S01.E20: Nothing Personal

[ElectricBoogaloo]

AGENT MARIA HILL RETURNS TO HELP COULSON AS S.H.I.E.L.D. IS BEING TORN APART - Just when there’s no one left to trust, Agent Maria Hill returns to team up with Coulson as S.H.I.E.L.D. is being destroyed around them.

[HistoryGirl]

Sneak peek

 

It drives me nuts, when supposedly smart people (aka Talbot) say stupid things that are factually incorrect.  As another p.tv poster discovered, Coulson's coordinates took them somewhere near Timmons, Ontario.  While May's jaunt int the wilderness didn't exactly scream winter in Ontario, Talbot screaming about how Coulson took him to the tundra made my ears bleed. Has this guy ever actually looked at a map before? Or do the writers just think that all of Canada is stuck in a miserable snowy wasteland for the entire year?  

 

That all being said, seeing Fitz hand Simmons a gun was oddly sexy. I think I watched that part more times than is actually healthy. 

[millahnna]

I hate the cold.  If I were in Ontario, I'd jokingly call it the tundra as well. 

[HistoryGirl]

I hate the cold.  If I were in Ontario, I'd jokingly call it the tundra as well. 

See this is where it gets inaccurate.  If it's winter at the bunker, then it's winter where ever the hell May was walking in 1x19.  The bunker isn't that far north to have such an extreme weather change. But I get it-- California filming. lol 

[Sandman]

Or do the writers just think that all of Canada is stuck in a miserable snowy wasteland for the entire year?

The answer to that question is always "Yes."

[Cranberry]

Well it's rain/snowing here right now and it's April 28, so maybe they're not that far off, haha.

[Sarahastro]

Another question: why is the US government there? Why aren't the Canadian military or the Mounties after them?

[KirkB]

I can't speak for the politics, but I would imagine the Canadian military and the Mounties don't know they're there. The base is secret and they sneaked in so the Canadians probably don't even know to look for them. Talbot only knows about it because of Hill.

Edited April 28, 2014 by KirkB

[HistoryGirl]

Another question: why is the US government there? Why aren't the Canadian military or the Mounties after them?

I thought the exact same thing until Maria Hill showed up in that clip.  Up and until that point, if Talbot was planning on arresting Coulson et al, he'd have zero jurisdiction.  The Mounties would definitely have to be involved.  

 

Then Maria Hill showed up and I fanwanked that she got clearance from the Canadians to retrieve her terrorists or whatever.  Plus somehow seeing Cobie Smulders in Canada just makes sense to me. lol 

[JTMacc99]

Just out of curiosity, is S.H.I.E.L.D. strictly a U.S. organization, or does it have an international component?

[KirkB]

I think SHIELD is supposed to be loosely affiliated with the UN, which basically gives it international authority.

[myril]

It's international, overseen by the so called World Security Council, although shouldn't be confused with the existing UN security council. Think it is not just loosely affiliated with the UN, but it's not made clear in the movie, I think, only in the comics universe. As it is with the UN though its organisations have only as much power as its member states are willing to give, particular in matters of police and military activity and intervention. Like UN troops are build by nations sending contingents for a specific mission. The movies and the show just happen though to focus mostly on the U.S. American participation in SHIELD., so to speak (of course they do, it's U.S. American production even if they sell it worldwide).

Edited April 29, 2014 by katusch

[formerlyfreedom]

I heartily approve of that episode.

Sad there was no Mama May. But especially liked, "You DID have that whole Hitler youth thing going on."

Please keep Ward bad!

[AimingforYoko]

Please keep Ward bad!

It looks like Ward's bad and actually likes Skye. Both things can be true. Some would say that one proves the other.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Hate to say it, but that kind of sucked.  Nothing Personal.

 

From the convenient timing of Deathlok's appearance, to the ridiculous takedown of Talbot and his soldiers at Providence base, to Skye saving Ward despite calling him a Nazi to his face only moments earlier, to the fall of Lola out of the back of the bus (can't Deathlok fly -- that's how he escaped in Sydney -- so why didn't he go after Lola), to the altimeter built-in to the portable drive (sure, whatever) to Deathlok having a USB port on his arm.

