Melinda May: Don't Call Her The Cavalry

[Cranberry]

Even though she can ride into a heavily-secured compound on a horse and eliminate more than 100 heavily-armed mercenaries with only an M249 in each hand. That story's not exaggerated at all, right?

[kitlee625]

I was worried that after the reveal of May reporting to Fury about Coulson that we had exhausted the layers of Melinda May, but after 1x19, I was pleasantly surprised by the new questions about her character that it raises. Namely, who was she married to? What agency does her mother work for? How did Melinda get recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D.?

 

Any thoughts or theories?

[Izzyboy]

I'm glad she finally got tired of Coulson's hypocritical BS (he doesn't seem to have a problem keeping secrets that benefit himself) and struck out on her own. Especially if it means she gets to meet up with Maria Hill for a bit!  In fact I say just spin off a show of Maria and May and throw May's badass mom in for good measure!

[kitlee625]

Izzyboy - Totally. I would love to see that, and I admit I was disappointed to realize that May's mom is probably too young to be in Agent Carter. (The actress is 77, so would be only 17 in 1954. Not to mention that she worked for a different agency than S.H.I.E.L.D.) I admit that these past few episodes the one thing I've been annoyed with May is how passive she has been regarding Coulson, following him around despite him bitching at her all the time. I'm glad that she's struck out on her own to get stuff done, and I'm excited to see what plans she has.

Edited April 23, 2014 by kitlee625

[KirkB]

I admit that these past few episodes the one thing I've been annoyed with May is how passive she has been regarding Coulson, following him around despite him bitching at her all the time.

 

   While I agree Coulson has been a hypocritical ass for most of the season, May wasn't really passive, she just had no choice but to follow him around since she was under direct orders from Fury. Once Coulson was on to her and it became evident she was no longer needed (by Fury or Coulson) she left.

Edited April 23, 2014 by KirkB

[kitlee625]

KirkB - See, I don't think that she left because she wasn't needed, but because she realized that she was more useful elsewhere. We don't know exactly where she's going and why, but we do know that her super spy mother is helping her track down Maria Hill. I doubt that it's for herself, or to get a job at Stark Industries, but for Coulson - either to get him answers about T.A.H.I.T.I. and find out if he really was programmed by Hydra, or to get the team help so they aren't just hiding in a bunker.

[KirkB]

I agree with you. I didn't realize it until your post and I went back and looked at what I wrote, but I meant to put a there after needed. At that point she wasn't going to be able to get Coulson to listen to her, and I think she wants to find Hill either a)to see what she's supposed to do now or b)find out if Fury is really dead so she can get Coulson the answers she needs.

[dusang]

I just found out last night that Ming-Na Wen is fifty years old and I'm FREAKING OUT!!  If I can age HALF so well as she has I will be beside myself with joy.  Ward got his ass handed to him by a FIFTY YEAR OLD!!  Is it wrong that I'm this shocked?

 

ETA The Golden Girls were fifty!!

Edited May 21, 2014 by dusang

[Lisin]

@dusang I KNOW! Every time she's on screen doing some bad ass stunt my husband pauses the tv to scream "SHE'S FIFTY!" it really is remarkable. She looks amazing for 40! To know she's 50 gives me hope! :)

[caseylane]

Totally unfair she like that at fifty. She obviously got her DNA on the black market, nothing natural reacts that way.

[Kromm]

I think there's an Asian version of "Black Don't Crack.", except maybe less racist sounding.

[fastiller]

That portrait in her attic does wonders.

[dusang]

I think there's an Asian version of "Black Don't Crack.", except maybe less racist sounding.

 

Yeah, I don't know that it has a succinct, rhyming title but I'm pretty sure I've read Lainey describing the phenomenon of Asians not aging for decades and then suddenly being very very old -- like they jump from 20 to 80 overnight.

 

Oh, she refers to it as the "Asian Aging Process" and linked to this handy graphic.

 

(I'm just going to say that because my source is an Asian woman, this is not racist.)

 

But still... I wonder if Melinda May is 50 because it kind of puts a whole new spin on hooking up with 30-year-old Ward... and then kicking his ass.  OH  MY GOD I AM SO ENVIOUS OF HER IN ALL WAYS!!  Sorry... did I just say that out loud?

[DeLurker]

 

I think there's an Asian version of "Black Don't Crack.", except maybe less racist sounding.

Asian don't raisin.

 

Not sure if it is less racist, but I heard either Lucy Liu or Ming-Na say it on a late night talk show recently.  I hadn't heard the phrase in years before that.

 

But Grace Park is 40, Lucy Liu is 45 and Ming-Na is 50 so I'm thinking there's some truth in there.  As half asian, I'm hoping.

