Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Afterlife

April 8, 2015 6:22 AM - Season 2, Episode 16

Skye meets Inhumans. Coulson and Hunter are a buddy cop movie. May gets a proposition. Fitz and Simmons are at odds (or are they?) There's SHOCKING REVEAL! AND ANOTHER MORE SHOCKING REVEAL!
posted by leotrotsky (65 comments total)

also FITZSANDWICH!
posted by leotrotsky at 6:23 AM on April 8, 2015 [3 favorites]

So, I loved this episode so much, fan service and all. I was sure Jiaying was a sister or clone or something, and certainly didn't think Cal was in the loop. I also never thought we'd see Mike Peterson again, and so was completely surprised when he showed up to save the day.

I'm also really interested in how Coulson's 'bad option' of Ward plays out. I don't imagine it'll be anywhere as simple as a heel-face turn, so it should be fun.
posted by leotrotsky at 6:33 AM on April 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

Oh, lastly, this isn't my catch but:

"Remember when Cal was talking to Whitehall and he asked him why he was doing this? and he said: I have nothing to lose, I have lost everything I love. All I want to do is kill those responsible and be reunited with my family.

Whitehall: Reunited?

Cal: In the AFTERLIFE."
posted by leotrotsky at 6:35 AM on April 8, 2015 [11 favorites]

I kinda figure that Fitz and Simmons were working together, as their conversations were a bit stilted and ham fisted. But damn if it wasn't nice to see the note and sandwich at the end. Agent Peterson was great surprise, I thought it was going to be Ward. It makes total sense that Coulson has had in his back pocket for a while.

Car shopping with Hunter and Coulson is fun!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:39 AM on April 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

their conversations were a bit stilted and ham fisted.

Not to mention ham sandwiched.

So many nice moments! FitzSimmons are back to being the adorkable Science Twins! Dichen Lachmann gets to be alive! MIKE EFFIN' PETERSON.

For all of that, I'll forgive the AoS producers for getting Skye's superheroic self-actualization tangled up in what looks to be a dull-as-dishwater romantic subplot.
posted by Strange Interlude at 7:25 AM on April 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

So many great moments. I screamed at the tv when Mike Peterson showed up. The Coulson/ Hunter bromance and the car shopping. Wondering how the hell with Dichen. And also wondering if this is the beginning of the dreaded Ward redemption arc in which he goes to bat for the good guys, realizes what a horrible human being he is, and then finds a way to die.

My favorite 2 hrs of tv right now is The Flash followed by Shield. I love Tuesday night.
posted by the webmistress at 7:57 AM on April 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'll forgive the AoS producers for getting Skye's superheroic self-actualization tangled up in what looks to be a dull-as-dishwater romantic subplot.

I kept thinking that this would really have been a great episode (FitzSimmons, together again! Mike Peterson! Coulson & Hunter as the most surprisingly fun duo ever! May getting positioned! Bobbi maybe starting to have some doubts! Skye's mom!) if the Inhumans stuff wasn't getting bogged down with (a) Skye, who has somehow managed to remain a completely bland uninteresting character and (b) a romantic subplot with what appears to be a completely uninteresting bland male Inhuman character; i.e. MaleSkye as I think of him.
posted by nubs at 8:32 AM on April 8, 2015 [2 favorites]

uninteresting bland male Inhuman character

You left off white. Which it's not like I have a hate-on for - else shaving would be super depressing - but you've set the Inhumans up as a world-wide millenniums-old history. They should be either fully dispersed or not at all diverse by this point.

I guess I don't necessarily hate SkyeMom not revealing her connection right off the bat; certainly with daddy being batcrapkookoopants she has a good reason to not lead with that, as it would likely be prejudicial at this point. But a few weeks without people hiding shit - particularly when Skye just got angry with y'all for hiding Raina's presence from her - would be smart maybe.

I mean, "no, I told you there was no one here who would hurt you." Fuck you, rules lawyer. Skye should have given you the internal organ vibromassage.

The Coulson/Hunter stuff was great fun, and I hope they find a way to take this RealShield nonsense and move the organization back to where we have Coulson and his little skunkworks back out and in the world. Having this mystery quantity of additional agents & support staff and Coulson maybe supposed to be at a desk but oddly going on the away missions &&&... is just not making a lot of sense.

