Discuss this week's episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Aaaand were off!

roddikinathome | January 15, 02:01 CET

Ice 9 in the pool gag!

roddikinathome | January 15, 02:03 CET

Oops - different Academy...

brinderwalt | January 15, 02:06 CET

Did she say Bucky Barnes arbitrarily or because she knew the name?

ladypeyton | January 15, 02:08 CET

Thus endith the lecture...

roddikinathome | January 15, 02:11 CET

I assume she read the name on the Wall.

Also, the liason at the Academy had a part in a Dr. Who episode. Cool!

chrisobrien | January 15, 02:12 CET

Dang! I was in the middle of a smug comment exclaiming that I knew the Marvel Universe well enough to already have a good idea what was going on, and then they threw a wrench at me...

ladypeyton | January 15, 02:12 CET

Oh no, I meant did she choose the name to read arbitrarily or because she knew the name from Captain America mythos.

ladypeyton | January 15, 02:13 CET

That set makes me suspicious that it's the Bronze...

KingofCretins | January 15, 02:18 CET

Boiler Room gave me major Bronze vibes.

Ha! Glad to see I wasn't the only one thinking it.

[ edited by PaperSpock on 2014-01-15 02:19 ]

PaperSpock | January 15, 02:19 CET

Nope. The wrench was a fake. I'm back to being pretty sure I know what's going on.

Wasn't the Bronze mostly just an open sound stage with a stage, some chairs and some arbitrary stairs tossed around? I have always had such a hard time mapping that place in my head.

ladypeyton | January 15, 02:21 CET

That was 90 seconds of awesome!

roddikinathome | January 15, 02:24 CET

"Wasn't the Bronze mostly just an open sound stage with a stage, some chairs and some arbitrary stairs tossed around?"

ladypeyton

Lounge area, wraparound balcony, bar, and snack-bar. No, I don't have a girlfriend... :/

roddikinathome | January 15, 02:29 CET

Well, he didn't see that coming!

\Sorry.

roddikinathome | January 15, 02:36 CET

I'd be shocked but there's a Donny Gill in the MU.

ladypeyton | January 15, 02:37 CET

Bad friend.

roddikinathome | January 15, 02:44 CET

The beans, spilled they are.

roddikinathome | January 15, 02:45 CET

Those boys... ain't very bright.

roddikinathome | January 15, 02:47 CET

DOCTOR Simmons, if you please.

roddikinathome | January 15, 02:54 CET

Did anyone else automatically hear "Aly Hannigan" when the agents went to talk to Callie Hannigan?

Muffyn | January 15, 02:56 CET

Yeah. They don't call him the Blizzard for nothing. LOL!

ladypeyton | January 15, 02:57 CET

Plot twist! *winky wink*

roddikinathome | January 15, 02:58 CET

"The Clairvoyant says hello." OH SNAP!

chrisobrien | January 15, 03:02 CET

Great episode tonight.And that Bucky Barnes shout out was so a little wink nudge to Captain America:The WInter Soldier.

Major twist in the tag.

[ edited by Buffyfantic on 2014-01-15 03:05 ]

Buffyfantic | January 15, 03:04 CET

Muffyn -- yes, absolutely. That can't be a coincidence; I assume it's a subtle shout-out to us in the Whedon fandom.

SteveP | January 15, 03:05 CET

Next weeks looks good too.

Darkness | January 15, 03:07 CET

Well that was definitely a step down from last week. I don't know if it was because the story was slower or if it was because the moment I heard the name Donny Gill in an episode with an ice mystery I pretty much had the story pegged. And the Skye background story has pretty much been telegraphed for weeks.

I look forward to seeing what her superpower is, though.

ladypeyton | January 15, 03:08 CET

"I look forward to seeing what her superpower is, though."

ladypeyton

That looks kinda fun. Also, someone working with the "Clairvoyant" voluntarily? Hrrrrm.

roddikinathome | January 15, 03:19 CET

Incidentally, I recommend NOT watching the preview for next week. It hints at two pretty big things which I'd rather not be aware of.

Also, a 3 week hiatus again? Seriously?

PaperSpock | January 15, 03:29 CET

Hahah... With those breaks it looks allmost like Dollhouse season 2...

Darkness | January 15, 03:36 CET

Enjoyed it.

Actually thought that was a pretty kick ass fight scene with Agent May and the off the radar SHIELD agent. Thought the Skye reveal was well handled and I thought the piece at the end where Coulson describes how she handled the news was impressive.