 

Why didn't Maria Hill know that the bus was VTOL capable, so that parking in front of it on the runway was completely useless ?

 

Coulson was in charge of T.A.H.I.T.I. and had it wiped from his memory before he was brought back to life using that same method. Seriously ?

 

I'm surprised that May didn't dig up Fury's grave.

 

Cobie Smulders was on par with her performances in CA:TWS and The Avengers.

 

ETA: Ward's spin about lying about everything, but he's really really really telling the truth about his wuv for Skye. Of course, Skye believes him about that.  And how many more times could the special snowflakeness of Skye have been highlighted this episode ?  Skye would never do that, wait for Skye's plan -- it's getting sickening.

Edited April 30, 2014 by ottoDbusdriver

[Jediknight]

Keep Ward evil, don't try an oh he was just misguided arc with him.  He killed multiple SHIELD agents, works for HYDRA, and shot Lola.  Don't try to make him good so the damn Skye and Ward romance can continue.  And really Ward, taking a shot at Maria and Natasha?  Guy's kind of an idiot to make a comment that might make Natasha mad.

 

Maria Hill can come back as many times as she wants.  They haven't made her boring.

[shapeshifter]

See this is where it gets inaccurate.  If it's winter at the bunker, then it's winter where ever the hell May was walking in 1x19.  The bunker isn't that far north to have such an extreme weather change. But I get it-- California filming. lol

I lived in the Northern California mountains for 20 years. A 40°F variance in temperature in any 24 hour period was normal. My first couple of nights there in July in a hostel, I had to share the space with a mourning family whose hang gliding son had been caught in a sudden blizzard. Happens every summer. Sorry for the tangent. We're talking about Ontario--where my sister has lived for 40 years. Don't get me started on her extreme weather.

Now back to our regularly scheduled episode discussion:

I just tweeted that even if you had already bailed on the show, this episode was LOL amazing. The car CGI and direction was perfect:

Coulson: I told you to fasten your seatbelt.

Skye's hair when they landed.

Coulson reaching for the $20 parking fee.

It did bug that Skye didn't just let Deathlock kill Ward. I mean, I would've, and Ward would never make out with me (I'm close to twice his age). But that's the way they roll on these network shows.

I did enjoy her telling him he was a Nazi. This was not a case of the Godwin effect, because they really are actual Nazis, right?

[thuganomics85]

I have to say, while the show itself has improved by a lot, I would watch the hell out of The Maria Hill & Melinda May show.  If they add Simmons to the mix, I would buy the DVDs and download it on I-tunes!  Great to see Maria back.  Cobie Smulders just brings something to the show that I really love.

 

After all my dislike early on, Skye has redeemed herself in a lot of ways.  The way she handled Ward was awesome, and she pretty much played his Hydra ass.  Really, it was only Deathlok that caused her not to get away.  Well done, Snarkbot.  I wonder what "present" she left them in the encryption.

 

Adrian Pasdar is having fun making Talbot a pig-headed dick.

 

Coulson created TAHITI?!

 

I understand how he feels, but Fitz needs to chill the fuck out.  One of these days, Triplett is going get tired playing nice, and I wouldn't want to be Fitz then.

 

Only issue I have is that Ward looses a ton of cool points (cool in an evil way, of course), now that he actually has "feelings" for Skye.  Damnit, Ward.  Just embrace the evil.  At least this will hopefully mean Garrett will find out and make wiseass remarks about it.  I miss Garrett.

[HistoryGirl]

Skye's speech about Hydra=Nazis was epic. That's exactly what I've been thinking since the reveal about Sitwell.  How can all these people, who've presumably taken a damn history class at some point be all gung ho over what is essentially a group of Nazis?

 

I was amazed by the Lola escape.  It was sketchy CGI at certain parts, but the realism was pretty dead on (I mean if you believe in flying cars) with Skye flying out of the car because she hadn't buckled up and of course her hair which was LOL hilarious. 

