[TV] S.H.I.E.L.D.

Yeah, I thought that was cleverly done. Isn't Blackout a Ghost Rider villain?
There are two villains named Blackout in the Marvel universe. One is one of the Lilithkin from Ghost Rider (the one that was a villain in the second movie), the other is a somewhat obscure Marvel Universe villain. He's gone up against all the biggies, Avengers, Spider-Man, etc... but he's still pretty low tier. He also has one of the stupidest comic book costumes this side of Electro. In fact, it's pretty much a black version of Electro's costume, but with only one stupid looking lightning bolt on the head. I think he was primarily an antagonist for Nova.
 
The series is consistently using characters that had strong impacts in the 70's but never really held on as strong characters. So they seem fresh to most viewers but are fun for people of that era.
 
Last episode was pretty great, though I wish they...

Made whether Fitz and Simmons died a bit more ambiguous. A light weight, airtight module dropped 10 feet into the ocean while the plane was not even moving at max speed? Oh ya, totally dead. It was the worst "Did they die!?" they could have done. I just know next week they are going to have a scene with the two of them popping their head out of the waves just in time for Coulson to show up in that mini-jet. Would have been way more ambiguous if they didn't show how high up they were.
 
One scene I thought they did well was...
Right before Ward drops Fitz and Simmons into the ocean, they cut back to him with the dog that had been his companion for the last few years while Garret had him training out in the country. Garret wants him to kill the dog to show he is not weak by his loyalties and personal attachments.

As he is considering killing Fitz and Simmons, it cuts to him about to shoot the dog, but instead he shoots his gun to the side causing the dog to run off, and for a moment we think he can't be all bad. Then right when it looks like he might reconsider killing Fitz and Simmon, we cut back again and see that he killed the dog with his sniper rifle instead.

It really showed to me Ward and how he sees the world. He was not going to just shoot the dog in the face, but instead play off the loyalty and friendship before killing you from the shadows.
 

BananaHands

Staff member
One scene I thought they did well was...
Right before Ward drops Fitz and Simmons into the ocean, they cut back to him with the dog that had been his companion for the last few years while Garret had him training out in the country. Garret wants him to kill the dog to show he is not weak by his loyalties and personal attachments.

As he is considering killing Fitz and Simmons, it cuts to him about to shoot the dog, but instead he shoots his gun to the side causing the dog to run off, and for a moment we think he can't be all bad. Then right when it looks like he might reconsider killing Fitz and Simmon, we cut back again and see that he killed the dog with his sniper rifle instead.

It really showed to me Ward and how he sees the world. He was not going to just shoot the dog in the face, but instead play off the loyalty and friendship before killing you from the shadows.
Did Ward kill the dog? They kept it ambiguous. Maybe Garret had the sniper rifle...
 
Did Ward kill the dog? They kept it ambiguous. Maybe Garret had the sniper rifle...
They didn't show him actually kill the dog because this is network TV, and people love dogs, but the implication was clear.

They showed Ward messing with the console to eject them, Fitz rambling on not to do it because they are friends. Ward looks up and says "Yes we are", and it cuts to the sniper rifle scope (implying it was his vision, not anyone else, unless he can see through Garret's eyes) with the dog in the sights. You then hear the gunshot as it cuts back to the present, and Ward says, "A weakness" before hitting the button to launch them out of the plane. It was designed to give you the idea he may change and be good, before showing "Nope, he really is a cold hearted killer, time to die guys."
 
I assumed it was Garrett killing the dog. It makes the "I'll do whatever you say" "really?" make a lot more sense. Ward's still got that weakness Garrett wanted to force out, and he's going to get rid of it even if it means cleaning up loose ends himself.
 
I assumed it was Garrett killing the dog. It makes the "I'll do whatever you say" "really?" make a lot more sense. Ward's still got that weakness Garrett wanted to force out, and he's going to get rid of it even if it means cleaning up loose ends himself.
If that was the case they would have had no reason to do it during the part of the sequence where Ward is pulling up his memories. Intention behind the scene is everything. Ward was also the only one established as even using the sniper rifle during the flashbacks (when he killed the deer), and was last shown with the rifle still, while Garret left for the car.

I just watched the scene again, and here is the events and the symbolism behind them.
As Ward is about to release the module, Fitz actually says "You care about us!" at which point Ward, staring off, says "Your right, I do. A Weakness" before cutting to the shot of the sniper rifle scope homing in on the dog. They do a jump cut where you hear a sound similar to a gunshot but it's actually the sound of Ward "pulling the trigger" on releasing the module, and Fitz and Simmons are dumped into the ocean. There is no reason to do the "pulling the trigger" cut if it was Garret.
 
