episode, for some value of intellectual which is not very intellect related, but there was too much exposition. Once Skye and Daddy started talking despite how well KM was doing, I started playing on my phone and looked up intermittently. IMO, that actress really has no charisma to be carrying these stories, despite being a fairly decent in her craft. So my reaction to the flying at the beginning is yay, to Mack being back is yay, to the whole Skye thing is - dammit she got Tripp killed. Though, okay, the matter of fact Ward shooting was good, except she didn't shoot him in the head. I guess her marksmanship isn't upto par yet?

Yeah, Whitehall's death was very anticlimactic.  Almost disappointed that the regen powers he got from SkyeMommy didn't help -- heck, he was only shot twice, Ward took 4 bullets to the torso and was able to walk away (albeit with help from Agent Thirty May).

If he is indeed dead, this could be a signature of the show going forward. Garrett's death was pretty matter of fact too. Only the good guys get good deaths, the bad guys are just afterthoughts? I wouldn't mind that. 

[Grammaeryn]

On the interwebs they are saying Mr. No Eyes could be the Inhuman, Reader.

[Tiger]

In the words of John Locke, "I'm gonna need to see that again".

I'm really confused as to what happened to Tripp, especially since there were reports/rumors that

BJ Britt has a small part in Avengers 2.

Regardless of what happened to Tripp, I think its bull that the interwebs are all crying foul for, to paraphrase, killing a black guy. This country's obsession with race is a disease and I don't want it infecting my favorite show. I like(d) Tripp, but this show shouldn't have to have a quota for black people nor should they be prevented from killing a character because of race.

Edited December 10, 2014 by Tiger

[Chaos Theory]

Despite the fact the episode was Skye (Daisy?) heavy, I enjoyed it a lot. There was foward momentum and I am actually interested in what her new powers are.

Tripp was kinda a hanger on for awhile now with all the newer more interesting characters so bye Tripp.

Oh and I loved the scene where Skye just shot Ward like it was nothing. Girl has come a long way hasn't she? She couldn't shoot Ward end of Season 1 now she just shoots him, drops the mike and walks off the stage......

Edited December 10, 2014 by Chaos Theory

[Glory]

Can we do a quick round up of who's dead/maybe dead?

 

Dead

Tripp (*SOB*)

Whitehall? (maybe - has regen powers)

 

On the Lamb

Ward 

Agent Scarface

SkyDaddy

 

Alive

FitzSimmons

Skye

Raina

Coulson

May

Mac??

Bobbie
Hunter

Koenigs 

 

Does that sound right to you guys? I feel like the episode was so fast that I need to regroup!

 

I'll miss you Tripp. I loved you! 

 

Skye was very badass in this episode and I loved it. Her shooting Ward was amazing. I actually clapped! Just perfect. I'm SO GLAD this show did not go the Ward Redemption route. 

[Sakura12]

I think my favorite thing that came from Skye shooting Ward (besides it being badass of Skye) was Ward's reaction. He was like "but I love you and I'm saving you when your psycho Daddy didn't. You are supposed to love me now" I am glad they are keeping Ward crazypants. Hopefully he never rejoins the team. However tv writers think we can forgive the bad person if all the characters forgive them by becoming stupid. I'm not holding by breath that Ward will always be on the outside. 

 

I'm assuming they made Skye, Quake because really can't use her powers all that often without causing major damage and casualties.

[Cranberry]

It looked like Mac recovered at the end. His eyes were back to normal and he and Coulson looked worried about the earthquake.

[I Love Me]

Such a great episode.  I actually pumped my fist in the air and yelled out "YES!" when Cal called Daisy by her real name.  I have suspected for the past week or so that Skye was going to turn out to be Daisy Johnson.

 

Based on what little we saw of Raina after her transformation I'm going to guess that she is

Tigra

?  Not putting money on that but I wouldn't be surprised if she is.   Her origin story on Shield doesn't fit exactly to cannon but neither does Daisy's and it still works for me.  (Tagging that as a spoiler since I'm not sure if it real is and I want to err on the side of caution.)  

[kitlee625]

Skye shot Ward. YES.  My only criticism, and it's a small one and I know she was in a hurry, is that she didn't shoot him in the head.  I assume he was either wearing some sort of Kelvar or he's a mutant.  And Fitz and Simmons are talking together again.  YES.

 

But then we lost Trip! Why, show, why?

 

Yeah Ward was wearing body armor. Otherwise he would definitely be dead with all those chest wounds, at least in the non-TV world. I also was upset that she didn't go for the head shot, but hey, I love how she just walked right past him like no big deal.