Maybe set up this council baloney and organize the new SHIELD into kinda independent cells like HYDRA. Using this show as your movies interstitials is an interesting new media organization but it's not doing the show any favors on its own merits.
posted by phearlez at 9:01 AM on April 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

Maybe set up this council baloney and organize the new SHIELD into kinda independent cells like HYDRA

Um, that's a terrible terrible terrible idea. Independent cells work for terror organizations, not for security agencies. You need to know who's running what operations to prevent them from unintentionally running into each other or working at cross purposes. The problem with SHIELD is that you need more transparency, not less.
posted by leotrotsky at 9:58 AM on April 8, 2015

On a tangentially related note, whoever invented the Hydra (where you cut off a head and two more grow in its place) obviously hadn't thought it through.

All you need to do is keep cutting off heads. Each head cut off is replaced by two heads of equal size. Keep this up and eventually you've created a sphere of tightly packed heads surrounding the Hydra's body but unable to move in any direction.

At that point you either roll it off a cliff or simply wait for it to starve.
posted by leotrotsky at 10:03 AM on April 8, 2015 [10 favorites]

In a world where we were recently saved from alien destruction by an irradiated monster, a chemically juiced superhuman, a man in a cyber suit, and yet another alien, does it make sense to want to eliminate all powered people?

Oh, let's not forget, that team that saved the world was assembled by the organization you supposedly now head.
posted by 2ht at 10:36 AM on April 8, 2015

It did look like GuySkye was surprised/shocked when SkyeMom offered herself as guide. Considering she is immortal, seems like she would definitely qualify as one of the "Elders." Having an Elder guide a new Inhuman is probably as unheard of as Skye's method of becoming one.

I wonder how she recovered from Whitehall's vivisection? Maybe putting everything back in place allowed her to heal (but with scars.) I have a hard time seeing Hydra being concerned with putting her back together afterward. Maybe she was able to push her pieces together when they weren't looking? Yeesh.
posted by insert.witticism.here at 10:56 AM on April 8, 2015

Rewatching the FitzSimmons confrontation while knowing what's coming is positively brilliant.

Fitz: "She's scanning the surface dimensions, routing the data through--why would she do that? (Fitz realizes something) Unless...."
(a little later)
Fitz: "I saw everything, Jemma, did you really want me to find out this way?"
Simmons: "Well I was hoping you would, so we can work together on this. Do you have any idea how valuable the information inside this could be? You need to help me get it out. Get things back to normal."
Fitz: "Things can never go back normal! Can't you see that? Can't any of you see what you've done? You destroyed a man's life, and for what?"
(Fitz picks up the Toolbox and starts tossing it from hand to hand)
Fitz: "'Cause of fear? Fear of what's inside a little black box? Well, I don't believe in fear."
(Fitz puts the Toolbox back on the table, but NOT in its original location)
Fitz: "I believe in trust. I'm shocked you would do this. You knew this would drive me away, you might as well have packed my bags yourself. You want me to leave, don't you, Jemma?"
Simmons: "If we work for Shield, we have a duty to carry out our responsibilities...so perhaps it's best if you do."

SUPER SNEAKY SPIES!

Either Fitz used the Toolbox data Simmons sent to create a Fakebox and then switched boxes while he was tossing it around, or the data was sent as a dog-whistle that Jemma had created a Fakebox, and Fitz used the confrontation to tell her to slip it into his luggage.

I love this show.
posted by nicebookrack at 11:07 AM on April 8, 2015 [19 favorites]

I'd honestly missed all of that, nbr. Time to rewatch that whole sequence!
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:01 PM on April 8, 2015

I know! At first it's just an awkward scene of "FitzSimmons are fighting nooooo," but then you run it back and holy crap. Fitz kicks up an angry fuss until everyone's watching him and paying no attention to Simmons at all.

For characters who started out as relative innocents and bad liars, FitzSimmons have gotten really good at both deception and playing on people underestimating them. Especially when they work together. Coulson would be so proud.
posted by nicebookrack at 12:39 PM on April 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

FitzSimmons have gotten really good at both deception and playing on people underestimating them.

Which is fun to watch, but makes me wonder about Bobbi's supposedly awesome skills. This the second time that Simmons has fooled her and that's not a good statement of her abilities.

