Agents of SHIELD: Ming-Na Wen On What To Expect From May

She’s been “The Cavalry,” a surrogate mother of sorts to Skye and a much-needed friend to Phil Coulson. Yet at the end of Season 2 of Agents of SHIELD, we saw Melinda May in a way we’d never seen her to date: ready to take a vacation, though as Brett Dalton pointed out during the show’s round table interview session at Comic-Con 2015, not without packing her gun first.

So where will May’s head be at when she has to report for duty again at the beginning of Season 3? Ming-Na Wen told the media that she thinks her character will be in a better place mentally but continue to be torn by multiple conflicting priorities.

“I think it’s been such a long struggle for may to come back from Bahrain and to sort of try to open her heart again,” Wen said. “And I think Andrew helps to give her that motivation, in the form of Blair Underwood! Her character has been so guarded and yet loving in this weird dynamic of being maternal and yet not showing any emotion. I think her struggle is to rediscover who Melinda May is versus who Agent May is, and whether she is pulled one way or the other. And for me, I can really empathize with that. Being a working mom, it’s a constant struggle of where do you find the balance and how do you choose work versus your own personal happiness?”

As far as her relationship with Skye, it took an unfortunate turn when the two actually clashed in Afterlife, resulting in May getting a taste of Daisy’s powers firsthand. Despite that clash, Wen doesn’t think May will be seen holding a grudge this fall.

“I think what’s really fun is that with Agent May, even though Skye rebelled against her, you could tell that she understood being an agent of SHIELD and also understanding that her loyalty was in trying to reconnect with her mother and believing in her,” she said. “And I think May was very easy to forgive, to understand that she made certain choices really because she was so misled. And haven’t we all been misled in one way or the other? I don’t think she really faulted Skye.”

Quick to forgive isn’t necessarily a trait you’d associate with May, but maybe she really will be a little less intense once she returns from her trip with Andrew. As long as she keeps kicking ass in the show’s fight scenes, a slightly kinder, gentler May is alright with us.

Next: Agents of SHIELD at Comic-Con: Clark Gregg Shares Secret Warriors Theories

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Comic-Con 2015: Ming-Na Wen On What To Expect From May On Agents Of SHIELD

By Nick Tylwalk | Jul 14, 2015

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