Agents of SHIELD. Season 1 Discussion Thread

So do most people assume that Garrett is the Clairvoyant? Because to me they never actually came out and said that.

 

I didn't see it proven, either. Plus, Garrett's boo-boo that tipped his hand as a HYDRA agent was a rookie blunder and not the thing you'd expect from a criminal mastermind. Not that that means he isn't the Clairvoyant, of course.

 

I agree with the folks who say that trying to find excuses for Ward's actions are barking up the wrong tree. He's a bad guy. Nuff said.

Now this is slightly more interesting. I did indeed notice that Simmons did not answer the Hydra loyalty question.

And if you wanted to say that she seemed awfully interested in further investigating the GH-325, even going behind Coulson's back to do so, well that could be a hint of an ulterior motive and Hydra orders.

That said, her lack of response was also easily written off as both Simmons and Fitz exhibiting their non-superspy action hero abilities throughout the episode. Fitz in particular hiding under the desk was great!

I'm liking Fitz's little mannerisms more and more every week.

As others have stated, Fitz and Simmons have gotten better and better as the season has gone along, becoming both more interesting and more fun. And this last episode blatantly pointed out that when things get violent, Fitz and Simmons (and Skye too I suppose) are nowhere near the May/Coulson/Ward/Triplett/Garrett level of ass-kicking. I appreciate the reminder that not everyone is an action hero.

 

Hah, I wish I was one-tenth as cool as Bill Paxton!


Speaking of which when was the last time Paxton and Pasdar were in the same thing? I'm thinking it was the brilliantly fun (and criminally underappreciated) Near Dark.

Any horror/action fans who haven't seen Near Dark, go watch it now. It's some classic 80's goodness.

 

I think that's the idea, but the name "the Clairvoyant" was really a red herring both on HYDRA's part and the producers' part, so it's not really that important to match the label to a person. What matters is that Garrett was behind the whole Centipede/Clairvoyant plot. Does he have superiors directing him? Undoubtedly, since we know that

Spoiler: TWS mid-credits scene

Baron Strucker is the overall head of HYDRA.

But will those superiors be a plot point in the show? We don't know yet, and I don't think the "Clairvoyant" title really matters anymore given the new status quo.

May strikes me as the kind of character who'd fit right into the comics. She's even got an alliterative name and a nickname. Although the comics would probably insist on making her younger and bustier. And as an action heroine, she could fit into a SHIELD or superhero story pretty easily. I like Fitz-Simmons, but it might be harder to find story roles for them in existing series.

 

^Coulson goes to the Avengers comics, May gets the X-Men, Fitz and Simmons get Spider-Man, and Ward and Garrett gets Marvel Knights.

 

And Skye hangs with Squirrel Girl?

 

I did wonder why they assumed Garrett was the Clairvoyant, when it seemed more likely that he was an operative. He never admitted to being that person. I guess we'll see if that's a plot point or not.

And I find it vaguely amusing that people now think that Ward is more interesting, now that he's gone from a Bondian secret agent with bonding issues and a troubled, touching childhood to a generic Hydra good. I do think there's a possibility that he's been brainwashed or something, though, given his conversations with May and Skye, and his zoned-out look at the end.

 

I think it should be readily apparent by this point that there is no "Clairvoyant". It's an invention, a red herring, a cover identity for some of Hydra's super-soldier experiments outside of SHIELD. Garrett appears to have been the one running it, but really there could have been a number of Hydra agents operating behind that identity. Point is, it no longer matters. Hydra is now out in the open, so it's academic.

 

I'm not happy with Garrett's motivation for switching, the cliched, "I saw which side was going to win and I gave up all of my allegiances and morals just to join the other side."

I'm wondering if Ward doesn't have the whole eye device thing. His look at the end could have been an indication he was reading a message. It would also explain his sudden shooting of Nash.

 

Good call on Ward possibly having an eye device and the "meaning" of the "look".

But I agree with AJ, with respect to what Garrett said, that the insight it provides is that he's really amoral to begin with.

 

Considering how huge the production staff for Winter Soldier and Agents of Shield are, I'm just surprised no one leaked any spoilers for such big revelations. Come to think about it, no one spoiled Day of The Doctor either. Have production teams gotten a lot better at keeping secrets?

 

I assume you haven't seen the Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe TV Special. They spoiled the hell out of CA:TWS.

 

I hope this doesn't spoil anything, but as it's from Avengers I don't think it should.

I was wondering why the World Council would be so against forming the Avengers (by cancelling the initiative, they said the personalities wouldn't work, but that's not really a convincing reason, for me) and then trying to kill them all (by launching a nuclear strike on them). Hydra may just have wanted no Avengers around to stop their plans. And then Fury defied the council so his days were numbered.

About Ward, that scene from his childhood seemed like he was in some kind of hostile environment when he was growing up, Hydra Youth, maybe?