S02.E11: Aftershocks

[paigow]

Coulson's team must deal with the consequences of their war with Hydra as shocking revelations threaten to tear them apart, and Hydra makes a dangerous move that may involve a traitor in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s midst.

 

 

[nottopbravo]

The actual Agents of Shield were only on, for what like 11 minutes out of the total episode?

[kennyab]

That was a dang bloody episode. No more ICERs for team SHIELD.

 

So we have NoEyes and Raina, Mr. Hyde the Index List crew, Ward and Agent 33, and all the rest of Hydra on Coulson's plate, plus whatever's going on with Bobbi and Mac. The team has their work cut out for them the next 11 episodes, and it doesn't look like there's much room for filler. Which is awesome.

 

It was nice to see Fitz come round at the end, and I thought Chloe Bennet did a nice job with Skye's breakdown at the end. Simmon's paranoia is unexpected, but in a good way. Trip's death really hit her hard.

 

Good way to open up the second half of the season, some fun plot setup and nice character work. I'm looking forward to what's next.

[GenieinTX]

I don't know which was more awesome - Fitz supporting Skye or being reminded of when Skye calmly shot Ward in the last episode.  Both were awesome.

 

I'm a bit nervous about the team's reaction to inhuman things, but willing to see where it goes.

[Sakura12]

I liked the episode. I figured it would be Simmons that would not like Skye's powers. However her gung ho about not liking powers was extreme. 

 

Sucks for Raina that she got the complete transformation powers, she's lucky she didn't turn into a bulldog. Most of the powers seem kind of awful. The guy can teleport but he was not only blind his eyes were completely removed from his face. I suppose it makes sense when the Kree were just using them to experiment on. 

 

I loved Fitz sticking up for Skye. He kind of knows what's it like to be different then you were before. Not to her extreme but does understand that it's not her fault. Hopefully Simmons will come around. 

 

I liked them all sitting around talking about Tripp, too many shows don't take time for their characters like that. 

Edited March 4, 2015 by Sakura12

[mybabyaidan]

I adored everything Iain in this episode. Skye's momma helping Inhumans....paralleled with Cal's complete lack of any compassion for Raina. Cal, blowing Raina off again is going to come back to bite you...possibly literally. I know Jemma is upset about Tripp, but her KILL KILL KILL all "aliens" was a little jarring considering she has met some good ones. Lady Sif, for one. I am biased, because I have always liked Skye, but I thought Chloe was fantastic tonight.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Skye isn't just a special snowflake, now she's a rock star too.  Once again, another character telling Skye just how awesome she is.  Uggh.

 

Am I missing something about what happened in the underground city -- why do they keep saying there was a cave-in caused by an earthquake ?  What earthquake ? During Skye's slo-mo scene at the end of last episode, I didn't see any large boulders falling on Skye's head at all. How did Skye not see Raina get away ? How did Raina not get crushed in this "supposed" cave-in ? Did they even bother to collect Trip's remains ?  It's like the writers decided they didn't like how the last episode ended and decided to just gloss over a lot of the details.

 

Skye's mom has been creating mutants for a long time, but I thought she was killed by Whitehall -- or did that happen more recently ? Why is Fitz hiding Skye's condition when in fact she could be contagious and has now infected them all ?  That is so stupid just to hide yet another secret.  Simmons is going to figure out that something is wrong with Skye's blood results.

 

Why did no one ask about the light fixture inside the quarantine that was off (for starters) and obviously smashed ?  I can't believe anyone bought the Fitz was clumsy in a hazmat suit excuse because it was so lame.

 

Who are Mac and Bobbi working for -- it better not be Hydra or Talbot, but then who is it ?  Because they way they were talking it sounded like a coordinated op.  And what are they looking for in Coulson's office ?

 

Do we know for sure that the underground city is filled with water since we didn't actually see the explosions happen.

 

Cal's freaky sideshow act when talking to Raina was just ridiculous.  Is that even the same actress playing Raina because her speaking style is completely different ?  How did teleporter dude know when/where to go get Raina ?  It's like a return of the Tomorrow People, and that's not necessarily a good thing.

 

Where was Raina trying to kill herself on the highway ? Was it in the U.S. ?  If so, how did she get there because there's no way she traveled commercially, and I doubt Hydra gave them a lift.

Edited March 4, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[Chaos Theory]

You know you have a problem when the nice one is condoning genicide.

