Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Round Table: Ward's Back!
Henry A. Otero
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After being outed as HYDRA, did you think you would ever see Coulson and Ward fighting side by side again?
That's exactly what went down on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 2 Episode 18. It was an interesting turn of events, and left our panelists wondering if a memory wipe might bring Ward back into the fold.
Join TV Fanatics Jim Garner, Allison Nichols, Kathleen Wiedel, Hank Otero and Andy Behbakht of the Helicarrier Podcast as we discuss that team up, the Avengers tie-in and more in our latest Round Table discussion...
Share your thoughts on the Coulson/Ward team up. Will a T.A.H.I.T.I. memory wipe allow Ward to re-join S.H.I.E.L.D.?
Andy: I liked the whole intensity of the team-up, it was what I expected and then some. I don't know if a TAHITI memory wipe will allow Ward to re-join SHIELD just like that, I don't even think Ward wants a memory wipe. I was a bit confused about that whole part in the episode.
Jim: I'm with Andy, I was confused about the TAHITI memory wipe bit. Didn't they bury that facility or is it done by the machine that restored his memories that SHIELD got from Raina? Overall, I like Ward 2.0 and his interaction with the team.
Allison: I loved the team up. I have missed their dynamic. I didn't think there was anything left of TAHITI or that Coulson knows how to put someone through it. What was interesting is that Coulson swore as the director of SHIELD, which is a position he may no longer hold.
Kathleen: Even if they Tahitied Ward, they'd have to do the same to everyone else for them to accept him back! He was a traitor, a backstabber, after all; that's not something you ready forgive or forget. Anyway, I rather think that the offer was disingenuous on Coulson's part, since the only part of S.H.I.E.L.D. he actually controls at the moment (that we know about, anyway) is one Quinjet and what's on it. That said, they make for entertaining television, don't they?
Hank: Like Kathleen, I thought Coulson was lying through his teeth. Where's the machine and how much of S.H.I.E.L.D. is he in control of anyway? That said, the Ward dynamic has been sorely lacking. I do think a T.A.H.I.T.I. memory wipe is in the cards if only to keep the guy around.
Do you think Fitz, Skye and the others could ever accept Ward after everything's he's done?
Andy: Well, Fitz kind of showed on the Quinjet that he is probably not gong to forgive Ward anytime soon in this lifetime. Skye might slowly start to give him another chance, but at this point I'm not really sure. So far I haven't seen them give us one hint that any one of them, other than Coulson, is interested in re-connecting with Ward.
Jim: Not as things stand. Skye has already put 4 bullets in his evil ass and Fitz was really close to adding to that count on the Quinjet. Short of Ward doing something *dramatically* good, none of the SHIELD agents are going to trust him.
Allison: I don't think so. It would take a grand gesture for them to start to accept Ward. Fitz is probably the one who was the most hurt by Ward, and so I think he will be the toughest for Ward to win back. Ward is trying though. I believe he genuinely wanted to know when he asked Fitz how he was doing.
Kathleen: I'm with the rest of you. I personally wouldn't want him at my back! Ward 1.0 was a traitor, Ward 2.0 is crazy! Either way, it's not going to happen.
Hank: I have a feeling Ward is going to do something mindblowing to help Coulson and the team. Will they accept him back easily, I doubt it. However, the memory-wipe thing might help. After all, the guy is an asset there's no question about that. What if they could remove his villainous traits and keep the good stuff?
What did you think of Jiaying getting rid of Cal like that? Did Skye's efforts help or hurt the situation?
Andy: I understand why Jiaying did it, because she is right - Cal isn't an Inhuman so therefore he is not really supposed to be there. But at the same time, if she was so interested in having the family together that past episode, why was she then having it so easy to have him be taken away? I think Skye's efforts had both effects - he is finally getting to be more with his daughter and she is showing somewhat of an interest to get to know him as well but also keep him safe.
Jim: I understood why she needed Cal to leave, but I have to imagine there is _someplace_ he could have gone that would not have felt like he was being abandoned but still away from the Inhumans... I'm glad that Skye went with him, after all we got to see her say her real name "Daisy Johnson"...
Allison: Jiaying has to look after her own people, and Cal isn't one of them. I do think Skye helped, but at the same time, Cal was shown what it was like to bond with his daughter, and then he learned that the plan was to rip her away from him again.
Kathleen: I agree with Jim. Sure, maybe Cal can't hang out in Inhuman land. (Isn't that isolating to them?) And he's a total lunatic. But did they have to be so cold about just dumping him?
Hank: It just seemed the "family" was making such progress. Next thing you know, okay Cal's got to go. Though Skye was trying to soften the blow, I think she did more harm than good. Did Gordon teleport them back to Afterlife? Cal's going to be furious and I can't imagine things will go smoothly.
Doctor List was after the teleporter, Gordon, but got Lincoln instead. Will S.H.I.E.L.D. step in and help the Inhumans?
Andy: I hope so! I'm not going back to an age where we had no Luke Mitchell on our TV screens! I think this will hopefully start to connect the Inhumans with SHIELD (the organization) and get them to a point where neither of those groups have to hide anymore. I think Skye will be leading that charge quite a lot.
Jim: I'm betting it will be a combination of SHIELD and The Avengers! Given that part of the story for Age of Ultron is rescuing Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, I'm betting that Deathlok and Lincoln could easily be included!
Allison: I think so because he is a lead to Skye. I believe Coulson will continue to follow through on anything that could take him to Skye. I would hope that Skye either reaches out to Coulson for help or encourages the Inhumans to kick into action.
Kathleen: I'm with Jim again that this might be a tie-in with Age of Ultron, especially given that the movie comes out mere days after the next AoS episode airs.
Hank: I would love a tie-in like that Jim, but I'm not holding my breath. I have a feeling Coulson will convince the "real" S.H.I.E.L.D. to go after Deathlok. They can't leave Mike (and his tech) in the hands of HYDRA. Perhaps Skye will go to S.H.I.E.L.D. for help. They better not kill Lincoln off, that's all I'm saying.
How did you feel about this episode's big tie-in with The Avengers: Age of Ultron?
Andy: Was it big though? Because, and I understand that we can't have everything or the capacity that we want to have, but just having this minor character that showed up in Winter Solider isn't a big tie-in to me, more like a small tie-in. Although I'm getting to the point where I strongly believe that we will be seeing Baron van Strucker either in the next episode or right after Age of Ultron. But commenting on the tie-in as a whole: I'm intrigued right now, but not jumping up and down out of excitement.
Jim: I don't think this was the big tie in.. Given there is an episode on 4/28 just *two days* before the movie, I feel certain that the _real_ movie tie-in is going to happen next week, this was just a sample to get us ready for it!
Allison: There was a tie in? I completely missed it. Oops?
Kathleen: A mention of a character counts as big? I'm waiting for next week for tie-in action, to be honest.
Hank: The ABC promo hyped an Avengers: Age of Ultron tie-in with the episode, but it was pretty minor. It does seem like next Tuesday's episode will be more of a tie-in. Again, I'm not getting my hopes up because I seriously doubt Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver will pop up on the show. I know Maria Hill will be back, so there's that.
NOTE: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 2 Episode 19 is titled "The Dirty Half Dozen" and airs on Tuesday, April 28.