But Simmons' poker face is enjoyable to watch.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:47 PM on April 8, 2015

I know! At first it's just an awkward scene of "FitzSimmons are fighting nooooo," but then you run it back and holy crap. Fitz kicks up an angry fuss until everyone's watching him and paying no attention to Simmons at all.

Yeah, it was brilliantly done. I knew something was up because even for a FitzSimmons fight it was oddly...odd in places, which is what made me realize that some deeper game was going on. And I wonder how far back it was that they set it up - when they were sitting in the lab, before the offer came? That Fitz would go to find Coulson and Simmons would stay as a plant? Or was the whole thing brilliant improvisation from beginning to end?
posted by nubs at 12:47 PM on April 8, 2015

The only good thing about Lincoln (aka MaleSkye) is that I still find 'bland attractive exposition fairy/possible love interest" somewhat enjoyable when the genders are swapped. I know 'men can be pretty and pointless' isn't progress per se, but I like to think that Australian soap operas will just keep churning out good looking dudes for the MCU as needed.

I did like the exposition he exposited though. I liked that people were pissed at Skye for jumping the line. I like the history of what's going on with Inhuman culture as we've seen it so far. (I'm probably not alone but it is, by far, the bit of the Marvel Universe I am least familiar with from the comics, so I have no idea if this is something new to the show or not.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 1:00 PM on April 8, 2015

Maybe it was just me, but the dude who played Lincoln just reminded me of a more chiseled version of the guy who played Mouse in The Matrix, to the point that the resemblance was really distracting. Both actors are Australian, apparently. Is there a way that Australians look?
posted by Strange Interlude at 1:16 PM on April 8, 2015

Heh. io9 on the difficulties Agents of Shield faces with the use of Inhumans:

At any rate, the end result is that Agents of SHIELD has a whole storyline about the Inhumans that can’t ever go into real detail or get very far, because it has to wait for the movie to come out first. It’s like how the show had to completely ignore HYDRA until Captain America: The Winter Soldier came out, then they were allowed to make the villains their primary antagonists. Here, they get to use a weird vestige of the Inhumans, but there’s no chance they’ll ever be able to take it deeper, at least until 2019.

So be prepared for a lot of unknown characters in unknown, nondescript locations talking about Inhumans without ever being able to say Inhumans. Sigh.
posted by nubs at 2:00 PM on April 8, 2015

I was frustrated by Bobbi and Mac not noticing the hypocrisy in OlmoSHIELD arguing that greater transparency was the way to go right after secretly infiltrating CoulSHIELD and attacking their base of ops without even trying to open up a dialogue. These two do not seem to be very clever, which is strange for highly trained agents.

Skye and her new boyfriend are boring, but that's not unusual with regards to Skye. Interactions between Skye's mum and dad have the potential for awesomeness, however.

Fitzsimmons and the Hunter/Coulson team are carrying the show for me, at the moment. Yay for delicious sandwiches and scotch.
posted by dazed_one at 2:27 PM on April 8, 2015

I can handwave away a little of Mack and Bobbi's blindness to FitzSimmons because they've never seen FitzSimmons working as a unit. Bobbi & Mack came on board to Coulson-SHIELD in the middle of Fitz & Simmons' apparent tense friend-breakup, and as Bobbi befriended Simmons and Mack Fitz, the FitzSimmons rift grew seemingly wider. This looked like a standard friend fight because Olmost-SHIELD didn't recognize FitzSimmons as a team who could still finish each other's sentences/sandwiches.

But there's really no excuse for Bobbi not being more wary of Jemma playing her again, nor her not recognizing Olmost-SHIELD's hypocrisy. I expect Bobbi to turn against Gonzales within a few episodes. I'll be surprised if Mack turns, because his alien xenophobia falls right in line with the Gonzales platform.
posted by nicebookrack at 3:21 PM on April 8, 2015 [2 favorites]

Very pleased that Dichen is back on the show and clearly becoming an important character. More asians on TV!

Overall, I'm still finding this Battlestar Pegasus mini-arc a drag on otherwise interesting Inhuman developments.
posted by adrianhon at 3:23 PM on April 8, 2015

I can just imagine how Gonzales briefed OlmoSHIELD before they moved in on CoulSHIELD...