 

My heart broke for Fitz.  This poor kid has no one left to trust and I hope Simmons was being genuine with her declaration that she's not Hydra. Because if my girl is Hydra...!!  Oh boy, I don't know what I will do. I will legit be broken hearted.  That scene between FitzSimmons in the pool was super sweet and if Simmons turns out to have snowed Fitz all along, she will be dead to me like Ward is. But I do think the hand on his knee was a reassurance to him and us that she's being truthful. 

[formerlyfreedom]

Coulson created TAHITI?!

 

My take is that he created T.A.H.I.T.I. BEFORE he died - and that Fury used it to bring him back, and did the memory wipe based on his recommendation. Which is why he wanted May to watch him. And now he has to worry about Skye.

 

Only issue I have is that Ward looses a ton of cool points (cool in an evil way, of course), now that he actually has "feelings" for Skye.  Damnit, Ward. Just embrace the evil.  At least this will hopefully mean Garrett will find out and make wiseass remarks about it.  I miss Garrett.

 

Yes, I really was enjoying Ward as evil guy, but the whole 'but I'll never hurt YOU, Skye!' thing, meh. Seriously. I hope this is just a distraction, because if they don't keep him evil, after Skye called him a Nazi, I'll be really disappointed.

 

I have to say, while the show itself has improved by a lot, I would watch the hell out of The Maria Hill & Melinda May show.  If they add Simmons to the mix, I would buy the DVDs and download it on I-tunes!  Great to see Maria back.  Cobie Smulders just brings something to the show that I really love.

 

And, co-sign. Add Mama May and I'll devote part of my tiny paycheck to financing that show. KICKSTARTER TIME! ;)

[caseylane]

For once I didn't mind that Ward kept saying he cared for Skye and that she would understand eventually. It sounded so narcissistic and crazy that if made him seem even worse to me. Loved her Nazi statement.

 

Really enjoyed seeing Maria Hill in the same scene as May. If I wasn't so convinced that May was in love with Coleson I would have my first ever femslash pairing, only because the two of them are amazing.

[Grammaeryn]

I really liked this episode a lot! Ever since the CA:TWS episode, the show has been solidly must-watch live for me.  Can I just say that Maria's phone conversation with Pepper should have been the method of showing the big Marvel universe out there from the Pilot onward?  Also note how Ward got misogynistic assy with Maria during their stand off.  Don't you love it when a guys only ammo is "You ugly"?  I have hated Skye for so long, the fact that I'm cheering her on, laughing and nodding through her scenes is freaking me out.  Maybe it's because we aren't being told how amazing, smart, and special she is?  She's actually doing stuff that demonstrates those qualities.

 

The TAHITI reveal is very confusing to me so can someone explain it to me like I'm 5? I can't figure out when the video was made.  Before The Avengers? After Coulson got revived but he got wiped after the video? And doesn't the video imply that there are other test subjects? But they didn't last long because of awareness effecting them.  BUT who got mind wiped that lead to Coulson realizing it helped the survival rate?

[Sandman]

That's exactly what I've been thinking since the reveal about Sitwell.  How can all these people, who've presumably taken a damn history class at some point be all gung ho over what is essentially a group of Nazis?

 

It seems clear that Ward is lying to himself about what he is, and what HYDRA is, too. I imagine Sitwell has cooked up some half-delusional self-justification, as well. Garrett's possibly a crazyass.

 

I enjoyed this episode, but I would watch the hell out of The Maria Hill and Melinda May Adventure Hour, co-starring Jemma "Shenanigans" Simmons, with Special Guest Mama May! I think my favourite part of the episode (other than the "hair by Salon Lola, Greater Los Angeles" moment, hee) was Hill's "Three minutes and twenty seconds, really? If you were my agents, you wouldn't be for long." Girlfriend can get arrested without losing cool points!

[HistoryGirl]

It seems clear that Ward is lying to himself about what he is, and what HYDRA is, too. I imagine Sitwell has cooked up some half-delusional self-justification, as well. Garrett's possibly a crazyass.

