S02.E10: What They Become

[sinkwriter]

 

While I did enjoy this episode I was disappointed by one thing. The alien city they were looking for turned out to look very un-alieny. In fact, it looked downright dull.

 

I agree! In fact, I felt like I needed to go back and rewatch the episode, because I felt like... "That's it?" I thought that maybe they had to get through the tomb/tunnels/cave/whatever in order to get to the place where they could be worthy to access the city. But if that was actually The Place, call me unimpressed. Some city.

[tankgirl73]

I'm not sure exactly why, but I didn't see "cat" with Raina's transformation hint.  I saw "bird".  I saw the spikes as more feathery than whiskery or furry.  The fingers could go either way.  But that was my impression at any rate.

 

Plus, I tend to think that the obelisk was only waking powers that were already latent -- not just randomly assigned out of thin air.  Without getting into what Skye might have to do with earthquakes on a subconscious level, just looking at Raina -- what is the main quirk of Raina's personality?

 

She likes flowers. 

 

Ergo, to me, she's like a hummingbird.

 

Or maybe a butterfly.  Maybe something insect-like.

 

I don't know the marvel universe characters beyond what I've learned from the movies and this show, I grew up on DC and I still sometimes feel a little unclean to be liking this Marvel movie universe so much.  So I don't know if there's any potential characters that are bird- or insect-like.  Anyone else know?

 

As for the rest of the episode -- was there anything besides Kyle Maclachlan?  I could just watch that all day.  Holy cow that's some phenomenal stuff, above and beyond.  Give that man all the Emmies and call it a night. 

 

Fitz and Simmons reunion -- I missed it on first watch, but when everything is shaking and falling apart at the end, and they flash through scenes of everyone in despair -- they're hugging each other.  First time through, it was just such a normal thing to see that I didn't even notice it.  Only on rewatch did I remember "oh yeah, they're still sorta estranged and awkward with each other".  So it was neat to see that when disaster struck, they still instinctively turned to each other.

 

I was initially annoyed at the thought that Whitehall might not be dead.  But the idea that it means Cal will still have a chance to get hs vengeance -- that I can live with.

 

And regarding Agent 33 -- Tory on Castle is insufferably dull, poorly acted and boring.  I'm much happier keeping that character under Ming Na's control.

[jhlipton]

The image of Ward trying to capture Skye in a giant net while she whizzes by shouting "meep meep" made me laugh.

Skye runs into a tunnel through the mesa. Ward runs into the tunn [sPLAT!]

Ward is on rocket-powered roller-skates and goes zooming past Skye and off the edge of a mesa. He pats the air around him and only after determining that there's nothing hold him up, he fallllllllllllllllllllllllls [...splat...]

 

 

I agree! In fact, I felt like I needed to go back and rewatch the episode, because I felt like... "That's it?" I thought that maybe they had to get through the tomb/tunnels/cave/whatever in order to get to the place where they could be worthy to access the city. But if that was actually The Place, call me unimpressed. Some city.

The "map" showed at least 4 layers with lots of connections and all. Seems kind of a cheat that they could get to the temple so quickly.

[kennyab]

The "map" showed at least 4 layers with lots of connections and all. Seems kind of a cheat that they could get to the temple so quickly.

 

Maybe the city's like an anti-TARDIS.

[Sakura12]

I don't think we actually saw the city. Just some tunnels leading the city and a chamber inside of it. There might be more to it or the Inhumans already moved it. 

 

While I would love that, I doubt we'll get that on the Disney channel. Although on the actual Disney channel we got Gravity Falls, so maybe I'm not giving them enough credit.

 

Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family has a main character that's gay and has had more love interests then the other leads. If the "Family" part of the Disney/ABC channel can do it, I don't see why AoS can't. 

Edited December 15, 2014 by Sakura12

[Jack Kerouac]

Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family has a main character that's gay and has had more love interests then the other leads. If the "Family" part of the Disney/ABC channel can do it, I don't see why AoS can't. 

 

Probably because it's too cliché. The slight, effeminate British guy is gay - ugh. 

