Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Roundtable: “S.O.S.”

In the aftermath of Jaiying’s murdering Gonzales and her false claims that he shot her, a battle ensues between the Inhuman’s and SHIELD. Coulson refuses to escalate to war until he has more information about what happened. He realizes pretty quickly that Jaiying pulled some theatrics. He isn’t the only one who knows she isn’t what she appears, Raina has had some visions of her deceit. When Jaiying kills Raina to shut her up, Skye witnesses the whole thing and her decision is made to stand with SHIELD. The Inhumans plan to take over the aircraft carrier, and are successful at first, until Skye escapes her incarceration and Lincoln (dismayed by Jaiying’s callous killing) joins her.

Hunter and May go looking for Bobbi once they realize Ward and Agent 33 have her. Ward is seeking retribution for Bobbi’s part in Agent 33’s capture and torture by Hydra. When torturing Bobbi doesn’t get them the results they want, they set up a booby trap to kill whomever comes to her rescue. The plan fails when Bobbi manages to shift her chair in front of the gun and take the bullet instead. She survives, and she and Hunter are reunited. Ward and Agent 33, however, are parted forever when she slips into May’s face again and Ward mistakenly kills her. He wants vengeance against SHIELD, and creates his own Hydra team to get things started. Cal kills Jaiying in order to save Skye, and we learn that he was never the monster he was believed to be. Jaiying was the mastermind behind everything, and her healing ability actually comes at the cost of sacrificing others lives. Cal only did what she wanted him to do, he was as much her victim as anyone. Coulson has Cal’s memory wiped and he begins a new life as a veterinarian. It appears all is well for the SHIELD team once Jaiying is defeated. Skye is poised to lead the Inhuman’s and create a new SHIELD team. Just when you think it’s safe, though, the alien artifact that the Inhuman’s wanted so badly to take control of seizes Jemma. She’s gone in a flash, and no one is around to witness.

1. Ward seems to have actually had feelings for Agent 33, and his grief is propelling him to become Hydra’s next head. Did we witness the birth of a super villain?

Louise: I think we’ve been witnessing the birth of a super villain since it was revealed he was HYDRA, but now I think he’s the new head and I want him gone before it goes too far and destroys all of his former colleagues.

Liz: I don’t think a super villain, because we know that Ward is a bad guy, and now he’s angry – again. He’ll definitely be a big threat because we don’t know what he’s planning to do to get his “closure”. He’s going to get even uglier next season. I think the bigger evil is that fish oil!

Rueben: When it was revealed that Ward was actually part of Hydra, I had this bad feeling that he was going to end up being a BIG problem for SHIELD; and his being tricked into killing Agent 33, well, that’s just going to drive him (or has already driven him I should say) over the rails. He is going to be-all, end-all super villain for season 3 for sure.

Jan: It sure felt that way. I’m excited to see how this unfolds, having a foe that has a deep, personal grudge against SHIELD. He’s going to be more ruthless than ever.

2. Skye will take on the role Raina foretold, leading the Inhuman’s. Are you excited to see this development and where the Inhuman story will lead?

Louise: I’m curious about where the Inhuman story will lead, especially since the movie for them is so far away, but I can’t tell right now if Skye’s new position is going to be as bright and sunny as Coulson wants.

Liz: I actually expected it. Skye is the best choice to lead the Inhumans, the same way that Coulson is the best choice to lead SHIELD. She will be fair, fierce and smart and the others will follow her. She has that same gift of talking someone out of a bad decision as Coulson does. I like to think she learned that from him.

Rueben: I think the intentions of Skye leading the Inhuman’s are good, but I don’t think the results are going to be good. I am interested to see who will be on her “team” of Inhumans (Lincoln, please?!!!), but I have a feeling that there will be other Inhumans who will still think/feel/believe the way Jaiying did and perhaps some of them will try to get close to Skye to exact some level of revenge for Jaiying’s death (even if she didn’t make the final blow, ya know?).

Jan: Skye’s journey, from season one to the end of season two, has been incredible. She has really grown into her role with the team and has proven herself. She is the natural choice to be the bridge between the Inhumans and SHIELD.

3. Raina died because Jaiying feared what she would reveal. Were you screaming at the TV for her to shut up during her meeting with Jaiying? Would she still be alive if she hadn’t revealed so much of what she knew about Jaiying’s deceit?

Louise: Raina’s always been someone I tolerated on the show, even if she’d been better once she became Inhuman. That said, I wasn’t yelling at my TV because as the one with the gift of the future, she’d always pose the greatest threat to Jaiying. From the moment last week when it became clear that Jaiying was the villain, Raina was done for.

Liz: I was seriously disappointed in Raina’s death. I have always liked her, even when she was just the girl in the flower dress. I think she could have been a great aid to Skye going forward as the Inhuman’s leader. I was hoping that she wouldn’t reveal too much to Jaiying, because I knew Jaiying would kill her. Raina got too smug in her new role as Skye’s protector and it cost her her life.

Rueben: There was always a small part of me that sort of liked Raina for her tenacity, but it was always made clear that she was only out for herself. That being said, I felt bad that her life was taken so harshly by Jaiying; but like Louise said it was a foregone conclusion that Raina wasn’t long for this world when she saw Jaiying’s plan.

Jan: I was absolutely screaming for her to stop. I wasn’t sure if she was just clueless that someone as ruthless as she knew Jaiying to be wouldn’t hesitate to kill her, or if she had foreseen what would happen and knew her death would be the beginning of the end for Jaiying.

4. What did you think of the revelations regarding how Jaiying was able to heal and that she was actually the one behind all the deaths she and Cal left in their wake? Surprised or no?

