#aos meta

[tremorsmackenzie]

so, ive actually managed to start a rewatch on the one year anniversary of my first time watching aos. with my mom. her favorite character is ward.

which means that ive just been spending the afternoon smiling wistfully and sighing how i miss the good old days when ward was still around...

can anyone tell where this is going and do you want updates

#agents of shield #grant ward #rewatch #aos meta #personal

[samanthaswishes]

I'm in a 'being bitter in defense of Daisy' mood right now, so I don't know if it's my pro-Daisy, anti-F!tz mind being biased and clouding my judgment, but a thought came to me that I haven't really seen discussed:

Why didn't Daisy get any recognition in the rescue of Jemma from Maveth?

LITERALLY throughout the entire series after 3x02, all we hear about is how F!tz bravely dove through the portal to save Jemma, which, yes, was pretty brave, I'll give him that. But it was also a pretty stupid decision on his part.

Daisy was the one to hold the portal open with her powers, way longer than she should have been able to, mind you. F!tz wouldn't have been able to do it without her. Daisy put her own health and life on the line in order to bring Jemma back too. F!tz dove into the portal, knowing the risk of Daisy. She had passed out due to the vibrations previously and more than likely did again after the scene cut.

F!tz got all the recognition for Jemma's rescue, and all Daisy got was a "good job" from Mack (which this isn't to downplay that either cause it's one of my favorite Daisy and Mack moments).

F!tz made a, though successful, stupid decision that risked the life of someone he was supposed to see as a friend. The least he could have done was acknowledge that, at least to her, instead of basking in 'his own' victory. I'm not saying Daisy deserved more recognition than him, but some for her major contribution would have been nice.

This is also not to say that Jemma shouldn't have been saved because she more than deserved to get off that planet. This isn't anything against her because of the whole situation, she is the primary victim of what had happened. I'm just saying that if you dive into a portal that is being held open by somebody who is literally risking their own health and life to do so, the least you could do is thank them for it.

Again, my bias towards Daisy and feeling bitter in defense of her might be clouding my judgment, but it was just something that suddenly came to mind, and I had strong feelings about it.

#aos 3x02 #aos #agents of shield #aos meta #daisy johnson #daisy johnson deserves better #anti fitz #anti leo fitz #anti leopold fitz #jemma simmons #jemma simmons deserves better #because fitz's attitude towards the situation after the fact was very self-centered instead of centering jemma in her own trauma

[unreal-unearthing]

I had this in the tags of an edit I was reblogging but thought it deserved it's own post. I think there's a real tragedy to the end of Agents of Shield for Daisy in particular.

Daisy as a character is one who from the very beginning is positioned as a lost girl looking for family, for a home. We discover very quickly that she spent her entire childhood bouncing around the foster care system, and since then has been living in her van. She joins Shield because she's searching for her parents. And in early seasons she's positioned as finding family in her team, of realizing that they are her real family even as she meets her bio parents.

So even though there's a sense of hope and completion in the finale for the characters, I think it's worth saying that Daisy's found family has scattered to the wind, that she is once again starting over with a completely new family. The final shot shows her looking happy and content with Daniel and Kora, but these are characters she only met in the last few episodes of the last season.

All the other characters, essentially, go home at the end to their 'real' families and their 'normal' lives and she's the one who kinda gets left behind to find a new family and purpose because everyone else is done. Something about Shield and the team being her home and her family and all she has but it being just a job to everyone else.

I don't know, just thinking about her time in the system and the endless cycle of gaining and then losing family/home and the constant starting over.

#daisy johnson #agents of shield #aos #aos meta #look I love the dousy stuff and think its all very cute #but there is something really sad to me about the idea of daisy in the first few weeks of being in space alone with the sister she just met #and a guy she likes but also barely knows

[backgroundagent3]

I somehow stumbled upon Trip's wiki page and the first thing I read was this:

And this has been sitting in my drafts for so long that I forgot what the point I wanted to make was, but reading it again I feel like it describes Trip's character so well.