[sinkwriter]

That's interesting to me - I see Fitz as a smaller-sized man, but I don't see him as effeminate. Not that there's anything wrong with someone embracing their feminine side, I just don't see that about his character. Not like other characters out there in the TV universe, some of whom present a very clichéd example of effeminate guy. Just because he's not giant-man buff like Mac doesn't automatically equal effeminate or gay. Just as someone who is giant-man buff like Mac shouldn't automatically equal straight and masculine. I'd love to see Disney/ABC/the showrunners explore something outside the box with these characters. 

[emma675]

I have a really stupid question--Agents of SHIELD is directly connected to the Avengers movies, right? So anything that happens in the AoS world is also happening in the Avengers world, correct?

 

If so, that makes me even sadder over Tripp's death. I'm sad that we won't get a Simmons/Tripp romance, but I'm even more sad that Captain America has lost yet another friend.

[Raja]

I have a really stupid question--Agents of SHIELD is directly connected to the Avengers movies, right? So anything that happens in the AoS world is also happening in the Avengers world, correct?

 

 

Correct, or so they say. there have been two or three Bruce Banner's depending on if you count the first. Two Colonel Rhodes/War Machine-Iron Patriot. And Director Coulson returned from the dead.

[anna0852]

I have a really stupid question--Agents of SHIELD is directly connected to the Avengers movies, right? So anything that happens in the AoS world is also happening in the Avengers world, correct?

 

If so, that makes me even sadder over Tripp's death. I'm sad that we won't get a Simmons/Tripp romance, but I'm even more sad that Captain America has lost yet another friend.

Captain America has never met Trip. You might be thinking of Sam Wilson (also known as Falcon).

[Kromm]

That's interesting to me - I see Fitz as a smaller-sized man, but I don't see him as effeminate. Not that there's anything wrong with someone embracing their feminine side, I just don't see that about his character. Not like other characters out there in the TV universe, some of whom present a very clichéd example of effeminate guy. Just because he's not giant-man buff like Mac doesn't automatically equal effeminate or gay. Just as someone who is giant-man buff like Mac shouldn't automatically equal straight and masculine. I'd love to see Disney/ABC/the showrunners explore something outside the box with these characters.

Yeah, I agree. If he's effeminate, it's only marginally at most--in the sense that any geek/nerd gets that tossed at them. At most, he's somewhat asexual (NOT the same thing as effeminate), except for the times he deigns to notice Simmons (that was one of the problems with their "romance" subplot last season--it almost seemed to come out of nowhere because Fitz generally WAS so asexual).

If some here have been seeing a homosexual subtext to Fitz (and his relationships with various male cast members--Ward was first in line, remember, even before Trip) though... then who am I to say my powers of observation are better? I didn't see it personally, but then again I wasn't really looking that hard.

[Raja]

Captain America has never met Trip. You might be thinking of Sam Wilson (also known as Falcon).

Captain America might be sad because Trip's grandfather served in his unit. But after the SHIELD civil war I doubt that he has caught up with all of the fallen.

[emma675]

 

Captain America has never met Trip. You might be thinking of Sam Wilson (also known as Falcon).

Captain America might be sad because Trip's grandfather served in his unit. But after the SHIELD civil war I doubt that he has caught up with all of the fallen.

 

 

Ack, I really should have worded that better! I meant I was sad for CA because he had essentially lost his friend's grandson/another connection to his dead friends, but y'all are probably right, he more than likely hasn't caught up with everyone's relatives. I think watching Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy this weekend has me in a Marvel hole.

[Kel Varnsen]

Nice episode. Even though I have been super critical of the show, Skye bursting out of that cocoon thing was really cool. Her having powers could be fun, even if she is playing a character created by (ugh!) Brian Michael Bendis.

 

Although if Raina is Tigra then then really need to get Don Cheadle and Jeremy Renner on this show some how. Preferably War Machine can borrow one of Tony's Iron Man Suits and then can hang out with Bobbi.

 

My only minor complaint was that I was surprised to find out that the bus didn't have any actual countermeasures for when missiles are fired then they wouldn't have to dump the escape pods.

