Agents of SHIELD. Season 1 Discussion Thread

[DEWLine]

And tonight's replay is "T.R.A.C.K.S.".

 

[bbjeg]

Oh yeah, no new episode tonight.

 

[Luminus]

Okay, I might owe some of you some virtual tea in this thread. I just found out the identity of the Clairvoyant and I'm incredibly unimpressed.

Apparently, it's

Spoiler: the Clairvoyant

Victoria Hand

Please be false.

Source: http://www.comicbookmovie.com/agents_of_shield/news/?a=96635#

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Without me having to click on that (and I'm going to request people not discuss the contents at all, even in a vague way without spoiler code), what's the alleged source of that information? Leaked script, advanced copy, something else?

 

[bbjeg]

Well, I hope it's false too. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for M.O.D.O.K.

 

[LaxScrutiny]

Without me having to click on that (and I'm going to request people not discuss the contents at all, even in a vague way without spoiler code), what's the alleged source of that information? Leaked script, advanced copy, something else?

The person writing the spoiler says he was at Palelyfest and they screened "The End of the Beginning."

ETA: I googled "Paleyfest" and "SHIELD" and it seems some of the other details are confirmed, although other sites aren't revealing the Clairvoyant. Alidar, if you want to stay unspoiled, be careful what you click on because this seems to be spreading.

Some cute non-spoilers:

– Clark Gregg on reprising Coulson for TV: “I found myself suddenly free.”​

– Executive producer Maurissa Tancharoen revealed that Ming Na's character was originally named “Agent Rice.” But, that didn't seem quite right after Na got the role.
– Tech wizzes Fitzsimmons was based on Casey Affleck and Scott Caan's characters in “Ocean's Eleven,” but Elizabeth Henstridge came in and stole the role.
– When the topic of upcoming romantic hookups came up, Chloe Bennet says she and Elizabeth Henstridge ship “Skimmons” (a Skye and Simmons hookup).
– Ming Na suggested that that Skye should be the lovechild of her character and Thor and wants the show to have flashbacks to those love scenes.
– Brett Dalton gets cheeky when asked if he's seeing his character becoming closer to the team. “The character has changed. He wasn't a team player at the start. He's learned to play with the team,” he said with a nod to his character's sexual exploits.
– A lucky fan got a big hug from Gregg and moderator Felicia Day joked, “You're pregnant now.”
– One fan busted Bennet on her previous career as a Chinese pop star. True story, she confirmed.
– When asked if mutants will ever join the show, Loeb answered, “There's no proof of mutants in the Marvel Universe yet.”​

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Alright, I guess I can be a hermit for a week. If you don't see me until then, I'll see you next week.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Okay, I might owe some of you some virtual tea in this thread. I just found out the identity of the Clairvoyant and I'm incredibly unimpressed.

Apparently, it's

Spoiler: the Clairvoyant

Victoria Hand

Please be false.

Source: http://www.comicbookmovie.com/agents_of_shield/news/?a=96635#

Spoiler: Speculation about the article

Well, the writer sort of jumps the gun there in declaring that Hand is definitively the Clairvoyant, unless he left something out of the article.

I'll grant that the showrunners are certainly trying to imply that she's the Clairvoyant with that cut-off scene by having her give the orders to kill everyone but Coulsen because, as she says, "he's mine", but it could just as easily be another red herring like the guy in the wheelchair, and she just works for the Clairvoyant.

It's certainly a strong possibility that she's the Clairvoyant, and her inside knowledge of SHIELD would allow her to have what would appear to someone who didn't know the Clairvoyant's identity as a traitor be a precognitive grasp of their upcoming operations. It would also fit with the schism inside SHIELD that's already been building with Coulsen and will continue and escalate in CA:TWS. The hints that the Clairvoyant was a man (unless I'm misremembering) were attempts at hiding her identity, and the "psychic predictions" were simply a cover for why she could keep having advanced knowledge of SHIELD's every move.

So, I think there's a strong chance it's her, but if the article's details are accurate and nothing was left out, that's not definitive.

 

[bbjeg]

Is Clark Gregg holding a picture of himself on Ward's body (it looks like one of those place your head in the hole picture spot you see at theme parks).

 

[theenglish]

Without reading any of the spoilers regarding the C, I imagine that it is totally likely that the identity revealed in this episode is a misleading one and the true identity is to be revealed later in the season--I can't imagine giving away such a detail like this.

 

[DEWLine]

Not without it being a plant, as you suspect.