Louise: That reveal made her all the more evil and all the more menacing because before that she was just doing something drastic and overblown for the sake of Inhuman safety.

Liz: I was very surprised. That was the big reveal about Jaiying we had been waiting for. This episode answered all my questions about her to my satisfaction, and it was a complete surprise to find out that she was actually the “monster” and not Cal.

Rueben: I wasn’t expecting that at all; although it finally made what we knew of Cal make sense (in a way). And it also explains how she could heal over and over again; but that was a creepy “gift” and how she could use it on her daughter just showed how far gone she was.

Jan: One of the best shocking twists ever! I had a feeling since Jaiying reappeared that there was something she was hiding, but I never dreamed it was something on this level. Kudos to the writers for that one!

5. During her torture, Bobbi firmly asserted that she had to make a tough call and the safety of many outweighed the safety of one. That was the opposite of her driving force for unseating Coulson as director. Was it the event with Ward and Agent 33 that finally helped her come to that realization?

Louise: Bobbi’s probably the one who most responds to a situation with the right words, so I don’t know which side she actually falls on or if it was all about the right answer for the right situation. So I don’t know if she’s come to a new realization or if she’s so pragmatic that she’ll do whatever it takes to survive.

Liz: I don’t think her drive to unseat Coulson as director was the opposite of her belief for the safety of many. The two were the same. What Bobbi didn’t believe in was that Coulson was operating on his own, like Fury did, until Steve Rogers opened his eyes. He was keeping too much from his team; things that they should have been trusted with. I really think it was watching Gonzales make some questionable choices that made her see that he wasn’t the one to wholly follow either.

Rueben: Maybe it’s a little of both. She believed that Coulson shouldn’t be holding so many things to the vest; but overall she believes that saving the many far outweighs saving only one person. I have to wonder, though, if that “one” had been Hunter instead of Agent 33, would she have decided differently?

Jan: I have had a difficult time reading Bobbi since the reveal that she was with the other SHIELD. She seemed set in her actions, yet her face often suggested conflict. I have come to believe she wasn’t sure herself what she wanted, that what she thought was the answer turned out to not be the answer at all. I don’t think she will have any conflicted feelings going forward, she knows she’s on the right side.

6. Who knew Cal was actually the good parent? Do you think Tahiti was a proper sendoff for him?

Louise: I sure didn’t know he’d be the good one, but it’s nice to see that TAHITI did him a great deal of good. He seemed happy and content with the vet business and seeing Daisy once in a while.

Liz: I sure didn’t see that coming. I thought for a while there that they were setting Cal up as next season’s super villain. Tahiti was definitely the perfect send off for him. He would have been tortured with the memory of killing the one woman he was completely in love with, and I think that would eventually have driven him to complete insanity. At least this way he can have a chance at happiness and redemption, and I think Skye needed to know that too.

Rueben: I would have said no after he made that weird transformation; but then when Coulson was able to get through to him (which seemed almost a little too easy, right?) about working together to save Skye and stop Jaiying, I’d have to say, yeah, he is better than Jaiying. I think putting Project Tahiti to use on him was actually justified and a more than fair way to give his character closure. I think in the beginning he was a good man; that always shined through when he talked to Skye about what he wanted to be able to do as a new father.

Jan: Another shocking twist. All he ever wanted was his family together, and he was willing to go to any lengths to make it happen, even sacrificing his soul. Tahiti was a good move for him, allowing him a reset to escape the emotional torture. I thought his final scene with Skye was a good sendoff for the character, and Skye needed that closure in seeing he was going to be okay.

7. That last scene was a jaw dropper. Is Jemma gone for good?

Louise: If she’s done, I’ll be ready to throw a pitchfork wherever I need to. Jemma’s done so much and grown to have it all thrown it away by being sucked into that mystery object.

Liz: OMG! Just when I thought it was all over, they went and threw that one on us! I haven’t heard anything about Elizabeth Henstridge departing the show, so I don’t know if she’s gone for good. If not, part of next season will be to find out first that she’s inside that thing, and second getting her out.

Rueben: I was screaming at the TV and then sat there absolutely stunned and mortified. How could they do that to Jemma. She better not be a goner or I’ll be joining Louise with a pitchfork or two.

Jan: Just when we thought all our beloved team had survived the episode. I hope she’s not gone for good, but have absolutely no idea what to think. Pretty sure my heart stopped for just a moment during this scene. I have to agree with the majority, and if she’s gone I hope we can get a group discount on those pitchforks.

8. Almost every character had heroic moments this episode. Was there any one that stood out to you as the MVP?

Louise: Mack gets it for me because he’d made such a strong stand against what Coulson was doing before Gonzales died. He also showed the most skills at trying to keep the Inhumans from taking over that ship.

Liz: No, they all stood out and it’s literally impossible for me to choose only one this time. It’s like they all gave 150% in this finale. As though their careers depended on it! Mac chopping off Coulson’s hand, the fight scene between Skye and May, the fight scene between Skye and that doctor, well all the fight scenes were great. The scene between Bobbi and Hunter when she was dying was so emotional, as was the scene between Coulson and Cal when Cal was telling the story of his wife. Also heart wrenching was watching Jemma try to tell Fitz that there could be a chance for them. Each one of these characters had standout moments. What a season finale!

Rueben: I think they all had their MVP moment in the finale and it would be too hard to select just one. That being said, though, since Mack had every intention of leaving SHIELD, but changed his mind, I’d say what he did was pretty MVP-worthy.

Jan: There is no way I can choose one. Every time I try I think “but then, this other character…” The entire team was on their game, and all heroically gave their all. It was two hours full of MVP worthy scenes.