Rewatching Wake Up
This is the episode when my feelings toward Radcliffe started to change from “oh, well, he’s being corrupted by the Darkhold” to “I don’t care what books your read, MF, how dare you!”.
Because the stuff he puts May through is despicable and he does it with the self-satisfied smile of someone who thinks he’s doing her a great favor. And that’s not coming from the Darkhold, that’s him.
First she’s trapped in Groundhog Day, Spa Edition, then she has to fight the same fight over and over and over, and no matter how much (and if really) May “thrives” on conflict, fighting for your life like that is surely still painful and traumatic. And finally he “fixes” her biggest regret and, even more so if it hadn’t gone horribly wrong, that would have been something terribly cruel to wake up to.
Then add all the crap the rest of the team will have to endure plus the long term consequences of that and, well...Radcliffe’s one of my favorite AoS villain and I enjoy every minute he’s on screen but he’s also awful and I hurl a lot of abuse at him. It’s complicated.🤭
I really wanted this episode to be AoS’s Game of Death. That’s the Bruce Lee movie in which he fights his way up a tower, encountering at each floor a new, more challenging and with a different fight style than the last, opponent. It’s basically like a video game, each level a harder boss fight.
Forget Nadeer’s vitriol, Coulson’s reckless decision-making - but the plan would have worked without Radcliffe’s interference - and even the Mace and Daisy scene, a rare opportunity to get a glimpse of her childhood and how it affects her still.
Just May, floor after floor - let’s say four, one for each act - kicking a different, increasingly more powerful ass, until the Framework reveal. I mean, it was such the perfect setup for it. *whines*
Stuff:
Aida, I want you to access your information cache. Locate the Sunset Protocol. [...] Activate it. How much in advance had Radcliffe planned for something like this? He had a protocol ready to go maybe a day at most after glimpsing at the Darkhold.
Hope you liked your facial, Melinda -- No. *punch* 🤣🤣🤣
Question: why does it matter if the original May is dead or alive? Oh, dear... I think we can all agree that when androids start asking these type of questions, it’s time to deactivate them or run for the hills. If only Radcliffe shared Mack’s taste in movies...
We have to show the world who she really is. -- And it’s well past time. Daisy now represents S.H.I.E.L.D. I’m so thorn. On the one hand, Daisy’s awesomeness is being publicy acknowledged and my heart swells. On the other, I want the Sokovia Accords thrown into molten lava and if it had been up to me she would have stayed independent.
S.H.I.E.L.D. is now legitimate. We have to remain above reproach. -- You mean like juicing our Director so he can pretend to be Inhuman? Well, obviously when he said “We”, he meant you, not him. 😁
This is politics, Phil, which means politicians. They are a festering cesspool of toxic-waste fires. 🤣🤣🤣
I enjoy you. -- Yeah? -- I mean, sure, you're an engineer, and you're smart, and... your insides are great. But this outside, these arms... they don't even seem real. I hear you, girl. And, if I recall, so does Fitz. Maria Hill would also be a member of the Mack’s Arms Appreciation Society, if she met him.
Look. I'm sorry. I know it's bad timing. Bad timing? No, no, I’m sure running out of the room just a few minutes after the, ah, lemons bumping (dear god) did not give her a bad impression.
Keep calling me reactive, Phil. Half the time, I'm reacting to the steaming pile of fart-pebbles you hand me. -- And the other half, you're not giving me the full story. We're like the odd couple here. I’m sympathetic to Talbot’s position in this debate and I have a feeling that if it were coming from anyone else, Coulson wouldn’t be bristling so much against it. Unfortunately, of his main advisors, one is a robot currently questioning the meaning of life, another’s busy mourning his daughter, and Daisy is the apple that doesn’t fall far from the tree and the least likely to back a call for caution, especially given who they are going against.
General, the assets belong here. And for the record, Nadeer tried to kill several people, including me. Coulson is right. We need to get ahead of her. -- Yeah, but you have to say that, don't you? Mace’s former puppet master accuses him of being a puppet. Ah, irony.
I'll just tell the truth. I'm good at that.You? Ouch. Reminder that Daisy really loathes people who misrepresent themselves. Ask Miles or Ward for references.
Coulson's been saying since day one that you're the real deal, and I've learned to trust his read on people, so... “The Real Deal”, this has been a recurring expression and theme over the course of the show and this season opened with an episode called “The New Deal”. 🤔
And listen, with me... sometimes it's...Sometimes I think it's an act. Oh, oh, oh, my EMOTIONS!!!!
Jeffrey, I'm surprised to see you. [...] Surprised to see him not dead, you mean? Diplomacy, thy name wasn’t Skye and it’s most certainly not Daisy either. 😂
Isn't it better to learn things organically instead of all at once in a report? -- No, all at once. Much better. Private person, secrets? Same thing. Must be even tougher with May. If it's better to get to know each other in tiny, slow, annoying pieces [...] then you two will never get together. Elena continues to be an absolute delight, and clearly ships Philinda.
I know you're upset about Aida. I'm in a strange position.I don't want to intrude on you while you're... processing. But I also want you to know you can talk to me. Well, last time he tried to do that, she kinda bit his head off but this is as approachable as it can get. So I’m glaring at both of them. Just a little bit.🤏
Agent Johnson, let's discuss your theft of more than $7 million [...] Has the U.S. government recovered those funds? -- The money has been distributed to... worthy causes. Indeed. Including widows, small children, housekeepers and security deposit + advance rent for British scientists. 😁
So you took the entire justice system into your own hands. Well, duh. What part of rogue vigilante did you not understand? Please watch the show, Senator Hateful.
It appears S.H.I.E.L.D. really is a criminal organization after all. And again, duh. They’ve been doing plenty of illegal stuff since Fury was in charge. Seriously, watch the show!
So, 1) how did they not prep a better answer for the bank robberies? 2) the hearing had a lot of press so if the Avengers still didn’t know Coulson was alive, they surely must after this. 3) did Daisy ever signed the Accords? The hearing was interrupted and in four episodes they’ll all be wanted fugitives again until the end credits of S5.
I love how Mace is like “everything’s fine guys, no worries, really, I mean they’re gonna drag us and charge us and stuff, but it’s all good” while Talbot is rightfully fuming.
This is the program's end. We're coding more, but we can't keep up with you. I am not surprised. I am *so* not surprised that I could have called it way back in S1 if I had known about this episode.
Fitz... did you turn on Aida's ocular receptors? -- Okay. Okay, yes. I see where you're going with this, and you're not wrong ... As opposed to being right? 😁 Nah, I’m messing with you Fitz. I mean, I think you should have told her, but as long as you don’t bring up her not telling you about her undercover mission at Hydra again, we’re good *pats Fitz*
I assure you, the real Melinda May is fine.She's safe and healthy... and under my protection. [...] Please, believe me, everyone is gonna come out of this all right. Wanker.
Hope was my daughter. And she died. Mack’s development hasn’t been a steady stream like for other characters, but when they focus on him it’s always a knockout, have you noticed?
I was reckless. Why didn't I listen to him? I wouldn’t worry, Phil. You’re not a young WoC, so we’re not gonna hold these type of things against you. 😈
There might have been safer ways to demonstrate Radcliffe was a LMD but I, for one, can’t argue against such a flair for the dramatic. It’s like Daisy breaking Sarge’s neck to confirm he couldn’t die. Agents of D.R.A.M.A.Q.U.E.E.N.S. 😁
I'm easing her pain. You absolute wanker. 🤬
