beccaelizabeth | Agents of SHIELD: What We Become

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That is such a fucking waste of a character.
And racist as hell, of course.
But they did nothing with him, and then they did that to him, and it is such a lazy waste of possibility.

That's pretty much my only thought on the story, and why I didn't bother watching it for ages.

Okay, also I noticed that you can really tell the difference in martial arts styles that different actors have studied. The grappling stuff that Coulson does is pretty unusual, compared to what I've seen. Looks great too.

It's just it's hard to care when the story only cares about white men.

Crossposts: http://beccaelizabeth.livejournal.com/2793983.html

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beccaelizabeth

It is also possible to read the whole season and a half of Agents of SHIELD so far as a superhero origin story for Skye / Daisy, who is a mixed race Asian American woman. Which, cool. I'd like that. but I have difficulty reading it that way because the story spent so damn much time explaining her antagonists and the guys obsessing on her, and so little time actually with Skye. She's got a whole ton of angst going on, fair and fine, origin stories do that. But the story spent so long with the guys who look at her and want her to be stuff and don't even listen when she's in the room because they've played her in their heads so many times, it just made it difficult for me to feel like it was her story.

I loved it when she shot Ward. But if she's going to shoot people she should damn well do it right, and he was still breathing while she still had bullets, so that was not well done. Shooting is a do or do not thing. If it needs doing that weren't the right way to do it. But then she had a mini breakdown at Coulson for not being able to kill 'him' and I think that covered more than one base? But I am so very glad she could pull the trigger on Ward and didn't go with his inner narrative where he saves her.

The bit where she yelled 'dad' I... am not sure was aimed at her bio dad. Which I would find a bit tiresome? Teachers are not parents. But she spent all that time looking through SHIELD records pretty sure SHIELD agents were her parents, so.

I'm less interested in 'origin' stories that happen to people. Skye already had her inciting incident and chose to be a SHIELD agent. Now she's got superpowers? That's just an upgrade. Cool, but not the start of her.

I like that her powers are on her mum's side, I emphatically loathe what they did to her mum.

I do not trust her bio-dad's account of his own life and just hear every abuser trick in his voice, all the stories about how he loses control and its not quite his fault and all the hooks about how nobody on the outside really understands. I look forward to his messy and complete defeat.

I loved that Coulson just killed the dude because he was pointing a gun, vengeance vendetta thwarted. Ward and ... Cal was it? The bad guys, they've got in their heads and they're telling themselves a particular kind of masculinity where acting in this very violent and controlling way, focusing on vengeance and death, will get them the girl in whatever way they're focused on. And this story completely upends that and repeatedly underlines the message of no, nope, not ever never no way. In their own minds they're conventional action heroes, the white guy with a mission we've seen a million times. The story is epically unimpressed.

I do love that Skye pulled the trigger.

I fear and am sad for how many fans still don't get it. They keep listing Ward among the heroes. I don't understand how they can misread it so consistently but I really fear for their real life relationship choices. That man is all bad news and nobody should fall for him. Him still having a fandom is sad bad.

... see there's so much more to be said about Ward and her dad. Skye just kind of... had a story happen to her.

I also kind of hate how Mack didn't get a single line, he just played zombie all episode. Kill one black man, dehumanise another, keep telling white male stories even when they're evil, it adds up to such ugliness.

I'd love to love this show, I like May and Skye is getting great stuff at least in theory even if I don't like the execution, and there's Bobbi kinda sorta, I just... I can't, it's not working for me, and I can't look past the ugly they keep doing.