Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Theta Protocol and the AoS / AoU connection (spoilers)

[Steelsheen]

ok so the Dirty Half Dozen ep showed a lot of connections with Agents of SHIELD and Age of Ultron, most notably Loki's scepter and how that related to the opening sequence in the movie. my question is was getting and passing along that information the Theta Protocol?

it seemed to me that Theta Protocol and the passing along of the scepter's location in Sokovia are two different things. if we recall, throughout the season it was indicated that Coulson was building and acquiring a lot of assets (bunk beds etc), and this was all done under the Theta Protocol. so what can it be? is it the new Avengers HQ/ Academy that they showed at the end of AoU? or is it something else?

 

[mr. peasant]

That's one of the prevailing theories people have been speculating for awhile now.

 

[hoy-small-fry]

I think the Theta Protocol is setting up a global attack on HYDRA. We know that part of the protocol was positioning powered people, so with the Avengers attacking Sokovia, it makes sense they'd try and remove all the pieces at once

 

[DN91]

It also raises the question of whether or not the Avengers know Coulson's alive, or if it's just Hill/Fury interacting with him in private (like how Phil himself did on Tuesday's episode).

 

[mr. peasant]

It also raises the question of whether or not the Avengers know Coulson's alive, or if it's just Hill/Fury interacting with him in private (like how Phil himself did on Tuesday's episode).

But didn't Talbot and Senator Ward brand Coulson and his team criminals and terrorists?

 

[DN91]

As far as I know, both dropped those accusations once the truth was known.

 

[mr. peasant]

What I meant was that for Coulson and crew to be branded as such, then the public (or at least some influential people) needed to know that Coulson was alive, right?

 

[DN91]

Well, yes, since all (or most) of SHIELD's secrets were leaked.

 

[mr. peasant]

Which should more or less answer your question on whether the Avengers know that Coulson is alive or not. If the rest of world knows that he's alive, so too should the Avengers.

 

[Dr. Evil]

I think this is Theta Protocol:

 

[DN91]

If you listened closely, Theta hasn't been fully revealed. Coulson just said that it was ready when Hill asked, then told her to bring in the Avengers. We're still not entirely sure of what it fully is.

 

[ChrisTinnef]

so what can it be? is it the new Avengers HQ/ Academy that they showed at the end of AoU? or is it something else?

I'd also guess that it's the Academy. Simply because that new HQ along with cadets running outside just pops up in the movie and its establishment isn't explained in the slightest. So I'd think that they will eloborate on it on AOS.

As for Coulson phoning Maria Hill, one could argue that Tony apparently also didn't know about her keeping in contact with Fury – maybe he's just not as good in surveillance as the NSA t:
Also, keep in mind that there would be no reason for anybody to search for a dead person – so even if Talbot put out an arrest warrant for Coulson for a few days, that document would only have been in some army database and not on national news. Pretty sure that Tony isn't running an internet-wide query for anything that contains the word "Coulson" in it

 

[hoy-small-fry]

Oooh, the Academy would be nice. Aside from the real academy being my hometown, it just randomly appeared

 

[ajmccarrell]

I saw the movie and I really don't see much connection at all besides the first strike at Strucker. I do wonder where Fury got his helicarrier. My son was observant enough to notice it wasn't the same one, as this one is numbered 64 and the one from the original Avengers is 54. I'll have to see what number the Ilyad is to see if it's nuShields.

 

[DN91]

The carrier from the first Avengers film is designated with 64, so the one seen in AoU is likely the same as that one.

 

[mr. peasant]

Unfortunately the tie-in didn't really work since we learn in AoU that the Avengers have been re-assembled for quite a while and they have already hit multiple Hydra bases looking for the Sceptre.

Shouldn't we have heard about that in AoS?

Not necesssarily, since the bases often take place in rural areas. And in more built up areas, they'd have done so more covertly for public safety. As such, the public is likely unaware of the Avengers' activities.

Since no one but Coulson appears to have been in on that mission, he likely wouldn't have discussed it with the others.

 

[hoy-small-fry]

And he's been off-base for a while, so when would he have had the chance?

Still convinced that 64 comes from SHIELD somehow

 

[ZIPBAGS]

I saw the movie and I really don't see much connection at all besides the first strike at Strucker. I do wonder where Fury got his helicarrier. My son was observant enough to notice it wasn't the same one, as this one is numbered 64 and the one from the original Avengers is 54. I'll have to see what number the Ilyad is to see if it's nuShields.

Fury said he had to get it out of mothballs.

 

[Silver Surfer]

So now that Fury and SHIELD are back in business, where does this leave Coulson and Gonzales? Does Coulson go back to being Fury's 3rd in command?

 

[David_99]

So now that Fury and SHIELD are back in business, where does this leave Coulson and Gonzales? Does Coulson go back to being Fury's 3rd in command?

Hopefully this gets resolved in the next three episodes. Fury can always become the Director again but continue to work out of Europe, leaving Coulson 2nd in command to take care of North America. Or he can spend all of next season "Putting out fires in Wakanda" or wherever and come back for his Cube in time for Civil War.

 

[Silver Surfer]

To be honest, I'd rather Coulson go back to his team leader role rather than being Director.

 

[DN91]

Fury said he had to get it out of mothballs.

Then he said that he had a couple of friends helping him out. One of them is likely Hill, and I assume the other could possibly be Coulson.

 

[seahammer]

We could get more connections between AoU and AoS this week, too. Remember last year, there as an episode that took place before TWS, then one that was essentially happening at the same time, during the fall of SHIELD (if I remember right). We could get something like that this week, before dealing with the aftermath of robotarmy later.

 

[Mike Murdock]

AoU seemed to last over a period of weeks so the season could theoretically end before Ultron does serious damage. Or AoS could jump ahead a few weeks while they recover from their wounds.

 

[CoherentChaos]

It seems that next episode is going to deal with sort of a huge confrontation between Coulson's crew, Gonzales and whatever the deal with NuSHIELD is, and the Inhuman enclave. It could take a few weeks to mount such an offensive for either faction.

So a time lapse is feasible, but I imagine they wouldn't want the barely averted apocalyptic event to interfere with AoS's story, since such a thing shouldn't be easily ignored or swept under the rug.

Can't wait to see how they handle all that. And even if next week doesn't deal with it, I'm looking forward to the episode that addresses the events of AoU, cause it should shake things up pretty badly, even more than the alien invasion of A1.