Gonzales: Alright guys, as you know, we are unsure about Coulson's ability as a leader and we have some disagreements about the choices he's made, however we know that the members of his team are good people and we would very much like to get them to join us.

Now, very recently we were all subject to a massive betrayal by sleeper agents within our own ranks and were subsequently attacked within our own bases. Our new SHIELD organization was founded with the idea of transparency in mind so those same mistakes would not happen again. With regards to this ideology, I think the best way to get CoulSHIELD on side is to infiltrate his organization with sleeper agents, who, at a prearranged signal, will massively betray them and thereby allow us to violently attack their base.

They will surely want to help us after that.

Bobbi and Mack: Good plan boss!
posted by dazed_one at 3:28 PM on April 8, 2015 [15 favorites]

Mack then panics and chokes Gonzales out.
posted by leotrotsky at 3:40 PM on April 8, 2015 [9 favorites]

Mack panicking and then choking the nearest person out should be how every episode ends from now on.
posted by dazed_one at 8:34 PM on April 8, 2015 [7 favorites]

Mack: Turbo, I never stopped being your friend. Can't you see that I believe in the real SHIELD and I want you to help us.

Fitz: I can't Mack. I can't betray our friends. I'm leavi... *ack* *cough* *splutter*
posted by dazed_one at 8:39 PM on April 8, 2015 [7 favorites]

I feel like watching this show is finally paying off. I halfway expected us to learn that Simmons had gone through the hydra brainwashing for a few minutes there. I think they are treading carefully about how much weirdness can be revealed to the in-universe public, at least before AoU comes out.
posted by Catblack at 9:05 PM on April 8, 2015

I'm sitting here feeling smug that I worked out what FitzSimmons was up to right as it was happening- when Fitz went flat silent after he worked out what she was doing, followed by immediately deciding to leave. Their "confrontation" was amazing.
posted by BungaDunga at 9:55 PM on April 8, 2015

I'm just really amused that the two science geeks are Best Spies.

Also, I couldn't help but think during the scene where they slowly knock the door down that hey, that would take the Hulk what, three minutes tops?

Also, I was a bit disappointed with the Inhuman hideout, in that I wanted to see more weird looking people. I thought the thing with the Inhumans is that they usually didn't look very human...or maybe I'm thinking too Kirby.
posted by happyroach at 2:51 AM on April 9, 2015

Most people at the Inhuman hideout are not Inhumans, just people with the potential to change into Inhumans.
posted by Pendragon at 4:10 AM on April 9, 2015

Um, that's a terrible terrible terrible idea.

Yep. I'd say there's a good chance they'd do it.

Also, I couldn't help but think during the scene where they slowly knock the door down that hey, that would take the Hulk what, three minutes tops?

The best you do with Hulk is redirect or slow down till there's a better/more interesting target. Think The Club, not an ignition immobilizer. The long time thinking on the Hulk (which in the comics sense means it's been returned to many times) has been he gets bigger/stronger the more pissed off he gets. So unless there's something in the house continuing to anger/taunt/thwart him, probably he's not going to do a sustained pummel.

Unless the plot needs him to, of course.

Keeping him contained, on the other hand? Maybe the door was breachable because it was built for containment, not keeping people out. Though nothing keeps the Hulk contained for long. Only folks to figure out a good way were in Planetary and it was time consuming.
posted by phearlez at 9:03 AM on April 9, 2015

So to beat the Hulk, you need a truck load of kittens.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:50 AM on April 9, 2015 [2 favorites]

Yep.
posted by Pendragon at 10:04 AM on April 9, 2015 [4 favorites]

Holy Crap, We're Getting Another Agents of Shield Spin-Off
posted by nubs at 11:01 AM on April 9, 2015

Please let it be an elite zombie squad of commandos, starring Victoria Hand, Hartley and Trip. Call it Marvel's Fear the Strain of Dead Agents of SHIELD.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:23 AM on April 9, 2015

Holy shit, we're getting The Coulson/Hunter Adventure Hour after all?!