[tennisgurl]

Oh Raina. This is why you don`t screw around with superpowered stuff.

 

Take a shot every time someone says "Inhuman".

 

Fritz is just the cutest thing ever. I love that he is looking out for Skye. I don`t see keeping this a secret ending well, but its a nice effort. He gets whats its like to find your life suddenly changed. He might be my favorite character on this show. 

 

A lot of set-up, I`m excited to see where this goes. I am REALLY missing Agent Carter already, but its good to have AoS back!

[redfish]

So since Marvel studios couldn't get the rights to have mutants from Fox they're using Inhumans to have storylines of meta powered individuals and Simmons' anti-Inhumans sentiment is kind of creepy.

I kind of felt bad for Rayna. She was special to survive the transformation but not special enough to be mutated (where does Tripp fit in that category he ended up dead). And it seems like she's going to continue to follow/put her loyalty to another man.

 

And as for the secret, judging from next weeks episode teaser that didn't take long.

 

[Sakura12]

Skye's mom has been creating mutants for a long time, but I thought she was killed Whitehall -- or did that happen more recently ?

Why is Fitz hiding Skye's condition when in fact she could be contagious and has now infected them all ?  That is so stupid just to hide yet another secret.  Simmons is going to figure out that something is wrong with Skye's blood results.

 

Skye's not contagious, only people with Inhuman blood can be changed by the mist. Mac was more of a mind control. I'm sure they will go more into the workings of the Inhumans, this was just the first episode back. Skye and Raina are in a sense part Alien that's why they changed. Tripp was not, that's why he died. Their abilities were always there in their DNA, the mist just helped bring it out. 

 

Skye's mother was killed sometime in the 1990's or late 1980's depending on old Skye's supposed to be. 

Edited March 4, 2015 by Sakura12

[XtremeOne1]

You know you have a problem when the nice one is condoning genicide.

 

The problem is bad writing ;-). I just don't think she'd jump so far. And I love how they were trash talking aliens in front of a woman they know is half alien. It was so dumb and so unlike Jemma. But they need to create drama for Skye so Coulson can eventually say, "She's one of us, the best of us!" and bow at her feet.

 

And yeah the Inhumans are here solely because we're mutant-less. They dropped a terrigan mist bomb in comics to help align this....Basically Inhumans are the new X-Men, and X-Men are..still the X-Men but Marvel is more "eh, whatever" because they don't own the film rights.

[Tiger]

Was Brett Dalton dropped as a regular? I didn't see his name in the credits.

Aside from Mockingbird's ridiculous praising of Skye and them hiding Ruth Negga's gorgeous curls,, this episode was really good.

I understand why they killed Tripp, but I wish they had explored his family history first, particularly what happened to his Howling Commando grandfather. It would have been a great excuse to use more Peggy Carter too.

[Actionmage]

It would be easy to think Jemma potentially had residual Hydra programming, with the seemingly OOC  'kill em all before they spread' mind-set,but it's spookier if it isn't. I'm good with no Hydra loophole.

 

What I could not get over was everything being talked about all around Skye like she was deaf! I mean, right there in the room with you all! Capable of hearing and understanding! Asshats. I did like Bobbi's survival bag; that was the second most thoughtful thing for Skye this episode.

 

WTF is up with Bobbi and Mac? They don't need the Toolbox. Maybe Son of Coul doesn't either, but Fury gave it to him specifically. If they don't trust May either? That's too damn bad. I disbelieve Hunter is amazing because he fell for the support group thing.

 

Mac? You better be pulling a May and reporting to Fury; anything else and I may hate you. Same for Bobbi. Coulson, while acting very vengeful after the recent deaths, was freed from the alien compulsion after the barn encounter. Take your rightful mix of feelings over being controlled by folks not even on the planet somewhere else.

 

May is awesome still. She had to know that Jemma was all 'kill, kill!', so making her feel safer in order to get more info on the blood would have been cooler. Or asking Jemma to technobabble something Because Coulson. Something. For me, it goes back to acknowledging that Skye has heard every encounter around her and it's rightfully freaking her shit.

 

Raina? I hope she gets some good folks around her. The people she's trusted were asshats and let her down majorly. I hope it isn't SSDD with these new folks.

 

Hydra? Damn, so no golden parachute deals then?

 

Still so many thoughts. Just a very well done, tightly-packed show.