Even though Coulson tries his best, there are times where SHIELD strays from being this ideal organization, especially at times when it isn't just good vs bad, but there are third parties involved (the Inhumans in S2), or when they have to deal with morally complex situations.

But with Trip, he always had a clear idea of right and wrong, and, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember him ever doubting himself in any situation. He could always act fast and make quick decisions because he had a strong moral compass and he always knew what he was supposed to do.

Idk, I'm not great at character analysis and I can't express myself very well, but please add onto this if you want!

TL;DR Trip was perfect and I miss him.

#please add onto this i'd love to read what you think #agents of shield #aos #antoine triplett #phillip coulson #melinda may #the cavalry #aos meta #background agent 3

[fantasy-the-final-frontier]

I’m on my (third?) watch of Agents of Shield, currently on 2x08, The Things We Bury. And it just occurred to me how good the parallel stories are in this episode in particular, all centering around the title.

(This breakdown got a lot more in-depth than I was expecting, so I’m putting the rest under a cut)

Storyline 1: the backstory of Daniel Whitehall. Shortly after finding a person (Jiaying) who can survive contact with the Obelisk, Whitehall and his men are captured by the Allied forces (as seen in 2x01). After being interrogated by Peggy Carter, Whitehall is consigned to a Shield prison for life. But that is not his end - HYDRA members release him from prison decades later, where he can continue his research on the Obelisk, experiment on Jiaying, and work his way to the position he holds in HYDRA in the modern day.

Whitehall: We could learn so much together.

Peggy: Instead we’ll forget. Forget you, forget your work. When I leave no one else will come. No one to hear your stories, study your deadly artifacts. You’ll be buried.

Whitehall: I seriously doubt that. Nothing stays buried forever.

Storyline 2: Grant Ward kidnaps his older brother Christian to have an emotional confrontation about their abusive past. They go to the site of the well (from episode 1x08), where Grant forces Christian to unearth it. The entire time, the brothers accuse each other of gaslighting and manipulation, blaming the other for the events of that day. Once the well is revealed, Grant threatens Christian until his brother confesses to forcing Grant during the incident at the well. The storyline ends with a news story reporting the deaths of Christian and his parents.

Christian: The well. You still blame me for the well. We both know that it was you who nearly killed Thomas down there.

Grant: Do you sleep better telling yourself that?

Christian: You know, I don’t know what crazy lies that you have built up all these years, but the well doesn’t even exist anymore. It’s gone. Mom and Dad buried it.

Grant: (pause) Oh, no. They just covered it up.

Storyline 3: the search for the alien city. Taking inspiration from Fury, Coulson decides to one-up HYDRA by putting in place a series of dominoes that will gain him access to a satellite. This allows the team to locate the alien city,

Coulson: We may actually have a shot at finding the city.

Skye: Are you sure it’s something you wanna dig up?

Coulson: If we don’t, HYDRA will. We need to get there first.

I just love the juxtaposition between the three storylines! From figurative digging into Bakshi and archived Shield files in storyline 1, to literal digging in storyline 2, to the city in storyline 3 being underground, all are about the things that get buried (hence the title) but not destroyed. Usually “bury” implies a final ending, as in burying a body, but this episode shows that buried is not the same as forgotten.

Daniel Whitehall is able to gain a new life and new identity. The well is unearthed and the Ward brothers’ past is laid bare. The alien city, which was lost for thousands of years, is discovered. And to dig more into storyline 1, Whitehall’s background in 2x08 teases parts of Skye’s background - more past which was buried (redacted by Shield) that is now being revealed. Jiaying’s barely-living body is dumped in a ditch in lieu of a burial, and in 2B we learn she was nursed back to health. The buried live once more.

Season 2A is all about the past coming back in full force to influence the present, and this episode is chock-full of that theme. More specifically, parts of the past that were supposed to be hidden or forgotten, parts which are demanding themselves to be known again.