It feels the writers are starting to tip the dominos they set up for so long, with more to come (provided it ever gets a chance to run more than a week or two at a time - sheeesh)

TallMichaelJ | January 15, 03:50 CET

I didn't feel that Sky's back-story had been completely telegraphed. In fact we still know almost nothing about her background other than that someone wants her or wants her dead. I thought the episode hit a lot the emotional high notes, particularly in the interactions between Coulson and May, and Coulson and Sky. Once again between Coulson and May you see the trust and intimacy as colleagues that these two share. She even calls him Phil. And his sympathy for Sky is palpable. He's just such a damn likable actor, you can see why his character became such a fan favorite. Personally I'd love to see him play someone seriously villainous Richard III, just because he'd be playing so out of character it would be fun to see where he'd take it.

barboo | January 15, 04:15 CET

It wasn't Ali Hannigan? Darn. That's what I heard. And who is the young man who plays the brilliant but not too bright inventor kid?

Lioness | January 15, 04:31 CET

I thought this episode was solid and well done. I liked that Skye learned her origin, as it known to date. I loved May and Coulson's talk in the car, despite odd Mexico City background. I think we are in good shape here folks. Really good shape. Please give this show time. I really believe that the confluence of a major network, the major comics studio & whedonverse may have and could continue to result in some wonky stuff. I believe the show is settling and headed for really cool stuff.

And Supernatural had there best ep in a long time.

A good tv night.

hann23 | January 15, 04:43 CET

Great episode. Might be my favorite so far, and i looks like it helped that I didn't know anything about Donnie Gill. But Coulson, talking about how Skye took the news... wow that was something else.

Two week break, and unless they are going to air episodes during the Olympics (doubtful), another two weeks after that... baaad scheduling...

DreamRose311 | January 15, 05:12 CET

It was good. Not as good as last week, but not a disappointment. I like that we're starting to see more superpowers and that mysteries are being slowly uncovered and leading to deeper mysteries.

Part of me still wants to see people running and flying around in bright costumes, but I'm slowly coming to terms with the fact that's never gonna happen.

AndrewCrossett | January 15, 05:17 CET

I'm not sure how much "meta" one should impute to the writers, but ... there was a certain kind of error in the discussion of the super-battery; its capacity was described as "a terawatt" although that is a unit of power which should have been (say) a terawatt-hour instead (the capacity of a battery being its ability to put out a given level of power for a given amount of time).

But the original "Star Wars" movie had a very similar mistake in it, when Han Solo described the Millenium Falcon as the ship that "made the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs," in that a parsec is a unit of distance, not of time. So could this actually have been a certain kind of (i.e. ridiculously nerdish) shout-out?

[ edited by mozzarellademon on 2014-01-15 05:23 ]

mozzarellademon | January 15, 05:21 CET

I think Lucas explained once that the point of the Kessel run was to chart a course with the least amount of divergence so it means doing it by traveling the shortest distance while still navigating around obstacles. Meaning the Millenium Falcon is agile, not fast. (Or course, he's probably just blowing smoke after the error was pointed out. But it's a convincing cloud of smoke...)

I liked the episode very much. And mostly because I finally like Ward. And the stuff with Sky and Coulson was great. And the sucker punches at the end.
I don't know much about the comics because I grew up somewhere that didn't have a comic book store anywhere accessible. I've been trying to fill that void or a while now but started with the obvious and shifted to the really expansive world of X-Men and haven't gotten to anything Avengers so I don't understand most of the meta or have a clue where they can be going with various characters, so I wonder if that helps me enjoy the ride more because I'm not anticipating things?

NYPinTA | January 15, 05:49 CET

It was both a disappointing and fun episode. I wanted details established for Coulson's resurrection, but didn't get them.

It was well written. The slow development that's been permeating the whole season should only be a one time thing. The second time around, please move a bit faster? And I'd love to get episodes only focused on the main characters. Another Joss Whedon written episode too.

Out. For. A. Walk. Bitch. | January 15, 06:50 CET

Sigh. The start of the episode was really great. I was enjoying it the most out of any episode thus far. Ward leading his mini-team on a mystery, May finally doing something other than just standing there looking angry. That fight scene wasn't too bad either (except for that truly awful shot of the guy lifting up the cyanide pill like he was examining it). But it all turned into yet another predictable and cliched borefest. I've never heard of Donnie Gill from the MU but that didn't stop me from working out the plot within minutes. And what happened to the super storm? They just grabbed the kids and flew off into the sunshine.