 

I think my favorite thing that came from Skye shooting Ward (besides it being badass of Skye) was Ward's reaction. He was like "but I love you and I'm saving you when your psycho Daddy didn't. You are supposed to love me now" I am glad they are keeping Ward crazypants. Hopefully he never rejoins the team. However tv writers think we can forgive the bad person if all the characters forgive them by becoming stupid. I'm not holding by breath that Ward will always be on the outside. 

 

I'm assuming they made Skye, Quake because really can't use her powers all that often without causing major damage and casualties.

 

Don't know what his angle is now that he's failed to kidnap Skye yet again so they can be monsters togther. I feel like his plot has run its course.

 

Also I like that her powers are not super helpful. I mean we got this one (somewhat overdone) slow mo scene of Origin Story, but after that I feel like it's going to be about her controlling the powers rather than vibrating enemies to death.

[Primetimer]

Skye gets a father, revenge, and another name. And then she gets ruthlessly shuffled around according to the whims of the plot, which is where things get sketchy.

Read the story

[shrewd.buddha]

That was a lot of stuff happening -- so kudos for that, at least . 

 

So now Skye has progressed from hack-tavist, to field agent, to highly skilled combat field agent -slash- sniper ... and now super-powered Inhuman.

.. how can TPTB claim that this show is not centered around Skye? 

 

So Skye is an Inhuman now? Raise your hand if you saw that coming when this series started.

Does anyone know if this was the original plan or was the Inhuman/Kree plot something cooked up after the series started and TPTB started brainstorming how to mesh Skye with the Inhuman plot-line? 

 

RIP Tripp.  It was sort of sad, but he really wasn't adding anything special to the cast of characters (diversity for the sake of diversity?) -- and there are a lot of characters now. Maybe there will be more trimming when the show comes back .... months and months from now.

 

Will the ratings ever get above the meh level? It's going to be hard with a three month break (and no reruns -- for people who don't record).

Edited December 10, 2014 by shrewd.buddha

[Wootini]

"I very strongly suspect Bobbi is working for the government. - You know, the people with an actual legal and popular mandate to preserve the peace and enforce the law."

 

Oh, I really, really hope so. I know that Adrienne Palecki is just a quest star technically, but I really like what Bobbie adds to the team, so watching her act all sketchy got me so, so worried. I was actually thinking that she was secretly working for Fury, keeping an eye on the team (and Coulson) because that wouldn't be as bad as her still with Hydra or working for someone else equally evil.

 

This was such a great episode. I was actually impressed at how well they stretched their limited budget. The CGI planes in the opening were really well done, and the terrigen mists transformations at the end were also cool. Although again with the lighting situation on this damn show. They're in South America during the day, but of course they have to fight in a building that's all boarded up so no light can get in. The fight choreography is good enough they don't have to cloak it in darkness. I totally understand the tunnels needing to be dark because they simply can't show the entirety of the underground city beyond that one little glowing pedestal, but you all were talking about Reina transforming into something spiky or furry… but all I remember seeing was a cat-eye.

 

Can't wait to see more of Kyle MacLachlan, because he has been so fantastically awesome on this show. He totally carried the father/daughter reunion scene. Although to be fair, Skye did get exponentially more awesome when she just flat-out shot Ward from behind. Hopefully the super powers won't send her backwards. I'm kind of over the whole "Woe is me, I'm a freak with super powers" angle that seems to be so popular. I'd rather see her be like Barry Allen on The Flash, where she takes joy in her new powers and develops them and uses them to help people, not go all dark and self-loathing and go out for revenge.

 

Now bring on Agent Carter! (When I saw the Agent Carter short on the Iron Man Blu-ray, I loved it so much and since Agents of SHIELD was in its early growing pains, I wished that Agent Carter had been the Marvel TV show instead. But now they can BOTH be awesome and switch off periodically!)

Edited December 10, 2014 by Wootini

[AzureOwl]

I'm assuming they made Skye, Quake because really can't use her powers all that often without causing major damage and casualties.

That was exactly what I thought. I'm not familiar with the scope of her comicbook counterpart's powers, but generating earthquakes doesn't seem like the must subtle of powers. S.H.I.E.L.D., specially in its current incarnation, need to be a scalpel, and Skye just became a sledgehammer.

[Tiger]

Based on what little we saw of Raina after her transformation I'm going to guess that she is

Tigra

?  Not putting money on that but I wouldn't be surprised if she is.   Her origin story on Shield doesn't fit exactly to cannon but neither does Daisy's and it still works for me.  (Tagging that as a spoiler since I'm not sure if it real is and I want to err on the side of caution.)