But no, it's gotta be Agents of SWORD.
posted by nicebookrack at 11:40 AM on April 9, 2015

I'll be really pissed if that means no more Agent Carter.
posted by dinty_moore at 11:49 AM on April 9, 2015 [2 favorites]

Yeah, honestly, it seems like if they are serious about a non-Agent Carter spinoff, it would worth it for them to greenlight another season of Agent Carter just because of the capital-b Bad Will the new spinoff would receive if that doesn't happen.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:07 PM on April 9, 2015

Hm. Maybe they'll spin off Skye's little adventures.
posted by dazed_one at 1:10 PM on April 9, 2015

Ah Skye. She's gone from mildly irritating, to holy crap kill her off to bland. Currently creeping back towards "oh god, kill her off please"

At think point, I think it's the "My powers are a curse, must get rid of them, woo is me!" I can understand Raina being bummed out like that, but Skye has neat powers and finally has a place to really learn them. Plus, if she was able to the water trick with a little concentration, it sounds like her powers are easy to control.

Hell, the best part of the original Iron Man movie was Tony Stark reveling in being able to fly and be a superhero. Yeah, it's a little different with Skye and other Inhumans, but the dark and brooding path isn't the way to go with this.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 1:16 PM on April 9, 2015

I absolutely agree, Brandon. Some level of conflicted emotion was understandable at first, but where is the "OMG I have FUCKING SUPERPOWERS. I CAN JOIN THE AVENGERS." response that would occur in almost any human, especially after having seen the coolness that is Gordon and his control over space and matter.
posted by dazed_one at 1:23 PM on April 9, 2015 [2 favorites]

But no, it's gotta be Agents of SWORD.

Would make a lot of sense. Presuming CoulsonSHIELD eventually prevails against RealSHIELD, they're not going to cut the useful people completely loose. A blackops squad with Bobbi, Mack, Deathlok, Ward and Agent 33 maybe? Imagine the scheming!

Of course, they do have to shoehorn in a certain group of superheroes in the run-up to Avengers 2.5 next summer...
posted by peteyjlawson at 1:39 PM on April 9, 2015

At think point, I think it's the "My powers are a curse, must get rid of them, woo is me!" I can understand Raina being bummed out like that, but Skye has neat powers and finally has a place to really learn them.

Yes, but she did almost shake her base apart, and she broke both of he arms trying to not destroy the building she was standing in. She can't control it at all.

It seems like she should be excited about the possibility of controlling it though. Controlling your superpowers and being a superhero seems like it should be a way better option than being some normal shmuck.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 4:02 PM on April 9, 2015

Skye would also surely be more excited about her powers if her all of friends/coworkers/surrogate-family (except eventually Fitz & Coulson) hadn't immediately freaked out about Skye being dangerous the moment they discovered her powers. And now the Inhuman group is treating Skye's powers as a Serious Spiritual Awakening Process Of Very Serious Blah Blah™ instead of going "Look at we can do! Isn't this cool?! You're going to be so cool!!"
posted by nicebookrack at 4:33 PM on April 9, 2015

And now the Inhuman group is treating Skye's powers as a Serious Spiritual Awakening Process Of Very Serious Blah Blah™ instead of going "Look at we can do! Isn't this cool?! You're going to be so cool!!"

Meh, after talking with the coolness that is Gordon and discovering you could shape water, I don't see any reason for her be all "OH WOO IS ME AND MY CURSED STATE". The character is just seriously flawed in an uninteresting way.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:01 PM on April 9, 2015

Though nothing keeps the Hulk contained for long. Only folks to figure out a good way were in Planetary and it was time consuming.

That was a great short story, but that's not the way you contain the Hulk. Dude would simply wall-jump up the shaft and punch his way out.

No, the trick to containing the Hulk is you don't give him anything that allows him to apply force. You need to take away his ability to use his potentially infinite strength against anything.

Deprive him of leverage. Give him nothing to throw, pull, or push against. You're going to want to do something like magnetically suspend him in a sphere full of air, or put him in a stable orbit around Mercury.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:03 AM on April 10, 2015

You're going to want to do something like magnetically suspend him in a sphere full of air, or put him in a stable orbit around Mercury.

But..but...That's not realistic!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:24 AM on April 10, 2015 [2 favorites]

Skye would also surely be more excited about her powers if her all of friends/coworkers/surrogate-family (except eventually Fitz & Coulson) hadn't immediately freaked out about Skye being dangerous the moment they discovered her powers

To me, this is still part of the problem with Skye's reaction to where she is now. Her friends are all freaked out about her and even the ones that are supportive still felt the best solution was to isolate her totally. And yeah, they might be in trouble now, but Skye knows herself that she's dangerous to everyone (including herself) until she learns to control this power and it shouldn't take much brain power to realize that charging off, alone, without knowing what is going on and who is in control might just be unwise.