 

Also I was surprised to find out that Dum-Dum from SHIELD's last name is pronounced Doo-gan. For years I have always assumed it was pronounced Doug-an.

[kitlee625]

My only minor complaint was that I was surprised to find out that the bus didn't have any actual countermeasures for when missiles are fired then they wouldn't have to dump the escape pods.

 

 

So the bus does have weapons - we see Coulson using them to shoot down the drones in Turn Turn Turn - but my guess is that a) the writers wanted to show us something new, b) with so many enemy planes, it's kind of useless. While they are targeting one plane or one group of missiles, the other planes can blow them out of the sky. But someone (Lance maybe?) asks May if she wants him to man the weapons.

[Kel Varnsen]

So the bus does have weapons - we see Coulson using them to shoot down the drones in Turn Turn Turn - but my guess is that a) the writers wanted to show us something new, b) with so many enemy planes, it's kind of useless. While they are targeting one plane or one group of missiles, the other planes can blow them out of the sky. But someone (Lance maybe?) asks May if she wants him to man the weapons.

I wasn't talking about weapons. I was talking about countermeasures, the kind of things a military plane would have so that when missiles are fired they don't actually hit their intended target. Things like this:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaff_%28countermeasure%29

[KirkB]

But I think they did it the way they did it, not because the bus didn't have countermeasures but because May specifically wanted Hydra to think they had been destroyed. Countermeasures would simply have kept them outnumbered and being pursued.

[Chaos Theory]

Probably because it's too cliché. The slight, effeminate British guy is gay - ugh. 

 

You see Fitz as effeminate?  Oh that is because he isn't running into danger and getting into fights every episode.   You are either uber masculine (which is ok to be gay and that would be not cliche) or effeminate (and having him be gay is cliche)  I actually think Fitz  has been very brave.  He is a guy who never wanted to leave the field and now he is volunteering to go on dangerous missions.  If that is not masculine I don't now what is. 

 

That being said.  I don't need anyone on a show to be gay.  If it works in the plot line then fine but I don't actually think Fitz is gay.  I think he has too much tension with Simmons and I want to see that at least dealt with first.  I enjoyed their scene together and found it sad that Fitz won't even talk to the person who was once his best friend.  

[Tim Thomason]

Have we heard the name "Calvin Zabo" on the show? The way I see it, he might've been Cal Zabo in the States, then (in my hypothetical fan-fiction mind) he committed some unethical Super-Soldier-related experimentation, and had his medical license revoked, eventually winding up under an assumed name ("Cal Johnson") and working for the Chinese government, where he met Mrs. Johnson. Thus, they could have a daughter that was legally named Daisy Johnson. Then Daisy was taken by SHIELD/Hydra, and eventually placed in an orphanage under her new legal name Mary Sue Poots. Then she became a hacker and took the screen name Skye (no last name), which is as one of the Koenigs confirmed last year, her only name now.

 

Alternatively, if he's now "Cal Zabo", his birth name might've been Calvin Johnson, with a crazy idea that "Calvin Johnson" died that day they took his daughter, and he took on the name Cal Zabo. Zabo seems to be a rough transliteration of the Hungarian name "Szabo" (meaning tailor), for what that's worth. 

 

Skye's mother could still be a prostitute in this reality (and be named "Kim"), while also being an unaging native Chinese woman who for some reason was living in 1940s Europe.

 

This episode makes me think that the Inhumans movie of 2018, might be actually "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Movie" - with a strong focus on SHIELD-introduced characters involved in the origin and first adventure of this new superhero group.

[Sakura12]

They could go with Cal's real surname being Johnson. So Skye could have the name Daisy Johnson if she ever chooses to go by that name. Which with the way her father is, I don't see her changing her name anytime soon. 

 

If her mother is an immortal Inhuman living in China her name could be anything and have to be changed every couple decades. She could've very well have been going by the name Kim when she met Cal. I don't know about being a prostitute, didn't Cal say he met her at the Clinic? That made me think she was a nurse or maybe a medicine woman for the village or something.

[ChelseaNH]

She was his translator.

