Agents of SHIELD. Season 1 Discussion Thread

That doesn't exactly make it any clearer.

Good grief, what an enormous stretch. She was talking about crowdsourcing, about the increasingly popular -- and populist -- notion that the collective expertise and inspiration of the public as a whole can solve any problem. It's exactly the mentality that would be expressed by a member of a group like the Rising Tide or the real-life groups it's based on. Plus it was presented as a positive idea in the context of the story, the mindset that saved everyone's lives in the climax when they worked together, so it's strange to read it as some sinister portent of evil.

Besides, the key thing about the Hydra's heads in mythology isn't simply that there are many of them, but that they multiply -- if one is cut off, two more will spawn. Which is, in fact, the intent behind the organization HYDRA's choice of the name, to convey the idea of their indestructibility and the futility of any attempt to defeat them. So it's a different concept altogether from the one that Skye was expressing.

 

The crowd in crowdsourcing = the beast with many heads; the number of heads increasing = rising. Most members not realizing they are being manipulated would be expected, and it is a trait of cults that everything sounds good at first.

I can see it, but that doesn't mean that I think that's what it means. "Could be a clue" means also "might not be a clue."

 

Well, I think it's a profound misreading of Joss Whedon to think he'd portray the populist group skeptical of government power as the villains. Ever since Buffy, he's been prone to make his villains members of powerful, entrenched establishments -- Principal Snyder, Mayor Wilkins, the Initiative, Wolfram & Hart, the Alliance, Captain Hammer, the Rossum Corporation. His heroes tend to be the underdogs. And Skye is the underdog who's challenging the entrenched authority of SHIELD. So I'd be staggered if her group, the populist movement challenging authority, turned out to be just a front for an evil organization.

 

Is Skye real?

What if she's a sleeper?

 

If Rising Tide is connected to Hydra, I fully expect them to have no idea of that fact. Kind of like the way 99% of the people in SHIELD had no idea that Hydra was pulling their strings all along.

 

Well, to be fair, none of that has been established to be possible in the MCU.

It's possible the bracelet just "lo-jacks" her at the very least. Allowing SHIELD to monitor or restrict her activity. Each bracelet could also be specialized her buddy's bracelet restricting him from computer use. Restricting Skye from computer use would be silly since that's the whole reason why Coulson brought her on board.

 

Oh, no, I disagree. I think it's probable that she doesn't believe that Hydra is behind the Rising Tide, even if it really is.

My point in the latter part of what I said there is that the crowdsourcing plug could just be a motto that she picked up from the group, since it does make sense on its own merits, not realizing that it's really just the tip of a rhetorical iceberg, meant to draw you in deeper and to prepare you for conditioning to the HYDRA manifesto.

I'm not buying that HYDRA's really pulling the strings, at least not at this point, but it's also worth mentioning that the idea has the virtue of being somewhat outside of the box.

 

I think it far more likely that the Centipede group will have connections to HYDRA than Rising Tide.

 

A giant robot with Red Skull's face on it?

 

Even robotic WMDs with the face of a Nazi war criminal deserve a second chance.

 

But The Hulk and Thor have.

 

Did I miss seeing a discussion of "Let the girl go/Let go of the girl"?

So, in Bahrain, a civilian girl was among the hostages. I assume this is the girl Coulson told May to let go of, either physically or emotionally. Any chance this was a baby Skye, since there seems to be some connection between baby-Skye and May?

 

I have to say that I just don't see where people are finding this supposed connection between Skye and May.

 

I thought there was something implied about Skye being dropped off at the orphanage or whatever. And that May was somehow involved. May dropped her off? Knew the mother/parents? Killed the mother/parents?

Some connection was implied. Imo

 

Unknown S.H.I.E.L.D. agents put Skye in an orphanage.

Coulson continues to dig.

 

Why is Tuesday night's episode a repeat?