Agents of SHIELD. Season 1 Discussion Thread

[Alidar Jarok]

How many science and technology people do you think have died?

Also, it wouldn't make sense for the person who rescued Skye to be something other than the covert operations branch

 

[The Old Mixer]

For some perspective, the CIA Memorial Wall, upon which this was no doubt based, has accumulated 107 stars in the same time period.

A quickie count of the SHIELD Wall of Valor indicates that it has nearly three times the number, presumably who also died in service.

Considering that SHIELD has historically liked to keep a low profile in the MCU, that seems more than reasonable. Presumably they haven't been dealing with Earth-shattering crises week in and week out for 65+ years.

 

[Christopher]

What bothers me more about the Wall of Valor scene is, why did Skye consider Bucky Barnes's name worth mentioning aloud? The real-world reason is obvious -- as foreshadowing for The Winter Soldier -- but in the story, why would that name be significant to her? Is Bucky famous? Did she pick up the name from reading about Captain America in SHIELD records? Did she just think it was a funny name? Without a clear character motivation, it felt like a forced Easter egg.

 

[The Old Mixer]

I took it that he is publically known as Cap's WWII partner, and she was wowed to see such an historical figure.

 

[Christopher]

Sure, we can interpret it, but the episode itself should've provided more context rather than just having her recite the name in a vacuum. I'm not saying I can't think of a reason, I'm saying it was awkwardly handled from a writing/directing perspective.

 

[Racer_X]

What's also interesting from that wall is that the same number of SHIELD agents have died every 24 years. You gotta love consistency, I guess....

 

[The Old Mixer]

^They must have a quota.

I think we're just overthinking this wall stuff. It was a nice touch and there for dramatic effect. And if my speculation is correct, they might have been setting things up for an addition to the wall in an episode or two....

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I took it that he is publically known as Cap's WWII partner, and she was wowed to see such an historical figure.

Yeah, that's how I took it too.

Good point about the CIA wall. Puts it in context.

 

[Mr Light]

The Avengers are famous public figures after the Battle of New York. They even have action figures. Even before that, Coulson had trading cards of Cap. The sidekick of Cap would be almost as famous.

 

[Reverend]

Guessing that the SSR people end up on every SHIELD base's Wall, because they're considered the Founding Parents of the Division. After that, each Wall has names specific to that base/branch of the organization...?

If that were the case then why all the different seals presumably denoting the division's three branches?

What bothers me more about the Wall of Valor scene is, why did Skye consider Bucky Barnes's name worth mentioning aloud? The real-world reason is obvious -- as foreshadowing for The Winter Soldier -- but in the story, why would that name be significant to her? Is Bucky famous? Did she pick up the name from reading about Captain America in SHIELD records? Did she just think it was a funny name? Without a clear character motivation, it felt like a forced Easter egg.

Maybe it's because he was the first name on the list...and she thought it was a funny looking name? I know if I saw something like that wall the first two names I'd read out of curiosity would be the first and the last.

As for the numbers, I think people are overestimating the mortality rate of a *highly* trained and effective covert organization. These guys aren't read shirts.

 

[Christopher]

The Avengers are famous public figures after the Battle of New York. They even have action figures. Even before that, Coulson had trading cards of Cap. The sidekick of Cap would be almost as famous.

I guess so, although movieverse Bucky didn't really seem to be his "sidekick" so much as one member of his team. Although he was the first one to "die," so I guess that would count for something in the history books.

What bothers me more about the Wall of Valor scene is, why did Skye consider Bucky Barnes's name worth mentioning aloud?...

Maybe it's because he was the first name on the list...

I had the impression she was looking in the middle of the wall, though.

 

[Marc]

Sure, but there's a bit of an odd coincidence that the person who rescued her is on this specific part of the wall.

My impression was the wall was duplicated at each of the different academies.

 

[DEWLine]

Guessing that the SSR people end up on every SHIELD base's Wall, because they're considered the Founding Parents of the Division. After that, each Wall has names specific to that base/branch of the organization...?

If that were the case then why all the different seals presumably denoting the division's three branches?

We're not talking about different branches with those logos. We're talking different eras of the organization, probably.

 

[The Old Mixer]

They're a little too well-dispersed across the entire post-SSR history for that. The fact that there are three logos and three departments (the latter a fact introduced and emphasized in this episode), and that one of the logos resembles the Science division logo at the top of the wall, would suggest that it's the three departments.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Sure, but there's a bit of an odd coincidence that the person who rescued her is on this specific part of the wall.

My impression was the wall was duplicated at each of the different academies.

That was my impression too but I was responding to someone who disagreed

 

[Turtletrekker]

How many science and technology people do you think have died?

A not insignificant number, I would image. Right off the bat, you have Abraham Erskine. More recently, Loki wiped out the entire team studying the Tesseract with the exception of Selvig. In fact, Widow mentions that Loki killed 80 people in two days and I would have to think that most of them were SHIELD agents.

What bothers me more about the Wall of Valor scene is, why did Skye consider Bucky Barnes's name worth mentioning aloud?...

Maybe it's because he was the first name on the list...

Nope. Erskine was before Bucky.

 

[Turtletrekker]

And I have a few theories about the Sif appearance. I have read that Sif comes to Midgard with a very "specific mission", and the producers and promotions have been promising that it's "all connected". Therefore, it will have to do with Peter MacNicol's Elliot Randolph.

Either Elliot Randoph was actually an Asgard-class liar and was really a sociopathic criminal on Asgard who came to Earth to escape prosecution and Sif has come down to bring him back, or Centipede decides to incorporate a little Asgardian DNA into their soldiers and kidnap Randolph and Sif comes to stop it. In either instance, Heimdall could've noticed what was happening and alerted Sif or whoever he would report such a thing to.

 

[Mr Light]

Or Sif finds out that Fury used Asgardian tech to resurrect Coulson

 

[The Old Mixer]

On Sciences deaths...I'm sure there are a few lab accidents in that mix.

 

[Guy Gardener]

So Bucky survived WWII?

Isn't that the point of the Winter Soldier plot, that we thought that he didn't survive, until we found out that he did?