What They Become: Grant Ward
Welcome to the recurring series “What They Become” where you will find a look back at the first half of season two. Journey along as we cover where our main characters have been in the last ten episodes of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD.
Miss a post? Get caught up: Agent Melinda May
This time we get into the nitty-gritty with the agent who changed the most in season one. Craziness included ahead!
At the End of Season One: Beat to a bloody pulp by Agent May with a nail through his foot and a fractured larynx. Heading into SHIELD custody.
At the Start of Season Two: Locked in the basement of SHIELD’s new headquarters, only coming in contact with Skye and only when his knowledge is needed. Also, super muscles.
At the Winter Finale: Shot multiple times by Skye and forming an unlikely (but enjoyable) team-up with the now-lost Agent 33.
The In-Between: Where to even start with Grant Ward? He started by trying to get into Skye’s good graces, promising never to lie to her, promising to take her to her father, promising whatever information she needs just so long as she trusts him.
It gets him nowhere. He is shipped off to his “evil” brother’s custody to be made an example to the American public for the atrocities Hydra has committed. But his brother only puts a handful of guards on him to help him escape. Ward tracks down his brother to their family’s cabin, makes him confess (or “confess”?!) to that whole well incident with their brother, Thomas, and then stages a murder/suicide of brother Christian and their parents. (I cover this in my brainstorm about the Ward family.)
After that entire debacle, he finds his way back into Hydra’s side of the battle, creating an uneasy alliance with Dr. Whitehall and Skye’s father. He does all of this in hopes to get into Skye’s good graces. Much like Skye’s father, Whitehall and Hydra are just a means to an end.
Grant Ward made his big leap in characterization in the latter half of season one when the Hydra reveal happened, but it doesn’t stop there.
Season two he begins as a desperate prisoner, grasping at every little interaction he has with anyone on the SHIELD team, trying to get back on their good side. By the time we reach Coulson handing over his custody to the US Government, Ward has become a mix of complacent and also absolutely crazy. Complacent with his stay in the cell, because at least he gets regular visits from people and seems to make headway with Skye; crazy because everything he says sounds like a raving lunatic.
The one thing noticeable about Ward in these first ten episodes is how creepy he becomes. His constant reassurance to Skye about keeping his promise and never lying borders on stalker. The adamant way he says that turning over his custody to Christian is the wrong thing to do shows how unhinged he can become.
Is his madness all emotion-driven or is it something that’s off in his chemistry? His alliance has been called into question since Garrett’s downfall, and the only light that’s been shed on it was by Raina, and who knows if we can trust her word? I don’t know if I by his “love” for Skye being his only moral compass, so to speak.
He has liberated himself from his largest burden (his family), but now has to face the rest of the world.
Where He May Be Going: I think the answer to this boils down to one question: Is Ward brokenhearted? After being shot by the woman he loves, will his feelings still stand or will they dissipate because of her display of hostility?
If Yes: He will have nothing to work toward. He will begin to resent Skye and SHIELD (more than he already does) and it will give him a new mission. Rather than getting retribution on his brother, he will want retribution on Skye.
If No: His borderline insanity will reach new heights and creep me out even more. Because his thought process will be that Skye misunderstands him and he needs to set the record straight. OR: Her shooting him? Misdirected anger at her father. He still has a chance!
Honestly, why would you keep going after a woman who clearly shows no interest? So much so that she just shot you multiple times and ran away after you untied her!
Skye aside, Ward and Agent 33 make quite the pair, one I am excited to watch. Both having lost their mentors, they need missions, they need purpose. I can see Ward becoming Agent 33’s Whitehall/Garrett and the two of them causing a lot of issues for SHIELD while also delivering “presents” to Coulson and crew.
Wherever Ward is headed in the second half of this season, it will depend on where his madness lies. Please enlighten me in the comments–is everyone on the same page as me in regards to Grant Ward? Or was he just coming off creepy to me? Regardless, his journey will be interesting to watch.
One thing we can all be sure of: Grant Ward is so much better being on the side of evil. #NoWardRedemptionArc