 

[trekkiebaggio]

So I watched Captain America: The Winter Soldier last night. I know it isn't out in America yet so this probably won't get discussed properly until then but...

Spoiler: Big Spoiler for Captain America: The Winter Soldier

How the hell is the show going to continue? Will the team just be a rogue group of people, will they be part of the "new SHIELD? (I'm assuming that there will be a new organisation put into place.)

 

[Luminus]

Spoiler: Speculation about the article

Well, the writer sort of jumps the gun there in declaring that Hand is definitively the Clairvoyant, unless he left something out of the article.

I'll grant that the showrunners are certainly trying to imply that she's the Clairvoyant with that cut-off scene by having her give the orders to kill everyone but Coulsen because, as she says, "he's mine", but it could just as easily be another red herring like the guy in the wheelchair, and she just works for the Clairvoyant.

It's certainly a strong possibility that she's the Clairvoyant, and her inside knowledge of SHIELD would allow her to have what would appear to someone who didn't know the Clairvoyant's identity as a traitor be a precognitive grasp of their upcoming operations. It would also fit with the schism inside SHIELD that's already been building with Coulsen and will continue and escalate in CA:TWS. The hints that the Clairvoyant was a man (unless I'm misremembering) were attempts at hiding her identity, and the "psychic predictions" were simply a cover for why she could keep having advanced knowledge of SHIELD's every move.

So, I think there's a strong chance it's her, but if the article's details are accurate and nothing was left out, that's not definitive.

Spoiler: The Clairvoyant

If it turns out to be true, that might be the last straw for me. I'm already NOT going to purchase Season 2 as I did Season 1 unless the quality of the last episode continues or improves.

 

[Buck Bokai]

Casting for the cellist.....

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Agents-SHIELD-Amy-Acker-Coulson-Cellist-1079676.aspx?linkId=7809312

 

[Christopher]

^Well, that's a totally unsurprising choice.

 

[Enterprise1701]

Anyone here bothered that Melinda May's surname is spelled "May" and not "Mei"? Granted we've never received any background on her family and no one is required to spell a name a certain way, but among all the nonstandard spellings of Asian names I've ever encountered, I've never seen "May" for "Mei" (supposing that Melinda May is an American of Chinese descent like Ming-Na Wen)

 

[Turtletrekker]

^Well, that's a totally unsurprising choice.

Yeah, especially since not to long ago Maurissa Tanchareon said words to the effect of "We have an actress we adore taking cello lessons."

Chloe Bennett confirms that the blue alien was Kree...

 

[Christopher]

Anyone here bothered that Melinda May's surname is spelled "May" and not "Mei"? Granted we've never received any background on her family and no one is required to spell a name a certain way, but among all the nonstandard spellings of Asian names I've ever encountered, I've never seen "May" for "Mei" (supposing that Melinda May is an American of Chinese descent like Ming-Na Wen)

On the other hand, her first name is "Melinda." Asian-Americans don't always have Asian names. She, or her father, could've been adopted, say. Or maybe May is actually her middle name and she dropped her Chinese surname because it's difficult for Americans to pronounce. I find that May is actually a relatively common given name for Chinese-American girls.

Or maybe Melinda May isn't her birth name at all. She is a secret agent, after all.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Anyone here bothered that Melinda May's surname is spelled "May" and not "Mei"? Granted we've never received any background on her family and no one is required to spell a name a certain way, but among all the nonstandard spellings of Asian names I've ever encountered, I've never seen "May" for "Mei" (supposing that Melinda May is an American of Chinese descent like Ming-Na Wen)

I'm just glad no one thought to call her Mayday as an endearing nickname.

 

[Enterprise1701]

Anyone here bothered that Melinda May's surname is spelled "May" and not "Mei"? Granted we've never received any background on her family and no one is required to spell a name a certain way, but among all the nonstandard spellings of Asian names I've ever encountered, I've never seen "May" for "Mei" (supposing that Melinda May is an American of Chinese descent like Ming-Na Wen)

On the other hand, her first name is "Melinda." Asian-Americans don't always have Asian names. She, or her father, could've been adopted, say. Or maybe May is actually her middle name and she dropped her Chinese surname because it's difficult for Americans to pronounce. I find that May is actually a relatively common given name for Chinese-American girls.

Or maybe Melinda May isn't her birth name at all. She is a secret agent, after all.

You make good points. I believe, though, that foreigners adopting Chinese babies en masse didn't start until the one-child policy came around in 1979. Ming-Na Wen was born in 1963 and even if you take advantage of how she doesn't look 50, I think 16 years is too big a stretch.