Ignore the whole spiritual awakening thing if it bugs, and learn how to use your gorram power so that (a) you aren't hurting yourself and (b) potentially hurting everyone around you so that you can, you know, actually be effective in assisting with whatever shit is now going down with Shield. And, hey - little miss SHIELD agent - you are now undercover in the Inhuman camp that your organization knows nothing about! That might have some value? Perhaps?

But the character of Skye can't be given that much agency or motivation or whatever.
posted by nubs at 8:39 AM on April 10, 2015

But the character of Skye can't be given that much agency or motivation or whatever.

And that's the most annoying thing of all.
posted by dazed_one at 11:06 AM on April 10, 2015

Deprive him of leverage. Give him nothing to throw, pull, or push against.

Dude can still emit various fluids and gases.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:12 PM on April 10, 2015 [1 favorite]

I was kind of hoping the spin-off would be Coulson trapped in Miami with his eccentric agent friends, until he finds out who burned him...
posted by happyroach at 1:03 PM on April 10, 2015 [13 favorites]

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. I loved Fitzsimmons together again, as SuperSpies no less! Fitz/Sandwich is my new OTP. Loved the return of Agent Mike/Deathlok, too!

But wow, the whole Afterlife thing set my creep-meter at 11; it straight up felt like a cult.

From Skye's naked acupuncture initiation. (And seriously, how freak-out-worthy is that? To wake up mostly naked, after an unknown time has passed, unable to move, in a room tricked out with ritual gear, needles sticking out of you, with a strange dude lurking in the background?) To the isolation tactics. (At least the SHIELD cabin had video chat, Little Debbie snack cakes, and Phil gave her a hug.) To the unsubtle Us/Them indoctrination. (Where Us apparently includes the woman who collaborated with your enemies, triggered your unwanted transformation, and was involved in your friend's death.) To the obscure terrigenensis selection process Bland!Stoner!Dude/LoveInterest alludes to. (And how much you wanna bet that the selection criteria isn't random or democratic and is instead based upon how well you suck up to the Elders?)

Creep-city!
posted by skye.dancer at 7:00 PM on April 10, 2015

And I'm starting to feel the like only person on the planet who actually likes Skye! Yeah, her character has some problems as written, but they strike me as a function of the plot, so I guess, eh, whatever? Or maybe I just have low standards? I keep wondering if she's being set up as a hinge point in the showdown between Inhumans allied with humans vs. Inhumans allied only with themselves. Like Prof. X vs. Magneto, with her (and people like her) in the middle.

Regarding her transformation, I think that she just didn't want it. She just wanted to be herself. That doesn't seem unreasonable to me. Not everyone wants super powers, especially not such destructive ones. Even Banner put a bullet in his mouth before he was forced to get a handle on the Hulk.

Skye grew up thinking she was an orphan, bounced around foster homes, was homeless and lived in a van, hacked her way into SHIELD to get info about her birth family and created a family of her own there (remember her poignantly looking at Bucky Barnes' name on the Triskelion wall of honor and finally feeling part of something?). Only to discover that SHIELD was compromised by HYDRA, her SO was a HYDRA sociopath, her mentor/father-figure was going insane/dying because of alien DNA, her dad is alive and a total nut job, her mom had super powers and was vivisected, oh, and by the way, now she's got destructive super powers courtesy of that same alien DNA, her friend is dead because of it, too, and her chosen family are now afraid of her.

I mean, jeez, that’s a lot, right?
posted by skye.dancer at 7:11 PM on April 10, 2015 [7 favorites]

Of course you'd say you like her. Your name is Skye.

I sense a conspiracy.
posted by dazed_one at 9:07 PM on April 10, 2015 [4 favorites]

I mean, jeez, that’s a lot, right?

It totally is. But no one likes a whiner. Especially when they're young and beautiful AND have super powers.

It's totally understandable for the character to be shaken, afraid and confused. But after meeting Gordon and all of his coolness, it's time to look on the bright side and get a handle on this.

