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Posts tagged: agents of s.h.i.e.l.d.

stormingtheivory:

professorspork:

dealanexmachina:

If there was a precise moment that I could point to and say, here, this is where the show lost me with Ward, it was this exchange.

Because, you know what? I could handle Ward the Wet Blanket up until this point. Sure, he poo-poos on everything fun in this show and acts like he’s above it all. Sure, he is all Judgy Mcjudgerson with his flat characterization as the ~jaded but talented agent with the hint of hidden tortured ~manpain to explain why he is a no fun, killer of joy. But that’s pilot-itis.

But when the writers of a Marvel show decide to have a character take potshots at cosplaying fangirls? When he chooses to dismiss Skye by buying into the Fake Fan Girl myth and using it as an insult with all disdain and contempt of That Guy? And then her response is a punchline, because oh haha, she did dress up once?

Yeah, no. Not really interested in you anymore.

And maybe I am judging this show harder because it is a Marvel show. Maybe I expected more from the creators of Buffy not to even hint towards buying into or reinforcing those aspects of nerd culture that are most frustrating to female comic book fans.

But everyone else on the show is like a fangeek’s dream and is a delight to watch. I want to watch Melinda come back from whatever her trauma was and watch her grump around as a reluctant babysitter and kick ass. I want to see Fitz and Simmons rejoice in science and geek out with new toys and bounce ideas off each other. And goddamnit I want to see what Skye will do with her abilities and if she can operate in more structured environment than she did on her own.

Because she is an asset, and Coulson recognized it, and fuck you if she also wants to dress up because she is a fan of Tony Stark who, p.s. does amazing sciencey things. Being a fan of something does not invalidate your knowledge of it, and I find it really distasteful that Ward, as a character, buys into that attitude AND the Fake Geek Girl myth, on top of being arrogant enough to think he knows better than the Adults in the room.

The best part of the episode for me was when he was knocked out. And until they write Ward as a better character, I am going to mentally replace his character with Hawkeye in every scene and picture better arms and a nicer smile, thank you very much.

I agree with all of this except for one thing: I think it was absolutely a conscious, deliberate choice to give Ward this joke because they’re trying to show that it’s not okay. Wet Blanket Ward is a massive dick and we all know it—Maurissa, Jed and Joss went out of their way, over and over again, to discount his opinions (though not his skills) and show how much he has to learn about being a decent teammate and human.

So yes, they chose to make Ward, as you call it, That Guy—but I think they did it to be like “yo, when you’re being That Guy, you’re being a yucky Wet Blanket Ward.” Are there fans who will be so enamored of his Cool Guy Veneer that they miss or choose to ignore the fact that his personality is being judged and critiqued by the show? Absolutely. But I do think they’re aiming for us to dislike him, and to be on Skye’s side, on purpose.

If it were just this scene, I’d be more inclined to be upset. But think about where it goes! The whole bit with the truth serum was just… classic Buffy. There was no way Coulson was ever going to violate Skye’s privacy or dignity like that, and we, as an audience, knew that—we just didn’t know how we were being framed until it happened, and then suddenly, bam: Ward was drugged. Skye’s agency was maintained and respected, and Ward was given, literally, a taste of his own medicine—experiencing what it’s like to be judged and manipulated the way he judges and manipulates.

Ward may have been cited as having the best combat scores since Romanoff, but Skye’s the one who’s actually been treated the way Natasha was—viewed as the asset she is. Instead of being taken out, SHIELD made a different call, because she has too much potential and too much goodness to waste.

Yeah, the bolded passage in particular is important. Ward’s comment doesn’t exist as a contextless remark. It’s followed almost immediately by Coulson CHEWING HIM OUT. It’s one of the few times we’ve EVER seen Coulson look really, truly angry.

It’s interesting to me that Ward’s role at the end of the episode is to wait till Coulson can persuade Michael to stand down. He has to choose between just taking him down as soon as he has a clear shot, and waiting till he’s already been convinced to join SHIELD’s side. The fact that he chooses to respect Michael’s agency, in contrast to his behavior towards Skye earlier, suggests to me what his broad narrative arc is going to be throughout the show. I could be wrong, of course, and it’s still very early days, but that’s my guess for where they’re going to go with him.