[Kel Varnsen]

 

This episode makes me think that the Inhumans movie of 2018, might be actually "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Movie" - with a strong focus on SHIELD-introduced characters involved in the origin and first adventure of this new superhero group.

God I hope not, although I am liking this show. I have only read one Inhumans comic series (the Marvel Knights run from 1998) but a movie with Black Bolt and the royal family I think has potential (with the right director and the right lead) to be awesome.  Plus by the time that movie comes out, the show (assuming it is still on) it would be into season 6. I am not sure how much more they would need to tell where they would need a whole movie, after 5 full seasons of TV.

[dusang]

Suuuuuper late to the party -- I just watched the episode and was pretty much totally spoiled for everything but still enjoyed it.

Skye shooting Ward without hesitation - AWESOME

Skye walking away without checking if he's dead or alive -- distinctly less awesome.

I can't mourn Tripp too hard because, quite frankly, I've always found BJ Britt to be a really terrible actor and never cared very much for the character.

However, my biggest takeaway from the ep was, whatever make-up/hair/lighting they did for Skye's transformation, Chloe Bennett has never looked so good.

Edited December 21, 2014 by dusang

[nottopbravo]

I am barely still watching this show, as it has been more disappointing than exciting.  I was almost laughing as some of comments here were expecting the "alien" city to be that of the Inhumans.  If you expect Lockjaw or Black Bolt to show up in this series, you are deluding yourself.  Marvel is saving that for their own movie.  We haven't had one single superhero show up in this series and only one supervillian (Absorbing Man).  Don't expect a cameo from Iron Man or Thor.  Hell, even Nick Fury doesn't show up and it's supposed to be "Agents of Shield". 

 

I'm getting my superhero fix from "The Flash".  (Even with its minor flaws, it shows that a superhero series can be done right)

Edited December 21, 2014 by nottopbravo

[Cranberry]

But they are doing an Inhumans storyline, though. That city may not be the city, I don't know, but the city is an Inhumans' city.

[Raja]

what do you mean Nick Fury hasn't shown up? He's had more of role in Agents than he did in most of the Marvel movies.

[Llywela]

And Agents of SHIELD isn't supposed to be a superhero show. It's about the agents of SHIELD, who are ordinary people working for an extraordinary organisation, having to deal with extraordinary situations with their purely human strength. So if you've come in expecting superheroes, it's possible you are watching the wrong show and that's why you are disappointed.

 

I've really enjoyed season 2a. It still isn't perfect, but the characters and storylines have fully engaged my interest and affection.

Edited December 22, 2014 by Llywela

[Kromm]

I was almost laughing as some of comments here were expecting the "alien" city to be that of the Inhumans.  If you expect Lockjaw or Black Bolt to show up in this series, you are deluding yourself.  Marvel is saving that for their own movie.  We haven't had one single superhero show up in this series and only one supervillian (Absorbing Man).  Don't expect a cameo from Iron Man or Thor.  Hell, even Nick Fury doesn't show up and it's supposed to be "Agents of Shield". 

I'm sorry but that sounds an awful lot like you're laughing at us, not the show.  I honestly hope I'm misinterpreting that.

 

We've been given every reason to believe it's an Inhuman city (because well... they outright SAID it was).  The fact that they did the Stargate TV show version of a city (dark tunnels) isn't our fault.  

 

And I haven't seen expectations of Black Bolt or Medusa popping up around the next corner.  In fact, some of us (myself included) talked about expecting that they WOULDN'T appear (my argument being that AoS will use other lesser known, or even newly invented, Inhuman characters as stand-ins for the better known ones they plan to eventually have in the movies).

 

As for people with powers showing up? I think your count is off.  We've seen Deathlok and now Quake.  And come to think of it, I think Sif would qualify too.  They're not movie headlining superheroes, that's true, but the point of the show seems to be to show what happens around the corner from the Superheroes, so to speak.  I can't say if I want more superpowered-characters on this show or less--I honestly don't know--but it's inaccurate to say that Absorbing Man has been the only one. Not even close.