This is my spec too, but I seriously question if they have the budget to pull that off. I am impressed with what the show has done this season and it's clear some legit money is being spent on this show, at least in comparison to other heavy FX shows (side-eyes Once, Grimm, Arrow, and Flash). But a character like that really needs a movie budget to avoid looking like early 90's cheese.

Will the ratings ever get above the meh level? It's going to be hard with a three month break (and no reruns -- for people who don't record).

The DVD, on demand, and mobile streaming numbers for the show are really good so I don't think ABC (read: Marvel's parent company Disney) cares about the overnights. And even if this werent the case, ABC has some major problems that need to be fixed before AoS is even given a side-eye. Edited December 10, 2014 by Tiger

[Traveller519]

I enjoyed the end game here of moving stuff forward and opening up more of the Marvel Universe, it will be interesting to see where they go with this, since The Inhumans movie is dang far away into the future and they've already opened up that Pandora's Obelisk (sorry) and the nature of TV seems to indicate. If the show goes the route of Coulson basically having to dismiss Skye as a field agent as she's too unpredictable, and Chloe Bennett goes off with Marvel Studios to get trained up for the big screen (possibly via a Netflix short) I'll be damn impressed with the courage of the show. 

 

My only real trouble with this (and really the last episode) was Coulson's whole plan to "blow-up the city." In the last episode they at least addressed that it was the anti-Fury thing to do, but it was really Anti-Shield mandate. 1) The size of that city, as we saw was huge, and covered a lot of the area of San Juan. collapsing the city would have some bad collateral damaged on all the people that lived above it. 2) They had no clue what the nature/power/science behind the city was. I know they wanted to keep Whitehall from it, but Coulson should know as well as anyone the powers these things have.

 

Writing the city destruction added the drama, but didn't really play into the overall themes of the show in my opinion.

[kennyab]

I sometimes wonder if Monty and I are watching the same show. It wasn't the plot that failed at the end, it was the team's plan. They had a good strategy -- take Hydra out before they get to the city, and for insurance, blow everything up should plan A fail. And they almost had it until Raina sneaked off with the obelisk. At that point, Skye had to go after her. Any agent in their right mind would, regardless if they wanted to. They had no idea what kind of power might be down there, and Raina's not the person you want getting at it. So like a good soldier, Skye follows. Not because she's wishy-washy, but because that's her job. The key point here is that Skye didn't know about the bombs, so she thought that Raina was about to have unfettered access to everything.

 

Even on the whole season, I have to disagree with Monty's opinion. The first half of the mini-season was about SHIELD rebuilding and their new place in the world. On the macro level this was played out via their conflicts with Talbot, and on the more personal level with the rifts between former friends (Fitz/Simmons, Ward/Everybody). The Whitehall plot was just simmering at that point while the show (very rightly) focused on redefining the team. Then with the second half they jumped into the Inhumans kickoff story. During that time we had major Ward plot, figured out what was up with Coulson, got to now Bobbi, learn who the aliens are, all culminating in the big Skye reveal.

 

Different strokes for different folks, but everything's worked really well for me in the first half of the season.

[blackwing]

Are we going to be seeing more super powered heroes and villains on this show now?  That's the show I always wanted to see, a better done version of Mutant X, Misfits of Science, and all those other failed superhero live action shows, and set in the Marvel Universe.  Because if they don't add any more supervillains (Blizzard, Deathlok and the darkforce guy with the cello player... Blackout?) notwithstanding, and it's just SHIELD v. Hydra, well, Skye/Daisy could easily take them out.

 

I wonder if Raina turned into some version of Tigra or one of the other Cat People.

[Spartan Girl]

As satisfying as it was to see Skye/Quake/Daisy shoot Ward four times, I wish she put a fifth one in his throat so that 1) he would shut up and 2) he'd bleed out faster.  The fact that he's still alive makes Trip's death 10000 times worse.

 

Hopefully Simmons will keep her promise and Ward will be dead by the end of the season.

 

But at least Mack's okay.

[RockShrimp]

May electrocuted Agent 33 while she was wearing the May Mask and it fused to her face. 

Why is Scarface stuck as May? I'm positive this was explained, but I've already forgotten. I don't get the decision of the writers to keep her as May. Do they just hate the woman they hired to be Agent 33? Were they just like, "I hate that girl. Fuck it, Agent 33 will just stay looking like May. Call Ming-Na!" Anyway, I hope Ward doesn't just kill her at his earliest convenience. He seemed sincere when he was telling her about the problems of following crazy dudes. Ward needs someone to play off of. Otherwise, we'll be stuck with endless scenes of him calling Skye.

 

 

[missbonnie]

Does anyone know if this was the original plan or was the Inhuman/Kree plot something cooked up after the series started and TPTB started brainstorming how to mesh Skye with the Inhuman plot-line?

