I’m still emotionally reeling from this week’s Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD. Seriously, that was some dark stuff, and not in the same way that Daredevil is dark. Theories and questions ahead!
Overarching Questions
1. How do you guys feel about the familial issues theme?
I think it gives the series a bit of a grounding area in all of the mythology in which they’re starting to dabble. I think it will hit home even more when Skye has to interact with Coulson or May in the near future, because they’ve been her surrogate parents. Now that she’s temporarily getting along with her father and rediscovered her not-dead mother, how will that affect her relationship? Heck, how will that affect her psyche? That’s a lot to process.
On the flip side of things, do we really need to keep seeing how distrustful of families and homes Skye is? That’s always been a big focus of her background.
2. What’s Coulson really doing/building?
Everyone’s best guess is the Avengers Academy. Think Charles Xavier’s School For Gifted Youngsters. Taking the superpowered people in the world and training them to use their powers for good. With all the focus on Specials this season, this seems like that natural course of action for a guy who treats every one of his team members like his own flesh and blood.
I think he’s following instructions left by Fury and actually doing all of this weird stuff to throw everyone off his actual trail. I have a feeling he is setting up some sort of base, but it will coincide with Age of Ultron happenings. 100 bunk beds? No, it’s really just the mattresses for a training room for the Avengers so they don’t get too banged up.
3. Does Jiaying have an ulterior motive?
Look, I get needing to keep your relationship to Skye a secret from the elders because of the whole Eva incident. But it just feels like there’s more that Jiaying isn’t saying. Likewise, I don’t think it’s really about bringing her family back together–that’s Cal’s thing.
She’s trying to protect her people, of course. What’s the bigger picture around the Inhumans? And does Skye factor in at all or did she believe Cal would never find her? Does anyone else think that maybe Skye will join the elders at some point? That’s assuming she decides to stay in Afterlife.
4. Will we get a May/Jiaying showdown?
These two mother figures in Skye’s life are now tied together in a strange, dark way. I can’t imagine they will really like each other if their paths ever cross (and I have a feeling they will very soon). Jiaying will call out May on not handling the Bahrain situation properly; May will call out Jiaying on not stopping Eva from stealing the crystals and starting the whole debacle in the first place!
And who will Skye side with in that argument? Maybe she’ll just shake everyone…
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Nick Fury. Just to set all of this SHIELD versus SHIELD stuff straight. Whether he shows up at HQ and demands that May reach out to Coulson so he can call him in, or whether he tracks down Coulson to bring him in because he has bigger fish to fry over in Europe. Sit down both Coulson and Gonzales’s teams and tell them why they’re both wrong about what they’re doing and where the hell is his Toolbox?!
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Fun Theory I’m Making Up Right Now
Coulson’s not making the Avengers Academy (spin-off: Agents of SHIELD: Avengers Academy. Just keep making the titles longer and longer). Well, he’s making something like that, but as soon as he starts to gather kids, Charles Xavier shows up and casually points out that he’s already doing the same exact thing and is quite established at it. And damn the copyright issues, let’s combine our schools!
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Weekly Webisode Idea
“Leo ‘MacGyver’ Fitz.”
He breaks out of various windowless bathrooms using only an electric hand dryer, a toothpick, a used paper towel, and some jelly beans he found under the sink.
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We’re setting up for Avengers: Age of Ultron, and I’m still trying to figure out when I’m going to be able to see Ultron that weekend. Dare we hope for a Coulson cameo? Will I ever stop asking for a Coulson cameo in a Marvel movie and/or a Hawkeye cameo in Agents of SHIELD? Probably not.
Next week’s episode brings Grant Ward back into the SHIELD fold, mostly because Coulson needs him. I feel the need to break out my #NoWardRedemptionArc campaign again. You know, just in case.
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