Discuss Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 1x21 "Ragtag" - Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

A secret evil organization was recently revealed and I happen to have super soldiers that can help - of course they are not in any way connected...

Also, how are they wrapping this up in one episode?

mischievouspixi | May 06, 17:02 CET

Better, stronger, faster. Seriously?

Squishy | May 06, 17:03 CET

We didn't see any bodies. If they died, we would see it.

Nebula1400 | May 06, 17:03 CET

Great episode tonight.The insight into Ward's past definitely explained some things.ANd yes,I think Skye is Kree and nice lead in to this summers Guardians of the Galaxy.

The big questions though for me is what of Fitz/Simmons(I wonder if Ward actually was saving them) and what has Garrett become?

[ edited by Buffyfantic on 2014-05-07 02:05 ]

Buffyfantic | May 06, 17:04 CET

I know they didn't die, but they weren't in the preview for next week, which is just mean. Now I don't know what they'll be doing while the rest of the team does the finale stuff...

Valantha | May 06, 17:05 CET

Maybe their crate will settle next to Angel's. Could be a long summer.

Agent | May 06, 17:08 CET

All three blabbing about who is worse, Ward or Connor.

Darkness | May 06, 17:09 CET

They won't be wrapping it up in one episode. They are going to leave us with a giant cliffhanger, where the Kree come looking for Skye.

And what better way for a high-tech weapons manufacturer to make mega-profits, than to create fear and a justification for the use of those weapons (or super soldiers)?

Nebula1400 | May 06, 17:10 CET

"The final ingredient - guys, it's chemical X!"
mischievouspixi

This just in: Genndy Tartakofsky to write and direct Sce 2; Ep o1.

roddikinathome | May 06, 17:10 CET

This episode was really silly. I mean . . . Wow.

Squishy | May 06, 17:10 CET

44 minutes goes a long way if you know how...

Darkness | May 06, 17:11 CET

Poor FitzSimmons. They're going to have to engineer an oxygen supply and an escape from a pressurized container deep under water using only their pocket detritus. Fitz's pockets are particularly useful in these situations, though.

Sunfire | May 06, 17:15 CET

Another wonderfully cracky way the Fitzsimmons thing could work out is with Fitzsimmons ending up on a wee bit of island, and they find the T.A.R.D.I.S. ;)

But poor Simmons must be having some flashbacks to F.T.T.Z.

Valantha | May 06, 17:23 CET

Aaaghh. This seems to be my default comment at the end of recent episodes.

So. OK. They're not going to kill FitzSimmons, not like this. They're not going to kill Coulson AGAIN, because that would be ridiculous. But either Ward or Garrett has to go down next week, right? Will Coulson or Fury pull the trigger?

Also (and I admit this is of concern to no one except me), I will be in the ruralest rural Southwest next Tuesday and will have no internet access and no way to hang with y'all. So let me say what a pleasure it's been. This is the first show where I've really had a chance to comment alongside the other Whedonesquers, and it is so great. I'll post after the episode, once I make it to the local library, but I'll miss y'all.

[ETA - Yes, I am going to the Sandbox.]

[ edited by javelina on 2014-05-07 02:37 ]

javelina | May 06, 17:32 CET

Fitz still has that quarter in his pocket. He'll be able to call for help with it if anyone is within range... which they will be, because a dying Ward will tell Coulson the coordinates he dropped the crate at.

AndrewCrossett | May 06, 17:36 CET

I hadn't thought that Ward would die because he'd make a great recurring villain in future seasons, but if he somehow redeems himself (we don't ultimately know Buddy's fate), his arc will be done, and he's dead. They'd be smarter to keep him evil and around now and again.

Agent | May 06, 17:39 CET

Raina said something about being the same as Skye inside. Do you suppose they are both Kree?

Nebula1400 | May 06, 17:39 CET

I think we know Buddy's dead.

Squishy | May 06, 17:41 CET

He didn't pull the trigger, and he was out of the scope. I'm going with the comic book "didn't happen and less we saw, and then it's 50/50 at best" rule.

Agent | May 06, 17:43 CET

Buddy is dead. We didn't see it because you can't kill dogs or children on an 8 PM network show.

AndrewCrossett | May 06, 17:45 CET

I'm loving this show!