Garrett even said that he went where the wind was blowing, so him I'd expect to collude with Nazi-types. Sitwell among all the others at Triskelion and the Hub surprised me more. I wouldn't think a Nazi faction could so easily (and secretly) infiltrate an organization like SHIELD.

[kennyab]

The TAHITI reveal is very confusing to me so can someone explain it to me like I'm 5? I can't figure out when the video was made.  Before The Avengers? After Coulson got revived but he got wiped after the video? And doesn't the video imply that there are other test subjects? But they didn't last long because of awareness effecting them.  BUT who got mind wiped that lead to Coulson realizing it helped the survival rate?

 

Some time after the first Iron Man when Fury first announced the Avengers Initiative and before Avengers, which was the first time the Avengers actually worked as a team. SHIELD has been using that particular name for the heroes project for years. It sounds like all of the other test subjects are dead because the experiment failed.

[Izzyboy]

I liked this episode as well.  I'm hope the series keeps up the momentum and goes out on a hot streak.  I think ending with momentum and a summer to really evaluate who and what the characters should be next year could really improve things!

[KirkB]

First of all, add me to the list of fans of the Maria Hill and Melinda May: Agents of Whatever the Hell they Want to Be Show (WHWB?)

 

Secondly, I don't have a problem with Skye not standing by and letting Deathlok kill Ward. Love him or hate him, a genuinely good (or at least not flat out bad) person really wouldn't just let a person suffer and die if they can help it. And Skye is a good person.

 

As for Coulson and TAHITI, I got the impression it was just one of the many things Coulson did while working for Fury. He was a good soldier and he followed orders. He was in charge of TAHITI because Fury told him to be. I like the fact that the memory wipe is necessary to protect the mind of someone whose been through the process and that doesn't bode well for Skye. She may not get the full effects Coulson did but something is bound to happen. While I enjoyed the reveal of Coulson being involved with TAHITI beforehand, I still can't understand why Fury used it on him. Is Coulson really THAT important to him, or was Fury just curious to see if his findings were accurate?

 

I also loved May's rather dismissive "I'll believe it when I see it" to Hill telling her Fury was dead. And Coulson didn't even bother bringing it up with her, I guess because the two of them new better?

[ottoDbusdriver]

Where exactly in L.A. did a SHIELD branded giant airplane land and not get noticed by anyone ?  Since they have been declared a terrorist organization and all, someone should notice.

 

According to that map that Coulson pulled up of the Bus' location, the Bus landed in a residential neighborhood (that appears to be a dirt field, thank you Google Maps), yet when they went to take off they were on the runway of a rather large airport. So which is it ? That's right, if it was in a dirt field there would have been no way you would get the airplane confrontation with Hill, so it was Plot-Convenience Regional municipal airport that has no security whatsoever.

 

Since Ward and Skye were off the Bus for a while, why didn't Coulson simply board it then ?

 

Why didn't Skye simply swerve to avoid Deathlok landing on the police car ? If Deathlok can only jump (and not fly), she could have easily changed lanes to avoid Deathlok's arc through the sky and sped away. Instead Skye goes full-on carp-mouth and watches him land on the hood of the police car.

[ALenore]

I really liked this episode too.  I think one of my favorite lines was "Huh?" When Coulson found out that he'd started TAHATI.  l don't really have a problem with Ward having feelings for Sky, I mean, even actual Nazis had feelings.   But that still doesn't turn him into a good guy.

[Cerulean]

I was interested in the conflict last week where Ward was interested in Skye, and Skye thought she was being played.

I liked her nausea reaction this week when she realized the truth. And want to know what "gift" she left them.

[Kromm]

Skye's speech about Hydra=Nazis was epic. That's exactly what I've been thinking since the reveal about Sitwell.  How can all these people, who've presumably taken a damn history class at some point be all gung ho over what is essentially a group of Nazis?

 

Bingo.  Over in the Ward topic we talked about, even before this episode, the Nazi thing.  I've gained some confidence in the show that it went there, since I think most of us thought they'd dodge that.