There's an interview over at TV Line with TPTB that fills in some blanks and addresses this question.

[Traveller519]

I get the notion of "of course the Black Guy had to die" trope, but I don't think it deserves a lot of scorn here. Agents of SHIELD and the greater MCU have been pretty multi-cultural and diverse on the whole. I think BJ Britt's schedule made it tough. He's been pretty ancillary this season, and then this hero episode and death kind of got shoe horned in. It probably wouldn't have been quite the smack in the face if in the last episode Mac had gotten outside of a SHIELD facility for the first time, and was alluded to have died.

[VCRTracking]

RIP Tripp.

 

Loved Coulson did a Black Widow move on Cal!

 

I really feel bad for Agent 33. I hope  if they're not going to fix her face(and she becomes Madame Masque), that they unbrainwash her. That's what always bugged me about in X2: X-Men United with Lady Deathstrike. That they had her under mind control instead of evil, and I felt sorry for her when Wolverine killed her.

[Grammaeryn]

CAN'T STOP LAUGHING!

 

[ChelseaNH]

I couldn't see from the lack of light

 

I know!  What is up with that?  Dear Show:  It would be a lot easier to blow my mind if I could see what's happening.

 

He threw a body armor plate on to the floor. Looks like it was hit 2 or 3 times

 

I'm wondering if that wasn't Skye's tablet with the map of the city.

 

I was rolling my eyes at all the people throwing themselves into the city.  Raina and Skye?  Sure.  But Tripp just got out of a hazmat suit, and now he thinks he can just drop into the city unprotected and he'll be able to disarm the timers instead of getting transmogrified like Mack?  Did Coulson figure an alien transfusion was enough to protect him from getting transmogrified?

 

So with all that and the not being able to see, they didn't blow my mind.  They just annoyed me a lot.

 

However, they did not kill off Raina, so there's that.  I was worried Whitehall would decide he didn't need her once he proved Skye could handle the obelisk, but fortunately he had other plans for Skye.

 

I'm sorry Cal didn't get to rip Whitehall's spine out through his nose; they both deserved that.  Sounds like Cal should have done it anyway, just as insurance.

[Chaos Theory]

I was kinda hoping to see Cal killing Whitehall and whistling while he worked. Best day ever!

[kennyab]

I get the notion of "of course the Black Guy had to die" trope, but I don't think it deserves a lot of scorn here. Agents of SHIELD and the greater MCU have been pretty multi-cultural and diverse on the whole. I think BJ Britt's schedule made it tough. He's been pretty ancillary this season, and then this hero episode and death kind of got shoe horned in. It probably wouldn't have been quite the smack in the face if in the last episode Mac had gotten outside of a SHIELD facility for the first time, and was alluded to have died.

 

Yeah, I love TV Tropes, but I think that it's sometimes easy to fall in the trap of noticing the surface qualities of a trope without looking at the background reasons for those tropes and the context around the execution. And this goes doubly for those tropes that have to do with race and identity.

 

Let's take the "Black guy dies first" and "Two many black guys" tropes. Much has been written about them because they're unfortunately a sad, true part of our artistic history (and I'm going to focus on TV here, since we're talking about the use of the tropes in this particular episode). It used to be extremely rare to find a black character on TV, and they were usually horribly portrayed. Then it got to be OK to have the black sidekick who doesn't really have any agency, and often dies. These tropes are real, and while things have gotten way better, they still exist.

 

They hurt because they marginalize. Not only does a large portion of our population not have representation, but when said representation does occur, it often shows that group as either inconsequential or doomed. It's an ugly mirror of society at large, where we've often tried to hide black people away and write our history books so that they're footnotes. Very rarely are black people depicted as actual agents of change. You have your Rosa Parks and Martin Luthor King, Jrs, but they're the exceptions. We're bombarded with images from a very early age of things happening TO black people, of white people GIVING them rights and ALLOWING them to participate in society, of them being the MAMMIES who help are bit parts in the story of white America. And that's a Very Bad Thing.

 

We're in a period now where those images are changing at the most rapid rate in a long time, and that's fantastic. But because people are now much more sensitive to these tropes, it can be difficult for a show creator to have anything bad happen to a person of color, and I think AoS is in that type of position now. Some viewers have expressed dismay about the fact that Deathlok, Mack, and Tripp have all been put through some great traumas now. But here's where context comes into play. In this show, everyone gets put through various traumas. Fitz has brain damage. Coulson's "possessed" by his alien serum. Ward turns out to be a psychopath.