WheelsOfJoy | May 06, 17:46 CET

Or maybe Skye is Kree, and Raina is a Skrull? Or maybe they are both Kree, and Raina has been searching for her (and or other Kree).

Nebula1400 | May 06, 18:06 CET

Skye herself may not be Kree...Inhuman maybe? They have ties to the Kree in the comics and it would explain why Skye's powers haven't manifested so far.

Dusk | May 06, 18:08 CET

That may be, Dusk. They may both be Inhumans.

[ edited by Nebula1400 on 2014-05-07 03:17 ]

Nebula1400 | May 06, 18:16 CET

I've liked the show from the start - and have REALLY enjoyed the series from about the halfway mark. That said I thought this episode was weak - and given the finale is next week, it felt particularly deflating.

On the plus side, I liked the Fitz/Trip bonding moment (complete w/ Simmons grinning approval), the old school Commando equipment was cute, and the Cybertek scene was good for a smile

But 2 Pet Peeves reared their heads in the same episode.

1) NOW's the time to start with intriguing Skye storyline? The show was guilty early on of throwing out threads that would pay off down the road. With only .an episode to go I'd of used that time to amp up the pace of the hunt and not lay groundwork for Season 2. Unless they plan the big reveal at the ending of next week's episode and let it hang there all summer, but that could be done without the regurge of the Chinese village story etc.

2) Evil Ward is now Boring Evil Ward. It's seems to me with the clunky "Ward is bad" dialogue we're being set up for a redeeming moment for Ward that will serve as a "twist". For weeks Ward and Garrett have been testy, now we learn Ward's not really to blame, he just fell under the tutelage of a psycho ... but he can't be THAT bad because he couldn't bring himself to shoot the dog. If movie prequels have taught us anything, trying to "explain" the evil usually dilutes it. They bring Ward back as a "good guy", complete with Fitz beaming out "I told you he was good!" and I'll officially check out

Here's hoping they have a couple big moments still up their sleeves that are on par with the last 6-8 episodes.

TallMichaelJ | May 06, 18:26 CET

There is no coming back from killing Buddy. Application for redemption DENIED.

BringItOn5x5 | May 06, 18:26 CET

Maybe the ending of the finale is Fury taking everyone to Attilan or maybe have Skye be exposed to Terrigen Mist

Dusk | May 06, 18:26 CET

Yeah, I don't think there's any redemption for Ward. He made his decision when he ejected that crate from the plane.

Unless Ward pulled a fast one and put a GPS beacon on the crate before ejecting it, or something of the sort, so that Coulson's team could find them. Which is a possibility. I'm pretty sure that if that control panel could eject the crate, it could also have opened the door to it.

AndrewCrossett | May 06, 18:47 CET

NOW's the time to start with intriguing Skye storyline?

I found it interesting that Ward wasn't forthcoming with the info on Skye after he found out. That said, I hope he isn't brought back as a happy-go-lucky vigilante.

Nebula1400 | May 06, 18:50 CET

I was intrigued by this interview's mention of a FitzSimmons audition scene last fall:

Loeb: Joss wrote a scene specifically for the audition — basically, the two of them in a very close, trapped space, and they’re going to die.

And then things the cast have hinted at in the meantime made it sound like the same scene (or some revised version of it) would be appearing in the finale. And now we know it's a box in the ocean! Which is actually even more dire than I'd expected.

Sunfire | May 06, 18:54 CET

Buddy is dead. We didn't see it because you can't kill dogs or children on an 8 PM network show.

Not sure that's a hard/fast rule, but I think that was Garrett behind the scope anyway. Ward said that caring about Fitzsimmons was a weakness, echoing Garrett's questions. Ward showed weakness with Buddy, so Garrett put him down. Ward got rid of Fitzsimmons so they could be rescued, so that Garrett couldn't put them down, too.

Don't misunderstand, I think trying to make Ward not evil again at this juncture is super lame, but that seems to be the direction it's going.

Either way, Ward didn't kill Buddy.

Agent | May 06, 19:02 CET

Of course, characters are more interesting if they aren't all good or all evil. If Ward is to go the Black Widow path of redemption, it better be a long path, rather than be resolved in an episode or two.

Nebula1400 | May 06, 19:16 CET

I suppose it's possible Garrett could have killed the dog, to show Ward the uselessness of showing mercy... but it would sort of undercut the whole point of the wilderness exercise, which was that Garrett wasn't going to do the tough jobs for him.

