What They Become: Agent Melinda May
Welcome to my recurring series, simply titled “What They Become.” What will you find in these paragraphs? A look back at the first half of season two for every character in Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, or close to every character, with a quick look-back at where they were at the end of season one, if they were around for season one.
Since people seemed to like my brainstorm about Grant Ward’s character (even though most of my theories didn’t pan out), I thought why not do it for everyone else? It’s a great way to get an in-depth look at particular characters, see how far they’ve traveled, how much they have changed, and maybe take a quick guess or two at where the second half of the season will put them.
At the End of Season One: A badass. Relatively happy after kicking the crap out of Ward, including (but not limited to) fracturing his larynx and nailing his foot to the floor with a nail gun.
At the Start of Season Two: Still a badass. She has taken over as Skye’s S.O., giving her the training she needs to become a better, more practiced SHIELD agent.
At the Winter Finale: Yet again, still a badass. Maybe more so since that one excellent showdown between her and Agent 33. You know what I’m talking about.
The In-Between: Our own Nick wants me to point out that Melinda May has not made the strides that others have this season, at least noticeably so. Whether it’s from a literal change like Skye and Raina or something more mental/emotional like Fitz’s recovery, May has seemed to stay stagnant. It’s a little disconcerting when you see every bit of the landscape around her changing. Everyone else gets more depth–why can’t she join in the fun, too?
But dive a little deeper. Melinda May has shown emotion this season. Quite a bit of emotion for The Cavalry. She has openly shown how much she cares for Coulson (her backup plan for him going crazy: moving them to the Outback where she will keep them secluded and keep him in check). She has taken Skye under her wing and while their training has been nothing but professional, her love for Skye has come out quite a few times, most noticeably when Raina discusses Skye’s father with Coulson while she and Skye listen in and when Ward wants to take her from the Bus along with Raina.
We have seen more of her hand-to-hand combat skills as well, though I wouldn’t quite mark that as a change of character, more of a reveal of what has always been there.
She has changed in these first ten episodes. It’s just nowhere near as noticeable as everyone else. That’s not to say she shouldn’t change more. With the landscape of the show evolving every few episodes, May needs to adapt with them.
Where She May Be Going: It was reported a few weeks ago that Blair Underwood has been cast as May’s ex-husband, who was mentioned in a slight head-nod to Bobbi Morse in one episode and never actually put into words. You want to see change in Melinda May? Put her ex-husband in the mix.
And make him a recurring character. How much “recurring” are we talking about? I have no idea, since I thought Lucy Lawless was a recurring character and she died after one episode. The interactions between these two (assuming they share scenes) will be something to behold. I want to see what kind of man May married in the past.
Ex-husband aside, it would be great to see May become a little less of a wound-up SHIELD agent and let her guard down even slightly. Those moments I listed above where her feelings shone through? I wouldn’t mind a handful of those here and there. Not every episode, because then it downplays her personality we’ve come to know, but something about May needs to alter and evolve.
Maybe Ward taking Skye from the Bus when that wasn’t his directive will make something in her snap. Maybe Ward teaming up with Agent 33, who still wears May’s face, will make something in her snap. Maybe coming face-to-face with her ex-husband… you get the picture. There are threads of May’s life that could break in a moment and send her on a badass spree or even show a completely different side of the agent we both love and fear.
Here’s hoping we get some new developments for Melinda May. She deserves them.