Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Round Table: Simmons Exposed
Henry A. Otero
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That Bobbi Morse was something else wasn't she? Good thing for Simmons she wasn't HYDRA on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 2 Episode 5
Join TV Fanatics Jim Garner, Allison Nichols, Kathleen Wiedel, Christine Orlando and Henry A. Otero - plus the Helicarrier Podcast's Andy Behbakht - as we talk about everything from Simmons returning to S.H.I.E.L.D... to our impressions of Bobbi Morse... to those Skye-Ward meetings and tons more.
Don't be shy, join in! Here we go...
What was your first impression of Bobbi Morse? Did you have any clue she was a double agent? Or Hunter's ex-wife?
Jim: She had me fooled! I suspect that Bobbi and Natasha Romanoff are either good friends, as Bobbi's moves reminded me of Black Widow a lot. As soon as Hunter said "What are you doing here" I knew she was his ex-wife.. Now things get interesting.
Kathleen: I was a bit suspicious that she was a double agent, but only because of meta-knowledge of the comic book version of her. She played the HYDRA enforcer quite well, didn't she? And I'm glad Jim pointed out the similarity between Bobbi's and Black Widow's fighting styles; I'm pretty sure that the exact same end-pose (kneeling, with the arms out) was used by Natasha in Iron Man 2. The ex-wife bit came as an entertaining surprise, especially when she revealed that she was the one who vouched for Lance in the first place. His reaction was priceless!
Allison: I loved Bobbi! I had no idea that she was a double agent or that she is so connected to the team. I'm going to enjoy seeing her and Hunter go head to head. Let the bickering begin. I really hope the other agents start to take sides. Team Bobbi or Team Hunter?
Christine: I had no clue who she was and I thought it was a great twist. And she's such a badass. I agree with you Jim, When I saw her moves, the first person I thought of was Black Widow. She's also a bit like May, only snarkier. My only issue is that I really can't picture her as a blonde!
Andy: I absolutely loved her and having seen Adrianne Palicki (who is a phenomenal actress by the way) in several projects over the years, I love this casting even more and she fitted in very nicely. When they first announced that she was the Head of Hydra Security, I knew that she was without doubt a double agent. There was no way the show-runners would bring in one of the most fan favorite Marvel characters in the comics and make her associated with Hydra without it being a cover. Visually though, it was outstanding to see her take out those soldiers and reveal to Simmons that she was with S.H.I.E.L.D. Regarding her being Hunter's ex: I swear that I actually thought that maybe Bobbi was the ex that Hunter kept mentioning, weeks ago, but I thought I was insane to think that so I wasn't thinking about it too much, but when it happened, man, was I shocked!
Hank: Yeah I read too many online spoilers Ha! I was aware that in the comics Bobbi Morse's alias is Mockingbird and that she worked with S.H.I.E.L.D. The fact she was HYDRA's Chief of Security seemed fishy and I figured she might be a double agent. As far as being Hunter's ex-wife, nope that was a total surprise to me. Did you know in the comics she was married to Hawkeye?
Do you think these Skye-Ward meetings have helped soften her hatred towards him? Is she letting down her guard and trusting him again?
Jim: I don't think she is letting her guard down, but she is finally working through her anger and rage at him for his betrayal. The question now is, what emotion will she land on when done processing the others?
Kathleen: I think that the more he demonstrably tells the truth, the more she will be willing to be trust him, even without realizing it. Though I think the person she needs to forgive more than Ward is herself, for not seeing through his deception during all the time they were on the Bus.
Allison: I agree with Kathleen. Skye is finally getting proof that Ward is telling the truth. Raina does know Skye's dad, and I think that Skye realizing that Ward is at least keeping his promise to stay honest with her will help Skye to very slowly start to rebuild her relationship with him. It won't be what it was before, but now at least Skye realizes that Ward maybe can be trusted, at least when it comes to intel. She is still working on her own feelings on him and what happened.
Christine: I hope not. Ward can't be trusted and he's too good at getting under her skin. I'm afraid she is beginning to trust him because his information continues to be accurate. She wants to trust him as a source but given her previous feelings for him, she's definitely vulnerable.
Andy: I wouldn't use the word "soften" because I strongly believe that she still dislikes him a lot, but I think she is starting to consider the possibility that maybe Ward is someone that can be trusted, in certain aspects. The Skye-Ward meetings are tricky because you never know where it could actually go.
Hank: I guess I'm the odd man out. I feel Ward has very methodically (and expertly) chipped away at Skye's hatred and resentment. By continuing to tell the truth and prove his intel valuable, Ward's compromised Skye thanks to her previous feelings for him. Christine is absolutely right, she's definitely vulnerable and this will ultimately backfire on her.
Garrett and Coulson had a negative reaction to the GH formula, but Skye did not. Is she an alien or something else? And how does she know the carvings are a map?
Jim: We've known that Skye was an O-8-4 for a while, so being an alien (or part alien) doesn't seem that big of stretch. As for how she knows the writings are a map, I'm guessing she's been looking at them long enough to have some ideas.
Kathleen: It's seeming more likely than ever that the reason Skye is reacting differently to the GH-325 is the fact that she's an 0-8-4. And, as Jim pointed out, with the way things are it's not too great a leap to wonder (as Coulson did) whether she's not alien or part alien. There seem to be a number of aliens in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that are visually indistinguishable from humans. The leading theory of the blue guy that provided the GH-325 is that he was a Kree - in the comics, there are also "pink" Kree - who (conveniently) look just like humans! It stands to reason that were Skye full or half-blood Kree, she would take to the GH-325 a lot better. As to how she came to the thought that the carvings were a map... well, I've no clue other than maybe she's got a gut feeling.