 

On the big scale of things, what Mack just went through is pretty minor as far as this team is concerned. And in the last couple of episodes we've seen that they've got a storyline cooking with him and Bobbi, so it looks like we've got some fun stuff ahead for him.

 

So the big thing here is Tripp. While plenty of agents have died, none of them have been the big players we've been following for over a year now. Honestly, I think it's about time that one of "our" agents was killed off. This is a dangerous business, and narratively speaking, I think it speaks to the nature of evolution, the new replacing the old. So it's a question of who? From a totally practical standpoint, Tripp makes the most sense, as the actor's other commitments impede how much they can do with the character. If the actor playing Tripp was white, this would be a no-brainer. So as creator, do you make the most logical choice based on real-life circumstances, or do you make a different decision because he's black? In a case like this, I don't think there is one right answer. Personally, I don't fault them, and I don't see it as a true example of the trope -- I think it only meets the criteria superficially and isn't a true reflection of what the trope is really about. But I'm not going to dismiss anyone who holds another opinion. There is something to be said for "If it looks like a duck..."

 

And of course there are many other ways to interpret the larger scope of racial presentation in the series. Some would point out that, between Deathlok and Raina, it's black characters being physically transformed, and Raina arguably losing her "blackness." Again, I think this is an unfortunate coincidence, but then there's the fact that it's also true. The same goes to Hand and Hartley being killed. But this series has pretty much run roughshod over secondary and tertiary agents of the comics, offing a good chunk of the canon. Do you spare the characters who are lesbians in the comics? I find these to be murky, interesting waters. I always enjoying hearing other's thoughts on these subjects, and often find myself learning about my own pre-conceptions and learning from these discussions.

[Sakura12]

I'm surprised that Cal didn't rip Whitehall apart to get revenge for Skye's mother anyway. It's always good to make sure that person stays dead. 

[Wootini]

I'm wondering if that wasn't Skye's tablet with the map of the city.

 

I was rolling my eyes at all the people throwing themselves into the city.  Raina and Skye?  Sure.  But Tripp just got out of a hazmat suit, and now he thinks he can just drop into the city unprotected and he'll be able to disarm the timers instead of getting transmogrified like Mack?  Did Coulson figure an alien transfusion was enough to protect him from getting transmogrified?

 

Yes, that wasn't body armor that Agent 33 pulled out of Ward's jacket. It was a rectangle with two bullet holes in it, so it would make sense it was Skye's tablet. I wasn't even thinking about what it could be, I was just annoyed that OF COURSE there's something to deflect at least half the bullets so he's not going to die.

 

And Raina knew she would be safe going down there because she can touch the obelisk unharmed. Skye for the same reason would be the SHIELD agent to go after her. But I fanwanked Coulson and Tripp being able to go in without containment suits because their skin didn't come into contact with the tech like Mac's did. (Remember, he fell and landed his hand on part of a pattern and that's how it got inside him… wonder if there will be any lasting repercussions. Can we give him super-strength? He's already got the muscles… mmm… muscles…)

[Donny Ketchum]

And I think I am the only one that was GLAD Tripp bought it.

You are.  Did Tripp or B.J. kick your puppy or something?

[DeLurker]

I'm hoping Whitehall is only mostly dead and the SkyeMommy harvesting he did makes him survive/recover. Then I want SkyeDaddy/Crazy Cal to kill him properly.

Dear AoS-

Thank you for bringing me Bill Paxton's can o'crazy which amused me greatly. I was not expecting (That'sNotHerName) SkyeDaddy to go that route, but you did. And Kyle MacLaclan is delightful.

DeLurker

Edited December 10, 2014 by DeLurker

[locomoco]

I don't buy Whitehall being down for the count.  He has his magic anti-aging powers--I think he'll heal.

I'm not sure where people think he has regenerative powers beyond his ability to stay young... SkyeMommy didn't exactly regenerate/heal after Whitehall worked her over.

 

Also, I don't think Skye scored 4 actual hits... it looked like Ward had some body armor that kept at least 2 shots from hitting him.

[JayKay]

In the interview for the midseason finale linked in the media thread, the showrunners mentioned killing off one of their beloved villains. It took me a minute to realize they meant Whitehall, he was so forgettable to me. So I think he's dead-dead.

[patchwork]

I have as soft spot of the Inhumans so I'm interested as to where this is leading, it's all groundwork for the movie obviously but it's an interesting way to introduce the premise. I think Skye is going to remain mostly a hacker/occasional field agent and only pull out her Quake powers once in a while, they'll be a source of angst for the most part I suspect.

 

I wonder if for budget reasons Raina will be able to shift between her furry and human self.