This right here is the Good Shit™️, aka my favorite part of this show, and I’m so fucking pumped!

#agents of shield #aos meta #agents of shield season 2 #the things we bury #god I love season 2 so much #there are several different ongoing storylines that are developed and paced wonderfully #and episodes like this highlight the themes between them #there’s so much surprising depth to this show!!!

[moonlayl]

I’ll say it:

despite all its flaws, “once upon a time” did a really good job showing us Emma’s childhood and how it impacted her decisions even as an adult, and her relationships with others.

The show also did a good job having her reunite with her parents and how all characters involved dealt with their complex and confusing emotions. 

it’s the kind of writing I wish Daisy had been given on agents of shield. 

I wish we’d gotten flashback of her childhood. I wish she’d gotten to spend more time with Jiaying and Cal. I wish the show itself had included them in future seasons. 

Either by not killing Jiaying, and having her be there in afterlife (Daisy having a safe space she could go to, a wise person she can trust or an ally she can rely on, especially with the events of upcoming seasons).

Or by having Daisy go to Cal, despite his erased memories, every now and then.

So much more could’ve been done with Daisy’s story relating to her life as an orphan and her eventually finding her parents, and while I understand the whole point of it was for Daisy to become Daisy Johnson, Quake, and Agent of Shield, I still feel as though there was a lot of wasted potential. 

#aos #aos meta #daisy johnson #ouat #emma swan #jiaying #cal johnson #aos s2 #agents of shield #afterlife #layl.text

[gingerpeachtea]

been thinking about aos season seven a lot today and. i don’t know if i think that may’s weird empathy powers storyline in s7 is inherently misogynistic or not but i Do know that they never wouldve done that shit with a male character

#aos meta #melinda may #if this causes a devil-complex-scale fandom-wide discourse war then um. no it doesnt. everyone be really niceys or else #agents of shield #c speaks

[likea-black-widow-baby]

I just realized I’ve misunderstood something fundamental about May. This whole time I’ve been treating her as if she genuinely doesn’t need anybody’s validation when it comes to the action she took in Bahrain, like all the validation she needs is her own (and maybe Coulson’s). I was probably projecting there.

Anyway, that one line in 2x17 says it all. “Sometimes that’s the price of doing the right thing: no one will understand. And it hurts like hell.” She does care about how others perceive her actions, she just fights so hard to keep it under wraps. She even wanted Ward’s approval back in season 1: “You don’t always have to assume the worst of me.” She cares so much. She just knows she can’t crave or seek approval because it’s in the past and there’s no changing it. Her writing is so tight.

#I know a lot of people probably knew this already but I had to write it out somewhere #I could probably watch this show five MORE times and still notice things #this part of season 2 is captivating #they built up Bahrain so much before 2x17 it really couldn’t have been anything other than this #it’s really astonishing they managed to meet the hype #also why is May in a pantsuit for a welcome wagon mission lmao she’s literally there as a specialist #not that I’m complaining #Mundie says things #agents of shield meta #agents of shield #aos #aos meta #Melinda May

[ryder616]

You know, when Rosalind says "for every Daisy Johnson there's a Lash" I feel very offended on Daisy's behalf (shocking, I know 🤭).

First, there's only one Daisy Johnson, thank you very much. Nobody's quite like her, Roz. Ask Coulson, he agrees with me 😉

There's also only one Lash, whose power was designed to counteract Hive, another unique individual (well, we can probably argue about the "individual" part but nvm), who had been exiled by Inhumans and humans together and only became relevant again because Hydra - humans! - are evil mofos and a stupid death cult.

Most Inhumans just wanted to be left alone, hidden from people who are eager to cut them to pieces for their powers or stuff them in a box for however long until they can erase their identity. Or people who just want them dead. Or rogue spy agencies with an indexing fetish and a fundamental disregard for civil liberties (😒).

But nooo. For Rosalind, and even too often for SHIELD, the problem starts with Inhumans, not the humans who are constantly at their heels for personal gain, hate, fear or a questionable interpretation of the greater good.

