S05.E11: All the Comforts of Home

[Cranberry]

Coulson and the team set out to rewrite the course of humanity's fate; they're unaware that their efforts will dramatically change one S.H.I.E.L.D. agent's life.

 

 

[Lobsel Vith]

Deke is back. Unfortunately. I wish they learned a lesson from Ward and understood that your looks don't excuse engaging in unforgivable behavior.

Hmmm... Piper became a threat and now we have an Earth Sinara.

[MrWhyt]

Boy that escalated quickly

[Lady Calypso]

Well, I guess that's one way to confirm Old Yo-Yo's prophecy. Cut off Elena's arms right away! That'll do the trick! Not that it'll be that worrying since Coulson's been good with one hand, so Fitz will create something for Elena. 

That's also one way to bring back Deke. I'm not sure why they did, but I did find myself entertained with him hugging a tree. I was mildly entertained with Deke's introduction to Earth. 

Ah, so Teenage Ruby is working for her mother and obsessed with Daisy. And because of it, she didn't take in SHIELD. I guess Daisy just needs to stay hidden, I guess, because Ruby will...cut your arms off, I suppose. 

Oh no, not Piper! But I also totally get it and sympathize with her. She isn't truly evil or a big threat, but just lost after she presumed all of them to be dead. She did help them out at the end, which is good.

And it seems like Hale is gathering a team of...villains?

[Terrafamilia]

What I learned from this evening's Once Upon a Time and this. Teenage daughters. Are. The. Worst.

[AimingforYoko]

Just now, Lady Calypso said:

And it seems like Hale is gathering a team of...villains?

Yeah, but for what? And why the hard-on for SHIELD?

I had thought Kasius cut off Yo-Yo's arms, not Disney Channel refugee.

[SnoGirl]

Dang. They definitely “gotcha”-ed me a couple of times.

Was super surprised (and disappointed) by Piper. I wish they had shown how desparate she was and that’s why she turned them in. I’m really interested to see what they do with her. Its like Ward 2.0 but she flipped back to Shield. 

Who predicted Deke making it through the time jump bc nice job! I thought it was enduring that he hugged the tree, and was proud of how close his opium den bar was to the real thing. I’m going to chalk up his naive way of paying on him being drunk not just on alcohol, but on his excitement on being on Earth.

So now I want to know, where is Hunter and Robin and her mother? Wouldnt they still be in the LightHouse on a different floor? Bc this is going to become a glaring time traveling hole if they dont resolve it.

Also, when we were behind the jogger, I was saying “man, is that Creel?!” I was delighted to be right. Wonder who else is going to be on the team...I hope its more characters from Shield’s past!

And Taggert is still alive but in a coma! He must have one tough noggin.

[chitowngirl]

I was just glad the jogger was not some form of Ward.

[Lantern7]

Typical Agents of SHIELD: One step forward, two steps back, a lot of stomps directly to the genitals. "I think things are bleak enough for the team. Coulson's dying, the gang is wanted  . . . " "No, I say we bring in a guy like Enoch, only he gets killed right away. Oh, and Elena loses her arms. I mean, immediately. Our fans are intelligent, but they may have forgot that she was double-maimed in the future."

And, of course, Deke lived. Because of course he did. Or maybe it's because he's the closest thing to a Grant Ward we had in the first arc, so he had to get sent back to the past. And attempt to eat ice cream from the garbage. Gotta love Daisy bailing him out and telling the cops that he was really "special."

Wait, did we see Ruby before? Once again, my memory sucks ass with this show. Of course she's a Quake fangirl who can lead a unit and lop off Elena's arms. And her "mother" is assembling a crack team to eliminate our heroes, starting with Absorbing Man. Because why not?

15 minutes ago, SnoGirl said:

And Taggert is still alive but in a coma! He must have one tough noggin.

Do you mean Talbot, after "Daisy" shot him last season? Yeah, that would be a thick noggin indeed.

[Jediknight]

3 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:

Yeah, but for what? And why the hard-on for SHIELD?

Because SHIELD's always going to be there fighting them, they got to take them down.  This group knows they stand no chance against the Avengers, and the Revengers, so if they can take down SHIELD, that helps big time.

Considering everything that the team has done, of course Coulson isn't going to be too pissed at Piper, and quick to forgive her.  It also seems that everybody else is alright with her, she was duped, they know her, and they like I said, no the team itself has fudged up left and right.

About Yo Yo, now would be a good time for Coulson to reveal that he's alive to Tony.  I'm sure Tony could help him out with some kick ass tech for Yo Yo.