AndrewCrossett | May 06, 19:20 CET

I agree with TallMichaelJ this episode was a bit of a train wreck. Especially when it's the penultimate episode of the season. I had hopes that we'd at least end on a high note,but we seem to be going in the opposite direction. Some real low points: pretty much all the dialogue except for "large file transfer," May's pointless acrobatics in the hall, the utterly lifeless zip line out of the building, the endless back and forth about whether Ward is evil or not, May's overly serious resolution to channel all her rage and "take him down," the clumsy, thrown-together backstory about young, red-hat Ward (seriously, wtf is with the hat?) and about how "caring is a weakness." "Caring is weakness???" That's what makes evil Ward tick? Jeez, way to suck all the fun out of a potentially cool villain. And Coulson has just gone way over the top with his gushing, preachy morality. "You showed compassion, and that's harder." Pretty soon he'll be singing "kumbaya". What happened to the cool-headed, pragmatic, by-the-book agent from the movies? He used to be so freakin' cool when he actually acted like an agent, rather than a champion of righteousness and feelings and stuff. And I cannot believe the tag at the end with Ian Quinn and his bad hair talking to the two military guys. Did they really just reference bin Laden?! Wtf!? These attempts at making the show seem "relevant" and topical - like Skye's BF'S reference to Snowden in an earlier episode - just come across as clueless and tone deaf.

On the plus side, I'm a little curious about Skye's monster parents. Maybe they'll find time to get to that in the last episode.

Squishy | May 06, 19:26 CET

How can we know it's a train wreck when we haven't seen the last episode? Maybe it works in the context of the entire story. When do we find out what Rosebud is? NOT in the penultimate episode!

ETA: Garrett may have killed the dog to keep Ward fearful of him, and thus in his control.

[ edited by Nebula1400 on 2014-05-07 04:43 ]

Nebula1400 | May 06, 19:39 CET

Interesting how we have three characters of varying gray morality. Ward's looking pretty evil, but not 100% evil after this episode (provided he didn't intend to kill FitzSimmons, and that's why he crated them rather than shooting them). Raina seems a wildcard, but increasingly like she'll betray Garrett if she decides its beneficial to her. Mike has done some bad things, but is the most sympathetic given his circumstances.

If they're going to do the redemption pathway for Ward, I'd sort of like to see him, Mike, and Raina form a small team of former villains trying to set things straight. Coulson et al wouldn't trust them, but maybe they could come into conflict with Season 2's villain--maybe Quinn? He's setting himself up pretty well.

PaperSpock | May 06, 20:10 CET

I apologize if someone else has already said this, but dear lord, tvtropes is going to have a lot of fun with this episode

Pudungurte | May 06, 20:31 CET

What an utterly ridiculous episode. I think this ranks as one of the worst of the season for me. :(

The whole thing felt like pantomime and the only actor that realises it is Bill Paxton.

Kaan | May 06, 21:42 CET

The AV Club, who have been pretty critical of the show in the past, liked it and gave the episode a B+.

http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/marvels-agents-shield-ragtag-204322

Simon | May 06, 21:54 CET

Raina has seemed pretty unhappy with Garrett from the moment she found out he wasn't really clairvoyant. She could mess him over personally without redeeming herself.

Shapenew | May 06, 22:25 CET

I don't think we can assume Ward didn't kill Buddy with the Rifle just like I don't think we can assume he didn't intend to kill FitzSimmons by dumping them. Maybe Ward CAN kill those he cares about, he just prefers to do it from a distance.

If that is true, then he is not only evil, but a coward.

Penthos | May 07, 04:39 CET

TV audiences are addicted to redemption stories. The last-minute act of self-sacrifice that sends the villain's purified soul winging up to heaven is a trope that people just can't get enough of.

I kind of hope they don't do that with Ward. We're conditioned to think that when we get flashbacks and details on what made the bad guy bad, it's a prelude to turning him good. But Whedon shows have always been about twisting audience expectations.