So, in the middle of a paranoid campaign against Inhumans, stirred by the true monsters of the story - Gideon Malick is pulling all the ATCU strings to collect Inhumans for Hive's future army - Daisy, who's already been a victim of those monsters and general prejudice more than once (and will be so again several more times) has to be lectured by the woman duped by Hydra to do its bidding, while chaperoning her around as the token good Inhuman.

The unfairness of it all.

And look. Nobody ever said "for every Melinda May there's a Grant Ward", did they, cause that would be stupid, wouldn't it?

Well.

#agents of shield #daisy johnson #rosalind price #who i like a lot btw #but also shut up roz #duality! #aos 3x07 #aos season 3 #random aos #my meta #aos meta

[tremorsmackenzie]

one of the best things about agents of shield is that it does all of the tropes, way over the top trauma, character revivals, alternate reality plots, evil versions of characters, betrayals, mind control, time travel plots, etc., things which are usually done either way too seriously or as a cheap joke/low effort filler content that sometimes doesnt fit the tone or show it happens in at all.

but it does them properly the way theyre supposed to be, integrating them into its world, and it shows why they are actually popular and that they work if you spend any real effort on them and try to do them justice instead of always playing them as a cliché trope.

yeah, its an interesting storyline to see the goodhearted main character be turned evil against their will and then deal with the fallout. whod have thunk.

and at the same time it manages to not lose the kind of campy feel associated with them, in a really charming way. i dont know if im making sense, i just waited for a really long time for someone to actually do these things right cause they have so much potential, and they usually dont get to explore it beyond very superficial levels.

agents of shield is awesome. fin.

#like its seriously my favourite show #it hits every niche i have #except for queerness #there are just so many storybeats and opportunitys for character development that are completely thrown by the wayside in so many shows #and aos just does them right and is one of the best shows ever as a result #agents of shield #aos meta #tropes are only cheap if you make them

[samanthaswishes]

I just saw a post that said Daisy is a terrible character because she has no remorse for her actions... did we watch the same show?

The same post went on to say how all of the female characters in the show (Daisy, May, Bobbi, Elena, and Jemma) are all terrible characters and should not be looked up to while also saying at least W*rd never made himself out to be the good guy. Again, did we watch the same show? Cause all he did was try to justify his actions and put the blame on someone else.

I just don't understand some people. It's like they purposely ignore the important things.

#certain things just hit a nerve sometimes #but saying daisy had no remorse???? #carrying so much remorse and guilt while feeling empathy for everyone around her is literally her character #also defending w*rd? #please #daisy johnson #daisy johnson deserves better #i think the specific example they used for daisy was when she shot donnie gil #she did in fact have remorse for it #in the moment she was trained to keep her emotions bottled up and her heartrate down #but after the fact #she hid herself away in the bus because she did in fact feel guilty after her first kill #im sure she had wanted to save donnie but in the moment it wasn't possible and they had to keep jemma's cover #anti grant ward #agents of shield #aos #aos meta

[astrid-goes-for-a-spin]

do you know something I think about all the time. What exactly does LMD Coulson remember? They say he has all of Coulson's memories but the last time Coulson had a brain scan would have been late s4. Meaning LMD Coulson wouldn't remember anything that happened in season 5, right? Except he clearly does know what happened; how does this work? I assume they fed him facts about it but. What does he think about this? What does he feel about not remembering his deal and his death? Considering all the other ruminating he does in s7 I wish they'd put some of this in, but I suspect the writers just forgot

#phil coulson #aos #aos meta #lmd coulson #aos s7 #aos season 7

[49thpersona]

Hi sorry to bother you but you reblogging my alchemy of souls post immediately made me want to talk about them/watch the series again so thank you!! I had such a great time last year (especially with s1, I agree wholeheartedly that it is stronger also because it shows so many friendships and relationships that are later eclipsed by the more ‘standard’ romance of s2)