Edited May 27, 2014 by DeLurker

[dusang]

Wait, Grace Park is 40?  Kono from Hawaii 5-0?  I thought she was supposed to be young, just starting out as a cop?  I thought she was like 26!!  WTF?!  Sorry, I'm getting massively off-topic here but my MIND IS BLOWN.

 

So... where do we hope to see the character go in S2?  I guess she's now the Maria Hill to Coulson's Fury.

[kitlee625]

I really liked that in the finale, it was her and Coulson talking with Fury. I think it really set her up as Coulson's peer, rather than his subordinate, which I think will come in handy since the finale teased that he is having some changes from the GH-325. I could definitely see them working together to stabilize him (and Skye, if she has the same changes) or if he is further incapacitated, her leading the team temporarily while they stabilize him.

 

I also really want to see her taking more of a mentorship role with the other team members. In season 1 it made sense for her to be more removed from the team, especially since she did have this hidden agenda, which I'm sure made it harder for her to bond with everyone, but I want to see more May & Skye training, as well as May & Simmons and May & Trip. Right now May is by far the most skilled fighter - I think it's indicated that Triplett is a little more junior than Ward was - and so it makes sense for her to train the others.

[Raja]

Wait, Grace Park is 40?  Kono from Hawaii 5-0?  I thought she was supposed to be young, just starting out as a cop?  I thought she was like 26!!  WTF?!  Sorry, I'm getting massively off-topic here but my MIND IS BLOWN.

 

 

The character Kono is probably 20 something, an ex pro surfer who blew out her knee and then went into the family business, law enforcement when she was pulled from the police acadamy for an undercover assignment and has remained with 5-0 and undercover with Internal Affairs for a short period also., But she was still known among the surfer crowd and the team was outed on an Oprah Winfrey like TV show so the undercover assignments have stopped.. As with Kono, May's physical fighting abilities play more realistically if she was playing a younger woman and not her actual age.

[Actionmage]

As with Kono, May's physical fighting abilities play more realistically if she was playing a younger woman and not her actual age.

 

But, if Ms. Park and Ms. Weng, are doing a lot of their own stunts ( as Ms. Lotz, Ms. Hu, Ms. Law and Ms. Jade on Arrow are), then women of their age are actually being that physical. While the shows aren't saying that there are no women over the age of [insert 'old age' of choice] that can kick ass/do their stunts to the union's No Further line, that they cast older women to play ten years younger doesn't seem honest. This is not the tropey '30 year old teen'; this is about allowing a panoply of women to play their age. That for the most part, we the audience are happily surprised that Ming-Na is 50, is cool. Saying that May is more realistic in her 40s, not so much, due to the how does one get to be a badass 50 year old? Getting through your 40s. ( I remember Ming-Na from back on As The World Turns in the 1980s, so her age wasn't left-field for me, more of a 'I need to work out more!*g*' moment.) Something writers and casting folk need to remember.

 

The reason May is considered so badass in-universe is because she consistently backs up the hype (and legend) with actions. "Do you need a weapon?" "If I need one, I'll get one." Her ability to handle all three parts of the berserker staff and lay it down on her own. To encounter the staff a second time and just leave it again. To keep their wild card/ace up their sleeve in play by getting her away from The Bus and not giving the game away. Melinda May has only begun to show us, the audience, layers and some she won't want her teammates to know about (possibly her mom, apparently another kickass woman in the espionage biz!)

 

May being 1b to Coulson's 1a would be best, especially if what Phil has going on keeps him from being on point about  the SHIELD rebuild. That Melinda will end up taking up the slack if/when that happens, doesn't worry me as last season proved that while she's the very martial Mother Hen of this brood, she will keep things how they need, big picture-wise  as well.

[tv echo]

Helen Mirren played an older woman kicking ass in the Red movies.  Liam Neeson played an older man kicking ass in a lot of recent movies.  Tom Cruise is 50 years old, looks a lot younger, and played younger men kicking ass in his recent movies.  I think both male and female actors want to play as young as they can get away with in order to expand their choice of acting roles.

[IndependentMind]

I'm glad she finally got tired of Coulson's hypocritical BS (he doesn't seem to have a problem keeping secrets that benefit himself) and struck out on her own. Especially if it means she gets to meet up with Maria Hill for a bit! In fact I say just spin off a show of Maria and May and throw May's badass mom in for good measure!

OMG, I totally want that spinoff with May and Hill.

As Asian, I do believe that we look younger than our age. People think I am 10 years or more younger than my age.

I also think that being more health conscious by eating healthier food and working out helps in keeping us Asians looking even younger.

I am not sure if this has anything to do with it but I did not start wearing make up until after college.

[DeLurker]

 

Anyway, I completely agree with all of you saying Ming-Na looks hotter each year. The cast was live-tweeting during the premiere, and her photos on Instagram show her looking even hotter than she is on the show! (If that's possible.)