 

Thankfully there's still no sign of Ward being let back on to the team if it ever happens it'll probably be because he's not Ward any more. Crazy Pants Ward with his efforts to win over Skye have been fun but I'd be fine with it if this is the last we see of him for a very long time. Same with SkyDaddy.  

[Sarahastro]

I really liked this episode, but I'm glad that other people have brought up how dark it was. I could barely see what was happening, and I kept forgetting who was where and with whom.

 

Love Skye not taking any of Ward's B.S. and shooting him. Love that Skye was willing to give up having powers in order to protect people from the Obelisk. I did think it was a little contrived that everyone ended up running around in the tunnels trying to find each other -- yeah, it was the right thing to do, but it was still a little cliched. I'm sad that Trip is gone. They could have done a lot more with his character.

 

Overall I'm impressed that they really shook things up in this episode, and I'm wondering how that's going to change things for the second half of this season. It really changes the whole series, from ordinary people fighting Hydra to a superhero origin story. I'm not totally sure how I feel about that because I'm not that into superhero movies/TV shows/comic books, but this time last year the idea of Skye getting powers made me roll my eyes and now I'm actually interested to see what happens, so good job show.

[Kromm]

Daisy Johnson? Big deal. It's a recent character (well, only a decade old), so dicking around with her is no huge deal. There's not that much to undo/contradict. Her being a Inhuman is new, of course, but she's still got the villain daddy (Calvin Zabo, aka Mr. Hyde, albeit his origin seems changed even more than hers), and doesn't know Nick Fury from Adam (unlike the original Quake/Daisy Johnson).

We'll see if they give Chloe Bennet the slightly butch haircut next set of episodes.

 

In the interview for the midseason finale linked in the media thread, the showrunners mentioned killing off one of their beloved villains. It took me a minute to realize they meant Whitehall, he was so forgettable to me. So I think he's dead-dead.

Beloved to who I wonder? The showrunners?  Geez.

 

On the Lamb

I bet that was one unhappy Lamb, with all those people piling onto it! Edited December 10, 2014 by Kromm

[MDKNIGHT]

The part I'm not clear on is how the tranmorgafication was SUPPOSED to work and what Tripp's actions did to the process. If he hadn't gone in and kicked that crystal what would have happened? Since he did kick the crystal what did that do besides unfortunately get himself killed? Was his death for naught? Can anybody who knows the comics iluminate this aspect of what we saw?

As for the rest of the episode I enjoyed it but also wish that Skye had double tapped Ward in the head and that Cal had deboned Whitehall. I feel cheated a card carrying, human experimenting Nazi didn't suffer a painful lingering death.

Did anybody have a problem with Cal thinking he could just kill Whitehall? I didn't get the impression that he is supposed to have any super powers that would justify his belief in his own success. I extrapulated from what we were shown that once he was traumtized by his wife's terrible death that he was stronger than an average person because sometimes the clinically insane really DO have rediculous strength (I once saw a tiny tiny old lady throw a huge male security guard in a psych ward so that really CAN happen) but that he wasn't supervillain level of strength or bullet proof or have any super power. Am I wrong?

[kennyab]

The part I'm not clear on is how the tranmorgafication was SUPPOSED to work and what Tripp's actions did to the process. If he hadn't gone in and kicked that crystal what would have happened? Since he did kick the crystal what did that do besides unfortunately get himself killed? Was his death for naught? Can anybody who knows the comics iluminate this aspect of what we saw?

 

That's pretty much how it's supposed to work. The process is called Terrigenesis, as the mists are Terrigen Mists. So, yeah, Tripp's  actions didn't really do anything but get himself killed. The mists' effects on humans are very unpredictable, and exposure is ill-advised (now I really want to draw up an MSDS on them). In Tripp's case, it looks like probably nothing would have happened due to the mist itself, but the concentrated crystal form was too much.

 

In the comics, a long, long, long, long, long time ago, ancient aliens known as the celestials played around with proto-humans and laid the groundwork for superpowers to develop. The same may be true in the MCU -- Knowhere in the "Guardians of the Galaxy" is the skull of a dead inhuman. Then the Kree came along and did more tampering, and that resulted in Inhumans. Mutants come about from the same Celestial shenanigans, but rather than Kree influence, natural forces altered human DNA and that potential is realized in the X-Gene. It's been shown that depowered mutants can get back wonky versions of their powers for a limited time via explore to Terrigen Mists.

[Sarahastro]

Did anybody have a problem with Cal thinking he could just kill Whitehall? I didn't get the impression that he is supposed to have any super powers that would justify his belief in his own success. I extrapulated from what we were shown that once he was traumtized by his wife's terrible death that he was stronger than an average person because sometimes the clinically insane really DO have rediculous strength (I once saw a tiny tiny old lady throw a huge male security guard in a psych ward so that really CAN happen) but that he wasn't supervillain level of strength or bullet proof or have any super power. Am I wrong?