Edited December 22, 2014 by Kromm

[Kel Varnsen]

As for people with powers showing up? I think your count is off.  We've seen Deathlok and now Quake.  And come to think of it, I think Sif would qualify too.  They're not movie headlining superheroes, that's true, but the point of the show seems to be to show what happens around the corner from the Superheroes, so to speak.  I can't say if I want more superpowered-characters on this show or less--I honestly don't know--but it's inaccurate to say that Absorbing Man has been the only one. Not even close.

There was also that guy with the flame/fire controlling powers who lasted one episode as well as Gravitron and the Asguardian who was the professor. 

[nottopbravo]

what do you mean Nick Fury hasn't shown up? He's had more of role in Agents than he did in most of the Marvel movies.

 

Like his minor role in "The Winter Soldier"?

 

 

I'm sorry but that sounds an awful lot like you're laughing at us, not the show.  I honestly hope I'm misinterpreting that.

 

You're right, my disappointment is in the show, I respect all the people who comment here.  My problem is they "tease" these possibilities that they just might happen, but they don't.  

 

 

I think your count is off.  We've seen Deathlok and now Quake.

 

I was talking about major supervillians not minor ones.  And the Absorbing Man barely qualifies. 

 

 

My dissatisfaction with the show is that it's a show about people with (somewhat) normal abilities.  This show could be Scorpion, Smallville, Heroes or mostly any other show.  I'm disappointed, with such a rich history of Agents of Shield, they could have mined that for stories.  If they never mentioned a superhero by name, you would never know they existed in this world. 

[Sakura12]

They've mentioned super heroes by name. They talked about Thor being a dreamy God/Alien, Mockingbird mentioned Hawkeye. They talk about Nick Fury all the time. Plus this show is supposed to be about the minor heroes, the ones behind the big heroes doing the daily grind and clean up that those heroes don't do. 

 

I'm not expecting any of the Avengers to show up or any major super heroes. So that is probably where your expectations are too high. 

 

Nick Fury and Maria Hill have both been on this show when they were needed. Both of them have moved on to other things from what happened in the movie verse. 

[Lady Calypso]

You see, I always expected superheroes to NOT show up in this show. When I hear 'Agents of SHIELD', I just picture ordinary agents dealing with the extraordinary. I don't know a lot about the Marvel Universe, although taking a cartoons and comics class this semester has taught me quite a bit, but I personally realize that superheroes are not the focus. That is, and should be, left more for the films because they have the bigger budget to deal with multiple superheroes. Some shows obviously deal with that, like The Flash, but this show isn't about superheroes. They may have partially promoted it as such, with Coulson being cast as the lead and with it being so tightly knitted with The Avengers, but they've proven that superheroes only come sometimes on the show, but it mostly deals with the agents. I'm personally fine with them just mentioning the superheroes like Thor and Iron Man because I know the budget to get the actors is tough. I know they won't cast major superheroes because that's not what the show does.

 

Now, in terms of Skye and Raina now gaining superpowers, that's also fine with me. It's dealing with characters already established and not major superheroes at that. If anything, it does actually help the show tie in more with the Marvel Universe because of the mythology behind it. I see the possibilites as, well, possible, only because I know they won't tackle the major characters/events as that will be left to the movies. What I can see is them dealing with the smaller, minor, and often looked over characters that they wouldn't put a second thought to for the show. And I do think many people are aware of this. Maria Hill's appearances are wonderful because she's not a major character, nor is she a superhero, but she's still important enough from the films that I can certainly appreciate her cameos. The show is just taking an aspect from Marvel and looking at it from another perspective. SHIELD isn't the focus in the films, it's the superheroes so I don't expect lots of scenes in The Avengers to be about how SHIELD is handling things behind the scenes. That's what this show is for. I don't expect May or Fitz to appear in the films, apart from maybe a quick cameo, just like I don't expect Black Widow to come help Coulson and his team.