[kennyab]

Am I missing something about what happened in the underground city -- why do they keep saying there was a cave-in caused by an earthquake ?  What earthquake ?

We saw everyone in the underground city feel the tremors Skye produced in the winter finale. They think it was an earthquake.

 

During Skye's slo-mo scene at the end of last episode, I didn't see any large boulders falling on Skye's head at all. How did Skye not see Raina get away ? How did Raina not get crushed in this "supposed" cave-in ?

Not cave-in, earthquake, two different things. Skye saw Rayna's empty cocoon, and she thought that what happened to Trip also happened to Rayna.

 

Did they even bother to collect Trip's remains ?  It's like the writers decided they didn't like how the last episode ended and decided to just gloss over a lot of the details.

Yep, they did. They showed part of his cocoon in a wheelbarrow, and Simmons told them to be very careful.

 

Skye's mom has been creating mutants for a long time, but I thought she was killed Whitehall -- or did that happen more recently ?

I'm not sure we saw the exact timeline. But if Skye's 25, she would have been born in 1989-90, seven years after the flashback in the first scene.

 

Why is Fitz hiding Skye's condition when in fact she could be contagious and has now infected them all ?  That is so stupid just to hide yet another secret.  Simmons is going to figure out that something is wrong with Skye's blood results.

He doesn't think it's a contagion and realizes that Simmons is being a bit extreme. He figured out that Skye got powers, and they've known that she was different ever since she received the GH serum and didn't go crazy.

 

Why did no one ask about the light fixture inside the quarantine that was off (for starters) and obviously smashed ?  I can't believe anyone bought the Fitz was clumsy in a hazmat suit excuse because it was so lame.

Why not? He's having muscle control issues since the accident, it's really not far-fetched.

 

Do we know for sure that the underground city is filled with water since we didn't actually see the explosions happen.

Budget. I'll take Simmons word for it.

 

She was special to survive the transformation but not special enough to be mutated (where does Tripp fit in that category he ended up dead).

Trip was just a baseline human, and his body didn't react well to the Terrigen crystal that lodged itself in his torso.

Edited March 4, 2015 by kennyab

[thuganomics85]

Well, I guess they weren't lying about some interesting reactions from everyone about what went down.  On one side, we've got Fitz going out of his way to protect and cover for Skye (I'm assuming we're sticking with that name, despite Daddy Cal still referring to her as Daisy.)  Then, there is Simmons.  Simmons is suddenly all "Grr... anything alien sucks!  Fuck be cautious: kill them all with fire!"  Still not sure how I feel about that.  I get the idea of Simmons having a stronger reaction then expected, but that might be a bit of an overkill.  I would have been fine if she just kept it to Raina, but being against anything alien just seems extreme.  I hope they are careful: I really don't want them to start making me dislike my beloved Simmons.

 

After everything that happened in the mid-season finale, I don't mind this episode being Skye-centric.  I'm actually curious to see where they go with this Inhuman thing, and what this means for the future of the team.  Only moment that bugged a little was Bobbi's over-the-top praise.  A bit S1 Coulson there, Bobbi.

 

Speaking of Bobbi, she and Mac's mysterious plan is going after the Toolbox in Coulson's desk?  What is their deal?  I hope it isn't an obvious of them being secret villains, so I hope there is another side to this.

 

Always fun to see Talbot: even if only through an I-Pad.

 

On one hand, feel bad for Raina.  On the other hand, that's one way to wipe that smug look off her face.  But, it really does sound painful.  And, now this eyeless teleporting guy has her.  Interesting.

 

Cal, you nutter.  Never change, my man.

 

Sucks about Tripp, but seeing the Howling Commandos picture just makes me miss Agent Carter.

 

Next week looks fun.  Too bad I'm going to be out of town, and will probably have to catch it later.

[JayKay]

You know you have a problem when the nice one is condoning genicide.

Didn't she frame her old Hydra lab partner/boss guy because he was super into genocide, too? Writing was messy for her this episode. You can see the strings. I like the idea of dark!Simmons but not like this. Not like this.

 

I was impressed with Raina's makeup but Ruth Negga's amazingly expressive eyes do half the job themselves. I'm basically Team Raina now, I learned for sure this episode. Can't wait for Cal to get his comeuppance. Though it'll be hilarious if they face off and Skye's all "No, wait!" then the camera pans to Simmons eating popcorn.

