Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - 3x08 - "Many Heads, One Tale" - Discussion Thread

[Endeavor]

I have no doubt that Rosalind was being truthful.
She's not hydra, and I'm glad.
To have her be yet another hydra sleeper agent would've been cliché.

 

[DN91]

Given what goes down next ep, I think we'll see Rosalind help prevent Coulson from going too over the edge.

 

[Vartha]

Pretty darned cool Episode. Loved the history of Hydra part lol but then you guys KNOW I love the logos and symbols
Yeah I'm not convinced Roz isn't Hyrda

 

[ZIPBAGS]

Still not happy that they split Fitz-Simmons. Looks like the show acknowledged it by saying they were cursed. Feel bad for Fitz...has to be torturous for him knowing and doing what he has been.

 

[fixxxer]

Outstanding episode. One of the best of the entire series-thus-far. Exactly what we needed after 3x06 and 3x07 were both (IMO) good but not great.

 

[BarryAllen]

This season is just epic episode after epic episode.

 

[Yowza]

My thoughts were this episode was interesting. I didn't expect the fight scenes to be overly realistic on this show so was fine with that. I do wonder what happened to Ward's Hydra though. He seems to have just absconded from the henchmen he had left after losing a ridiculous amount to just a few people in an absurd way. Guess he's gone off on his own again looking to cover necessary expenses through continuing to loot through Van Strucker's vaults with the boring objective of taking out Shield which we know isn't going to happen since they're the shows protagonists. I like the twist at the end giving a new storyline that lets be honest we knew they'd have to put Ward in another vehicle sooner rather than later once it inevitably became recognizable that of course the show isn't going to kill off all the Shield characters and replace them with Hydra.

Random Thoughts:
-I don't think the movies had this sort of backstory in mind for Hydra. I agree with the comments above pertaining to only certain leaders of Hydra really looking back to groups pre-WW2 experimenting on the monolith while other leaders not being aware or having their own separate interests.

-I think Fitz talks to people pretty ridiculous as well. When he tells the guy not to drop the book it came off in a way to me like didn't he throw the toolbox to Coulson in season 2 and kind of haphazardly handle the phone Simmons gave him before the data extraction last episode? Oh well.

-What happened to Andrew is he gone for good?

-I'll bet Rosalind is going to have an evil turn in a later episode now. It's surprising how suspicious Coulson became yet instantly went with her explanation and surpised look when she gave away Malick to him in order to get out of the containment room. Could be just a wierd way things worked out but I'll bet the writers are trying to keep the curve balls coming and get her closer to Coulson before the real turn happens.

 

[YourNameHere]

I've come to he side that Will is in the Inhuman - as in the Inhuman has taken Will's form and the real Will died a long time ago. The planet is trying to stop them from leaving because that is it's job. Stop the Inhuman from leaving.

Could be, if that thing was the immensely powerful inhuman, Will would be likely dead a long time ago.

 

[Yowza]

If that were the case, it wouldn't make sense why Will helped Simmons escape then.

One more thought that just occurred to me is that this legend of an inhuman being sent away is probably why Jaiying thought (or at least implied) it was specifically deadly to inhumans; a plot point seemingly lost from last season I suppose could be reasoned from this.

 

[MotherBox]

So we have
Daisy with Luke
Fitz with Simmons
Lance with Bobbie
Coulson with Rosalind

They can't all live "happily ever after" so who is heading for tears?

 

[Chemistro]

If that were the case, it wouldn't make sense why Will helped Simmons escape then.

One more thought that just occurred to me is that this legend of an inhuman being sent away is probably why Jaiying thought (or at least implied) it was specifically deadly to inhumans; a plot point seemingly lost from last season I suppose could be reasoned from this.

Good point, it might be because it can take inhumans away and exile them on that planet. Or it might be because the monolith can be used to bring back that really bad inhuman, who may want to enslave inhumans.

Then again, the monolith may be used to exile humans as well as inhumans, and the bad inhuman probably wants to enslave humans as much as inhumans, so who knows. Maybe Gordon was just thinking about the consequences for inhumans and didn't care about humans at all.

Another alternative (but it's a stretch): maybe Jiaying was among the inhumans who exiled the other inhuman on that planet, and he's concerned that if he comes back, he'll take revenge on her and anyone aligned with her.

 

[fixxxer]

Pretty basic query. Everyone seems certain that the entity on Simmon's planet was Inhuman? I somehow don't recall that from the dialogue. Did I miss something? I might have to re-watch the episode...