 

In the comics, Calvin Zabo can turn into some kind of monster called Mr. Hyde. I don't know much about him because I don't read comic books, but from what I've seen online, it sounds like Mr. Hyde is kind of like the Hulk. It's unclear if the same is true in this universe. It seems like he might have enhanced strength (or maybe Coulson is just easy to beat up). I had the same thought though too. What exactly was his plan for when he saw Whitehall? And what if Whitehall had had a gun?

[kennyab]

In the comics, Calvin Zabo can turn into some kind of monster called Mr. Hyde. I don't know much about him because I don't read comic books, but from what I've seen online, it sounds like Mr. Hyde is kind of like the Hulk. It's unclear if the same is true in this universe. It seems like he might have enhanced strength (or maybe Coulson is just easy to beat up). I had the same thought though too. What exactly was his plan for when he saw Whitehall? And what if Whitehall had had a gun?

 

Whitehall did have a gun and was about to shoot, and Cal didn't seem too chuffed about it. And he took out a couple of big goons earlier in the season without seeming to have a problem. So while I don't think he physically changes (and not just for budgetary reasons, getting that to look good takes time as well), he does seem to possess some superhuman qualities. I'm guessing he ended up doing some experiments on himself in the process of finding out about Inhumans and trying to get revenge on Whitehall et al.

Edited December 11, 2014 by kennyab

[Kromm]

In the comics, Calvin Zabo can turn into some kind of monster called Mr. Hyde. I don't know much about him because I don't read comic books, but from what I've seen online, it sounds like Mr. Hyde is kind of like the Hulk. It's unclear if the same is true in this universe. It seems like he might have enhanced strength (or maybe Coulson is just easy to beat up). I had the same thought though too. What exactly was his plan for when he saw Whitehall? And what if Whitehall had had a gun?

I think the implication is that Cal going a little bit psycho, as we've seen him do, is this version of him going into "Mr. Hyde" mode. 

Edited December 11, 2014 by Kromm

[benteen]

On some previous points, I agree that visually the show was too dark last night.  A lot of scenes unnecessarily in shadow.

 

I feel bad for Agent 33 too.  She's brainwashed and I don't even know if Shield knows that.  She's still a victim and is now going to be used by Ward.  The partnership is intriguing but Agent 33 has no true agency of her own here.

 

Interesting theory that perhaps Bobbi is working for the government.  That is the funny part about Shield...they have no authority anymore and people only follow Coulson's orders by choice.

[mybabyaidan]

Skye definitely should have finished Ward off.  He's a sociopath, I am pretty sure her shooting him 4 times is just going to amp UP his obsession of her.

[Jack Kerouac]

 

Regardless of what happened to Tripp, I think its bull that the interwebs are all crying foul for, to paraphrase, killing a black guy. This country's obsession with race is a disease and I don't want it infecting my favorite show. I like(d) Tripp, but this show shouldn't have to have a quota for black people nor should they be prevented from killing a character because of race.

 

ITA. Thank you. From a Canadian viewpoint, your country's obsession with race and racial politics in your entertainment is, at best, odd.

[Andromeda]

I mean Yeah Agent Carter's going to be Awesome I'm sure, but this is gonna be a long 2 and a half months.

 

I would not have thought that this time last year.  The ability they had to turn this show around is really good.  Also really have to give them props for laying in Skye as Daisy from the beginning. 

Seriously. I stopped watching this show after about six episodes last year. It just wasn't working for me. Then my son caught up, and hinted that it gets quite a bit better with a mid-season reboot, so I got back on board. I recently had a personal rewatch binge, and now I'm not just a viewer, I'm a total fan! I'm even reading various Marvel comic books and rewatching the movies. It'll have to tide me over.

 

I love Coulson (we're of an age...). I love all of them. Coulson's a much better father figure than Kyle McLachan could dream of being. (He's great fun to watch, glad they saved him.) There was a time when I hated the cutesy way they presented Fitz-Simmons, now I love each one independently for who they are and what they've gone through. I feel bad about Trip and will mourn the loss of a potential Simmons/Trip romance. Since he was on board first, I kind of wish he'd been the one to stay, but the Mack/Fitz relationship adds depth to both of their characters. I hope it's expanded on.

 

I'm grateful for fans here who recognize why Skye is named Daisy and could point us to the wiki page about her. I would have no clue otherwise.

