# Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D S01E11 The Magical Place (spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 8, 2014, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e11-the-magical-place-spoilers/678234 "2014-01-08T03:01:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e11-the-magical-place-spoilers/678234/61 "2014-01-10T23:43:27Z")
> [@simster](#): > > We also now know that he was dead for days - and that his heart was destroyed - so he wasn’t just mostly dead. Seems no one else has mentioned this: When Coulson was being put back together by the brain spider, there was one scene where he looked at himself in a mirror or reflective surface and saw a completely different face. Didn’t anyone else see that? My guess: they got another body and “put” Coulson into that one with the brain spider, then did plastic surgery to make that body look like Coulson. J. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e11-the-magical-place-spoilers/678234/62 "2014-01-11T00:08:06Z")
The doctor did refer to how he was before the Brain Spider treatment as “that Thing”. ---
**Author:** ![pricciar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@pricciar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pricciar)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e11-the-magical-place-spoilers/678234/63 "2014-01-11T00:23:16Z")
> [@Uncle\_Jocko](#): > > You left out the satellite phone code word between Skye and Simmons … “Manscaping.” Hah! I missed that joke. I thought the code word was landscaping. Which works as a non sequitur, but it is not nearly as funny. ---
**Author:** ![Albert\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Albert\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Albert_Rose)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e11-the-magical-place-spoilers/678234/64 "2014-01-11T02:13:24Z")
My reason for thinking Melinda May is Skye’s Auntie May instead her mother does include the apparent death of Skye’s mother - although in a comic/TV show anything is possible, and Skye’s mother may NOT be dead or maybe has been brought back from the dead like Coulson… we don’t really know yet. My other reason is more of a TV-savvy guess - May being Skye’s mother is too obvious. But having the familial connection there is too tempting for the writers to rule out entirely. The Auntie May storyline would be extra entertaining if **Little Nemo** ’s guess is right about The Clairvoyant being Skye’s mother. There’s an uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinner episode waiting to happen. **Little Nemo** , I’m enjoying your contributions to this thread; I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Norman Osborne being referred to as a “semi” villain! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e11-the-magical-place-spoilers/678234/65 "2014-01-11T03:41:00Z")
> [@Albert\_Rose](#): > > **Little Nemo** , I’m enjoying your contributions to this thread; I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Norman Osborne being referred to as a “semi” villain! Keep in mind that during the period I’m talking about, Osborn had supposedly been rehabilitated and was the head of Hammer, a law enforcement agency equivalent to Shield. At that point, on the surface at least, he had gone legit. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e11-the-magical-place-spoilers/678234/66 "2014-01-11T03:49:19Z")
One more point. In the comic books, Victoria Hand is a lesbian. So in my mind, it’s canon that she and Melinda May were a couple. And we need to have flashback scenes of this. ---
**Author:** ![tavalla](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tavalla/32/89_2.png) [@tavalla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tavalla)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e11-the-magical-place-spoilers/678234/67 "2014-01-11T03:56:35Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Not in Australia. Seven dropped the series before episode 10. Have they actually dropped it permanently or just put it on hiatus in the non-rating summer period? It wouldn’t be the first time Seven has done that, even mid-season. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e11-the-magical-place-spoilers/678234/68 "2014-01-11T10:00:08Z")
> [@tavalla](#): > > Have they actually dropped it permanently or just put it on hiatus in the non-rating summer period? It wouldn’t be the first time Seven has done that, even mid-season. I was under the impression it was permanent. And if they were just putting it on hiatus, it would have made much more sense to wait one more week and put it on hiatus the same time the show itself did, even if they waited a month or so longer before it came back. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e11-the-magical-place-spoilers/678234/69 "2014-01-11T10:41:02Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > …it would have made much more sense to wait one more week… If there’s one thing that I know about Australian TV Networks, is they do not do things that make sense. _Elementary_ was similarly stopped before the mid-season hiatus, but I’m pretty sure both are returning. Probably. David Knox at [TVTonight](http://www.tvtonight.com.au/) would know for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e11-the-magical-place-spoilers/678234/70 "2014-01-11T16:41:27Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > But her presence here is a hint of where the show might be going. The comic book series has a long and complicated back-story but there was a period when Nick Fury was ousted as the head of Shield and replaced by Norman Osborn (who is a semi-villain). Many Fury loyalists opposed this but Hand was willing to work for Osborn and later when Osborn was exposed and ousted and Fury took over again, a lot of people didn’t trust Hand. So Hand’s presence in the TV version of Shield may be a hint that similar factions exist here. Well, not quite right…at all. Fury was removed as head of SHIELD for the Secret War incident (Fury blackmailed some heroes into doing a black-op into Latveria which actually caused Latveria to launch an attack on NY). Maria Hill was named as the new head of SHIELD after that–she was basically written as an almost-villain. Then the hero Civil War happened which effectively turned