AndrewCrossett | May 07, 05:11 CET

I believe Ward is a triple agent. I believe he is working for Victoria Hand.
-The dynamic of Garrett making him harm those he wants to protect like Buddy, Fitz/Simmons, etc. echoes the dynamic of his older brother making him harm is younger brother.
-The whole Hand inviting Ward to lock Garrett up, then offering him the opportunity to kill him seemed convoluted. Unless it was used as a way to plant Ward with Garrett and earn his trust. Too bad Hand had to sacrifice her LMD for the con to work.
-Making his own team believe he is Hydra is the perfect way to help sell the con to Garrett.

garyyager | May 07, 05:45 CET

@garyyager - The whole Hand inviting Ward to lock Garrett up, then offering him the opportunity to kill him seemed convoluted.

I too found that whole thing to be odd/contrived at the time. However, I don't think it means Ward is a triple agent. He definitely murdered Koenig in cold blood as well as who knows how many people at the Fridge. He's also had the opportunity to kill or let Garrett die on at least two occasions now.

If he is triple, it's a hell of a long Con and must have a pretty important objective/end game if it's not to Kill Garrett.

Penthos | May 07, 05:57 CET

I love that theory garyyager, though I'm not totally sure that it works. For one thing, I think Ward's killed an awful lot of innocent people. Hand (and Ward) would have to be pretty ruthless and results-driven to justify such collateral damage. (Then again, maybe that would make their characters more interesting.)

If the show could pull off a convincing triple agency twist, I'll be pretty impressed.

[ edited by Squishy on 2014-05-07 15:11 ]

Squishy | May 07, 06:08 CET

@Penthos & @Squishy, excellent points, clearly there are a lot of holes in my theory. I still feel like "older brother making Ward harm little brother" dynamic will play out with Garrett. If not a triple, then it could be set up for a heroic sacrifice. Although I can't seem to shake the idea of a triple. Maybe it's because I can't accept the idea of Ward killing Koenig. I still hope to see Patton Oswalt as a civilian employee running the Providence base for the Air Force.

[ edited by garyyager on 2014-05-07 15:25 ]

garyyager | May 07, 06:22 CET

Highly unlikely Ward is a triple agent. He killed a bunch of folks at the Fridge, Koenig, and if he secretly was saving/protecting FitzSimmons it was news to them. In the episodes/scenes up to the plane, Hand had been demonstrably blood thirsty despite being one of the "good guys", so while a reach I wasn't too surprised by the offer

As to this annoying Ward backstory ... Attempts to explain the "why" almost always fail for me. Who's more interesting, the Darth Vader of the first Star Wars movies, who is a dark menacing Sith Lord (whatever that was) capable of destroying planets, or the Darth Vader of the prequels who lost his mom, lost his wife, and was manipulated into being bad?

I'm much more pulled into a character by the traits they display and how those traits bounce/conflict with others than the history lesson of why those traits came to be

Here's my finale wish list / prediction within the confines of what we've been given to work with: Flowers betrays Garrett, Garrett kills her. Deathlok also betrays Garrett, and in the fight, and is heroically killed or at least knocked out of commission. Koenig is ONLY shown in flashback, because if he is still alive I'll be annoyed. Coulson takes down an already wounded Garrett. Ward tries to step in, tries to be good and fails, Skye puts him down using her revealed baby monster powers. Episode closes on a WTF look from Skye and team as to what she just did.

TallMichaelJ | May 07, 06:25 CET

@garyyager, great catch about Garrett's dynamic echoing Ward's older brother dynamic. I totally agree.
My prediction for the second season after some hints this week, is that Raina will be the big baddie. They will show whatever she has in common with Skye, and they will fight against each other. Of course, my history with predictions is that 90% of the time I'm wrong :-)

end_of_the_world_optimist | May 07, 07:02 CET

You know, after next week, the wait will feel like forever, especially if it's not renewed.

Nebula1400 | May 07, 07:31 CET

Best line of the season was Coulson saying he was sending a large file transfer to Skye. And then the file cabinet flys out the window. I could not stop laughing!!

About Ward, I thought this episode was great for his character. Brett Dalton can actually act! However I do think the set up for his redemption is too soon and too damn obvious with the crumby dialogue between FitzSimmons inside that pod they got flushed out of by Ward.

I think if this show wants to up the risks and keep the excitement high they should actually keep Ward evil and then kill him eventually. Joss Whedon shows shouldn't be afraid to stake people.

