Agents of Shield: Ragtag
I have a lot of things to say about this one. As usual, over half of the pro-recaps I read make me wonder if we are watching the same show.
~ I have seen it said over and over that Ward burned the house down to try and kill his abusive brother. Um. Didn't anyone else notice that both Ward's parents and his older (abusive) brother were mentioned by Garrett "Your older brother wants them to seek the death penalty." And when Garrett asks him if he knew his brother was in the house when he set it on fire, Ward says no. If they think they can seek the death penalty, someone died in that fire. Process of elimination means Ward's other brother was in the house - you know, the same brother that was dropped down a well, but Ward saved him that time? The irony here being, that Ward no doubt meant to burn down the house as a symbol of how much he hated the rest of his family, a kind of "F you" to his abusive brother and parents, but apparently had no idea his younger brother was trapped in the house at the time. It probably killed him when he found out. Anyway. Yeah, I interpreted that differently, apparently.
~ Coulson geeking out over Trip's Grandad's Howling Commando gear was the best thing ever! It was a glimpse of the Coulson who had mint condition Captain America trading cards. :)
~ How awesome was the Coulson and May pretend to be FitzSimmons scene?? "May doesn't look a day over...30! You're gorgeous!" Had to be one of the funniest lines of the night. It also made me look up her actual age, because I have wondered before exactly how old May is supposed to be. The actress is 51. Holy crap, I wouldn't have placed her at much over 40.
Also, the file transfer through the window(s) was fantastic.
~ Poor Fitz just cannot accept that his friend is actually evil. Is he being controlled? Forced somehow? No, Fitz. Grant Ward is a messed up man who has lived a messed up life, abused by everyone from his own family, to the man who rescued him from jail and proceeded to hone that already rough edge into a blade with more abuse, only this time coated with a thin veneer of "tough love". Ward's only real friend before the Team was a hunting dog (ironically named Buddy) that his mentor then asked him to kill. Is it any wonder he has no idea what to do with his feelings?
~ Raina is one freaky chic. I'm just saying. What's all this stuff about her and Skye being the same on the inside? I have a theory, which I will detail at the end of this post.
~ So Garrett is the first incarnation of Deathlok. Interesting. And he's dying. Watch out, Ward. Garrett will remove anything and anyone in his path to finding that miracle drug.
~ Hate-fu! Hahahahaha. Yes, that is exactly how I would view getting up at 5:00 in the morning to train. Skye said it in context to May's feelings about Ward, but it works for both aspects of their conversation. I like that May and Skye had this bonding moment. May isn't the easiest person to bond with. She never shows emotion, as Skye points out, but that doesn't mean she doesn't feel it, as May points out. Very nice, and I love the idea of May training Skye now.
~ Wow, Raina. You are one manipulative bitch. I've known it for awhile, but you just keep proving it. Garrett better watch his back. Using Skye to manipulate Ward was nicely done. And also - Skye's parents were monsters, eh? That could mean so many things. I HAVE MY THEORIES.
~ Oh, FitzSimmons. Next time follow Coulson's orders. When he tells you to "Get out of there now!" He really means it. I think you were already FUBARed by that point, but you know, just for future reference.
~ Ambiguity, thy name is Grant Ward. Did he kill Buddy? Did he kill FitzSimmons? I think the answer to both is no. If anyone killed Buddy, it was Garrett after Ward couldn't do it. Earlier in the episode, when Garrett and Ward are arguing about the fact that Garrett almost killed him to get Skye to decrypt the hard drive, Ward tells him "I have always done everything you've ever asked of me!" And Garrett looks at him and says tellingly "Almost everything." That is, I think, in response to Buddy. There is a very deliberate correllation between the two scenes: Buddy in the past, and FitzSimmons now. Both are left ambiguous on purpose. I think both times he lets his target go. Ward used to be on the Bus as a strategic home base. He knows that container they are in is air tight. He knows dropping them into the ocean won't kill them (well, it might if the Team doesn't find them in time. But Fitz has that quarter that is a homing device and radio! This would be one of those things that none of the pro-recaps are mentioning. Some even seem to believe FitzSimmons are dead. As if.) However, it will look like Ward is killing them to Garrett. I think the show wants us to all draw our own conclusions about both Buddy and FitzSimmons. Ultimately, I think they are still headed to some kind of redemption arc for Ward.
Also, NO WAY are they killing off either Fitz or Simmons. Although they sure were careful not to show either in the preview for the finale, weren't they?
Okay. Time for my theory. You guys. I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner. I can only blame the fact that I haven't read the comic in YEARS. You guys, SKYE IS AN INHUMAN. Totally. that's why the Kree-based drug worked on her without side effects (the Inhumans were kind of created by the Kree, for the uninitiated. At least if I am remembering it right.) It all fits! Many of the Inhumans look human! They just need exposure to this stuff called the Terrigen Mists to unlock their superpowers. All this time, Skye has appeared a normal human hacker, but that's just because she hasn't had a good dose of Terrigen Mist yet!
I also think this means Raina is sticking around, and she just may end up being the Big Bad next season! What if she and Skye both get exposed, and they are both Inhuman?
I wonder who Skye's parents were? the Inhumans are ruled by a monarchy in the comics. (Black Bolt! Medusa!) Could Skye's parents be royalty? Or soldiers fighting for their freedom against the Kree, or the Skrull, or both? I am so excited by the possibilities, I just know the wait over the summer is going to kill me. There is no way we will get all of our answers next week. I do think Terrigen Mist might make an appearance next week, however. How cool would that be? I will be eagerly waiting for the weekly art release to see if any of my theories are hinted at!
