They better have a kick-ass redemption arc in store for Ward. Writers, you can’t make us fall in love with a character and then pull the rug from under our feet! You just can’t! Okay, obviously you can but it’s WRONG. *sobs*
I thought Paxton did a great job with the turncoat role. He really sold it.
Also I loved May here.
I'm not as invested in Ward as you are, but it was fascinating to see this as kind of a sequel to the events of Winter Soldier. It was like they were experiencing the on-the-ground fallout, and we got to see it, after being shown what the leaders did in the movie.
It was like they were experiencing the on-the-ground fallout, and we got to see it, after being shown what the leaders did in the movie.
Yeah, that's the whole premise of the show and it worked.
I thought it was a really good episode, perfectly twisty and well-paced and linked smoothlessly with the movie... but god, so painful if you're a Ward fan. :( (And the fact that I saw it coming doesn't help a bit, I was so hoping I was wrong.)
I don't know, I wouldn't mind him staying a villain. I liked Ward well enough, but I don't necessarily need a redemption arc for him. Especially after he shot Victoria and two other agents in cold blood. Also, I admit, I don't want Ward's redemption arc in lieu of May or Skye's story.
(I called it in that Skye isn't Faith. She's Willow. I did not call that Ward was Faith. I thought Ward was Xander.)
I notice that Simmons was awfully quiet and not giving up any of her loyalties until after anyone else, same as Ward. That makes me worry about her loyalties!
I do want a redemption arc, I really do. I spent too long getting attached to that character, emotionally, to now be okay with him staying all-out villain. And there's no reason for his arc to overshadow the other characters' stories.
Right now I don't see how he could come back from this but man, I hope there's gonna be a way.
Simmons also said that thing about getting better at lying, which gave me pause, but I think that was just a red herring in the narrative. She's just too sweet to be... ... uh, okay, I also thought Ward was too good a guy to be a sleeper. Well, I think it's safe to say Jemma's loyalties lie with Fitz. And Fitz is solidly on Coulson's side.
I watched episodes 16 and 17 because I was curious how they handled the events around Winter Soldier. I'm impressed, well done. I didn't know the characters that well (three earlier episodes and some fannish osmosis), but it still worked for me. Maybe even better, because I think I fell for all the red herrings *g* Especially Victoria Hand, probably five times. (Unfortunately I think she really is dead, meh.)
The last scene in the airplane: the way they presented it, with the extra shot of Ward listening to Garret, I thought it might be some sort of sleeper program activated. But otoh a genuine betrayal probably makes for a better story. I wonder what his signal to become active was - he could probably have taken out Coulson's entire team on the plane and stolen the hard drive, especially with Garret there, so why wait? Btw, does Ward still have the copy of the plane's hard drive, with all the info on weapons etc. on it? Probably, if he's HYDRA, because nobody would have thought of demanding it back. But Skye needs it to reboot the plane, so maybe? Or maybe he made a copy for himself.
My favorite character (from what little I've seen) might be Fitz(Simmons). Or May. Probably May.
What surprised me is that - if I didn't miss anything - nobody mentioned that Sitwell is Hydra. Does Coulson even know? Natasha put the files online, so he must, right? Skye will definitely find them. Do the files/news etc. include that Hill and Fury and Natasha are alive and trustworthy? I'm not that familiar with SHIELD facilities: the Hub (wherever) is secure, so is HQ, but others are still in the hands of HYDRA, right?
I'll probably watch at least the next couple of episodes and see if it stays that good :)
I was going back and forth on Victoria Hand as well. That final twist with her testing Simmons & Co was really well done. Didn't see that coming, even though I was sure from the start she wasn't the Clairvoyant.
My favorite character (from what little I've seen) might be Fitz(Simmons). Or May. Probably May.
My favorite character switches on an almost daily basis, but I love all of them to bits. Ward has always been one of my top-tier favorites from early on (like ep 4) so that makes his betrayal really smart a lot. I almost wish I'd started watching this late in the series so I wouldn't have let myself grow attached like this.
the way they presented it, with the extra shot of Ward listening to Garret, I thought it might be some sort of sleeper program activated.
He did look dazed/conflicted for a while. But I didn't get the impression he was acting on remote command with no autonomy, or something like that. What I believe is that he was a Hydra double agent all along but his time with the team has compromised him, which will show in eps to come. Kind of the best-case scenario right now. I'm curious to find out, but nervous too.
Btw, does Ward still have the copy of the plane's hard drive, with all the info on weapons etc. on it?
Pretty sure he does, since we didn't see him give it back.
What surprised me is that - if I didn't miss anything - nobody mentioned that Sitwell is Hydra. Does Coulson even know?
It's hard to say, there was so much going on at the Triskelion. At the end of the ep they know about Cap and the helicarriers so they might've heard about Sitwell as well, but his involvement is just one out of man heavy blows for their team so it didn't get an extra mention.
I thought of Ward as Wesley Wyndham-Pryce (hypercompetent in his specialty, awkward otherwise) and perhaps that should have been my first warning.