I'd respect the character a lot more if she called Coulson and the others on their various negative reactions to her (except for Fitz) rather than moping around that everyone is scared of her. Face the facts Skye, you new power make dangerous. But to your friends, to your enemies and enemy of all that is right and good and anti-coulson! With May and Phil, you could be completely bad ass. Now make it happen.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:24 AM on April 11, 2015

Yeah, her character has some problems as written, but they strike me as a function of the plot, so I guess, eh, whatever

That actually nails the problem right there, I think - she's not a character, she just gets driven to wherever/whatever the plot needs her to be. And I find it surprising in a show where most every other main character seems to have some actual development (May, Coulson, Fitz, Simmons, Ward all have reacted to things and done things that are in keeping with their character) that Skye remains this way.
posted by nubs at 6:45 AM on April 11, 2015 [1 favorite]

Tough crowd! :)

I didn't get to mention, though, how much I loved the Gonzales v. May showdown/job offer.

Based upon my experience of not-for-profit Boards, I found Gonzales' speech about divided houses LOL-worthy. And I'm still not convinced he doesn't still have Hydra sleeper agents aboard the Iliad. How can they be sure they fully cleaned house?
posted by skye.dancer at 9:20 AM on April 11, 2015 [1 favorite]

Hey, my distaste for Skye does not keep me from watching the show - I just wish they could bring her to life the way they have with so many others, so that it feels like Skye acts instead of being acted upon.

And vive le difference!
posted by nubs at 10:24 AM on April 11, 2015

It's totally understandable for the character to be shaken, afraid and confused. But after meeting Gordon and all of his coolness, it's time to look on the bright side and get a handle on this.

Especially considering that she's supposedly a highly trained secret agent. Secret agents don't sit around moping. They judo chop things.
posted by dazed_one at 10:25 AM on April 11, 2015

Oh I loved Lincoln / MaleSkye / Electrical Accupuncture Boy from Cincinnati. He's dreamy. Totally cheesy, but then the whole Inhumanville thing is cheesy. From the blind pizza delivery guy to the Shaolin temple to the boring people milling around eating kale. Just terrible. This is the big Inhumans storyline all the Marvel fans are excited about? Please tell me it gets better.

Also is there any chance Skye short-circuits herself and blows her mind out?

Agreed that the Gonzalez / May scene was great though, him trying to talk her in. I believed his speech, really, his devotion to S.H.I.E.L.D. I guess his flaw is being too doctrinaire, but he's clearly sincere and honorable.
posted by Nelson at 9:57 PM on April 11, 2015

I didn't completely understand the setup of Afterlife. So there are dozens of kale-eating-backpackers hanging out there waiting to get picked to become Inhumans - but people only get chosen once "every few years". But they don't live in Afterlife, so they're spending most of their time in the real world - and yet no-one talks? Do the Inhumans wipe their memories or something?
posted by adrianhon at 3:30 AM on April 12, 2015

But they don't live in Afterlife, so they're spending most of their time in the real world - and yet no-one talks?

But it's not random humans waiting and hoping to be chosen, it's only people who have Inhuman genetic material. And reading between the lines a little, most of them have known of their Inhuman potential their whole lives and believe that when or if they transform then they will be part of the advancement of human evolution. They're all True Believers, basically, so keeping the existence of Afterlife secret makes sense to them, since it's helping other True Believers transform without interference.


This is the big Inhumans storyline all the Marvel fans are excited about? Please tell me it gets better.

I know just enough about the comics to know that there are all sorts of Inhumans storylines, but not enough about the upcoming MCU films to know which ones will be used.

But that's kind of the catch - it really feels like AoS is kinda stuck in a holding pattern (as the io9 article nubs linked above says) where the show's invested a bunch of time & energy in a whole Inhumans/Terragen Mist/Kree/Skye-gains-superpowers plot, but they can't take it very far lest they fuck up something for the current & upcoming Marvel films.
posted by soundguy99 at 7:35 PM on April 12, 2015

The spin-off should just be GuySkye giving tours of Afterlife to new residents, inadvertently revealing things to them then saying stuff like, "I'm sorry... I thought you knew." and "I'm sorry... Didn't he tell you?" I think that's his secondary superpower.
posted by brundlefly at 1:37 AM on April 16, 2015 [2 favorites]

Marvel: Agents of Exposition.
posted by nubs at 6:25 AM on April 16, 2015 [4 favorites]