[HunterHunted]

4 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

And it seems like Hale is gathering a team of...villains?

General Hale: Welcome to the Suicide Squad.

Creel: Umm, I don't think you can use that. 

General Hale: Welcome to Task Force X.

Creel: I'm pretty sure that's taken too.

General Hale: The Revengers?

Creel: Nope.

General Hale: The Avengers?

Creel: Seriously?!?!? Are you even trying?

General Hale: The Thunderbolts?

Creel: Hmm, maybe.

General Hale: H.A.M.M.E.R.?

Creel: Cool acronym. What does it stand for?

General Hale: I don't know. My assistant came up with it.

[rmontro]

Nice to get everyone back on present day Earth.  Wow, that was harsh seeing Yo-Yo get her arms cut off.  Clever the way they turned her powers against her, but I felt bad for her.  And for Mack, you could see how upset he was over it.

Not sure who teenager Judy was supposed to be, she looked like The Gimp.

And Crusher Creel returns.  I really hope that the team Hale is putting together is The Wrecking Crew.

[paigow]

The future is already changed unless Deke returns to the future ASAP...Maybe the solution is to kill him now... Who is the next Chrono-con? Abraham? Ezekiel?

[Raja]

7 hours ago, Jediknight said:

Because SHIELD's always going to be there fighting them, they got to take them down.  This group knows they stand no chance against the Avengers, and the Revengers, so if they can take down SHIELD, that helps big time.

Considering everything that the team has done, of course Coulson isn't going to be too pissed at Piper, and quick to forgive her.  It also seems that everybody else is alright with her, she was duped, they know her, and they like I said, no the team itself has fudged up left and right.

About Yo Yo, now would be a good time for Coulson to reveal that he's alive to Tony.  I'm sure Tony could help him out with some kick ass tech for Yo Yo.

Wait a minute SHIELD is not just wanted, but Most Wanted and The Avengers are the government's big stick against enhanced threats. Now there is no way Tony Stark could not know. Would he be willing to go rogue to help Pepper's friend is the question? I figure for real world budget reasons Yo-Yo gets a real looking 80's tech prosthetic with some Fitzsimmons modifications. Not as good as Coulson's  primary arm but good enough for daily task. And it should play much better than cutting off Medusa's hair by a long shot.

[SnoGirl]

11 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Do you mean Talbot, after "Daisy" shot him last season? Yeah, that would be a thick noggin indeed.

Ugh, I did mean Talbot. Lol, I have no idea why I typed that.

 

Do you think we have these random aliens in Shield bases because they couldn’t get Patton to play a Koenig? Because as they were walking around the base, I was kinda disappointed it wasnt one of them. But then at the end happy, because the alien died pulling a Steve Rogers and jumping on the bomb. 

After sleeping on the episode, I’m kinda curious how Ruby got both of YoYo’s arms. Its not like she runs with her arms both in front of her at the same time....I hope the next episode has Fitz working on replacements. I wonder if he’s going to have issues designing something that has to withstand super sonic movements. YoYo has super speed AND robot arms? Can you imagine the things she’ll be able to do??

[blueray]

Poor Yoyo. I was surprised that she lost her arm so quickly. I get where Piper was coming from. She honestly thought they were just going to be captured unharmed, as she probably was.

 

I was not glad that they brought Deke back. Sure it was nice to see him be so happy to see a tree. But that is going wear of fast. He doesn't have any useful skills and isn't trustworthy. I really wish they picked either Tess or the kid to bring back. As they were much more likeable. And weren't there simply to be a love interest for Daisy.

[Raja]

21 minutes ago, blueray said:

 

 

I was not glad that they brought Deke back. Sure it was nice to see him be so happy to see a tree. But that is going wear of fast. He doesn't have any useful skills and isn't trustworthy. I really wish they picked either Tess or the kid to bring back. As they were much more likeable. And weren't there simply to be a love interest for Daisy.

Well he has the gravity defeating belt buckle and only a force blasting Daisy can fly.

[Minneapple]

The whole time I just kept thinking, "poor SHIELD team. They need a shower and a hot meal and a nice long nap."

[Lobsel Vith]

3 hours ago, blueray said:

I was not glad that they brought Deke back. Sure it was nice to see him be so happy to see a tree. But that is going wear of fast. He doesn't have any useful skills and isn't trustworthy. I really wish they picked either Tess or the kid to bring back. As they were much more likeable. And weren't there simply to be a love interest for Daisy.