My guess at this point is that Ward is HYDRA, and has been for years. Remember in the first episode when Ward told Skye that what he really wanted was "world peace"? HYDRA must offer to its rank and file soldiers some kind of political or social platform that large numbers of people are willing to fight for. Whatever HYDRA's new order is supposed to be, I suspect Ward is a True Believer. He may be sad that he's fighting against people he likes; but he believes this revolution is going to lead to a better world.
My guess at this point is that Ward is HYDRA, and has been for years.
Yeah, I agree. Garrett recruited him when he was young and vulnerable, offering him just what he wanted. But I think since he's been exposed to Coulson and the others, his perspective has changed and we'll see him affected by it.
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Also I loved May here.
I'm not as invested in Ward as you are, but it was fascinating to see this as kind of a sequel to the events of Winter Soldier. It was like they were experiencing the on-the-ground fallout, and we got to see it, after being shown what the leaders did in the movie.
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Yeah, that's the whole premise of the show and it worked.
I thought it was a really good episode, perfectly twisty and well-paced and linked smoothlessly with the movie... but god, so painful if you're a Ward fan. :( (And the fact that I saw it coming doesn't help a bit, I was so hoping I was wrong.)
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(I called it in that Skye isn't Faith. She's Willow. I did not call that Ward was Faith. I thought Ward was Xander.)
I notice that Simmons was awfully quiet and not giving up any of her loyalties until after anyone else, same as Ward. That makes me worry about her loyalties!
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Right now I don't see how he could come back from this but man, I hope there's gonna be a way.
Simmons also said that thing about getting better at lying, which gave me pause, but I think that was just a red herring in the narrative. She's just too sweet to be... ... uh, okay, I also thought Ward was too good a guy to be a sleeper. Well, I think it's safe to say Jemma's loyalties lie with Fitz. And Fitz is solidly on Coulson's side.
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The last scene in the airplane: the way they presented it, with the extra shot of Ward listening to Garret, I thought it might be some sort of sleeper program activated. But otoh a genuine betrayal probably makes for a better story. I wonder what his signal to become active was - he could probably have taken out Coulson's entire team on the plane and stolen the hard drive, especially with Garret there, so why wait?
Btw, does Ward still have the copy of the plane's hard drive, with all the info on weapons etc. on it? Probably, if he's HYDRA, because nobody would have thought of demanding it back. But Skye needs it to reboot the plane, so maybe? Or maybe he made a copy for himself.
My favorite character (from what little I've seen) might be Fitz(Simmons). Or May. Probably May.
What surprised me is that - if I didn't miss anything - nobody mentioned that Sitwell is Hydra. Does Coulson even know? Natasha put the files online, so he must, right? Skye will definitely find them. Do the files/news etc. include that Hill and Fury and Natasha are alive and trustworthy?
I'm not that familiar with SHIELD facilities: the Hub (wherever) is secure, so is HQ, but others are still in the hands of HYDRA, right?
I'll probably watch at least the next couple of episodes and see if it stays that good :)
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My favorite character (from what little I've seen) might be Fitz(Simmons). Or May. Probably May.
My favorite character switches on an almost daily basis, but I love all of them to bits.
Ward has always been one of my top-tier favorites from early on (like ep 4) so that makes his betrayal really smart a lot. I almost wish I'd started watching this late in the series so I wouldn't have let myself grow attached like this.
the way they presented it, with the extra shot of Ward listening to Garret, I thought it might be some sort of sleeper program activated.
He did look dazed/conflicted for a while. But I didn't get the impression he was acting on remote command with no autonomy, or something like that. What I believe is that he was a Hydra double agent all along but his time with the team has compromised him, which will show in eps to come. Kind of the best-case scenario right now. I'm curious to find out, but nervous too.
Btw, does Ward still have the copy of the plane's hard drive, with all the info on weapons etc. on it?
Pretty sure he does, since we didn't see him give it back.
What surprised me is that - if I didn't miss anything - nobody mentioned that Sitwell is Hydra. Does Coulson even know?
It's hard to say, there was so much going on at the Triskelion. At the end of the ep they know about Cap and the helicarriers so they might've heard about Sitwell as well, but his involvement is just one out of man heavy blows for their team so it didn't get an extra mention.
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-J
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(Anonymous) 2014-04-09 06:49 pm (UTC)(link)My guess at this point is that Ward is HYDRA, and has been for years. Remember in the first episode when Ward told Skye that what he really wanted was "world peace"? HYDRA must offer to its rank and file soldiers some kind of political or social platform that large numbers of people are willing to fight for. Whatever HYDRA's new order is supposed to be, I suspect Ward is a True Believer. He may be sad that he's fighting against people he likes; but he believes this revolution is going to lead to a better world.
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Yeah, I agree. Garrett recruited him when he was young and vulnerable, offering him just what he wanted. But I think since he's been exposed to Coulson and the others, his perspective has changed and we'll see him affected by it.
One whole week to wait.:/
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