~ I have seen it said over and over that Ward burned the house down to try and kill his abusive brother. Um. Didn't anyone else notice that both Ward's parents and his older (abusive) brother were mentioned by Garrett "Your older brother wants them to seek the death penalty." And when Garrett asks him if he knew his brother was in the house when he set it on fire, Ward says no. If they think they can seek the death penalty, someone died in that fire. Process of elimination means Ward's other brother was in the house - you know, the same brother that was dropped down a well, but Ward saved him that time? The irony here being, that Ward no doubt meant to burn down the house as a symbol of how much he hated the rest of his family, a kind of "F you" to his abusive brother and parents, but apparently had no idea his younger brother was trapped in the house at the time. It probably killed him when he found out. Anyway. Yeah, I interpreted that differently, apparently.
~ Coulson geeking out over Trip's Grandad's Howling Commando gear was the best thing ever! It was a glimpse of the Coulson who had mint condition Captain America trading cards. :)
~ How awesome was the Coulson and May pretend to be FitzSimmons scene?? "May doesn't look a day over...30! You're gorgeous!" Had to be one of the funniest lines of the night. It also made me look up her actual age, because I have wondered before exactly how old May is supposed to be. The actress is 51. Holy crap, I wouldn't have placed her at much over 40.
Also, the file transfer through the window(s) was fantastic.
~ Poor Fitz just cannot accept that his friend is actually evil. Is he being controlled? Forced somehow? No, Fitz. Grant Ward is a messed up man who has lived a messed up life, abused by everyone from his own family, to the man who rescued him from jail and proceeded to hone that already rough edge into a blade with more abuse, only this time coated with a thin veneer of "tough love". Ward's only real friend before the Team was a hunting dog (ironically named Buddy) that his mentor then asked him to kill. Is it any wonder he has no idea what to do with his feelings?
~ Raina is one freaky chic. I'm just saying. What's all this stuff about her and Skye being the same on the inside? I have a theory, which I will detail at the end of this post.
~ So Garrett is the first incarnation of Deathlok. Interesting. And he's dying. Watch out, Ward. Garrett will remove anything and anyone in his path to finding that miracle drug.
~ Hate-fu! Hahahahaha. Yes, that is exactly how I would view getting up at 5:00 in the morning to train. Skye said it in context to May's feelings about Ward, but it works for both aspects of their conversation. I like that May and Skye had this bonding moment. May isn't the easiest person to bond with. She never shows emotion, as Skye points out, but that doesn't mean she doesn't feel it, as May points out. Very nice, and I love the idea of May training Skye now.
~ Wow, Raina. You are one manipulative bitch. I've known it for awhile, but you just keep proving it. Garrett better watch his back. Using Skye to manipulate Ward was nicely done. And also - Skye's parents were monsters, eh? That could mean so many things. I HAVE MY THEORIES.
~ Oh, FitzSimmons. Next time follow Coulson's orders. When he tells you to "Get out of there now!" He really means it. I think you were already FUBARed by that point, but you know, just for future reference.
~ Ambiguity, thy name is Grant Ward. Did he kill Buddy? Did he kill FitzSimmons? I think the answer to both is no. If anyone killed Buddy, it was Garrett after Ward couldn't do it. Earlier in the episode, when Garrett and Ward are arguing about the fact that Garrett almost killed him to get Skye to decrypt the hard drive, Ward tells him "I have always done everything you've ever asked of me!" And Garrett looks at him and says tellingly "Almost everything." That is, I think, in response to Buddy. There is a very deliberate correllation between the two scenes: Buddy in the past, and FitzSimmons now. Both are left ambiguous on purpose. I think both times he lets his target go. Ward used to be on the Bus as a strategic home base. He knows that container they are in is air tight. He knows dropping them into the ocean won't kill them (well, it might if the Team doesn't find them in time. But Fitz has that quarter that is a homing device and radio! This would be one of those things that none of the pro-recaps are mentioning. Some even seem to believe FitzSimmons are dead. As if.) However, it will look like Ward is killing them to Garrett. I think the show wants us to all draw our own conclusions about both Buddy and FitzSimmons. Ultimately, I think they are still headed to some kind of redemption arc for Ward.
Also, NO WAY are they killing off either Fitz or Simmons. Although they sure were careful not to show either in the preview for the finale, weren't they?
Okay. Time for my theory. You guys. I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner. I can only blame the fact that I haven't read the comic in YEARS. You guys, SKYE IS AN INHUMAN. Totally. that's why the Kree-based drug worked on her without side effects (the Inhumans were kind of created by the Kree, for the uninitiated. At least if I am remembering it right.) It all fits! Many of the Inhumans look human! They just need exposure to this stuff called the Terrigen Mists to unlock their superpowers. All this time, Skye has appeared a normal human hacker, but that's just because she hasn't had a good dose of Terrigen Mist yet!
I also think this means Raina is sticking around, and she just may end up being the Big Bad next season! What if she and Skye both get exposed, and they are both Inhuman?
I wonder who Skye's parents were? the Inhumans are ruled by a monarchy in the comics. (Black Bolt! Medusa!) Could Skye's parents be royalty? Or soldiers fighting for their freedom against the Kree, or the Skrull, or both? I am so excited by the possibilities, I just know the wait over the summer is going to kill me. There is no way we will get all of our answers next week. I do think Terrigen Mist might make an appearance next week, however. How cool would that be? I will be eagerly waiting for the weekly art release to see if any of my theories are hinted at!