Tess and Flint were also more reasonable as characters that Daisy would actually stick her neck out for. Deke is literally just there simply because it's a demand of the Script rather than something that actually makes sense in terms of narrative continuity.

[MostlyC]

I thought Creel was killed last season or thereabouts?

Or was that in the AI world, or an alternate version of the earth?  “Infinity Wars” or whatever.

I’m glad Deke is back.  He brings some “outsider” snark.  But I am sad Enoch is gone.  

The blonde teenager can go any time now. 

This was a very depressing episode.  Need a little more fun, Show.

[Raja]

38 minutes ago, MostlyC said:

.  

The blonde teenager can go any time now. 

This was a very depressing episode.  Need a little more fun, Show.

Judging her, and her "mother's" casual use of extreme violence my guess is they are not human. Alien or LMD like her bug eyed troopers is the question.

It took my awhile thinking was that once a Hydra look, or maybe  Cobra of GI Joe? Now I am thinking the Jade Syndicate from a Spider-Man video game.

[Quark]

So that was... nuts.

But really kind of awesome.

I'm amused that the Agents of SHIELD are now on a Most Wanted list. Isn't that the name of the spinoff they were going to make? Would love to see Hunter and Bobbi back, they can provide tips!

[Froippi]

I'm not a fan of Coulson keeping this massive secret when they our trying to save the world from destruction 

I did like the van where their naming some of the worst things they went through lol

Also the VFX shot of Zephyr one enter the lighthouse base was pretty badass

 

1 hour ago, Quark said:

So that was... nuts.

But really kind of awesome.

I'm amused that the Agents of SHIELD are now on a Most Wanted list. Isn't that the name of the spinoff they were going to make? Would love to see Hunter and Bobbi back, they can provide tips!

and yes that was going to be the name of the spinoff but those plans were cancelled

[VCRTracking]

Poor Yo-yo!

"We have a small but dedicated fanbase." Yes you do May.

I hated Deke but started to like him and his sniping with Daisy last episode so I was actually glad that he appeared in the present. Loved him hugging the tree and enjoying Zima!

I loved the team in the van recounting all the crazy shit they've been through the past five seasons!

I was really fooled by their opening scene and didn't expect the general's daughter to be working for her. I wonder what team the general wants Creel for? Masters of Evil?

Damn, Agent Piper. I was so happy to see her (I love whenever the actress appears here or on Supergirl playing a similar role) that I felt betrayed too. Thankfully she realized she trusted the wrong people and is going to redeem herself

We lost another Chromicon! And so soon. I had just started to like Noah.

Loved Patrick Warburton as Rick Stoner but would have loved if his haircut was also 70s ala "Ron Burgundy."

[Raja]

Right now Creel thinks he is redeemed. A bodyguard for the head of the ATCU. I would hate to see him thinking that he worked for an openly evil organization 

[Froippi]

idk how creel does not see general Hale recruiting people as a automatic red flag but ok we will roll with this for a bit

[tessaray]

I'm a little confused, enough that I watched the episode twice and still am unsure... is that really Hale's daughter?  Locked up behind steel doors?  Is she Inhuman? Or just trained to wield those circular things that I have no idea what they are.  And the robots, did I miss where they came from?  They didn't look human/LMD. I've never missed an episode but haven't rewatched earlier seasons either, so I could have. 

Confused or not, I'm still very glad AoS is back.  

[Raja]

21 minutes ago, tessaray said:

I'm a little confused, enough that I watched the episode twice and still am unsure... is that really Hale's daughter?  Locked up behind steel doors?  Is she Inhuman? Or just trained to wield those circular things that I have no idea what they are.  And the robots, did I miss where they came from?  They didn't look human/LMD. I've never missed an episode but haven't rewatched earlier seasons either, so I could have. 

Confused or not, I'm still very glad AoS is back.  

My guess is unknown alien race right now 

22 minutes ago, Froippi said:

idk how creel does not see general Hale recruiting people as a automatic red flag but ok we will roll with this for a bit

Because she is the General in the job his wounded boss held. Just another government agency after their own enhanced assets. Not someone saying hail Hydra.

[teenj12]

Did anyone else catch May's line: "We have a small, but active fanbase". XDDD Well played show, well played.

While I enjoyed the episode, I think the Yo-Yo arm thing happened way too soon. The show is usually really great at knowing exactly when to hit us with a giant twist or shocking moment, but they dropped the ball this week with that one. Not timed correctly at all.

