Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Brainstorm Session – “The Writing On The Wall”
This week’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. gave us an answer to that mysterious alien writing, which is great. But it opened up a slew of new questions, and “slew” doesn’t even begin to cover it.
Overarching Questions
1. Where do Ward’s loyalties lie?
We know he’s not Hydra, because he’s said that he was more loyal to Garrett than Hydra and he just turned Bakshi over into S.H.I.E.L.D.’s custody. I’ve seen people guessing that perhaps he’s trying to get back into good graces with S.H.I.E.L.D., but I don’t think it’s that simple. Ward wants revenge on his brother. He wants Skye. He seems to be motivated only by his desires, and at this point, it’s easy enough to believe he’s working for himself.
I also wonder whether his feelings for Skye, which seem to be stepping over that creeper line more and more, are legitimate or just an attempt to get someone on his side so he has a backup to say, “Yes, he’s a good person, let him back in.” I was never a fan of Skye/Ward, so I’m a little biased.
If he’s really trying to get back to being a good guy, I need to dust off that #NoWardRedemptionArc hashtag again…
2. How did Hank Thompson know to build the alien writings in 3D?
Maybe it’s just Thompson’s creative outlet? Every other person injected with the GH-325 (minus Skye) has written them down on a flat surface, whether it’s on a wall, in a painting, or on their bodies. But how did he know to make it three dimensional? Crackpot theory: He’s a super secret Hydra agent and just recently finished that model train set because Skye’s father told Bakshi/Whitehall what the writing was and they passed the information on to Thompson.
3a. How soon until we see the Inhumans?
The movie is slated for November 2018. That’s four years away. Will there be any sort of hint to them in Avengers: Age of Ultron? I feel like that movie is going to have more allusions to Black Panther and Captain America: Civil War, but maybe Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch will have some sort of Inhuman-ness… or they’ll just be experiments with Loki’s staff/that Infinity Stone.
3b. Should we be concerned that they won’t be able to deliver on the Inhumans?
Firstly, I’m guessing that this season is going to turn into a race to this mysterious city as well as some sort of lead up to Age of Ultron. With the movie four years away, I doubt whenever they find this city that anyone will be left.
Other writers/reviewers have mentioned that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. might not be able to do justice to the Inhumans on a TV show budget. It’s a valid thought, but one that can be rendered inconsequential if ABC has faith in this show (obligatory: Disney owns Marvel, Disney owns ABC. ABC says the word about wanting a bigger budget for a few episodes here and there, Disney will probably be cool with it because Marvel is a cash cow.)
What is a better form of book-to-screen portrayal of something that has such an information-packed story than television? Obviously you can’t pack in all of the details about the Inhumans in a two-hour movie. An entire season of a television show? You can get all of the minute details expanded upon and portrayed to your nerdy heart’s content.
This thought strikes me often because of how many of the “mega-franchises” are splitting their last movie into two parts when it’s unnecessary. Harry Potter is understandable; Breaking Dawn or Mockingjay… not so much. For a comic book that’s been around for decades with overlaying, changing, manipulating storylines and characters? Television may be the best way to get the most out of it.
—
On his phone call with Skye, Ward makes the comment about how the new recruits Coulson has aren’t very good and he should look into getting better agents. He hangs up, zips up his bag, and heads out of his hotel room. He opens the door to find Natasha Romanoff leaning against the door frame with a hand on her hip.
“Coulson needs to find better agents, huh?” she says, overhearing his conversation. Cue in a wonderfully choreographed fight scene that’s short and sweet, leaving Ward knocked out on the floor. She ties him up, restraining him with more than just flimsy handcuffs, and calls Coulson to tell him the job is done. “Where do you want me to drop off the package?”
Because of course Black Widow would know Coulson is still alive. (This fake cameo goes against everything that’s been previewed for next week, specifically Ward not in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, but wouldn’t this have been badass?)
—
Fun Theory I’m Making Up Right Now
This one has been pointed out by several people elsewhere, but I love it:
When Skye is talking to Coulson about the alien writing, she said she talked to her “crime scene junkie” contact Micro, who was also at a loss. In case you didn’t catch the name drop, Micro is a legendary hacker who helps Frank Castle, aka the Punisher.
My crazy theory: We will see a glimpse of the Punisher in the next few episodes (at least before the winter break when Agent Carter shows up). Even if it’s just something completely random, like him at a black-tie event or wandering through a desert or sailing in a yacht. Heck, they can make it anything they want–it can’t be any worse than what Fox is doing to Fantastic Four.
—
The bromance of Fitz and Mac. Now that Fitz is more comfortable in his less geeky skin (until he hops into Raina’s machine and gets his backup files unlocked) and not so hung up on Simmons, he’s not so awkward and back to his cute little quips (I’m still dying at “corpse-y diem: seize the dead”). Him and Mac gaming together was awesome.
It would be just clips of them hanging out. Them yelling angrily at the screen while they game, giving words of encouragement to whichever one of them is currently playing. Them struggling to figure out what kind of toppings they want on the pizza they’re ordering. Fitz pointing out that their stash of Mountain Dew is running dangerously low. Yelling at anyone who comes into the room for “messing them up” in whatever mission they’re doing.
(Can we do a crossover where they take down an entire enemy team and there is a cut-shot over to Ichabod Crane from Sleepy Hollow staring angrily at his computer screen? I would die a happy woman if we can make this happen).
—
Next week’s episode already looks promising with some of the promo photos showing Grant and Christian Ward in a stand-off.
There are probably dozens of other questions I missed answering, so, as always, if you want me to mull something over for the next round, leave it in the comments below, yell at me on Twitter (@franzenmuth), or bug @BamSmackPow. We’ve got you covered.