Skye's revel was also a let-down. Set up this mystery as one the biggest continuing plot threads running through your show and then resolve it by having some random guy just sit there and explain it all? Eugh. Why was that rogue agent suddenly ready to talk? He had been on the run from S.H.I.E.L.D. for over 20 years. Why would he suddenly trust anyone from the organization? He was ready to kill himself but then 5 minutes later he tells them everything he knows!? :headdesk:

I think this episode has bothered me more because of how much I enjoyed the beginning.

Kaan | January 15, 06:59 CET

The one thing that would turn the entire show on its head is if, "she had some kind of power", Skye, turned out to be the Clairvoyant...

ladypeyton | January 15, 07:26 CET

Bucky! Now I'm more pumped for Winter Soldier.

Ending was predictable but I enjoyed the episode.

Hated that runaway agent suddenly all cooperative. WTH? You were ready to kill yourself to keep your secret then Coulson introduces him to Lola and he's all chatty? I'd get it if it was because he recognized Coulson and knew he could trust him but there was no hint in that whatsoever.

I can understand Coulson telling Skye - he draws parallel between them and wants her to know the truth, unimaginative as it might be (as it was guessed a while back). I'm hopeful Fury didn't give Phil everything but just enough to stop him from looking for more. But knowing Phil, he won't stop til he uncovers everything. Can't wait!

Mirage | January 15, 11:59 CET

Personally I'd love to see him play someone seriously villainous

He played a serial killer on The Shield. That was in 2004 and the episodes were "What Power is..." and "Strays". He was pretty chilling.

Jason_M_Bryant | January 15, 12:07 CET

Kaan, they didn't resolve Skye's mystery. They still don't know who her parents were, why she got on SHIELD's radar in the first place, or why so many people have been killed to get to her.

This was just one clue on the path to the resolution. We're still pretty far from it.

Jason_M_Bryant | January 15, 12:12 CET

She is an 0-8-4. An entire Chinese village died to protect her. I'm guessing her parents (if she actually had them) died with the rest of the villagers.

And beside's the identity of her parents, the other two are completely new mysteries. Was there ever any hint that Skye has any powers or is in any way "special" in previous episodes? I can't remember any.

Even if it wasn't the proper resolution, I hope they remember the age old rule of "show, don't tell" when it actually comes time to reveal it.

Kaan | January 15, 12:49 CET

Don't get why Skye was all cryface over hearing basically no information. And the music continues to be ludicrously overblown.

Bunnies | January 15, 13:16 CET

Here's what I'm curious about: Coulson apparently went to Fury and got him to admit what they did and to give them files on it. Now what possibly explanation could they be giving him so far for 1) why and 2) how they did what they did to him? It is implausible to think he hasn't asked them, or that there wouldn't be something about it in those files. But whether he's heard a proposed explanation of those two questions or not, so far the only question we see him ask is "what else have they changed about me" (and also we get that he's wondering if he can trust anything they say at this point). But those two questions, 1) why and 2) how really need to be addressed. It is implausible (to me at least) that Fury would go to such lengths to bring anyone back if there were not something very special about them, and it is even more implausible to ask us to believe SHIELD has such technology without giving us an explanation of where it comes from. I'm not saying we need a full explanation right away--obviously they want to take their time and get more mileage out of it. But the way it is being handled so far, there is no indication that those questions are what is bothering Coulson. Maybe the writers don't want to insult our intelligence by belaboring the obvious? Really, the mere existence of tech for bringing people back from the dead and changing their memories should be a big enough deal that we shouldn't just be seeing Coulson getting a file as though he's supposed to just go, 'ok I guess this happened and I'm supposed to accept it'; let alone the glaring question 'what the hell makes Coulson important enough that he would be kept alive through such extreme methods? We're surely not supposed to think SHIELD would do this just for any agent, or even that that's the way Fury treats people he especially likes! So, okay don't tell us how and why, but at least show us that someone sees those questions...

barzai | January 15, 14:30 CET

And it is not just what they haven't told us yet...it is what they have shown us about his reaction that is the real problem. We need to at least hear what Fury's official answer or non-answer to the why and how questions are, or else it would have been better to have Coulson wondering about those questions without yet having obtained any files...The answers cannot be "why? because Fury likes him" and "How? Because they are SHIELD and they can do anything". If those are the answers we're supposed to take away, I would feel that the show has 'jumped the shark'. So I'm trying to trust there is more to it than that.

barzai | January 15, 14:38 CET

Agent Lumley fought against May and Coulson because he assumed they were assassins coming to kill him, like they had done to all his colleagues. That's why he expressed relief when Coulson identified himself as S.H.I.E.L.D., and was willing to tell them what he knew.