 

[MotherBox]

Elliot Randolph said that he had not heard the name "inhuman" in a long time.
Long time being measured by Asgardian lifetime.
That teaser can not be for nothing so the very old "big bad" exiled to the planet might all tie in.

 

[Mike Murdock]

Pretty basic query. Everyone seems certain that the entity on Simmon's planet was Inhuman? I somehow don't recall that from the dialogue. Did I miss something? I might have to re-watch the episode...

Yeah, it was explicitly stated in the dialogue between Malick and Ward that he was an Inhuman who was exiled.

 

[DN91]

If that were the case, it wouldn't make sense why Will helped Simmons escape then.

One more thought that just occurred to me is that this legend of an inhuman being sent away is probably why Jaiying thought (or at least implied) it was specifically deadly to inhumans; a plot point seemingly lost from last season I suppose could be reasoned from this.

Perhaps Will died and was taken over by the Death Entity long after Simmons left Planet Death. Maybe even during that tag scene during the episode on said planet.

 

[Chemistro]

-What happened to Andrew is he gone for good?

You mean that he's now only Lash, after Ward used mustard gas or something to force him to transform?
I don't know, but my impression is that there is still some Andrew left in there. The transformation process seems to be gradual, and I don't see why the gas would instantly complete it.

 

[Fogh]

If that were the case, it wouldn't make sense why Will helped Simmons escape then.

If Will is the Inhuman (as in real Will died a long time ago) it makes sense for him to help Simmons escape because he wants to escape too. The Inhuman was sent there a long long time ago and I'm pretty sure he wants to go back. It would also make sense that the planet is trying to prevent that hence the sandstorm and the gorge being wider then it should have been.

 

[Yowza]

Will/Entity:
Yeah, perhaps him helping her doesn't totally negate that. Thinking about it further though, it still seems wierd that he'd stay behind to create a distratction to allow Simmons to get to the portal instead of going along with her though. If the planetary entity is separate from the inhuman (something I didn't think of initially), I suppose this would make sense without the writers just writing it in as an explanation having people scratch their heads wondering why he stayed behind to create a distraction if in fact him and the entity are the same.

The ritual sacrifices done in the past are perhaps to sustain the entity living on another planet? He lives through the minds and bodies of others to keep sentient and active perhaps. Assuming Will is not taken over, I'm guessing he eventually will be (or sacrifices himself in the last moment to keep the idealized guy status) putting his and Simmons relationship in the ground permanently and another quirky footnote the on again/off again Fitz/Simmons relationship. Fitz seeing Will as a perfect guy seems like a set-up of sorts for something off-note to happen to Will (although I'm guessing after Simmons returned to earth) I suppose.


Monolith:

Good point, it might be because it can take inhumans away and exile them on that planet. Or it might be because the monolith can be used to bring back that really bad inhuman, who may want to enslave inhumans.

Then again, the monolith may be used to exile humans as well as inhumans, and the bad inhuman probably wants to enslave humans as much as inhumans, so who knows. Maybe Gordon was just thinking about the consequences for inhumans and didn't care about humans at all.

Another alternative (but it's a stretch): maybe Jiaying was among the inhumans who exiled the other inhuman on that planet, and he's concerned that if he comes back, he'll take revenge on her and anyone aligned with her.

Or it could be just a legend handed down generation to generation until the story became distorted in a way to give a general impression to Jaiying that the monolith isn't necessarily good for inhumans. Perhaps Jaying just heard an oral variation of the tale giving her an impression that the inhuman genes are a gift and an impression that at one point in time this gift wasn't fully realized due to an inhuman being banished by society... I like this general explanation as it could contain any or some of the specific examples you just gave.

Elliott Randolph:
I just realized he's played by the same actor who portrays the crazy artist in Ghost Buster's 2.

I'm guessing the inhuman he was alluding to is the entity sent away. As that would've been in ancient times, I'm guessing Elliott Randolph probably heard the legend second hand from a medieval cult group; the inhuman is probably older than him. He didn't seem to believe in the portal in episode 2 or exactly know it's purpose but did seem to think it wasn't a good thing to have.

Perhaps the Kree at one time built portals to send weapons across space to distant lands; perhaps how they created a galactic empire? Maybe the star wars route they seem to take in the comics isn't the same route the writers have decided to take with Agents of Shield? If this is the case perhaps Asgardians have had to deal with Kree infiltration in the past.