[Froippi]

49 minutes ago, teenj12 said:

Did anyone else catch May's line: "We have a small, but active fanbase". XDDD Well played show, well played.

While I enjoyed the episode, I think the Yo-Yo arm thing happened way too soon. The show is usually really great at knowing exactly when to hit us with a giant twist or shocking moment, but they dropped the ball this week with that one. Not timed correctly at all.

Not to mention the one line saying: “well known politician trying to delete FBI files” 

1 hour ago, Raja said:

My guess is unknown alien race right now 

Because she is the General in the job his wounded boss held. Just another government agency after their own enhanced assets. Not someone saying hail Hydra.

Maybe it’s me then cause I be questioning it 

[AnimeMania]

I am confused could somebody give me a timeline (in months) for these events or at least put them in the correct order (Here is my best guess).

Agents Dine and Dash

Fitz Skips Detention...  Center

Agents Back from the Future

Daisy Rocks the World (to pieces)

There is one thing I know, You don't Invite the Kree to your Party, then forget to tell them the Party was cancelled.

The Agents show have been adding all kinds of items and notes to Fitz's hiding hole for Mack to find in the future.

[thuganomics85]

Man, this gang can't catch a break, can they?  Finally back in the present and shit is already falling apart for them!

Ouch, so that is how Yo-Yo ends up losing her arms.  That was surprisingly brutal, even though the show has been getting bloodier the past few seasons.  I'm sure she'll pull through, but will they even be able to build her robotic-like arms like they did with Coulson?  Because they don't have the funding that they use to, since they're actually wanted criminals now instead of a secret part of the U.S. government.  And, it goes without saying that it will no doubt cause trauma her and likely put Mack through the ringer when this is all said and done.

Didn't predict that Deke would actually get sent back in time as well.  His scenes were decent "fish out of water" moments, but I wonder what the plan is for him long term.

Glad Piper is back, even if she royally fucked up big time.  It's going to take a while for her to walk all that back, but knowing the team, they'll give her opportunities to do it.

Patrick Warburton as that Holographic General Stoner was pretty awesome.  Fun seeing the guy from Bones (and Avatar) as Noah too, before he met a fiery end.

So, it seems like the adversaries for this section will be General Hale/Catherine Dent and her daughter, who is some kind of trained assassin, I think?  And she's played by some actress that I guess is popular with the Disney Channel crowd, I guess (I'm getting old, apparently.)  And now Hale is forming some kind of squad which will include Carl Creel.  Yep, the Agents of Shield never get time to just relax!

Pretty dark episode for the most park, but I did enjoy some of the lighter moments at first like Melinda's crack about their "small, but vocal fanbase", and the van scene, where everyone was recapping all their past obstacles (including taking on both of Daisy's parents!)

[Proteus]

Great first episode back.

I knew there was no way Deke died but I am glad they revealed his survival at the beginning of this episode, didn't drag it out, & gave me more Daisy/Deke asap. I just love them together.

Super intrigued by Ruby already. I just love a good villain. 

I liked that this episode continued the dark tone this season has.

[Gothish520]

Yay for Deke being back. Loved how he ditched the trash ice cream when he saw the bar. Damn that burger and onion rings looked good. 

"Like Agatha Christie."  "Or Chud."  

[Raja]

3 hours ago, Gothish520 said:

Yay for Deke being back. Loved how he ditched the trash ice cream when he saw the bar. Damn that burger and onion rings looked good. 

"Like Agatha Christie."  "Or Chud."  

I remember Paul Hogan in a commercial saying he could not actually drink his Fosters. I  guess the rules don't apply for a product placement.

If an unexpected renewal comes could next season be  Zima's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. ?

[paigow]

46 minutes ago, Raja said:

If an unexpected renewal comes could next season be  Zima's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. ?

Why not make it like English Premier League Football? The corporate logos are hundreds of times bigger than the actual team logo...Each character wears a shirt from a different sponsor...or upcoming Disney movie...

[Tachi Rocinante]

I got it - the "daughter" escaped from The Grid after getting on Clu's bad side.  Bladed discs are not allowed, and are cause for immediate de-resolution.  

[Mrs. Stanwyck]

Quote

Tess and Flint also more reasonable as characters that Daisy would actually stick her neck out for.

At the beginning, Daisy didn't make it seem like she was sticking her neck out because she was concerned about Deke - she was concerned that Deke was going to talk to people about knowing them and drawing more attention to them.

