Yesterday the cast of Agents of SHIELD wrapped principle photography. With the finale in the can, fans only have a limited amount of time to process the complicated emotions of the framework, the horrors that it’s brought up, and just what will happen to their favorite characters in the seeming “worst timeline” where HYDRA won. There’s been quite a lot to process over the past few episodes since the show’s return. Grant Ward is a good guy (or is he a triple agent?) Fitz is seemingly under Aida/Madame Hydra’s sway (will he return or is this Fitz as we’ll see forever?) and Madame HYDRA herself seems poised to create Ultron levels of havoc.
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— Clark Gregg (@clarkgregg) April 17, 2017
Agents of HYDRA-woops! – We mean Agents of SHIELD hits tonight at 10pm. With the cast wrapping and a bunch of great photos hitting the internet it’s got us thinking “What specifically do we want to see from Agents of SHIELD in the final few episodes. We’ve gotten a few teasers, we have some images, but just what do we hope happen as the clock ticks down?
5. Where’s Yo-Yo Rodriguez?
One of the break out stars of Agents of SHIELD has been Natalia Cordova’s Elena ‘Yo-Yo’ Rodriguez. A former office manager gifted with inhuman abilities that make her the only surviving speedster of the MCU – Yo-Yo has been tirelessly working outside of the framework to bring the team back. While they’re facing their worst demons inside and so far only Phil Coulson has been coming around to ‘actual’ reality, Yo-Yo is surely somewhere doing something important right? Something to get these fan favorites out of the frame work?
To quote the Guardians of the Galaxy, obviously. We don’t need teasers to tell us that but we would like details. Perhaps this could be the subject of a second web series put out by Marvel. Natalia Cordova has the strength to carry a show of her own and I for one would like to know just what Yo-Yo was up to during these pivotal hours. Of course, if you need your Natalia Cordova fix you can hit up Bates Motel where the actress plays Julie Ramos and deals with a different kind of crazy.
4. Just what’s the deal with the Framework?
With actors and writers making comparisons to the Matrix, the frame work also contains a lot of tron like elements. From the realistic nature of the programs inside (congratulations Clark Gregg on your Daughter’s cameo!) to Grant Ward (who seems far too real) to the sheer level of detail, even Jemma has commented on how the programming “the most sophisticated she’s ever seen.”
So just what is the frame work? What did the darkhold and Aida and Radcliffe’s programming do to it? Are these human beings with life much like Quorra from Tron and the Isos? Does Mallory Jensen’s Madame HYDRA have more in common with CLU then with Ultron? Is “out there their destiny” or at least her destiny? It would appear that the majority of the programs in the framework are perfectly happy with their reality. With the addition of ghosts and the concept of ghosts in the framework (not to mention multiple hints of people being put into LMD bodies with their ghosts intact) is there something more to the Framework then meets the eye?
Whatever the case, we need more details then just “this is a world where the bad guys won. Fingers crossed we get to see the framework unpacked in the next 2 episodes, or at least that it might get revisited in future seasons or shows).
3. Resolving the Psychological issues.
There’s not much to be said. Between Melinda May spending the longest in the framework and each character having the memories of their time outside and inside the framework in such a big cast, it’s clear that not everybody will be making it out of the framework unscathed. This is a dark turn for Agents of SHIELD – darker then – dare we say it – the original HYDRA twist. Good people have been made into monsters by everything that AIDA and Radcliffe have done, and they had a hand in it. While Fitz had qualms he overcame them to keep working on Aida. Tony Stark was so changed by his experiences working on Ultron that he ended up supporting a path that caused untold trouble for Captain America and others.
This is Agents of SHIELD’s civil war. Whatever it takes to resolve the psychological issues of the characters after they get out of the framework, we can only hope that they get the time put in to heal. From Fitz and Simmons trying to find themselves again to May and Coulson trying to get back on their path (if they can) the Agents of HYDRA plotline has shook fans and characters to their core. Let’s all hope for some sort of resolution and a degree of peace for all of them.
2. The Hope and Grant Ward Problem.
The two programs we’ve gotten to interact with the most, Hope Mackenzie and Grant Ward, are the two most human programs of the show. While I’ll throw back to 4 (and lament that Hope isn’t Moon Girl, or if she is Moon Girl I hope she gets to stay in the frame work) the fact is that fans of Mack might have a problem as Mack truly believes that hope is real. The Agents of SHIELD cast and crew are all people with families from Jed and Maurissa down. Mack might not want to leave behind his child. We certainly wouldn’t ask anyone on the show to do that with their kids, and with the synopsis for 4.20 revealing that the actress playing Hope is a guest star, Mack might have an issue leaving behind his daughter.
Should he? This clearly is what the show wants us to ask. With the issues involving LMDs, would hope have any sort of life? She can’t “grow” like a normal human and she’s not a digital creation like Quorra. Clearly, Henry Simmons is going to have a lot to do in the next few episodes and we can’t wait to see it. If there is a way to bring out Hope safely I’m sure that Jemma and Fitz might find it, however as we all know they’re dealing with their own problems.
As for the Grant ward problem, the “hate to love and love to hate” character might have it a degree easier then Hope and the character would have a wealth of stories in the real world. For the moment I’d like to say leave him in the frame work though. With the absence of Jeffery Mace who was leading the resistance, Grant Ward is needed to take over his role as the patriot when he leaves. I’d think of him and the stories they could tell as an ace in the hole and unless Grant Ward turns out to be a triple agent –
(although to be fair, if Madame HYDRA has system admin access then she’s a master control program and at any moment any of the digital characters could go insane and depending on the size of the framework the 5 people in it could have 7 billion people screaming for their blood so Grant Ward as a triple agent from a digital standpoint wouldn’t make any sense when every program including every single inhuman is under Madame HYDRA’s control. The team would be vaporized in a matter of seconds.)
This is why we need more information on the framework! We need to know what it is, we need to be prepared for a very emotional goodbye (although I hope no) and I’m excited to maybe see Grant Ward give his life for the team, become a hero in an alternate reality, who knows? either way there’s a lot to take in.
1. The Return of Ghost Rider
Do we need to say more? Gabriel Luna is one of 3 breakout stars this season – we want him back, I want him back, and I want a mid-season show starring Ghost Rider to explore the ghost Rider mythos. Make comic writer Felipe Smith a showrunner, set it in Los Angeles, have Robbie Reyes and Gabe go on adventures, maybe meet Moon Knight, we could do a ton of stuff. Either way if there’s ghosts in the machine then Ghost Rider is the only one who can help with that.
There’s not much to add. The character is a fan favorite and Gabriel Luna is just as awesome as Mallory Jensen, Jason O’Mara, Natalia Cordova and Brett Dalton. It’s a pity that Agents of SHIELD doesn’t have a billion dollars to pay these people constantly to create new adventures for our amusement. Until then, I’m pouring my energy into hoping that Ghost Rider returns to Agents of SHIELD and that Marvel’s Ghost Rider becomes a thing on ABC.
In the meantime, tell ABC #WeWantGhostrider cause we sure do.
What do you think? Agree with our list? disagree? Tell us in the comments below and don’t forget to watch Agents of SHIELD tonight on ABC at 10/9 central and don’t forget to share the love with the VFX team as they go into making more of these awesome movie quality FX for our entertainment. We’re rooting for you guys!