[KatWay]

I actually have the opposite problem. I thought this show was going to be about the normal people on the edge of all the superhero hoopla, but it always seemed like it really wanted to be about superheroes (all the name dropping, the Coulson mystery, the Skye mystery). Now with Skye getting powers, it seems they're halfway there, she's been pushed as the quasi protagonist next to Coulson. I just think that the only time this show was really good and interesting was with the immediate aftermath of the Ward reveal and that was a tightly written spy thriller. That's when the show was best for me. All this superpower/inhumans stuff kind of bores me to be honest. I watch a ton of superhero movies and I've watched superhero shows...I would have liked Agents of Shield to bring something else to the table.

[Malbec]

You see Fitz as effeminate?  Oh that is because he isn't running into danger and getting into fights every episode.   You are either uber masculine (which is ok to be gay and that would be not cliche) or effeminate (and having him be gay is cliche)  I actually think Fitz  has been very brave.  He is a guy who never wanted to leave the field and now he is volunteering to go on dangerous missions.  If that is not masculine I don't now what is. 

 

That being said.  I don't need anyone on a show to be gay.  If it works in the plot line then fine but I don't actually think Fitz is gay.  I think he has too much tension with Simmons and I want to see that at least dealt with first.  I enjoyed their scene together and found it sad that Fitz won't even talk to the person who was once his best friend.  

Strictly speaking Fitz wouldn't be "gay," he'd be bisexual if the show went somewhere with him and Mack.  A same-sex attraction isn't incompatible with his situation with Simmons at all.

 

I don't know if the show will actually go there, but I don't see how Fitz having a same-sex attraction would be any more or less of a plot snarl than the Simmons/Trip/Fitz triangle or the Bobbi/Hunter relationship or Ward's fixation on Skye.

Edited December 23, 2014 by Malbec

[Kel Varnsen]

I just think that the only time this show was really good and interesting was with the immediate aftermath of the Ward reveal and that was a tightly written spy thriller. That's when the show was best for me. All this superpower/inhumans stuff kind of bores me to be honest. I watch a ton of superhero movies and I've watched superhero shows...I would have liked Agents of Shield to bring something else to the table.

I am starting to worry a little about the same thing now that you mention it. Super hero tv show has kind of been over done. Now a spy thriller based in the MCU with the level of tech and gadgets that they have I think would be really cool and really fresh. I read the Jim Steranko Agent of Shield trade paper back years ago and it was awesome, and from what I remember most of the storylines were just about Fury and SHIELD fighting HYDRA. Plus between the movies and the 4 upcoming netflix series, I am not sure more super powered stories is what I want to see. 

[Raja]

Like his minor role in "The Winter Soldier"?

 

 

 

So we agree in most of the movies  outside of The Winter Soldier and the Avengers Nick Fury had minor cameos., In three Ironman movies, two Thor movies and The First Avenger that Nick Fury appearances in were limited compared to his appearance in the resolution of the cliffhanger with Fritzsimmons and the end of the original Deathlok, Agent Garrett.

[KirkB]

See, I have overall been more disappointed in AoS than not, but it isn't because of the lack of superheroes or supervillains. I never expected Thor or Iron Man to show up and while he may be a minor character in the broader Marvel Universe the Absorbing Man is on the high end of the kind of bad guys regular people should be able to deal with. I was hoping what AoS was going to be was a sort of spy thriller in the MCU. Secret agents dealing with alien artifacts and people with unusual abilities. Sort of like a cross between X-Files and Warehouse 13 with a little bit of Man from UNCLE and Alias thrown in. But because they had to spend most of their season telling lukewarm stories to kill time while avoiding anything that might give away their big reveal the show never really found its stride until they were finally allowed to take the training wheels off. It's faltered a bit this season though, but that's not unusual for a sophomore series.

[ChelseaNH]

But because they had to spend most of their season telling lukewarm stories

 

No, they did not "have" to tell lukewarm stories.  If you can't tell one story, then tell another.  If you don't have a whole bunch of stories you could tell, then you don't belong in the television business.

[KirkB]

No, they did not "have" to tell lukewarm stories.  If you can't tell one story, then tell another.  If you don't have a whole bunch of stories you could tell, then you don't belong in the television business

 

.

Oh, I agree. I was just saying that to try and explain the, IMO, lack of quality before and after the reveal. Once Hydra was exposed AoS became more of a fun show, which tells me they COULD have been making a better show all along they just chose not to.