[shapeshifter]

The TAHITI reveal is very confusing to me so can someone explain it to me like I'm 5? I can't figure out when the video was made. Before The Avengers? After Coulson got revived but he got wiped after the video? And doesn't the video imply that there are other test subjects? But they didn't last long because of awareness effecting them. BUT who got mind wiped that lead to Coulson realizing it helped the survival rate?

Even though I'm not a Marvel aficionado, I happen to be a lover of time travel plots, so I was able to gloss over this video having loved the video that Stargate SG1 sent themselves from ancient Egypt in the Moebius episodes.

And, anyway, like ALenore above, Coulson's "Huh" made it all good for me.

Where exactly in L.A. did a SHIELD branded giant airplane land and not get noticed by anyone ? Since they have been declared a terrorist organization and all, someone should notice.

Okay, now that you mention it, maybe the writers really did think they were inside the SG1 Moebius story, and they used a cloaking mechanism.

Edited because I managed to break the software and get a triple post.

Edited April 30, 2014 by shapeshifter
Cleaned up the accidental double posting

[ReadingZombie]

I've always liked Sky, so I'm not bothered by her Special Snowflake status. She had me lol'ing this episode. I'm glad the show went there with the Nazi thing, too, and her "Hitler Youth" line had me cracking up. So did her hair! 

 

I'm afraid for FitzSimmons. I think that scene at the pool was foreshadowing. I don't think Simmons is Hydra, but one of them is not getting out of the finale alive.

 

I know everyone loves May, but I find her constant stoney, frowny face grating. She kicks all ass. I get it. Could she please just crack a smile every once in awhile? It doesn't even have to be often. Just once in awhile.

 

I missed some episodes early in the season. I want to go back and catch up on everything I missed before the finale.

[Actionmage]

I also loved May's rather dismissive "I'll believe it when I see it" to Hill telling her Fury was dead. And Coulson didn't even bother bringing it up with her, I guess because the two of them new better?

 

 

 

Koneig told Coulson about Fury being alive. Since things had been happening for the better chunk of the day, when Phil saw Melinda, that probably wasn't foremost on Phil's mind, while Melinda needed to show Phil "The Report."

Edited April 30, 2014 by stacey
Fixing quote issue

[Jamoche]

Unintentionally humorous moment for this Silicon Valley resident: when Coulson showed that SHIELD and TSA have the same level of aircraft security by using the same infiltration technique as a local teenage boy.

[jhlipton]

Personally, I'd have not only watched Ward die, I'd have kicked in gazoogies: "That's for Koneig!"

[HistoryGirl]

I'm afraid for FitzSimmons. I think that scene at the pool was foreshadowing. I don't think Simmons is Hydra, but one of them is not getting out of the finale alive.

 

I have some serious mind speculation on this.  Will take it over to the FitzSimmons thread. 

[Sarah D. Bunting]

Lola the flying car talks to our own Monty Ashley!

[JTMacc99]

Secondly, I don't have a problem with Skye not standing by and letting Deathlok kill Ward. Love him or hate him, a genuinely good (or at least not flat out bad) person really wouldn't just let a person suffer and die if they can help it. And Skye is a good person.

I see this point, and it is a good thing that Skye couldn't just kill him.

 

Having said that, I think I would have preferred that scene to go in either of two different directions.

 

1. Have Skye turn it back on Deathlok, and make him be the one who "can't" kill Ward. I'm not a fan of the whole "I'm controlling this man's life, but it is you making the decision to kill him" bullshit. If the show wanted to save Ward, then make it the other guy who made the choice, and not Skye.  That would have accomplished two things. It would have let us wonder if Skye really would have let Ward die, which make her more interesting, and it would have given Deathlok a tiny bit of humanity for us to assume is still in there.

 

2. Just had Deathlok kill him outright. I think it would have been good for the show to kill off a main character like that, even if he did just become interesting.