[ edited by ChosenOne5376 on 2014-05-07 16:43 ]

ChosenOne5376 | May 07, 07:43 CET

Did Ward have plastic surgery in those woods? Why did they change the actor without an explanation? It felt really strange, and made it hard for me to care about the character.

Ragondux | May 07, 11:19 CET

>> @garyyager - The whole Hand inviting Ward to lock Garrett up,
>> then offering the opportunity to kill him seemed convoluted.

Exactly, Victoria Hand on AoS was portrayed as the ultimate "all SHIELD rules must be completely followed to the letter and all forms completely filled out in triplicate."
Then suddenly she is letting POW's under her control get crossed off? No. To say nothing of the lost intel from Garrett. - No. -

Although,
I could easily see her giving Garrett 500,000 volts
of battery powered, joy-buzzer twixt his nethers.

Since that comes directly from the Nick Fury playbook,
she would be OK with it.

RobynH | May 07, 11:46 CET

Mutant Enemy alum Jeff Bell hit it out of the park with this episode. Unlike "Nothing Personal" which struck me as all expository talk, this one showed, not told -- and had some great touches of subtlety and humor. The story moved at a brisk pace, with nice insights into the characters (and probably gave more backstory than all the previous 20 combined!) If all the eps were this good, I'll be changing my tune. Oh, and loved the ref to the Six-Million Dollar Man at the end.

Whedonage | May 07, 12:45 CET

The West Texas cheerleader. Shit.

I missed the ep. "Heroes" reference pertaining to regenerative properties?

KingofCretins | May 07, 12:55 CET

The file transfer was fantastic.

I liked a lot of the character moments in the episode. But I didn't like the implication that killing or not killing the dog would sort of indicate whether Ward's truly evil or not. This may have something to do with the fact that I hate dogs - I was hoping young Ward would be snacking on a McBuddy whenever we would see him after the first scene in the woods - but no, I found this whole bit too forced as the moral mirror I got the impression it was supposed to be.
However, I liked how it was left ambiguous to what truly happened in the end:
-It could be that Ward didn't kill the dog, was looking him run off through the sniper rifle and still didn't kill him.
-It could be that Ward didn't kill him but Garrett took him out with the sniper rifle instead.
-It could be that Ward was too 'weak' to kill the dog up close and personal, but still followed his orders and took the sniper rifle as an alternative means.
It might be nice if they left this to be ambiguous, otherwise I'm mostly hoping for the third option... I'd prefer Ward to be really evil and not to have everything end in this sacrificial attempt at redemption that many already started predicting once Ward was revealed as Hydra.

I thought the scene with Ward and FitzSimmons was mostly a strong scene for Fitz: for his disbelieve in Ward being evil and his desperate reach for Ward's friendship and compassion. I think it's only natural for someone on the team, especially Fitz, to respond to Ward's betrayal in this way.

I believe I've often found myself agreeing with TallMichaelJ but I didn't find this episode suffering from those weaknesses he described above. I appreciated the Skye origin subplot surfacing again. It hadn't come up in a while but it seems logical that they'd still go into it for the finale, I thought they did a good job at tying it to Garrett's operation. I like those suggestions made by some of you above that Skye and Rayna might be Inhumans instead of Kree! (I'm personally still hoping for something related to the character Mantis - except maybe if that would mean for Skye to suddenly start referring to herself as 'this one'.)

Despite my issues with the dog scene, I did appreciate some insight into Ward's past and I didn't think that they lessened his evilness because of it. In my opinion they actually did make him more understandable. I do like it when they manage to show where villains are coming from and why they are doing what they do, I think they pulled it off well enough here, by showing some glimpses (and not the full story, like what happened with him burning down the house).
The young Ward actor played him well but I didn't think he looked like a younger version of Brett Dalton. When the episode opened I first thought they got Donnie 'Blizzard' Gill back in. And was he supposed to be too young to have facial hair growth or did he still keep his shaving gear for his stay in the woods? He looked way to tidy after having been there for as long as he was.