Rosalind:
I'd like to add that I think Malick knows someone but not who was sent back through the portal because of Rosalind reporting it to him. Didn't someone get excited on the plane last episode while going to visit the supposed president saying something about bringing someone back before Coulson jokingly says it's classified?

Lash:
As he's a comic book character I don't think we've seen the last of him. He somehow escapes the containment unit specifically made for inhumans while in his other form I'm guessing. I think the suggestion above about him being in his permanent form now (something alluded to in an earlier episode) seems likely... Although as long as they have Blair Underwood under contract, I suppose it may be easier from a production standpoint to not always be obligated to put him in full makeup all the time.

 

[Fogh]

For storytelling purposes Will/"Will" stayed back because Jemma had to be rescued by herself. It doesn't really makes sense that Will or "Will" would stay behind - I mean both would want to get back to Earth so staying with Jemma would be the plan. However maybe they got separated in the sandstorm or something. I don't think it disproves the theory of Will being the Inhuman.

When a show set someone up to be perfect, they normally are far from it. We know there are inconsistencies in Will's bio but since Jemma hasn't seen it and Fitz wasn't on the planet they don't see them. I really don't want perfect Will to sacrifice himself - that would be lazy writing imo.

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

Good episode.

Favorite parts : the evolution of the symbol of the secret society that will become Hydra and the reveal of their goal.

Simmons telling Fitz "you tore a hole in the universe for me", very similar to K.Reese saying to Sara : "I've traveled through time for you".
Gideon showing Ward the mini monolith which looks exactly like the holes in the big monolith, maybe there is something more here.

Talking about Ward, I like the progression of the character but they should maybe tone down the evil for evil sake attitude, that lessen the early coolness of his turn to the dark side.

 

[Yowza]

Yeah, but it would also be lazy writing to just have both the planetary entity, the original inhuman, and Will before Simmons escapes all being the same. If Will is taken over by the inhuman before Simmons escapes and the planetary entity isn't an outside force separate from the inhuman that stops him then some viewers may wonder why he stayed behind then.

Of course from a storytelling standpoint the writers may simply do this to draw things out and set up future storylines without going all the way right away but if they do that they should try and make sense of certain happenings like him staying behind for things to make sense in my opinion. Do this too much and people may become detached from the story.

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

they weren't his, but were certainly the same tech. they made her able to throw her batons and call them back, similar to how his suit was called to him in Avengers.

Stark uses micro repulsors/mini jets to propel his armor ( and bio implants controllers? ). Canary Mockingbird looks like using some kind of magnetic device that links her batons to her bracelets.
My take on it.

 

[Silvermoon]

Stark uses micro repulsors/mini jets to propel his armor. Canary looks like using some kind of magnetic device that links her batons to her bracelets.
My take on it.

I'm assuming you mean Mockingbird, not Canary

I'd say it's probably similar to the magnetic system (or whatever) that Cap used in Age of Ultron with his shield. Or at least, Fitz's take on such a system.

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

Hehe yes, edited it.
I often confuse the characters from DC and Marvel.

Excellent point about Cap's shield tech.

 

[Fogh]

Yeah, but it would also be lazy writing to just have both the planetary entity, the original inhuman, and Will before Simmons escapes all being the same. If Will is taken over by the inhuman before Simmons escapes and the planetary entity isn't an outside force separate from the inhuman that stops him then some viewers may wonder why he stayed behind then.

Of course from a storytelling standpoint the writers may simply do this to draw things out and set up future storylines without going all the way right away but if they do that they should try and make sense of certain happenings like him staying behind for things to make sense in my opinion. Do this too much and people may become detached from the story.

My theory is that the entity, the evil, "IT" that Will warns Jemma about is the planet. Some time long ago the planet was "created" or "designed" to keep people (or at least Inhumans) on the planet. It can control weather and landscape to prevent this if and when a portal opens and there is someone nearby. Since Simmons is not an Inhuman it could try and help her. I mean she found water after a sandstorm. It was also the planet that created the astronaut although why isn't particularly clear but I'm sure we will know when we probably see the situation from Will's POV in the episode he returns to Earth.

If Will isn't the Inhuman where is he? I mean as an Inhuman he is still part human and should have some sort of human like form. He is also all powerful even though the planet might prevent him from using all/some of his powers. Will survived 14 years without encountering him?

And Will being killed after Simmons left by the Inhuman would be the worst scenario imo.

Disclaimer!: I don't much about the MCU so all theories are based on having watched a whole lot of TV hehe.