Rewatching Love in the Time of Hydra
At the end of the previous episode, May looked shocked by Andrew’s recommendation for Skye to leave S.H.I.E.L.D. while Coulson’s main focus appeared to be the danger posed by powers in general and how to stop them.
But here we have May recommending for Skye to leave S.H.I.E.L.D. while Coulson seems shocked by the idea that she could be dangerous.
Well, with May it’s easy. Andrew pulled out the Bahrain card and that, plus her obvious respect for his professional opinion, made her reconsider to the point that she’s now seeing Katya in Skye.
As for Coulson...I guess Agent Dad took the helm from Director Coulson. The latter needs to be pragmatic and prepare for the worst. The former loves Skye and can’t believe she would pose a danger to anyone but herself, which is after all a fair assessment based on actual events.
So Skye is sent away to the Retreat, with the best intentions and for her own safety, but it’s easy to imagine how the entire thing - from the various levels of distrust exhibited by all but one of her friends to aliens wanting to kill her to her mentors deciding she can’t stay home at the base - must have played with Daisy’s long history of abandonment.
You can't tell me where we're going, can you? -- You're gonna want to pack a bag. (2x14)
I'm 25, and I have never spent more than two years anywhere. The second I made friends at the orphanage, gone. And God forbid I called a foster family "home”. It's "pack your bags”. (2x17)
There’s a lovely bit of prop continuity that I think works beautifully - and maybe intentionally - to illustrate Skye’s state of mind: when she exiled herself to the cage in 2x12, she had the same travel bag she first arrived with on the Bus in 1x02. Her own, personal bag she likely had for years, not something S.H.I.E.L.D. issued, and it’s the same one she has packed now to go the cabin. She called S.H.I.E.L.D. her home ( “it’s the only home I’ve ever known”,1x19, “S.H.I.E.L.D.’s my life now”, 2x02) and here she is again, packing her bag(s).
While Skye is reliving her childhood, Hunter meets and greets the very fine people at Real S.H.I.E.L.D.
In order of “I get you, I sympathize, I don’t know who you are, I couldn’t care less and What. The. Hell”, we have:
Commander Adama, pretending he’s not the one ultimately calling the shots just on the strength of his personal charisma alone. Nice try, good speech, I don’t buy it. *fistbumps Hunter*
The former Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, yet to crossover to Freeland. Probably traumatized by Hydra slaughtering half her students, helped by the other half and at least one powered individual she had to fight to defend them (2x15).
Some bearded dude, whose job must be looking dour at all times so everyone appreciates the gravity of the situation. Considering what’s going to happen to him in the finale, I can’t really blame him for his gloominess.
One unredeemable asshole. There’s a tree branch with his name on it and that’s really sad because he won’t be around to be turned into stone in place of Dour Dude later.😈
And of course Bobbi and Mack, who are entirely too cool for this crowd. You guys...I love you guys, but how can you even exist in the same reality as Agent Asshole, let alone work with him?
I mean, I do get it. S.H.I.E.L.D.’s fall was a huge trauma and betrayal of everything all these people have fought and sacrificed for. They are looking for a better way to run things because one person in charge holding all the secrets didn’t work out so well before and it’s questionable at the best of times. I’m actually on board with that.
But they’re biased as hell and they’re judging with the benefit of knowing the outcome and no actual direct knowledge, as even Bobbi and Mack never got the full picture. Hydra was always going to go after the Obelisk and wanted to weaponize it to “kill millions, perhaps even billions” (2x04). And they made a power play that Real S.H.I.E.L.D. apparently decided to do nothing about, outside of Mack’s and Bobbi’s contributions, all because they were too busy fretting about Phil Coulson.
If they had helped Cool S.H.I.E.L.D. with all their resources instead of sending spies and plotting a coup (oh, the irony), things in San Juan might have gone a lot better.
Jemma made a pair of fingerless long sleeve gloves that emit a surge of electricty to inhibit Skye’s powers. Coulson says that the goal was to decrease their magnitude so they wouldn’t hurt her. Lincoln will however scoff at this idea, blaming the gloves for Skye’s rough transition (2x16) and they will be used in the season finale to keep her powers contained. However, it’s easy to speculate - we never got to see it, sadly - how the same technology, refined by a better understanding of Inhuman physiology and Daisy’s own powers, became the foundation for the combat gauntlets she’ll be wearing with her Quake uniform from S3 onward.
Stuff that crossed my mind:
Kara is so screwed up by the brainwashing that she doesn’t even know what food she likes anymore. 😟
That Natural Born Killers-like scene in the diner is cool, I suppose, but why exactly can’t Ward and Kara quietly kidnap the nano mask expert without all that fuss? And wouldn’t that work better for them? I’d assume they wouldn’t want to attract S.H.I.E.L.D.’s attention at this stage. Nor the cops.
Great. I tried to go zen to keep my powers in check only to find myself back on the D.L. In S3 Lincoln will remark that she has a “natural zen thing” with her powers. Except she doesn’t, it will take a lot of pain and effort to get there and he, more than most, should have known that.
It's okay, Fitz. You don't have to put a positive spin on this. -- I'm not doing that. I would never patronize [...] Well, isn’t this telling. Mack, stop plotting with the Clown Academy and come back to give him a hug!
So maybe if you can learn to control this, then you could have Avengers-level powers, something like Captain America, even. Captain America is a very athletic dude who can hit like a truck and be hit by a truck. She’s way cooler than that. No offense, Cap.😉
If there is an Avenger equivalent, right now I'm afraid it's the Hulk. Yeah, no, call me crazy, but I feel like this comparison might not be what she needs to hear right now. Sorry Jem, Fitz wins this one.
