Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Round Table: Not Everyone Deserves Powers
Jay Ruymann
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On Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 3 Episode 16, Malick flashed back to betraying his brother, while Lincoln and Daisy took a trip which left them exiled as the team was taken down and captured by Hive and his Inhumans, leaving the Secret Warriors to save the day.
Are you excited?
Join TV Fanatics, Caralynn Lippo, Kathleen Wiedel, Jim Garner, and Jay Ruymann, as they discuss Lincoln's hypocritical decision and how the humans have been excluded from the action lately.
The Secret Warriors are uniting next week! What are your thoughts/expectations?
Caralynn: I'm not super into the Secret Warrior. Joey and Yoyo could be promising, but we haven't gotten to know them well enough at all to make this an exciting team-up. I think introducing them and then quickly ushering them offscreen, only to bring them back now, was a strange idea.
Kathleen: I agree with Caralynn that the timing felt a bit wonky. Maybe one of the Secret Warriors can finally get through to Daisy how much she's falling down the slippery slope, though.
Jim: Its a trifecta, I agree with Caralynn and Kathleen. This season started with the subtle "secret warriors" logo being worked into the SHIELD logo, seems like we should have seen more of the team building than we got to see.
Jay: I agree, I hate that they're suddenly pairing up after they've had no training together or experience, in Yoyo's case. This is what they've promised all season, hopefully this starts their time together as a team.
Coulson finally admitted that what he did to Ward was wrong. Did you expect this, and do you agree?
Caralynn: I do agree. It felt wrong as it was happening. Not because Ward necessarily didn't deserve to die – jailing him probably wouldn't have worked, he'd have just escaped – Coulson just felt like the wrong person to do this. Also, Coulson was right, it was straight up revenge killing and not justice.
Kathleen: I didn't necessarily expect it, but I was pleased that Coulson did realize it and acknowledge it. While it's easy to understand why Coulson killed Ward, that doesn't make it right. It's all a giant tragedy.
Jim: I agree it was wrong, but sometimes you do the wrong thing for the right reasons. Coulson will have to live with what he did, but that is part of life &ndash living with regrets. I knew it would come back around at some point.
Jay: I definitely didn't expect it, but I agree that it was acknowledged. As much as they all hated Ward, they're supposed to stand for justice and while there is a grey area surrounding them, murdering someone purely for vengeance is never the answer.
Lincoln teased the man with a crystal for information on Hive, but then said, “Not everyone deserves powers.” Is he right?
Caralynn: Yes. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I side with Lincoln in this argument he keeps having with Daisy. Actually, I was a bit surprised that Daisy didn't chime in and say that it's the guy's birthright when Lincoln denied him the crystal. It seemed like something she would do, based on her recent behavior.
Kathleen: I think that Lincoln was being unbelievably arrogant in that statement. It's as if he believes that there is some sort of moral component to being Inhuman, rather than mere genetics. And who decides whether or not someone "deserves" powers, Lincoln? You know who he sounds like? Oh, right – Lash! The psycho monster who went around murdering Inhumans for being "unworthy”!
Jim: Bravo Kathleen! I couldn't have said it better myself. Honestly, they should have given him the crystal and then recruited him for the Secret Warriors.. they knew he was an inhuman and would survive the change.
Jay: Kathleen is right. He's no better than Jiaying deciding who "deserves" powers. If it's a birth right, shouldn't they all be allowed their powers? Caralynn is right about Daisy, too, I'm shocked she didn't speak up and start preaching about the Inhuman birth right.
React to the team being captured and taken down by one measly Inhuman.
Caralynn: I really like Giyera. Obviously, I'm not happy that everyone was taken hostage, but I buy that Giyera was able to ambush them. I mean, he downed the damn plane, it would've been hard for them to attack him as they were falling out of the sky.
Kathleen: There's a saying about how it's not so much how much power you have, but how you use it. During World War I, an American soldier named Alvin York, with only seven men, killed at least 20 German soldiers and captured 132 others, for which York received the Medal of Honor. Obviously, Giyera's not one of the good guys, but sometimes the good guys have a bad day, too.
Jim: If only SHIELD had been looking ahead at the coming war with "evil" Inhumans and had put together a team that could stand up against them... Oh.... wait.... (sigh) Yeah, even good guys can have a bad day.
Jay: The fight scene with May and Giyera was great, but it's really disappointing. Without Daisy and Lincoln, S.H.I.E.L.D. just seems defenseless against the Inhumans.
It seems that if you’re a human on this show, you’re useless now. Daisy and Lincoln always have to take down the bad guy with their powers, and we hardly get to see anyone fight anymore, even May. Was introducing Inhumans the right call?
Caralynn: I think it was the right call. They're building a nuanced view of Inhumans, which I find interesting (despite finding Daisy's stance on Inhumans irritating). I did notice that May has been sidelined recently, but we did get that pretty fantastic fight scene between her and Giyera in the object-free room. So it's pretty clear that if you neutralize an Inhuman's powers, a human can take them down without too much of an issue.
Kathleen: I agree with Caralynn that bringing on the Inhumans was the way to go. That said, I think it's a little annoying that the humans haven't seemed to be doing a whole lot towards neutralizing Inhuman abilities! Admittedly, each Inhuman has unique, individual abilities, but still.
Jim: I agree with Kathleen and Caralynn that it was the right thing to bring the Inhumans in. However, it feels a bit like the writers are playing with a new toy and totally ignoring their previous "favorite" toy. I'm will to give them a little bit to get it "out of their system" but they will need to find a balance by the end of the season.
Jay: I think it was the right call, because powers are so important in Marvel comics, but what use is S.H.I.E.L.D. if they can't take down powered people without having their own special agents? Jim's right, they do need to find a balance because they're really enjoying having these powers on the show, but I miss the simpler times with the team taking down Hydra heads that can't disintegrate the flesh off of your skeleton.
Have an opinion? Let us know down below in the comments! Are you excited for the Secret Warriors? Who's your favorite?
Jay Ruymann was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He retired in January 2018.