Valentijn | May 07, 13:11 CET

Not sure I'd agree on how Hand is portrayed. She's pretty willing to blow Garrett n' Coulson out of the sky any post arrest intel be damned. I also thought her blood thirsty "you're with us or against us" speech, while a ruse to root out Hydra, was also indicative of her thought process. Ultimately, Ward would have killed her and the agents without that opportunity from Hand so it's kinda moot to me

My take was Ward couldn't kill the dog. Garrett was keeping an eye on him from a (sniper) distance to see if he could do it. When he didn't he used Ward's rifle to put an end to Buddy

I do think they could have gone with a slightly younger actor for early Ward. The stakes would be heightened a bit if he was 12 and setting his house on fire/surviving in woods, plus the visual wouldn't have been as distracting ... easier to reconcile the look if the age gap was wider

@Valentijn "this one" would love a Skye-is-Mantis reveal! Season 2 focusing on a Celestial Madonna arc would be trippy. Hell, make Ward the Swordsman while they're at it

TallMichaelJ | May 07, 13:18 CET

@TallMJ - I took Garret's command to kill Buddy as one last test. If Ward failed to kill the dog, he failed the test and Garret would not be able to rely on him. Which is why I think we are going to find out that Ward did kill Buddy (of course I'm probably wrong).

Penthos | May 07, 15:08 CET

I had mixed feeling about the episode. Given that I really enjoyed the last few episodes, I was hoping that the penultimate would be a homerun. In my book, it wasn’t. I actually just rewatched the episode to try and identify what I liked and didn’t like.

I’ll start with the negative. Honestly, I found that this episode slacked on the details. Here are some of the more distracting elements:

1. May and Coulson did not try and find a computer anywhere in the Cybertech building to upload the activation for the Trojan horse. I get that the files were important to the flow of the episode but I kept waiting for Skye to say “FIND ANY USB DRIVE. ANY. GO TO THE CAFETERIA. FIND A CASH REGISTER.”
2. The zip line from the 4th floor was anchored in a ceiling tile. Right in the middle of the unsupported tile.
3. Garrett’s story about surviving a major gun shot wound to the gut with duct tape, if true, was awful. I know he’s given to hyperbole, and I hope he’s lying because otherwise – unconvincing and poorly delivered back story element.
4. The agents happily decided to fly into Havana CUBA with no discussion about international air space, subverting radar, or the fact that their Shield, status which may have given them access before Hydra, surely doesn’t now. I know the agents have flown lots of places this year. I guess given my country’s history with Cuba and now that Hydra owns Shield, I needed a little more info on how they did this.
5. Rania did not wear gloves when she was digging around in Garrett. And she had no ickiness on her flowery shift.

I did enjoy a lot of the episode. So here is what I liked.

1. I enjoyed Trip’s bag of tricks once I got over the convenient locale of his grandmother. I especially liked the laser cigarettes and the quarter walkie talkies. This stuff will prove useful for a bit longer I suspect.
2. May and Skye’s interaction over Ward was meaningful for me. May is a cold killer and she’s not going to be emotional. I thought it struck the right chord.
3. Garrett’s interactions with Deathlok were priceless. The show is obviously building up poor Mike Peterson to go exponential on his ass. I don’t think Coulson will be able to stop him. I just hope he doesn’t die.
4. The FitzSimmon dump rocked. Everyone nailed the scene. I especially love how Fitz told Ward that he “cares” about them. Ward admits that he does and adds it’s a weakness and throws them off the bus. I don’t see how Ward can come back from that. He knows he cares about them and because of these feelings he attempts to kill them.

So it was a mixed bag. I guess my expectations were a little higher due to the last run of eps where little quirks didn’t bother me. I think when the story is really really good then odd story choices don’t really distract me. I have to say the story could have been better.

Thanks for reading my essay.

hann23 | May 07, 15:18 CET

hann, May and Coulson weren't looking for a computer because Skye was doing that. She was out in the van telling them that she couldn't find a computer anywhere.

As for flying into Cuba, they're vigilantes. By definition, everything they're doing is illegal. No need to worry about violating Cuba's airspace when they don't even have legal permission to fly over America.

Jason_M_Bryant | May 07, 16:06 CET

I have a question. Since there is no S.H.I.E.L.D., who is paying for all that jet fuel they are burning up? :)

bleefb | May 07, 16:49 CET

Thanks, I missed Skye saying that there were no computers anywhere. I thought she was talking about a specific floor. That makes better sense. I watched it 2x too. I couldn't even register the "no computers" concept. My mind rebelled!