Chloe Bennet is clearly not full-blooded Chinese, so I'm guessing one of Skye's parents is white also. I doubt she's the child of two villagers from Hunan.

AndrewCrossett | January 15, 15:21 CET

Kaan, the prime mystery for Skye was who her parents were. That wasn't resolved.

Bunnies, if you were told that your birth was celebrated with the death of an entire village and you didn't get at least a little misty, you'd be a cold, cold person.

Jason_M_Bryant | January 15, 16:18 CET

Did they explicitly say she was "born" in the village or that her parents were there? If so, I missed that. I thought they said she was "found" in the village. Very different and open to so much more interpretation. We are miles from getting any answers about Skye. Love it! I hope they drag it out dropping tiny hints about the young woman (with superpowers) coming into her own. We had to know it was coming! My love for this show just doubled.

IrrationaliTV | January 15, 18:21 CET

Better.

The One True b!X | January 15, 18:55 CET

I do wish the writers would stop reusing some of the same boringly bad dialogue.

How bad?
Bad.
(Either be more interesting, or don't ask the question!)

OneTeV | January 15, 21:48 CET

Apart from Coulson's clunky speech at the end, this was a very strong episode. There was humour, plot development, good team dynamic and I loved the insight into SHIELD and the rivalries between the academies. Also SHIELD comes off more as a cult than anything else in this episode.

Simon | January 15, 22:45 CET

I liked it a lot. On the heels of last week, it made me believe they will be able to ratchet up the quality, so that in the long term this will become a show I love, instead of a mediocre show that I watch out of a sense of loyalty and eventually give up.

KMInfinity | January 16, 00:44 CET

I liked it a whole lot. Emotions, what are you?

gossi | January 16, 00:56 CET

I liked this episode. The show is at its best when its focusing on the characters. I can't believe Coulson didn't wear his suit in this episode. What was the Bucky Barnes reference?

I loved when Ward said "I can get there" and then he opens the door and sees the super storm and goes "No. I can't get there." That moment is begging to be made into a gif with the caption "NOPE".

[ edited by eddy on 2014-01-16 01:22 ]

eddy | January 16, 01:16 CET

Here, I kept being told that SHIELD was not to be seen on Tuesday. Seems that they lied! Grr Argh! Now there are two eps that I need to stream.

Jocelyn | January 16, 01:50 CET

I liked this episode overall but I do not understand why it's Coulson telling us Skye's reaction to learning about her past. That really made no sense to me, and robbed the character of what should have been a really powerful moment. I do really like that she was an 0-8-4. I've been wondering if she was secretly in the index all this time, something like that. Everyone seems really not curious what it is she can or could do, though. That was also odd. I did like seeing hints of the creepy training SHIELD puts its young recruits through, and the reveal that Fitz and Simmons are the rockstars of their program.

Sunfire | January 16, 03:03 CET

FINALLY an ep that I enjoyed enough to watch a second time. I can ignore annoyances like the overblown music as long as they give me interesting characters, and there were many great character moments in this episode. I really enjoyed Fitz talking with the loner boy in his dorm room, and Simmons' smug pride when showing off the boiler room to Ward. I always liked Ward, but now I'm liking him more and more. The characters are finally starting to mesh well.

Amrita | January 16, 04:26 CET

Coulson told Skye about the village dying, but did he not tell her that she might harbor powers, that she's an 0-8-4?

Ronald_SF | January 16, 05:48 CET

I also really liked the part with Fitz talking to the kid in his dorm room. It's nice to see more of Fitz acting like he knows what he's doing. I feel like the early episodes tried to force a little too much bumbling onto him. In the last couple of episodes he has felt more mature and I really like that.