Hi!! No, don't worry! If anything, I can be a bother while going around liking/reblogging all of the posts I missed out on :'D I've gotta say I find your posts to be some of the best thought out. It's a joy to read your opinions. So I will definitely still loom around in your notifications haha but I am glad that it actually makes you want to rewatch/talk about them again! I completed the show about a week ago and I still can't let go. I am trying to pin down everything that made me feel let down when watching s2 after all. Especially as s1 absolutely drew me in, and few kdramas have so, involved me in the story, their characters and their relationships. I think it was especially because of the lack of those friendly relationships in s2 and, as you so accurately called it, the 'standard' romance.

Thank you so much for your message!!

#I am going through it. OST on repeat. Tears in my eyes. There are so many thoughts regarding everything that happened during those 2 seasons #just..running around my head #khaotunng #personal #reply #not sure if i should tag is as general aos tag but maybe someone has it blocked as i am spamming the dash lately sooo #aos #aos meta

[blogquantumreality]

are you starting agents of shield???

I DID LIKE AGES AGO

But I never got past Season 5-ish and I've just had no desire to go back to it even though OH MY GOD THE WHOLE FRAMEWORK ALTERNATE WORLD THING in season 4 like holy shit that was pretty much THE reason I even started AOS at all, was so I could find out what that shit was all about.

#agents of shield #aos #ask box #aos meta #meta #meta response #this has been in my inbox since 2017 #i stg i am so lazy about some of this stuff

[sciendere]

been having a lot of Thoughts about 608 and 609 lately and how much growing Snow does in the process of those episodes and just how beautiful a conclusion to her story they were

being able to watch her grow into someone who realized there was a world beyond the truck and that she was Enough, that she didn’t need to impress anyone or give more than she could to have value, that she could be brave but still break sometimes and that didn’t take away from how strong she was at all. just growing into her own power and courage for herself, not for anyone else. 

and Jaco knew too when he saw her just before departing to blow up Izel’s ship that she was ready to start a new life on her own, that she had grown up, that she could handle herself now.

seeing her in that hallway scene in 609, not apologizing or accepting Sarge’s attempt at a non-apology or trying to patch things up, but just owning her rage and power and making her own independence clear. it hit me hard. like had to sit and think for a good five minutes after the episode about how deeply that scene spoke to me. 

she became a butterfly during those events and she is all the better for it.

#god i always go back to 609 every time #it's ALWAYS that episode #aos #snowposting #aos meta

[moonlayl]

Can’t believe I had to read a standwithward post with my own two eyes in 2022. 

Why does everyone seem to forget that Ward was ONLY willing to ‘help out’ in the beginning of s2 on the condition that he would get to speak with Daisy, who at the time wanted nothing to do with him because he’d kidnapped her, restrained her, fired at her and attempted to kill several people she cared about? 

So many fans seem to conveniently forget that little part where it’s mentioned he spent 6 months refusing to cooperate until Daisy agreed to talk to him. 

That’s NOT the actions of a man who truly regretted what he did, but the actions of a man who wanted Daisy, after the other person he cared for (Garett) died. 

He didn’t ultimately help out, out of the goodness of his heart, but because it would get him exactly what he wanted.  

Yes, Ward ISN’T a cartoon villain, and there are many facets to his character, and he IS an interesting and complex character (at least before s3) but arguing that he was’t a real villain until s3 because the good guys treated him with distrust (after he didn’t do a single thing to earn that trust) is ridiculous and ignoring a lot of what happened to make him out to be the main victim of the situation. 

Was he influenced and manipulated by Garett? yes. 

Could he have become a great man if it weren’t for Hydra or Garett? probably. 

But did he also hurt and kill many people unapologetically, and lied and manipulated people, he claimed to care for in his own way? also true. 

Was the team wrong to not trust him after he lied and spied on them everyday that they knew him, and even attempted to kill most of them? hell no!

#aos #aos meta #agents of shield #anti grant ward #standwithquake #daisy johnson