 

I still trust Bobbi. She and Mac don't seem shady so much as enterprising, but I can't imagine what they're trying to accomplish. I may be biased as I still don't care for Coulson, however.

 

The quiet ending with everyone gathered as friends was lovely. Seems like season two's quality jump held strong through the hiatus.

[kennyab]

Only moment that bugged a little was Bobbi's over-the-top praise.  A bit S1 Coulson there, Bobbi.

 

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

[XtremeOne1]

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

 

I know she's obviously doing something good (she's probably a Secret Avenger, like in the comics...) but I'd love for her to just be like, "Skye I was lying before. You aren't a rock star, you aren't special. You're just okay...Not terrible, but okay...I know everyone tells you you're special but you aren't. You're kind of annoying and needy, but the way you shoot Ward was cool...but that's it...You're only okay and never will be more than okay because you're character is cliche and your actress is lacking."

[ottoDbusdriver]

Skye's not contagious, only people with Inhuman blood can be changed by the mist.

 

Agreed, but the character's on the show don't know that.  Plus, the change by the mist could have turned her into a typhoid Mary of sorts spreading some sort of cool space germs since she didn't seem to experience any superficial changes.

[Malbec]

I feel like Simmons is in the ballpark of a good point -- they don't know what the Terrigen Mist's effects are, and assuming the worst on the "is it contagious?" question is... pretty much exactly what an organization like SHIELD should do.  I'm surprised they let Mack out so early, to be honest.  The "I am going to tell one of the potentially infected people my extermination feelings" scene was a little OTT but I don't think Simmons' position is entirely unreasonable.  At the moment.

 

I wasn't sure how I felt about Fitz preemptively lying for Skye -- that seems like it's gonna get awkward fast.

 

Definitely interested in what Bobbi and Mack are up to.  Assuming they're not evil, I kind of like the idea of them having an ace up their sleeve.  Keeps things interesting.  I think the actors also have really believable chemistry.

[benteen]

It was an interesting episode.  Slow in parts, very good in parts, and a little confusing.  Who exactly killed those Hydra guys again?

 

I liked Skye in this and at least Bobbi was actually pimping stuff we saw Skye do in the last episode.  I did like Fitz covering for Skye although Jemma's turn, while an interesting one, is way too extreme.  She seemed like a completely different character when she was ranting and raving.

I wondered too if Raina is played by a new actress because it didn't sound like her at all.  Change is to be expected of course with her transformation.  Kyle MacLaghen was a blast once again in his scene with her.  Glad he's still hanging around.

 

Am I the only one who was happy when Mack gave Coulson that verbal takedown?  Good lord, I've had enough of Coulson's sanctimonious speeches and hypocrisy.  Love May but her remaining Mack of his "rank" is a joke.  Shield isn't even an official organization anymore.  It's all-volunteer like the military except they can't court-martial you for insubordination. 

 

I liked seeing Skye's mom.

 

So now Shield doesn't just put threats down but captures?  Coulson wants to build a compassionate organization?  Geez, why don't you take the edges off of them more.  I fear any organization run by Coulson the Sanctimonious. 

 

And could this show please STOP filming every friggin scene in shadows?  I can see what the AV Club reviewer means when he says that the show has no distinct look of its own.

[sinkwriter]

My heart broke for Tripp's mother. Seeing her son's picture on the wall behind her as she hugged Coulson really got to me.

I'm fascinated by Raina. That scene where she talked about how horrible her transformation is, and how this wasn't how it was supposed to be... and how callous Cal was, telling her to kill herself... I've never loved Raina because of all the harm she's caused, but in that scene and the ones where she's trying to kill herself in the road really made me feel for her. That actress does an amazing job.

[sinkwriter]

I have to laugh a little at something I didn't catch at first but that Alan Sepinwall pointed out: Hunter killed Hunter! 

 

(I knew about the old Hunter (dating myself here). As soon as they shot him, I said, "Aw, they killed Hunter!" But I didn't think about the fact that the character who killed him is also named Hunter. Too bizarre.)

Edited March 4, 2015 by sinkwriter

[DeLurker]

SkyeDaddy is always a treat. I loved his gleeful and slightly deranged, dance of joy when he found out Skye was alive. And telling Raina "you always liked flowers" when she was kvetching about the thorns.

[tennisgurl]

Cal is just operating on a very different, very weird playing field than everyone else. I love it!

 

I`m going to keep calling Skye Skye until she starts referring to herself as Daisy.