Allison: Like Jim and Kathleen said, it's not too far of a jump to think that Skye has some alien DNA in her somewhere. She's an 0--8-4. There's no way she is completely human. I don't know how Skye figured out the map angle. To me, it seemed like seeing it on the wall in Coulson's office sent off a light bulb in her head.
Christine: It wouldn't surprise me at all if she were part alien given her mysterious origins. I can't wait to find out if she's deduced that the sketches are a map because she's stared at it so long or if she just inherently knows. And more importantly, a map of what?
Andy: I'm still sticking to my theory that she is one of the first Inhumans in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, along with her daddy. This may seem out there, but what if the GH formula actually affected her brain in a way where she can actually understand Kree writing (major theory going on right now that the writing we see is actually Kree writing) to a certain degree.
Hank: I'm with Andy, she's one of the Inhumans. Maybe it's just wishful thinking that Marvel will introduce that corner of the MCU, after all "it's all connected" right? Unlike with DC, every time I hear Jeph Loeb say that it makes me super giddy. The Inhumans theory just fits, everything from the Kree connection, to the fact Skye is an 0-8-4 (but not an alien) and their part in the larger MCU. Yeah like Andy, I'm sticking with that one.
Skye's father has chosen to side with HYDRA. Will he reveal all the obelisk's secrets to Whitehall?
Jim: I'm pretty sure he's not siding with HYDRA as much as using HYDRA to get what he wants. Of course the fact that he is 195lbs of bat-sh!t crazy, there is no telling what he might give HYRDA to get what he wants.
Kathleen: There's no way that he'll actually give up the obelisk's secrets to HYDRA. As far as he's concerned, it would be like trying to explain the wonders of the universe to a baboon. Though while Dear Old Dad doesn't like HYDRA, but I'm sure he's willing to use HYDRA. Kinda rude of him to fixate on Coulson as the root of his problems - it couldn't possibly have anything to do with the slice-and-dice action back at the clinic, after all!
Allison: I got the impression that Skye's dad doesn't think too highly of HYDRA. He just doesn't like that his daughter is chummy with this Coulson guy. I think it's a the enemy of my enemy kind of thing. Skye's dad will use HYDRA to his advantage, but I can't see him giving them a blueprint or full access to the obelisk without his supervision. Kathleen, it was just so rude of Skye to jump to the monster conclusion. Obviously, Coulson has been filling her heads with lies! Slicing and dicing of bodies isn't an evil thing to do at all. Gosh.
Christine: As Jim pointed out, the man is certifiably insane! I think he's using the obelisk and HYDRA to get what he wants but I doubt he'll hand over all the power. He's crazy, not stupid.
Andy: I wouldn't be surprised if he actually did that at this point, with his hatred towards Coulson and S.H.I.E.L.D., I can see him actually put all the cards on the table. I'm still excited to see what the Obelisk is all about. I also want to add this: even though this was majorly the introduction of Mockingbird, I feel that we got a lot more information about Skye's father which was nice, although probably not nice for poor Raina.
Hank: As Jim says the guy is bat-sh!t crazy and seems to be a bit of a rage monster, so who knows what he'll do. If he's an Inhuman, the Obelisk is definitely far more valuable than killing Coulson or bothering with S.H.I.E.L.D. & HYDRA. We need more info on the Obelisk as Andy points out. This storyline has dragged on a bit for me and some real answers are long overdue.
Are you glad Simmons is back home with S.H.I.E.L.D.? How did you feel about her reunion with Fitz?
Jim: I'm very glad she back with the team, maybe "imaginary Jenna" will go away for good. Her reunion with Fitz seemed a bit short and incomplete since they didn't address the elephant in the room of Fitz having said how he feels about her.
Kathleen: It's good she's back, though I suspect her reunion with Fitz will be a lot more complicated in the long run. Hopefully we'll get to see more in the next episode. I'm not sure that Fitz actually knew that Simmons was on assignment for Coulson, rather than just leaving.
Allison: It was really short. She said hi. Then it was time to move on. This has been such a big part of the episodes so far - Fitz coping with Simmon's absence. The writers had better plan on making Simmons and Fitz a priority in the next episode. There is a lot to work out. I'm hoping that we get to learn more about Simmon's motives for leaving Fitz and just how she is dealing with his condition.
Christine: I'm thrilled that she's back but that reunion was way too short. There's a lot more that needs to be said and a lot of questions left unanswered. I can't wait to see them have that conversation.
Andy: Of course I am! I think I have cried enough for 4-5 weeks now every time Fitz has a scene so you know what, I'm perfectly OK with them being together again. I agree with what Christine and Allison said, the reunion was too short, I feel like there was supposed to be another minute or two there, but it had to get cut for time. It shall be interesting to see what their relationship is going to be like now because obviously, there is no way we will see their deep dynamic the way it was in season 1.
Hank: Absolutely thrilled Simmons is back with S.H.I.E.L.D. and I agree with everyone that the Fitz-Simmons reunion was too short. As Allison mentioned Fitz dealing with Simmons' absence has been such a big part of the season so far, I'm betting a real reunion is coming. The writers probably didn't want to rush it and this episode was packed enough as it is. Fitz-Simmons are my favorites and I'm really rooting for them to fix things. By the way, I'm not opposed to romance between them either. They're made for one another.
Your turn guys! Share YOUR thoughts on this week's episode in the comments below. Did we miss anything? Feel free to bring it up and we'll definitely reply to your questions. See you all right back here next week for #6.
For right now, check out a few photos from the upcoming installment of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