[tessaray]

I thought they went a little overboard with the Zima but honestly, I don't think I've ever seen anyone enjoy their first sip of real beer, so that part rang true.   

[AuntTora]

Awesome wink at Galaxy Quest. And put me on the "happy to see Deke" train.

Edited March 5, 2018 by AuntTora

[jhlipton]

On 3/2/2018 at 7:10 PM, SnoGirl said:

I’m going to chalk up his naive way of paying on him being drunk not just on alcohol, but on his excitement on being on Earth.

How would he know about Earth money?

18 hours ago, Raja said:

I remember Paul Hogan in a commercial saying he could not actually drink his Fosters. I  guess the rules don't apply for a product placement.

I think the rules are different now.

[Absurda]

I seem to recall that in the Robin, future flashback episode (where they showed the aftermath of the Earth breaking apart), Yoyo was there and had 2 arms. There was a scene of her going to fight the Kreel. So, at some point fairly soon she should be getting robot arms.

Okay, tip for Hale and her daughter who asked if they were the good guys:

Number 1 on the "You know you're a bad guy when" list is

"You are training children to be super assassins and your name isn't Leon. Bonus evil points if one of the assassins is your child."

Edited March 5, 2018 by Absurda

[SnoGirl]

14 hours ago, jhlipton said:

How would he know about Earth money?

Deke knew our merry band of Shield Agents came without the black trackers. He also ran that Opium Den with his version of Earth. I would be surprised if Deke never stumbled across anything that was money.

He knew money of some sort talked. So my point was, I think he was just so gleeful about being on Earth, he forgot there would be currency.  I know we bag on Deke for being a jerk, and someone who sells out other people, but he’s also a survivor. He successful ran a business under the thumb of Kassius. I think he was in his right mind, he would have thought about how he was going to pay for things. And by the time he was asked to pay, he was drunk. At least he was savvy enough to not give up that he knew Daisy and Shield.

[AKA...CJ86]

Well, this single episode was better than the entirety of the previous arc.

Yo-Yo, why!?  I knew things would probably still sorta happen kinda differently, but didn't expect the arms so soon.  And you knew something would happen to poor Yo-Yo the minute they focused on Mack and Yo-Yo having some alone time/talk away from the team.

Noah, again, just as I like someone show kill's him.  I briefly knew you, but you're in the top 5 for now.

The Disney Channel Assassin can go at any time--and please take discount Star-Lord with you, I agree with that.  The one blemish of the episode.

Edited March 6, 2018 by CyberJawa1986

[Lobsel Vith]

On ‎3‎/‎4‎/‎2018 at 8:15 PM, Mrs. Stanwyck said:

At the beginning, Daisy didn't make it seem like she was sticking her neck out because she was concerned about Deke - she was concerned that Deke was going to talk to people about knowing them and drawing more attention to them.

Daisy is putting herself out there to help Deke out of a situation he got himself in. Daisy has been put in scenes where she's basically doing emotional support for Deke or where she's helping him in one form or another, which makes no sense from what was built up earlier - I don't see why the writers had Deke sell her into slavery if they're going to expend so much time expecting me to buy that she's going to keep going out of her way for him as if all he did wrong was leave the toilet seat up. It's simply bad writing. This would be easier to buy if it was someone who wasn't familiar with Daisy or even friends with her - like Creel, for example, who did bad things, but only because of Hydra brainwashing - but it's another thing when the show can't adhere to its own continuity and is putting a character in a situation where she's not supposed to remember what happened in the preceding episodes.

You could technically say that Fitz now being uber-competent with firearms is also an example of the writers not having a plan or thinking ahead since they never explain how Fitz learned to shoot two guns at the same time, since his role as the Doctor was based on scientific research (and even that didn't make much sense since his role seemed more suited to Simmons given the research of Inhuman genetics and how their powers work - it seemed more about having Iain play off an alt-right version of Fitz than the story making sense). It's something you have to fanwank an explanation for to explain (and one could say could have been easily remedied had his role in the Framework actually focused on providing a reasonable explanation for this to explain why he's so good with guns now), but at least that isn't jarring in the same way. 

Deke is basically Space Ward - a guy who did reprehensible things, but we're supposed to forget about it so we shouldn't think too hard about who exactly it is we're supposed to be rooting for in his scenes.