[redfish]

The transformation reminds me of the Wild Card series since both Raina and Skye each had a different result. It seems almost personalized and I kind of get the golden skin and the quills as a metaphor of keeping people at a distance. What I don't get is why is Skye's power earthquake based? Just because they shoehorned the name Daisy Johnson from the Marvel series onto her so that they can match the power up is not a good enough reason.

[Kromm]

On some previous points, I agree that visually the show was too dark last night.  A lot of scenes unnecessarily in shadow.

 

I feel bad for Agent 33 too.  She's brainwashed and I don't even know if Shield knows that.

They do know. It's mentioned earlier in the season, and it's why Skye, when she fights her, tells her "we can help you".

What I don't get is why is Skye's power earthquake based? Just because they shoehorned the name Daisy Johnson from the Marvel series onto her so that they can match the power up is not a good enough reason.

Did you expect her power to be air-based (because her name is "Skye")?

Actually, I think besides them deciding that the story of Quake and Mr. Hyde could be adapted, it may have also occurred to them that Earthquake powers are probably one of the easier ones to show on a TV budget (you just shake the camera a lot, have people do "Enterprise Bridge Being Hit By Enemy Phaser" stagger steps, and in the aftermath have close in shots with random rubble planted).

[kitlee625]

Actually, I think besides them deciding that the story of Quake and Mr. Hyde could be adapted, it may have also occurred to them that Earthquake powers are probably one of the easier ones to show on a TV budget (you just shake the camera a lot, have people do "Enterprise Bridge Being Hit By Enemy Phaser" stagger steps, and in the aftermath have close in shots with random rubble planted).

 

Oh my god. I was already giggling this episode during the plane scene in the beginning of this episode, imagining the actors shaking to fake the turbulence. Now I'm getting a kick out of the idea of them doing this on a regular basis like the casts of Star Trek.

Edited December 11, 2014 by kitlee625

[Amelie06]

 

 

 

Regardless of what happened to Tripp, I think its bull that the interwebs are all crying foul for, to paraphrase, killing a black guy. This country's obsession with race is a disease and I don't want it infecting my favorite show. I like(d) Tripp, but this show shouldn't have to have a quota for black people nor should they be prevented from killing a character because of race.

 

ITA. Thank you. From a Canadian viewpoint, your country's obsession with race and racial politics in your entertainment is, at best, odd.

I think it's all a matter of perspective. Everyone comes into things with their experiences. The "minorities are expendable" trope is something that has historically existed on tv and in films (and arguably in real life). There is nothing wrong with pointing that out and if you think you see it on a show you like.  Entertainment doesn't exist on an island, away from the rest of society.  "Obsession with race" ? 

 

Now that Tripp and his romance potential is gone, Fitz and Simmons are clearly going to be a thing. It seems like the writers considered hooking Simmons up with Tripp but ultimately decided to write something romantic with Fitz. This probably made Tripp a surplus requirement.

 

I'm not as intrigued as I should be about Bobbi's secret. Is she really a spy? She seemed kind of obvious in that scene with Hunter.  I just hope Fitz doesn't get his feelings hurt when it turns out Mack has been on some secret mission with Bobbi.

 

How are they going to keep wedging Ward in? I've got nothing against the actor, but this is starting to get ridiculous.  I don't want to see weeks of Ward and Agent 33 stalking his former teammates just because.  Why can't Ward just sit down for awhile? Maybe he could meet a nice girl and settle down in Denver, or something. He should definitely take a break from all his fruitless villainy.

[xqueenfrostine]

My only real trouble with this (and really the last episode) was Coulson's whole plan to "blow-up the city." In the last episode they at least addressed that it was the anti-Fury thing to do, but it was really Anti-Shield mandate. 1) The size of that city, as we saw was huge, and covered a lot of the area of San Juan. collapsing the city would have some bad collateral damaged on all the people that lived above it. 

They kind of covered this last week during Coulson's chat with Bobbi.  The reason Fitz and Simmons were with Coulson in San Juan rather than with the rest of the team on the bus was because he wanted them around to assess the structural integrity of the temple before they rigged it with explosives.  I don't think we ever saw their assessment on the matter, but I think we're supposed to believe that their intent was to only destroy part of the city and that the rest of it was strong enough to contain the explosion, minimizing damage to San Juan.

 

I really liked this episode.  I agree with everyone else that Skye has definitely improved this season.  She's still my least favorite female character, but at least now she only holds that place because of how much I love May, Simmons and now Bobbi and not because I think she's just The Worst.   Putting her under May's wing was a good call, as I think Skye benefits from spending time with someone who isn't obsessed with how wonderful she is or puppy-dog in love with her.  I also though Chloe Benedict did a great job, especially in her scene with Coulson where she cried over not being able to kill her father.