 

Its been one episode, and I`m fighting the urge to make X-Men references. 

[Chicago Redshirt]

"Who exactly killed those Hydra guys again?"

 

Whitehead's death left a power vacuum. The main Hydra lieutenant we saw, Mr. Bloom, activated a doohickey signalling his minions to move against the other lieutenants. He was looking to seize power with Bakshi by his side. But Hunter put an end to that plan.

 

(By the way, I could have sworn that Bakshi had ingested a cyanide or other capsule and thus was dead. He should get a refund from the Hydra pharmacy.)

 

Kudos on setting up the Hydra turf war, and eliminating a bunch of randoms. But we have confirmation that Baron Strucker is in charge of Hydra...I wonder if he will make an appearance directly on the show.

 

"I wondered too if Raina is played by a new actress because it didn't sound like her at all."

 

Ruth Negga was credited and she still has those eyes under all that makeup.

 

"I did like Fitz covering for Skye although Gemma's turn, while an interesting one, is way too extreme."

 

As for Simmons' attitude, I buy it. She's seen quite a bit since last season to make her less and less an optimist. She has seen firsthand what some of these things can do. Hell, she almost died because of the Chitauri virus. She knows that Hydra has been working on weaponizing the obelisk, and she now has seen a firsthand example of what it is capable of and how little they understand about it. There is a difference between alien beings like Thor and Sif who are sentient and apparently can come in the same varieties as humans and alien viruses, power sources and gasses that can kill millions.

 

And although it was underdeveloped, there was flirtation on a level between her and Tripp. So it makes sense to me that she would take things a little extra personal.

[benteen]

Thanks for explaining that.  It was a little confusing tonight.

 

This is the second episode they namedropped Von Strucker and they did in a lot tonight.  Whether or not he appears on the show, I'm curious as to what they'll do to lead up into Age of Ultron.

[Emily Thrace]

My working theory is Bobbie and Mack are working for Talbot or possibly Tony Stark/Maria Hill. Although if Tony wanted the cube for the Avengers you would think he would just send in Cap to ask Coulson for it. I suspect Captain America could ask Coulson for his left nut and Coulson would hand it over no questions asked. Of course that begs the question of whether the Avengers know Coulson is alive. Thor should know because of Lady Sif if nothing else.

I know Bobbi was spotted on thh Ultron set so it seems like she might have a role in that story somehow (Although it would also be totally Joss to have someone who is dead or otherwise off the show show up on set just to fuck with spoiler hounds)

 

Simmons turn is a bit extreme but she always been very young and sheltered. Plus she someone who tends to defer to authority so taking anauthoritarian postion on something doesn't seem totally OOC. Most forms of bigotry are about fear and I think Simmons is afraid of losing anyone else right now. Plus shes a control freak and she been reactionary to things she can't control before(most notably Fitz's injury).

[Jamoche]

What I could not get over was everything being talked about all around Skye like she was deaf! I mean, right there in the room with you all! Capable of hearing and understanding! Asshats. 

Especially when they had the scene with Coulson and May in the car talking in front of their prisoner in an obvious setup because nobody would be stupid enough to do that otherwise - you can't have it both ways, show!

[Traveller519]

For a lot of the reasons Chicago Redshirt mentioned in totally buy Simmons' reaction to all things Alien this episode. She's a scientist faced with an overwhelming presence she can't explain. We even saw Ftiz's reaction to his conclusion that his "data" was inaccurate. Simmons witnessed firsthand the effects on Mac and Raina, and had the person she cared most about on the team wheeled out in a mine cart, in pieces, because of the alien power. She wants to be done with it all.

I'm not offended by Bobbi's pep talk to Skye either. She had just finished empathizing about the crappiness of quarantine and wanted to lift her teammate's spirits, plus she recalled actual things Skye had done. Not just praising her for being alive and there.

I did enjoy members of the team besides May (and Skye) standing up to Cousin. All of them have a right to feel how they do. And it's evident not everything he did was right.

Found Cal a little over the top and expositions this episode. But that's a minor quibble.

[hacman00]

Skye or Daisy? Let's go with Quake.

Mack and Bobbi gotta be reporting to Fury.

I'm gonna drink every time anyone on the show says, "Inhuman."

Chuckled when they started spray painting X's. Nice move Marvel.

Gotta admit, I yelled, "Hunter!" when I saw Fred Dryer's name in the credits.