Edited April 30, 2014 by JTMacc99

[Sandman]

"There's no rule called 'Chekhov's Flying Car,' probably because nineteenth-century Russian playwrights didn't put a lot of flying cars in their work. Which is obviously a mistake, right? You're telling me The Cherry Orchard wouldn't have been better if Peter Trofimov had a flying car to tool around in?"

 

 

Love!

[Gregg247]

I've been waiting since episode 1 for that flying car to finally DO SOMETHING!  That whole "drive the car off the plane in mid-air" thing was so cheap looking and fun that I laughed their whole way down (in a good way).  Skye and Agent Coulson's looks when they landed in the parking spot was hilarious, too.  It's nice that this show, which has gotten very dark and serious, can still take time for some levity.

 

I'm not sure why the Army was intent on "arresting" all SHIELD agents.  They spent most of the season showing that SHIELD is some huge organization with 3 distinct college campuses for training new agents, plus a massive skyscraper in DC, yet now every one of those people is considered a criminal?  

 

I don't remember all the employees of Fannie Mae getting rounded up during the whole mortgage crisis debacle a few years ago, but maybe I missed that particular news cycle. :)

[Raja]

The national governments and armies are after SHIELD because Hydra is so intertwined that. 2/5ths of the known second tier leaders were Hydra

[JTMacc99]

And while I have been generally forgiving of this show, although I almost completely gave up on it around E14 and only some good reports about it on the Internet made me go back and catch up, I do not think I will be able to tolerate a "Nah... Ward's okay! He was totally forced to do all that bad stuff." story.

 

No. I don't think I would like that at all.

[Capricasix]

Adrian Pasdar = awesome.

[JTMacc99]

Taking a bite out of the apple was a nice touch. Conveyed the whole, "I am SO in charge here right now that I can eat a piece of fruit while we interrogate you."

[ohjoy]

And while I have been generally forgiving of this show, although I almost completely gave up on it around E14 and only some good reports about it on the Internet made me go back and catch up, I do not think I will be able to tolerate a "Nah... Ward's okay! He was totally forced to do all that bad stuff." story.

 

No. I don't think I would like that at all.

 

I don't think I wouls like that at all either, but based on the previews for next week, we're getting more Ward backstory, which no doubt is intended to help us "understand" him and possibly even root for him to come back from the dark side.

 

But since I was desperately rooting for him to fully committed to the dark side for at least two episodes before we found out he already was, that's not really an option in my mind. Please let there be no good left in this Anakin Skywalker.

 

(And with that I just realized that I've taken the Star Wars analogy way further than I ever intended. I swear I'm not that huge a fan.)

[Sarahastro]

I don't think I wouls like that at all either, but based on the previews for next week, we're getting more Ward backstory, which no doubt is intended to help us "understand" him and possibly even root for him to come back from the dark side.

 

I think it's also possible that this backstory is meant to make him a more interesting villain for next season. I just don't see how they can bring him back to Coulson's team after all of this. Not only has he killed a lot of people, they had Skye flat-out call him a Nazi serial killer.

[Kromm]

I think it's also possible that this backstory is meant to make him a more interesting villain for next season. I just don't see how they can bring him back to Coulson's team after all of this. Not only has he killed a lot of people, they had Skye flat-out call him a Nazi serial killer.

As someone mentioned in Ward's thread (and as I've been thinking myself for a few weeks), I don't think Ward is going to linger into next season.  I think he's going to get the only kind of redemption possible for a pseudo-Nazi pseudo-terrorist scumbag. He's going to save Skye's life and die doing so (in the finale).  Possibly taking Garrett into death with him, so they can do a bit of a "reset" between seasons.

[jelley]

Adrian Pasdar = awesome.

 

AND it looks like he has had time to grow his own moustache. 

[marcee]

I don't think I wouls like that at all either, but based on the previews for next week, we're getting more Ward backstory, which no doubt is intended to help us "understand" him and possibly even root for him to come back from the dark side.

 

I'm just rooting for him to take off his shirt.

 

I can say, however, I really did not like the FitzSimmons scene - seems like it might've been meant to be a bit of foreshadowing that makes me extremely uncomfortable.

Edited April 30, 2014 by marcee