Jason_M_Bryant | January 16, 05:59 CET

Loved it! Fitz has been my favorite character since day one, and this episode just reinforced the love. & OMG, AV Club gave it a B: http://www.avclub.com/review/seeds-106953

QingTing | January 16, 08:10 CET

Sunfire, because it's Coulson's character who grew from that talk with Skye. It was more important to show how he felt about her reaction than how she reacted. The bait and switch adds weight. We think she's crushed and imagine the worst when it cuts away. Surprise to find out she's stronger for it, and Coulson is stronger because of THAT. I thought it was very effective, YMMV.

bobw1o | January 16, 08:12 CET

Agreed with bobw1o. I thought it was another great episode and Coulson's speech at the end worked very well for me. I doubt it would have worked as well if they had shown it the other way, with Skye saying it alongside Coulson's facial expressions. I think it was better to plainly state the meaning which could be derived from Skye's response than to actually show the response and make the audience reach those conclusions by themselves. It wouldn't have been too obvious. I suspect most people really needed Phil to point out what made Skye's response so strong in order to take it to heart as intended.

Valentijn | January 16, 11:15 CET

There is such a Giles/Buffy vibe between Coulson and Skye with the, of course, obvious differences. He wasn't assigned to her and grew to love her like a father, but there are aspects of that kind of relationship which makes Joss' shows so fulfilling. Because in spite of all the tech or anything else that makes a show a genre show, it is the people and their relationships that are the beating heart. And how she came back full circle to the Wall of Valor, thinking at first she had only "hacked" her way in to be a part of S.H.I.E.L.D. Coulson saw something in her before he ever knew what had happened to himself, that dedication to the greater good, as Ward put it.

Just, so well done. Way to go, Jed and Monica.

Tonya J | January 16, 17:48 CET

REALLY liked this episode. I'm not up on all the Marvel Comics backstories, so I don't recognize character names or know ahead of time who they are and what they'll do. My ignorance truly is bliss in this case.

It does appear that we'll be going dark soon, and I'm all about that. Well done all around.

ActualSize | January 16, 21:51 CET

I think I officially love Fitz. It took 'til now, but finally there's a character I'd be legitimately sad to never see again if this show went off the air.

[ edited by swanjun on 2014-01-17 00:48 ]

swanjun | January 17, 00:48 CET

More than any episode so far, this one had me silently muttering, "oh ye of little faith", to all the naysayers. It wasn't perfection but it just gelled.

"Bad seed’ isn’t a S.H.I.E.L.D. term, Ward. Just a term." Ha!

viewingfigures | January 18, 14:14 CET

It'd be one thing if the show was garbage right out of the gate, then the naysayers would have had a good reason for all the hate, but it was never that bad. And anyone who watches a lot of TV knows that a lot of shows don't completely gel until late in season 1 or early season 2

People just needed REALISTIC expectations for this show. Those of us who did are being rewarded

I really felt for Sky in this episode. This one made me more emotionally invested in her than any other episode. I love the scenes between May and Coulson. There's a very healthy relationship building between those two. I think the Mae/Ward thing is just a fling...not that there's anything wrong with that, but Mae/Coulson is where it's really at.

Fitz was strong this episode. I like him so much better when he's not being goofy. I'm not a huge fan of goofy, Willow type characters and Fitz is strongest when he's being portrayed seriously. He could become this show's Wesley

[ edited by Angel&Faith on 2014-01-19 21:36 ]

Angel&Faith | January 19, 21:34 CET

Since Simmons went out the window and Ward leapt after her, I've been on board. I think the show primarily suffers from its comparison to Arrow, which is doing a spectacularly fast-paced and gratifying second season (one so good, the slowness of season 1 has been forgotten and the confusing choices that caused anxiety were now obviously initial steps), and the shadow of the Marvel movies and Joss's name. For a show by Jed and Maurissa in its first season, it's certainly comparable to lots of shows I've watched in good humor by former Whedonverse writers and grown to love, like Warehouse 13, Once Upon a Time, Eureka, Castle, etc. Those shows also eventually outgrew some of their lameness and predictability, which I might add is ABC's MO. The Coulson brain surgery, Simmons self-sacrifice, Skye being an 0-8-4, are all waaay better plots than any of those other shows have mustered. There are weaknesses to be sure, but no more than the kind of stuff I put up with all the time. I think we all expected and wanted this to be our favorite show on the air right now, and that's disappointing. But IMO it's more than good enough to watch and shows a lot of promise at getting better. Also, I don't know that we really know what this show's going to be after Winter Soldier happens.

PuppetDoug | January 30, 10:00 CET

January 15 2014