My problem with flying into Cuba was that they didn't even at a minimum say "hey, do you think we might get shot at, maybe run into military? ", especially since for all Cuba knows they could be Hydra.

I did enjoy the ep. I just found that I had issues that I wasn't looking for.

hann23 | May 07, 17:24 CET

@KingofCretins
Nope, candidate for the best line of the season

Nameless Toady: "HAIL HYDRA!!!"
Garrett: "Put your arms down, you look like a West Texas Cheerleader."

RobynH | May 07, 18:18 CET

Yeah. Cuba would have problems with agents of Hydra OR SHIELD violating their air space, but would be unlikely to shoot a plane down with the Guantanamo facility right there. The lab could be at Guantanamo.

Nebula1400 | May 07, 18:51 CET

Ward is protecting FitzSimmons.
We don't yet know what Coulson told him before he busted out Garrett.
Plus, just b/c Ward shot Hand doesn't mean she is dead...ICER (sleepy sleep).

Stupendous | May 07, 19:45 CET

Hand's dead.

First Ward shot two other agents. I just freeze framed and we can see holes in their heads. That wasn't an icer gun.

He shot her. She fell to the ground and moaned. He put two more bullets in her. Garret looked up from her body and smiled, so he was directly watching and would have noticed anything odd.

She's very dead. At least as much as the regular amount of dead. She's "does anyone have a blue alien around here?" dead.

[ edited by Jason_M_Bryant on 2014-05-08 07:47 ]

Jason_M_Bryant | May 07, 22:45 CET

I need a large file transfer gif, it is the story of my life.

lostinthis | May 08, 02:11 CET

JasonMBryant...good call on Hand. I agree Garrett would have noticed.

Maybe the writers thought having Hill and Hand was too confusing.

I just really want to find out what Coulson told Ward beforehand.

Stupendous | May 08, 03:41 CET

Being able to cheat by going back and rewatching that scene helps. I have no idea how people argued about TV shows before home recording technology.

Jason_M_Bryant | May 08, 05:22 CET

Maybe dead Hand was an LMD?

Squishy | May 08, 05:59 CET

OOOOOH NEW THEORY.

I agree that Simmons is hiding something, but what interests me is when she said "I'm getting better" in regards to lying. It was just then that she started acting sort of flirty with Tripp. The show runners and Elizabeth Henridge have insisted that Simmons has motherly or sisterly feeling for Fitz. And then I thought of the TVLine May Spoilers Scorecard, where it mentioned that several relationships were going to fall apart because of someone coming out.

So, my theory: I think Simmons is gay. I think Fitz will admit her feelings and she will let him down by coming out. She may also be in love with Skye, but I don't know.

Also, she is very similar to Willow.

RoguePirateBunny | May 08, 19:39 CET

I'm not saying that Hand is alive, but she doesn't HAVE to be dead, either. Ward totally headshot the other two. I think he was all Garrett's at that point, before Deathlok taught him that he was Garrett's Buddy. But why didn't Hand get headshot, too? She might easily have been shot to incapacitate with Garrett's complete knowledge. Having someone that high-up in SHIELD as a prisoner seems like it could have definite benefits (right up until she escapes/gets rescued and kills you dead).

QingTing | May 08, 20:21 CET

Simmons? Gay? But she is ALWAYS admiring the boys! Remember the scene where she was unnecessarily measuring Mike up for his suit? Didn't seem likely to me.

Beth | May 09, 03:20 CET

@lostinthis

Pardon me but
does anyone have any Blue Alien?
how about Grey Poupon?

RobynH | May 09, 10:31 CET

Simmons could be bisexual. We really know little about her preferences other than that buff guys are definitely included.

Sunfire | May 09, 11:46 CET

@RougePirateBunny - I think Fitz being gay and in love with Skye is VERY possible. After Skye is shot, Fitz is an absolute wreck. She is balling uncontrollably as she tries to wipe the blood off her hands until Simmons comes to comfort her.

In another seen shortly after, Fitz and Tripp are standing outside Skye's hospital room container thingy and Tripp mentions something about how some people surprise you. Ostensibly, they were talking about Skye but I believe that while Tripp clearly thinking about Fitz, Fitz may have really been thinking about Skye and how surprised she is to fell like she does.

[ edited by Penthos on 2014-05-12 16:50 ]

Penthos | May 12, 07:48 CET

May 06 2014