I would think Garret would watch to see if Ward would do the job. Garret knows Ward is weak and can not trust him completely.
That is true, but such was never established in the series of shots.
If the flashback occurred when Garrett was "challenging" Ward's ability to kill those he cares about, it would have been more likely. However, it was not. It was represented in the cinematography and the editing, like when I said how the cut represents Ward pulling the trigger on both the dog and his friends.

There was zero implication or evidence that the sniper that killed the dog was Garret. If I have to break it down further I will, but I would rather not devolve into any more minutia including character development (AKA, Garrett had no reason to shoot the dog just for the hell of it, because it does not teach Ward anything.)
 
That is true, but such was never established in the series of shots.
If the flashback occurred when Garrett was "challenging" Ward's ability to kill those he cares about, it would have been more likely. However, it was not. It was represented in the cinematography and the editing, like when I said how the cut represents Ward pulling the trigger on both the dog and his friends.

There was zero implication or evidence that the sniper that killed the dog was Garret. If I have to break it down further I will, but I would rather not devolve into any more minutia including character development (AKA, Garrett had no reason to shoot the dog just for the hell of it, because it does not teach Ward anything.)
Ward definitely did it. I think it's just his way of dealing with the betrayal. Shooting the dog through a scope is easier than in the head at close range, and dropping his friends out of a plane is easier than actually killing them.

I think they're really setting Ward up to be a reoccurring villain. No idea who he'll be, but they have a good set up going.
 
Those posters are cool but man are they spoilerish when it comes to the events with Ward, Fitz, and Simmons. Also...

Why is Ward standing with the team on the final poster? Yes he is kind of by himself and has a red highlight over him, but it still makes me worry they are going to do the whole redeem angle. Let a guy stay a bad guy for once!
 
Those posters are cool but man are they spoilerish when it comes to the events with Ward, Fitz, and Simmons. Also...

Why is Ward standing with the team on the final poster? Yes he is kind of by himself and has a red highlight over him, but it still makes me worry they are going to do the whole redeem angle. Let a guy stay a bad guy for once!
It's just a rework of the original cast poster. Everyone is outlined in the shield color except him, and he's the hydra color. I don't think it's anything more than that.
 
If you gave up on this show from the *TRULY* bad start (story and schedule wise) go back and get caught up. It's started truly finding it's way. Hell, they've made Ward interesting!

And the Agent Carter Stinger holds some promise for a nice show.


p.s. Don't touch, Lola!
ABC Renews AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D., Green-Lights AGENT CARTER
I gave up on the show because after over 2/3 of the season I still had no reason to care about anyone. Completely retooling the show to fit the movie is not going to get me interested, because I doubt they'll maintain it, and I still could not care less about anyone in that show. Not to mention S.H.I.E.L.D. is just an awful, awful organization that is terrible at doing anything but violating civil rights and international law. They're just as evil as Hydra but far more inept.
 
I gave up on the show because after over 2/3 of the season I still had no reason to care about anyone. Completely retooling the show to fit the movie is not going to get me interested, because I doubt they'll maintain it, and I still could not care less about anyone in that show. Not to mention S.H.I.E.L.D. is just an awful, awful organization that is terrible at doing anything but violating civil rights and international law. They're just as evil as Hydra but far more inept.
It's not so much them leaning on the movie for story, but just that the first 2/3rds were a build up for the end. A lot of the things that came off as annoying have some meaning. Also, everything in the show could hold up on it's own without Cap 2.

Of course, if you don't like it you don't like it.[DOUBLEPOST=1399656971,1399656590][/DOUBLEPOST]I'll also add that the show deals with Coulson and the team finding out and coming to terms with all the evil and horrible things SHIELD has done. That all comes within the last few episodes when they find out more about what happened to Coulson and the fallout of SHIELD breaking up. It made for some good moments with Coulson realizing just how bad the organization he has dedicated his life to became.
 

BananaHands

Staff member
Been with the show since day one. It's been a bumpy ride, but I'll be damned if it doesn't cause a degree of geeking out every episode.

I mean, they mentioned MAN-THING at one point.
 
That is true, but such was never established in the series of shots.
If the flashback occurred when Garrett was "challenging" Ward's ability to kill those he cares about, it would have been more likely. However, it was not. It was represented in the cinematography and the editing, like when I said how the cut represents Ward pulling the trigger on both the dog and his friends.