[Sarahastro]

I thought this episode was really good and set up some interesting stuff.

 

I liked that Mack let Coulson know all of his frustrations and anger with how he's been leading the team. I like Coulson a lot, but Mack is totally right. Coulson has his reasons for everything he does, but he doesn't tell anyone about them except for May and Skye, and sometimes he doesn't even completely understand those reasons himself. It's perfectly natural for them to all be wondering why the hell they had to rush to that alien city in the first place.

 

I also really like the new hints about what Bobbi and Mack are really up to. I was not expecting that miniature Lola to be a spy gadget. Way to go, Mack! Since we already had May reporting to Fury behind Coulson's back last season, I'm guessing they're involved in some other organization that will be an ally of S.H.I.E.L.D. but have its own agenda. I like what kennyab said about Bobbi trying to ingratiate herself with everyone. I still think she's one of the good guys, but it does put an interesting spin on her interactions with everyone, and gives some credence to Hunter's constant complaints about how Bobbi can't be trusted.

 

It was cheesy, but I really liked their staged attack when they were transporting Bakshi, especially when May called Coulson out on his overdramatic line. That made me laugh.

[missbonnie]

Oh yes! Excellent job of setting up the backend of the season. I loved every single minute. My thinking about Raina is that her transformation was nasty because she's not a nice person period. Bobbi and Mack are so working with Tony Stark. I absolutely loved Fitz tonight, at first he was terrified by Skye but then he made the decision to just go with it because he knows what it's like to have the rest of the team side-eyeing you. Once again May demonstrates why she's referred to as the calvary. I did wonder about the lack of Ward, obviously Skye didn't kill him.

Edited March 4, 2015 by missbonnie

[Minneapple]

Good return, show. Kudos on not having a time jump, on actually dealing with stuff that happened. I can name more fhan one show that would have just skipped it.

It was very emotional when Skye just slid into that hug with Fitz and he told her that she's just different now. Aw, Fitz. And normally I'm not all that fond of Chloe Bennett but I thought she did a really great job in that scene. In all her scenes actually, showing her terror and fear.

Coulson's "you'll never take us alive" was hilarious and cheesy and hokey and I loved it. I also loved May laughing at him about it.

Raina is terrifying. I freaked out when they first showed her face and then again when she pulled back the hood.

I love Skye's crazy-ass dad and his crazy-ass hair.

I'm interested to see what Bobbi and Mack are up to. No way they're Evil (they wouldn't do that to us, would they?) so I'm on board with the Tony Stark or Nick Fury theories.

No Ward? Well, better that they not cram his brand of crazy into a pretty tightly written episode.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I haven't watched any of the Marvel movies, so am I supposed to know what's in Fury's toolbox or is it just like the magical briefcase in Pulp Fiction?

I was laughing at May clutching her pearls when Simmons suggested that they possibly kill Raina in the future. No issue killing dozens of people in other missions (how many people were killed when Hunter turned on the guns in the car door?) but Raina is so special that she must be kept alive at all costs? Whatever!

 

Hunter killed Hunter!

I used to love watching reruns of Hunter when I was a kid! I think that Hunter/Dee Dee was my first ship.

Edited March 4, 2015 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Malbec]

I thought this episode was really good and set up some interesting stuff.

 

I liked that Mack let Coulson know all of his frustrations and anger with how he's been leading the team. I like Coulson a lot, but Mack is totally right. Coulson has his reasons for everything he does, but he doesn't tell anyone about them except for May and Skye, and sometimes he doesn't even completely understand those reasons himself. It's perfectly natural for them to all be wondering why the hell they had to rush to that alien city in the first place.

 

Does Mack know that Coulson was willing to abandon him after he was possessed?  It wasn't brought up, but I could see how that would make him extra-angry about the whole "run in after Skye at all costs" thing. 

[kennyab]

I haven't watched any of the Marvel movies, so am I supposed to know what's in Fury's toolbox or is it just like the magical briefcase in Pulp Fiction?

I believe the only thing we know for certain is that it led them to the new HQ. I think it's mainly supposed to a bunch of Fury's personal intel to help the team.

I was laughing at May clutching her pearls when Simmons suggested that they possibly kill Raina in the future. No issue killing dozens of people in other missions (how many people were killed when Hunter turned on the guns in the car door?) but Raina is so special that she must be kept alive at all costs? Whatever!