I'm sorry, Skye. This really isn't about you. -- I'm pretty sure it is. Well, yes and no. Given Fitz’s resentement about Jemma’s leaving something was always going to cause their current rift. It just happened to be their friend gaining superpowers. That’s sort of cool. In a really weird way. 😏
This isn't about categories on the index, May. We're talking about Skye. -- And as her S.O., I am telling you, I have no idea how to handle her. -- You'll find a way. You always do.
-- Not always.-- This isn't Bahrain. Okay? We know who we're dealing with here. -- Don't fool yourself. Skye's changed. Maybe not on the surface, but inside. She doesn't know herself anymore. I suppose, but she still shot herself to keep the rest of you safe. Take a deep breath and repeat after me: Skye is not Katya. Skye is not Katya. Skye is not Katya.
Well, then I guess it's fair to say we all hide our true selves, don't we? -- Or we just wait for the right time to reveal the truth. Or we are found out and then make lame excuses. 😒
You must be Lance Hunter. -- And you must be crazy. *hearts Hunter*
I won't deny you have a few good points. But why not just take it up with the man himself? Well, but that would be reasonable.
Is there something else? -- It's just possible repercussions. -- We've been over this, Agent Simmons, and I'm aware of the consequences, but this is my decision to make. Okay, first, what repercussions? I *need* to know these things. And second, wouldn’t this be a decision for Skye to make? 🤨
Thing I remember most about my dad is he was a car guy. [...] Wasn't till we finished that it hit me. That car was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. And all the time we'd spent together working on it gave me an appreciation I never would have had otherwise. -- Hold on. Was that car a red 1962 Corvette? -- Yeah [...] Well, he'd be very proud. Your red Corvette flies. How cool is that? It's pretty cool. -- But I think the thing he'd like most about it, at her core, she's still just a red '62 Corvette. -- Just to be clear, I'm the Corvette in this story. Right? See, Jemma? He compared her to a beautiful vintage car that flies. This is how you do it if you want people to feel a little less crappy about themselves.
Now you want to tell me where we're going? -- We're almost there. So, Phil, what’s up with this? I get why you wouldn’t tell her at the base but why not on the plane? If someone’s bugged the Quinjet, they’d likely have access to its flight plan as well anyway. But I’m sure not being told where she was going did wonders to quell Skye’s insecurities. 🙄
Whatever I may have thought there was between me and Skye, she made it pretty clear the feeling wasn't mutual. I’m not insane. Not insane, no, but perhaps a teensy bit delusional? The girl had to shoot you four times for you to get it. Great to see you’re finally both on the same page, though! 👍
I know what're you going through. My family did a number on me, stripped me down, left me hollow. I was a shell. So, when someone finally did come along and offer to build me back up, I didn't resist. Even though what he really did was make me a killer. And now you’re doing it to her. Lovely. 🤢😡
But then I paid my family a visit. They were surprised to see me, but I think that, eventually, we were able to dig in, really express our feelings. This actually made me laugh. I’m a bad person. 🤭
That poor lieutenant working as Talbot’s assistant... 🤣🤣
Skye, I'm afraid I have to pull you from active duty. -- I get it. I do. I just didn't think that you'd lock me up, like a werewolf during full moon. Someone’s feeling like a monster. 😭 The cabin looks lovely, tbh, but Skye’s probably a city kid - if her St. Agnes is Matt Murdock’s St. Agnes, she basically grew up in New York in between all the moving - and she may not be into woods and rustic life all that much. Especially rustic life delimited by laser fences.
What would you do if you were me? -- I don't know. These are uncharted waters, but if anybody can find a way through them, it's you. Coulson’s full confidence in Daisy will never not be heartwarming.
Is that everybody? -- All female personnel are accounted for, sir. I think you need more female personnel. That’s just twenty people or so.
No, no, trust me the only threat this guy poses is to himself. Psst, Mack? She doesn’t trust you and she’s not believing a word you’re saying. Just a FYI.
I gave your name to Coulson because Hartley needed backup. I never thought you'd stay, let alone care. Oh, I had totally forgotten about this conversation. Then I owe you an apology, Bobbi. You weren’t planning to involve him at all.
Walk away. Right now. You and I, we can leave all this mess behind, just start over, be new people, be better people. Not a small thing to ask, when he knows how important S.H.I.E.L.D., whichever version she happens to be affiliated with at the time, is to her.
I don't want to change Skye. The Diviner did that. I'm just trying to fix her! There’s nothing to fix... 😏
You never used to be this scared [...] You're afraid. 'Cause of what happened to me and Skye, how we both changed. Well, you know what the scariest change is, Jemma? It's you. No, no, no, Fitz. This is unfair. I’m not calling back Mack to hug you anymore.😋
Earlier today, with Skye...it just didn't feel right. -- You made the right call. There's just too many things in play right now for her to be here. -- Yeah, maybe. But you ever get that feeling like you mishandled something important? Well, had she turned supervillain instead of superhero, this would have been the moment you’d regret, yes. But she’s just gonna side against you guys for like half a minute. Cheer up!
So, Mack you believe him? -- Nope. -- Me, neither. Aw, poor Mack. I bet he thought he was doing well with that “ships in the night” crap😂
Oh, come on. We all know Bobbi could have taken out that tea cup anytime she wanted -- I might just have to test that theory out on your face. Feel free. I have popcorns.
Coulson and his secrets, that's the threat. Dammit, Bobbi. And you were so close to a good thing with that “punching Agent Asshole in the face” idea.
If I obey, will my compliance be rewarded? -- To be honest, it really won't make a difference. Oh, great. Here comes Wardette. 😬😡😭