 

Ha, maybe for her, the make-up folks are actually used to tone her hotness down for the show.  TV screens can't take it!

Carried over from the Shadows thread because I think I started the chatter about how good Ming-Na looks. 

 

She was always attractive IMO, but she's never been what I considered drop-dead stunning or overtly sexy.  Show has changed all that.  One of the aspects that I like best is that it seems effortless and incidental.

 

In these days of HD filming and tv, her looking so good each week is mind numbing.

[ChelseaNH]

Melinda May shows that characters don't have to be all messy and complicated to be compelling.  Sometimes it's enjoyable just to watch someone be really good at what they do.

[kitlee625]

I like that she has this traumatic past that's been hinted at, but she's not consumed by angst or drama. She does her job and protects her team. Plus Ming-Na Wen is good at the action and portraying a lot with a little.

Edited September 26, 2014 by kitlee625

[Raja]

Carried over from the Shadows thread because I think I started the chatter about how good Ming-Na looks. 

 

She was always attractive IMO, but she's never been what I considered drop-dead stunning or overtly sexy.  Show has changed all that.  One of the aspects that I like best is that it seems effortless and incidental.

 

In these days of HD filming and tv, her looking so good each week is mind numbing.

There was one movie with Wesley Snipes which involved a partner swap. But besides that one I agree. However I am a heretic on this issue. Yes she looks very good, but then so do most of the other  50 something actresses on their respective shows.

Edited September 27, 2014 by Raja

[Rockybeach]

I saw the deleted scene with May and Simmons and I think they should have an episode for themselves. Something where Simmons has to solve some problem and May has to keep her alive while she works. It would be an great episode!!

[KirkB]

I wouldn't mind an episode with May and Skye on a mission to find/save Simmons.

[Idiotboy]

That awesome shot from last season of May brandishing the Beserker staff always takes me to my happy place. Thank you, AoS, for allowing me to resume crushing on Ming-Na Wen.

[xaxat]

May's action scenes this season make me yearn for a gender swapped version of the Taken series. I would love to see Ming Na righteously and ruthlessly killing bad dudes on the big screen.

[Actionmage]

I would like Ming-Na to end up on the Big Screen doing everything and getting awards! I like to hope big. *g*

[Vera]

A very happy birthday to Ming-Na!!!

[dusang]

THIS WOMAN IS 51 YEARS OLD!!  FIFTY-ONE!!  I cannot emphasize this enough -- THIS WOMAN IS FIFTY-ONE YEARS OLD!!

Edited November 20, 2014 by dusang

[Actionmage]

I may be wishing a bit, but I think that May has been aware of Skye's change.  May just realized, due to her past, that basically good folks will be honest if you let them process and come to terms with a trauma.  I believe May was not thrilled with Fitz because as long as Skye's powers are treated like some death sentence, Skye's gonna be tense. That is good for no one.   I feel that was reinforced in the Cell scene, with May urging Skye to ignore everything and unsuccessfully keeping others away.

 

I am leaning towards May feeling that if she'd had the time with Skye, instead of Ward, then maybe Skye'd have an easier time handling the powers. A small slice of guilt that she didn't step up as Training Officer for Skye on the side even. Just a sliver, really. Because May is the most level and knew immediately to isolate and try to get Skye to calm down. In the supposed best Good spy organization around, no one else was trying to talk down either the Kree or Sif by asking them to wait and let them not allow the building to collapse first. (Yeah, blahblah offing Skye-cakes blahblahblah.)

 

Her Most Serene Asskicker needs all the shiny trophies because she is the best thing about this show for both seasons. Much love for the lady.

[Malbec]

I totally agree.  May is awesome.  Her handling of Skye has been an unexpected delight -- while there is a surrogate mother/daughter angle to their relationship that I really enjoy, I also love that it's balanced with May's pragmatism.  I don't know if it's the writing or acting or what, but for me, she somehow much more credibly hits that protective/pragmatic balance than Coulson. 

[Bruinsfan]

It helps that she's not extremely hypocritical and making speeches all the time. Really, that "mind your rank" remark last week is the only time I can recall her being in the wrong, and it's at least understandable given that she's used to the previous SHIELD organization rather than the current vigilante situation.

[jhlipton]

The "mind your rank" still felt a bit out of left field, since even before the big blow-out, I don't recall her being a stickler for rank and hierarchy.

[Tryangle]

I tell you what though, Ming Na and Blair Underwood make for an attractive couple. Always awesome to see the rare Melinda May smile/smirk.

[Sakura12]

I love how weirded out Fitz was by Melinda smiling and laughing. 

[Loandbehold]

Especially his discovery that there was something (cooking) that she wasn't good at.