I think part of it is that she was surprised that Simmons was the one acting this way and didn't like the fact that Jemma seemed to be letting her grief get the best of her. That, and Rayna's often one step ahead and can usually provide important info.

[Raja]

I haven't watched any of the Marvel movies, so am I supposed to know what's in Fury's toolbox or is it just like the magical briefcase in Pulp Fiction?

it wasn't from the movies but from when Fury came to help defeat Garrett. Magical briefcase is as good of an explanation as any. It gave Coulson access to the sleeper safe houses and the tools to contact agents who still remain SHIELD.

While Howard Stark may have built SHIELD originally I haven't seen anything to make me think Tony would. However Fury's deputy Maria Hill wasn't arrested and the keys of the kingdom may have to get back to Samuel L. in time for the next Avengers movie

Edited March 4, 2015 by Raja

[shrewd.buddha]

Skye isn't just a special snowflake, now she's a rock star too. 

I expected things would basically be the same when the show returned from its break - and seeing the show open with Skye and Coulson confirmed that. At this point I don't expect the show to change radically : Skye will always be front and center in almost all things. With great writing that wouldn't be so bad, but the writing choices are usually disappointing - such as this episode, it was decided Skye and Fritz would have a weepy reaction to events instead of the get-back-on-the-horse, never-surrender attitude.

And frankly, Fritz, Simmons and Skye have had an excess of weepy moments during the series.

 

This episode, per usual, was a jumbled mess of too much going on by too many parties. The Skye/Fritz secrecy, the Mack/Bobbi secrecy, the Hydra stuff, the Raina stuff, the Inhuman stuff ... it all could be interesting, but it felt as if it was thrown into a blender - - all choppy and not laid out very well. 

 

Some things that stood out as clunky : 

• No blood samples from Skye had been taken until Simmons returned? Really? 
• Fitz thinks he can fool Simmons with one swicheroo? 
• They are now killing bad guys left and right, with head shots - but they take pause with the idea of killing Raina, who is also a murderer? That stands out because they want everyone to notice that SIMMONS HATES NON-HUMANS NOW. See? See? Did you get it by the fifth time she hammered that point home? 
• Still too many super-emo moments. They can be brief and in-the-moment sometimes, not drawn out scenes. 

 

So AoS is back. And it's really pretty much like it was before. 

I just think it could be a better show it they focused on making one good episode at a time with a tight story told from beginning to end instead of all these segmented stories that try to include each member of the cast. (With Skye always getting bonus time.)

*shrug*

Edited March 4, 2015 by shrewd.buddha

[Sakura12]

I could see Bobbi and Mac working for Maria Hill. Coulson is a terrible Director, I can completely buy that they would rather follow Hill who is still following Fury. Coulson can be upper management running his own ragtag team but he's not big boss material. 

 

I think Bobbi was just trying to make Skye feel better. You don't normally make someone feel better by insulting them, you build up their confidence. So I didn't see that as Skye's a special snowflake. Then again I don't hate Skye as much as most people here do. I love all the women on this show because they are not defined by a man or just a love interest. They are all strong women that talk to each other and build each other up. Marvel shows are excelling where DC shows are lacking in the great women characters department. 

[Primetimer]

This show based on a comic-book universe finally commits itself to showing some comic-book stuff onscreen occasionally. Also, there is shouting.

Read the story

[kennyab]

I could see Bobbi and Mac working for Maria Hill. Coulson is a terrible Director, I can completely buy that they would rather follow Hill who is still following Fury. Coulson can be upper management running his own ragtag team but he's not big boss material.

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

I like that Coulson doesn't think in terms of acceptable civilian losses, and I don't think SHIELD has the luxury right now of having a leader who does. And I like that he's not a perfect leader, because that would be boring to watch. But I think we're going to see a more focused and driven Coulson in the second half of the season.

[Chicago Redshirt]

Nice writeup, but two nitpicks:

 

Mack was not affected by the obelisk itself, but by some security system in the alien city.

 

Cal did not kill Whitehall. Coulson did, prompting Cal to have yet another reason to be angry at Coulson for stealing his revenge against the guy who killed his wife.

[AndySmith]

This show would be so much more enjoyable without (or less focus on) Mary-Skye.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Some things that stood out as clunky :

No blood samples from Skye had been taken until Simmons returned? Really?