[Raja]

2 hours ago, Lobsel Vith said:

 

You could technically say that Fitz now being uber-competent with firearms is also an example of the writers not having a plan or thinking ahead since they never explain how Fitz learned to shoot two guns at the same time, since his role as the Doctor was based on scientific research (and even that didn't make much sense since his role seemed more suited to Simmons given the research of Inhuman genetics and how their powers work - it seemed more about having Iain play off an alt-right version of Fitz than the story making sense). It's something you have to fanwank an explanation for to explain (and one could say could have been easily remedied had his role in the Framework actually focused on providing a reasonable explanation for this to explain why he's so good with guns now), but at least that isn't jarring in the same way. 

 

Basically The Doctor was the endgame Framework Fitz since as a contemporary of Simmons who should have been at SHIELD Academy when Hydra revealed itself. The combination of tactical and technical skills needed to get overall command like Coulson is supposed to have "I am training you to command" rather then being a mission specialist, "she taught you how to fight". In this case his father remaining in his life must have taught Leopold to be a dirty fighter along with his engineering genius redirected due to Ophelia.

[Loandbehold]

On 3/5/2018 at 12:25 PM, Absurda said:

Okay, tip for Hale and her daughter who asked if they were the good guys:

 

Number 1 on the "You know you're a bad guy when" list is

 

"You are training children to be super assassins and your name isn't Leon. Bonus evil points if one of the assassins is your child."

Awesome Leon reference.

Additional points for locking your daughter away when she's not going to school or on "assignment."

Edited March 6, 2018 by Loandbehold

[shrewd.buddha]

The first 3/4's of the show really felt like "limited budget sci-fi" : empty warehouse rooms, empty bar, empty streets, small town with no people around, scenes inside an old van, scenes in small town police station, hardly any tech on display ... 
I get that the story of being "most wanted" and cut off from resources is probably a side-effect of actual budget cuts, but it felt odd to see the motley crew of ex-Agents just standing around in mostly empty rooms during so many scenes.
The shot near the end, with the quinjet dropping into the underwater hanger was nice - is that where all the special effects money went? 

I wondered why no one tried to save Yo-Yo's severed arms. Reattachment surgery is a lot better these days . . . but I suppose she is supposed to go the cybernetic route. 

I am glad AoS is back on Earth. But I would have been happier if they could have had at least a couple of hours to rest and recuperate. And shower. And change clothes. 
This show could really benefit from letting the characters have actual, 'real' lives - - you know - - beds to go home to, homes to go home to, cars to drive, friends to talk to, etc. The show makes it seem as if the Agents sleep in off-screen barracks and get all their clothes issued to them from some SHIELD supply store.
It is as if their job has become their entire world - - but they are not even getting paid to do it anymore. 

Edited March 6, 2018 by shrewd.buddha

[Mrs. Stanwyck]

Quote

  Daisy is putting herself out there to help Deke out of a situation he got himself in. Daisy has been put in scenes where she's basically doing emotional support for Deke or where she's helping him in one form or another, which makes no sense from what was built up earlier - I don't see why the writers had Deke sell her into slavery if they're going to expend so much time expecting me to buy that she's going to keep going out of her way for him as if all he did wrong was leave the toilet seat up. It's simply bad writing.

To be fair, the team's last interaction with Deke was him sacrificing himself so Enoch could sacrifice himself and power the monolith to take them home.  

 

Quote

Deke is basically Space Ward - a guy who did reprehensible things, but we're supposed to forget about it so we shouldn't think too hard about who exactly it is we're supposed to be rooting for in his scenes.

I don't think anyone forgot about the terrible things Ward did.  Except for they way they treated Framework Ward who was legitimately a nicer guy, no one got over what Ward did.  Coulson killed him on the blue planet, Jemma even hated him in the Framework, Fitz and May didn't get over it.  And while Deke is no choir boy, I would not put what we saw of his actions in the same category as what Ward did.  The worst thing we saw Deke do was sell out Daisy to Kassius but they at least half assed explained that the did that in order to continue to be able to help them; which he did.  And in the end, he was willing to give up his life so they could go back and change the future.  I wasn't looking for Deke to come back (I would have preferred Flint) but if you line up Ward and Deke and ask me to pick one to stick around, I am going to pick Deke all day long.  I don't ever want to see Ward again.

[blueray]

Quote

It is as if their job has become their entire world - - but they are not even getting paid to do it anymore

It has become that way. Earlier seasons they were mentions of them going home and having lives. However because of what they've been through they haven't had a chance to "go home". And I always wondered about Simmon's family (does she have one? If so what do they think their daughter is doing?). I really hope that they get chance to have a life again or at least time to take a shower.