Agents of SHIELD (SPOILERS)

[David Walton]

I was very satsified with the finale, which was the strongest episode to date. Loved the Coulson/Fury chemistry, and the way they brought the Tahiti angst to a close. It felt like things came full circle with Coulson once again coming at things from a place of hope. I also appreciated Fury and Coulson's validation of everything SHIELD stood for, which made their attempts to revive it more credible.

The Ward/May fight scene was fantastic, and nice to see him get his comeuppance, but also left some room for him to try and find a new place in the world without Garrett. I had suspected they would give him a big redemption moment, but it's nice that they didn't try to sell that this time around, given that he tried to kill Fitz and Simmons.

Triplett and Coulson's shared fascination with Howling Commandoes tech was a delight.

And it's great to see Patton Oswalt back in play. I thought his death was a waste, but now we get to have our cake and eat it, too.

Very excited for the second season!

[The Dog]

He didnt betray anyone, he was sent to do a mission which he completed flawlessly.
Fury could clearly see this and see how kick ass an agent he is and just get him to work for him because he knows how far Ward will go. And since suddenly in this last episode Ward was all, "tell me what to do master!" We got an easy setup for Ward to work under another master.

No, he betrayed them. He betrayed them on a personal level.

Really, only an idiot gives someone who tried to kill them a second chance to finish the job. Especially if that someone also killed several of your comrades, an (at the time) superior officer, and aided in stealing a wide array of highly dangerous weapons as well as releasing multiple highly dangerous supercriminals from prison.

And had Fury known that both Ward and Garrett were Hydra agents, he'd have personally offed both of them, regardless of their level of skill.

[Vakanai]

Not as long as PoI stays at 10.

Eh, I have a lousy head for time zones. PoI comes on at 9 in my area, AoS comes on at 7. So now it looks like PoI will come on right after AoS.
Guess I'll be giving up The Mindy Project next season.

And yeah, I'd be unable to choose either... so much so I'm now pining for a crossover. Although Root and the cellist being identical twins doesn't quite work, does it? Maybe there's cloning in the MCU.

Yeah, a crossover could never happen but I'd love to see it too. I'd just spin it that Root happens to be a cellist when not doing the whole thing for the Machine, which would really make it interesting when Coulson finds out what she's really like. Play on the whole double lives thing, Coulson being believed dead and the cellist is really crazy Root. But then you'd have to explain why she'd have led that double life. Eh, could never work, but it'd make fun fanfiction.

And that would make the Zola algorithm, assuming it survived in some fashion, the Third AI.

Possibly fourth. Technically first in terms of age.
It'd go:
1. Zola algorithm (those computers were from what, 60s? 70s?)
2. The Machine (response to 9/11, came online mid/late 00s)
3. JARVIS (I guess he counts as AI)
4. Samaritan (on now, bwahahahaha!)
and future:
5. Ultron

[Mikekerr3]

He didnt betray anyone, he was sent to do a mission which he completed flawlessly.
Fury could clearly see this and see how kick ass an agent he is and just get him to work for him because he knows how far Ward will go. And since suddenly in this last episode Ward was all, "tell me what to do master!" We got an easy setup for Ward to work under another master.

Why trust someone so compley immoral at all, he brings nothing to SHIELD except the ability to kill on command without any regard to morality, finding folks that will do that is easy, but that is not a desirable attribute in a vagrancy dedicated to "protecting"

[Mikekerr3]

They don't need to look past what he did for him to get redemption. It is fairly easy for a writer to set up a scenario whereby they are forced to seek Ward's aid. Case in point, they need to infiltrate Hydra or need to put someone in a dangerous spot undercover. Ward can easily fill that role since he will be known within Hydra as Garrett's right hand man.

Not that I am advocating they do this but it really isn't that hard.

then after all is done throw the scumbag back into a cell and weld the door shut.

[Mikekerr3]

At this point I would agree. SHIELD has no reason to believe that Ward isn't loyal to Hydra. But that's not to say down the line events won't allow Ward to prove otherwise.

Really, I suspect that will end up being the story of this particular character. That will be his character arc as the show goes on.

Are the supposed to ignore the dozen or so cold blooded murders he was shown to commit on screen? How do you get redeemed from being a mass murderer?

[Vakanai]

What is it about this show that invites this much crazy debate? It's like people just want something to argue about over it.

[Carabas]

Even if he has a "Suicide Squad"-style necklace? Hm....maybe not.

I don't see the rest of the team being okay witth the very concept of a Suicide Squad set-up.

[Mikekerr3]

Even if he has a "Suicide Squad"-style necklace? Hm....maybe not.

Simmons would simply press the button at first opportunity, As would any agent whose friend Ward murdered in cold blood.

[Sandy Hausler]

I really thought this season finale was going to be... bolder. Like... because it's Whedon(-esque) branded, I thought they were going to kill a character off, lol. At least one.

They did kill off Garrett.

Sandy Hausler

[Vakanai]

Simmons would simply press the button at first opportunity, As would any agent whose friend Ward murdered in cold blood.

Fitz wasn't murdered, he's still alive. I don't know if it'll be a good life, but still...

[Sandy Hausler]

Instead, we get pretty much the expected status quo reset i.e. the building of a new S.H.I.E.L.D. with Coulson at its head.

This kind of bothers me. SHIELD does not belong to Fury or Coulson. While it's not 100% clear who runs it -- the United States or some international organization -- the money to support it is gone. Heck, even the "Bus" does not belong to them. Yeah, I know they're going to be outlaws, but I hope this issue is addressed and not swept under the rug.

Sandy Hausler

[gwangung]

Are the supposed to ignore the dozen or so cold blooded murders he was shown to commit on screen? How do you get redeemed from being a mass murderer?

Well, now. That's the fun, isn't it?

[gwangung]

I don't see the rest of the team being okay witth the very concept of a Suicide Squad set-up.

Exactly.

But....you can easily see the circumstances that demand it.....

[kalorama]

At this point I would agree. SHIELD has no reason to believe that Ward isn't loyal to Hydra. But that's not to say down the line events won't allow Ward to prove otherwise.

Whether he was loyal to Hydra or not has nothing to do with whether they'll ever trust him again, so proving that isn't likely to buy him any grace with SHIELD.