 

What were they waiting for -- Christmas ? It had been at least a couple of days since the incident in Puerto Rico since Skye, Coulson, etc. were all back at the base in Virginia, and no one questioned when Fitz says he was taking blood samples from Skye.  They should have had her blood processed and know something was up with her blood way sooner.  Call it plot convenience.

 

My biggest WTF was the fact that everyone's voices sounded like they were talking directly to Skye across an open room despite the fact that Skye was in quarantine -- there was no sign of an intercom on either side of the glass, and no mechanical tinniness from a cheap speaker.

[Dream Boy]

 

I'm fascinated by Raina. That scene where she talked about how horrible her transformation is, and how this wasn't how it was supposed to be... and how callous Cal was, telling her to kill herself... I've never loved Raina because of all the harm she's caused, but in that scene and the ones where she's trying to kill herself in the road really made me feel for her. That actress does an amazing job.

 

So this. I've never been a Raina fan either because she has always been so untrustworthy. But I felt so bad for her last night. And Cal was indeed a total douche to her. Thankfully, it looks like she is gonna get the help she so desperately needs. 

[Raja]

I kind of felt bad for Rayna. She was special to survive the transformation but not special enough to be mutated

 

This show would be so much more enjoyable without (or less focus on) Mary-Skye.

Skye and to a lessor extent Raina are needed for Universe building stand in, we thought we were alone but there are the inhuman among use. Just take everything you saw in the first three X-Men movies and add a catalytic mist instead of puberty into the mix to explain why. It was not a matter of being selected as special. Some like Nightcrawler and now Raina and the man with no eyes come out looking different, others like Magneto, Iceman, Beast or Skye look like us except when the use or loss control of their abilities. So by the time Captain America III roles around Marvel does not have to add origin stories and explain why there will be a civil war. Mac and possibly Simmons will stay on one side  with Tony Stark with Captain America on the other side

 

 

 

 

I understand why they killed Tripp, but I wish they had explored his family history first, particularly what happened to his Howling Commando grandfather. It would have been a great excuse to use more Peggy Carter too

I didn't get a good look but did notice Dum Dum Dugan in the foreground. So I guess Trip's grandfather was from the post war being Happy Sam and not Gabe Jones?

[Chicago Redshirt]

In her scene with Skye, Simmons said she'd check "these samples"  (rather than "this sample") against the ones she had before. And Fitz's cover story for the destruction Skye caused was that he was taking another blood sample and was a klutz. I take it to mean that there had been multiple samples taken over time to see if any change had developed.

 

Fitz tells Skye that they should "for now" keep things quiet and between them until they can figure it out. So he is apparently hoping that he can figure out what's going on and then let people know. No indication that he plans or hopes to permanently fool Simmons or anyone. Rather, he wants Simmons and the rest to simmer down and to explore what's going on with Skye on his own. Of course, we as viewers know that this is a plan that's not going to end well, but it's not an unreasonable one.

 

I think there is also a reasonable explanation for why the mission would be to capture Raina if possible and yet SHIELD is now shooting people in the head (other, of course, plot armor and guest-star-itis). Raina is potentially possessed of intel that would help SHIELD make better sense of what she is, what the Obelisk is, etc., that can only be gathered from her. Capturing her alive would thus be more ideal than capturing her dead. With Hydra, the leads that SHIELD can get from individual heads of Hydra are limited, and they could explore leads from examining these people's records, electronic trails, social networks, etc. Keeping someone like Bloom alive is not as much a priority. Plus, Coulson is in part lashing out against Hydra, blinded by the loss of Trip. He blames Hydra and just wants to make them or someone pay. So he's not able to be as dispassionate about how it might actually be better to hold and interrogate Bloom.

[Malbec]

I like Skye, and still have a lot of goodwill towards her for shooting Ward.  I was happy Bobbi brought that up, because the awesomeness of shooting Ward should be brought up as often as possible. But I do find some of the writing choices around Skye to be a bit groanworthy.  The argument where they all upset her really did remind me of a "Mary Sue against the world" type of fanfiction.  I know she was meant to be an object of sympathy in that scene (and I give credit to Chloe Bennet, who I think is handling it well as an actress).  But it was kind of aggravating that the scene felt more like it was in service to Skye!angst when there were actually some pretty reasonable and interesting points to be raised about the alien woowoo and Coulson's leadership.

 

Tbh, I agree that I hope Mack and Bobbi are working for someone like Fury or Tony Stark because I'm a little meh on Coulson as a director.  I sometimes wonder how the show is intending us to see him.