There was zero implication or evidence that the sniper that killed the dog was Garret. If I have to break it down further I will, but I would rather not devolve into any more minutia including character development (AKA, Garrett had no reason to shoot the dog just for the hell of it, because it does not teach Ward anything.)
Actually:
It most def wasn't Garret, but you're wrong about why they didn't show him shooting the dog... it's because it was meant to be ambiguous, just like dropping FitzSimmons into the water was... was he actually killing him/them, or was he just trying to make it look like he did?
 
A couple of thoughts about the last episode...
I don't know if it was poor choice of wording, or just a flat out mistake, but Ward states that the deer was "1800 meters out." That's over a mile, in a wooded area, from ground level. Even a .50 cal has more of a drop than can be accounted for in the scope positioning, not to mention, find a 1 mile stretch of any forest that you can see through. That's just a gripe.

What bothers me, and possible hints at just making Garrett think that he's shot the dog, is that he isn't leading his target any when the dog is in the scope. As fast as the dog is running, and being anywhere past 100 yards, that shot is going to fall behind the target, or at best hit and just injure the dog.
 
So,

With Garrett taking the serum and now knowing that he's Deathlock 1.0, it looks like the prediction earlier in this thread may turn out to be true. I really think the Blue Oyster Cult clue really was a foreshadowing of the entrance of the Grim Reaper into the Marvel Universe.

I, for one, would love to see the team be turned into an officially sanctioned task force to deal with meta-human threats. In other words, BRING ON THE SUPER-VILLAINS, BABY!

I mean really, all we've gotten is Blackout and Deathlok. Seriously.... BLACKOUT and DEATHLOK. Sure they laid the seed for Gravitron, but really give us some good ones.
 
So... Hell of a finale. I have to say after nearly giving up on the show, I am glad I didn't.
Garrett's death was so out of left field it was hilarious. AND COULSON GOT HIS OLD GUN BACK!
 
So... Hell of a finale. I have to say after nearly giving up on the show, I am glad I didn't.
Garrett's death was so out of left field it was hilarious. AND COULSON GOT HIS OLD GUN BACK!
I don't think it could have been any better than it was. May's revenge was pretty damn awesome too.
 
I don't think it could have been any better than it was. May's revenge was pretty damn awesome too.
Also happy that Ward didn't get redeemed. I think he even fell harder after his talk with Skye, because you can tell he was pretty much done with respecting Skye and was just going to claim her for himself whether she liked it or not.
P.S.
The only thing I found utterly silly was that they gave one of the Centipede soldiers the Berserker Staff at the barber shop, just so May could kick him in the face and take it to be on even footing with the super soldiers. Hell he all but walked up and handed it to her.
 
Also happy that Ward didn't get redeemed. I think he even fell harder after his talk with Skye, because you can tell he was pretty much done with respecting Skye and was just going to claim her for himself whether she liked it or not.
P.S.
The only thing I found utterly silly was that they gave one of the Centipede soldiers the Berserker Staff at the barber shop, just so May could kick him in the face and take it to be on even footing with the super soldiers. Hell he all but walked up and handed it to her.
As they are sort of in mass recruitment mode, centipede soldiers may not be expecting an awesome middle aged female agent to be quite that quick on the draw. They received 'Kill those guys!' orders, not 'Those folks are dangerous/crafty, Be careful killing them'

Fresh recruits freshly juiced up on Centipede, might tend to be a bit cocky. :)
 
As they are sort of in mass recruitment mode, centipede soldiers may not be expecting an awesome middle aged female agent to be quite that quick on the draw. They received 'Kill those guys!' orders, not 'Those folks are dangerous/crafty, Be careful killing them'

Fresh recruits freshly juiced up on Centipede, might tend to be a bit cocky. :)
You have to admit though, it was pretty silly.
 
Any ideas on Ward redemption arcs? *because at some point it's going to happen*

I think a main impetus one, would be him finding Fitz in coma/brain damaged and finding how it happened, depending on how far marvel wants to keep Fitz KO'd
 
You have to admit though, it was pretty silly.
In the Deus Ex Machina, way, sure. But, having inexperienced freshly juiced up folks, and having him stand there all "I'M SUPER POWERED!!. What are you gonna do?" and May goes 'that stick gives super powers not skills'

Would the guy have really expected her to go for the staff? Her disarming him isn't thattttt far fetching. And considering she was carrying around a nice chunk of rage, the fight wasn't far fetched at all.
 
So... Hell of a finale. I have to say after nearly giving up on the show, I am glad I didn't.
Garrett's death was so out of left field it was hilarious. AND COULSON GOT HIS OLD GUN BACK!
I watched it with my daughter, Fury gave him that gun and I turned to her and asked if she recognized it, then the line "I know what this does." iced it. We both laughed out loud. They've turned this into one hell of a show
 
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