[kitlee625]

So I agree that I did not come to the show looking for Avengers The TV Show, and I prefer it as being more of a spy thriller than a Superhero Show. I'm a little cautious about the whole thing with Skye = Quake because I do think that the show is trying to play it both ways (Spy Thriller + Superheroes), but not necessarily doing either part justice. If I had known that this was going to be Quake the TV Show, I probably wouldn't have started watching. Now, they've done a good enough job that I'll still tune in after the hiatus, but I'm not as excited as I was at the start of season 2a when it seemed like the focus was going to be on spy stuff and mysteries rather than Superhero Origin Story.

 

Someone mentioned Smallville, and I did watch that show when it premiered, but was quickly bored because the first part was too focused on what Clark could do (next week - Clark flies for the first time!), and I just wasn't interested in watching the show unveil some new special effects every week.

[KirkB]

The difference between Smallville and AoS though, is that Smallville was touted from the beginning as being Clark Kent's rise to glory. It was all about him discovering new powers every week. It was all about HIM. But AoS wasn't presented to us as the Phil Coulson or soon to be Quake hour. We were told it was going to focus on the other side of the Marvel universe. The regular people in an increasingly bizarre world. This would not preclude superhuman like Mike Peterson or Skye now being on the cast, it just wasn't their show, it was supposed to be an ensemble. Driven by Coulson, perhaps, since the central mystery was centered around him, but it was never advertised on being focused on Coulson the way Smallville was on Clark.

[sinkwriter]

 

Someone mentioned Smallville, and I did watch that show when it premiered, but was quickly bored because the first part was too focused on what Clark could do (next week - Clark flies for the first time!), and I just wasn't interested in watching the show unveil some new special effects every week.

 

Reading this is so funny to me because when I watched Smallville, I wanted more of the origin, more of Clark dealing with these strange powers and how to control them, rather than how they did it, which seemed to be each week he'd get something new, freak out for a second and then adapt very easily and by the end of the episode he'd already incorporated the power into his arsenal. I wanted to see Clark struggle more and be awed and scared by his powers at first. I felt it was an important part of his growing up as a teenager and becoming Superman (and capable adult Clark Kent, for that matter). I stopping watching the show at a certain point (end of season 5, I think) because I felt it was getting far from its roots of Clark and his family and the learning of his powers and the building of his animosity with Lex Luthor. (That, and I could not stand the soap opera drama with Lois Lane. I felt they wrote her character all wrong and it ticked me off to watch.)

 

I'm not a comic book or graphic novel reader (I'd love to, but at this point, I wouldn't even know where to begin!) but I've liked Agents of Shield so far. I would prefer they keep the focus on these agents and their lives and the spy mysteries and the complicated nature of working in a world that has been turned upside down by the new understanding that we are "not alone" and there are people and creatures with super powers out there in the world. But I think drawing too much of the movie canon into this show will be much too complicated - too many movies, too much material to try to incorporate (or have to wait to incorporate because the movies have the rights to those story plots first). I feel like if they become too attached to the films, plots for the TV series will stall. They'll become confusing and watered down.

[blueray]

Okay watching this for the first time so no spoilers... but I think I missed something.

 

Wasn't the whole thing that if you weren't worthy you couldn't enter the city. But then how did Trip and Phil enter it without gear but not Mac. I guess I can see Phil, since he has the blood ;). But Trip was normal. Of course it ended up killing him eventually. But had Raina hadn't put the thing in, he would have unaffected? And why didn't anyone question Skye, Phil and Trip going in there without protection. They didn't know Skye was a "chosen".

Edited June 12, 2015 by blueray

[Raja]

Mack, figuratively stepped on a passive landmine. He then became an active defense system protecting the city. The clean suit gear was because SHIELD did not know what or how Mack got hit but still had their mission to complete.

[ChelseaNH]

So the Kree are an advanced alien civilization capable of genetic manipulation, but their city defense systems are capable of creating/controlling only one human invader at a time?  Or was it a case of "here's this big wide open area that intruders will pass through but we're only going to put our defensive trap on this one little portion of it"?