SHIELD into villains in most of the books. At the end of that Tony Stark was made head of SHIELD with Hill under him. Then Secret Invasion happened which revealed SHIELD had been compromised by SKRULLS. Osborne happened to get the killshot on the Skrull Queen publicly and was lauded as a hero and was put in charge of HAMMER–a replacement organization. Hand, a former low-level SHIELD desk jockey became his Gal Friday. I think different writers handled her differently–evil sidekick in some books, loyal secretary in others, secret underminer in others. Osborne was never seen as anything other than a ticking timebomb by anyone in the know and when he went cray-cray and attacked Asgard-on-Earth (Asgard was in OK for awhile) he was revealed as totally crazy villain again and was hauled off to super-jail. Steve Rogers (Captain America) became head of SHIELD. Nick Fury is still underground. They introduced Nick Fury Jr. (who looks like movie Fury) but was just like… a guy… before. I believe he’s now head of SHIELD? Or maybe Hill is now. …but that’s the comics and doesn’t really have much to do with the show. I like “the clairvoyant is MODOK” theory. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e11-the-magical-place-spoilers/678234/71 "2014-01-11T17:03:54Z")
> [@Albert\_Rose](#): > > The Auntie May storyline would be extra entertaining if **Little Nemo** ’s guess is right about The Clairvoyant being Skye’s mother. There’s an uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinner episode waiting to happen. So your bold proposal is – a Marvel Universe crimefighter has an uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinner with Aunt May? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e11-the-magical-place-spoilers/678234/72 "2014-01-11T17:22:56Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > Well, not quite right…at all. > > Fury was removed as head of SHIELD for the Secret War incident (Fury blackmailed some heroes into doing a black-op into Latveria which actually caused Latveria to launch an attack on NY). > > Maria Hill was named as the new head of SHIELD after that–she was basically written as an almost-villain. > Then the hero Civil War happened which effectively turned SHIELD into villains in most of the books. At the end of that Tony Stark was made head of SHIELD with Hill under him. > Then Secret Invasion happened which revealed SHIELD had been compromised by SKRULLS. Osborne happened to get the killshot on the Skrull Queen publicly and was lauded as a hero and was put in charge of HAMMER–a replacement organization. Hand, a former low-level SHIELD desk jockey became his Gal Friday. I think different writers handled her differently–evil sidekick in some books, loyal secretary in others, secret underminer in others. > > Osborne was never seen as anything other than a ticking timebomb by anyone in the know and when he went cray-cray and attacked Asgard-on-Earth (Asgard was in OK for awhile) he was revealed as totally crazy villain again and was hauled off to super-jail. Steve Rogers (Captain America) became head of SHIELD. > > Nick Fury is still underground. They introduced Nick Fury Jr. (who looks like movie Fury) but was just like… a guy… before. I believe he’s now head of SHIELD? Or maybe Hill is now. > > …but that’s the comics and doesn’t really have much to do with the show. This is why I just said “the comic book series has a long and complicated back-story.” You didn’t even get in to the part where Hand (I’m quoting Wikipedia here) “revealed to the New Avengers that she was actually a triple agent, pretending to work for Captain America while pretending to work for Norman Osborn while really working for Captain America, subsequently helping the New Avengers set a trap for Osborn to try and rescue the captured Captain America.” But while the “people in the know” (including readers) might have seen Osborn as a villain all along, most people weren’t in the know. Osborn was legitimately named as head of a government agency - he didn’t take over via mind control or a threat to nuke Manhattan. On the side note, I feel the introduction of the new Nick Fury as the original’s son was a bad idea. They had already jumped the Ultimate Nick Fury between dimensions once. They should have jumped him again and landed him in the mainstream Marvel universe. They could have even had a good storyline where the two Nick Furys fought side by side against some supervillain and the original one fell in battle and the new one took his place. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e11-the-magical-place-spoilers/678234/73 "2014-01-11T17:40:57Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > I like “the clairvoyant is MODOK” theory. Thanks to Phineas and Ferb, I now associate MODOK with the Red Skull shouting, “You do not fit in the shotgun position!” > [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > So your bold proposal is – a Marvel Universe crimefighter has an uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinner with Aunt May? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tavalla](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tavalla/32/89_2.png) [@tavalla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tavalla)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e11-the-magical-place-spoilers/678234/74 "2014-01-12T07:03:28Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > I was under the impression it was permanent. And if they were just putting it on hiatus, it would have made much more sense to wait one more week and put it on hiatus the same time the show itself did, even if they waited a month or so longer before it came back. > [@GuanoLad](#): > > If there’s one thing that I know about Australian TV Networks, is they do not do things that make sense. > > _Elementary_ was similarly stopped before the mid-season hiatus, but I’m pretty sure both are returning. Probably. David Knox at [TVTonight](http://www.tvtonight.com.au/) would know for sure. They’ve done similar to Bones and Castle as well, IIRC, making the assumption that the audiences for shows may not be huge but are dedicated, and will still follow the show they want. Compare it to Channel Nine assuming that audiences will wait for the next Sherlock series: two out of the three episodes have already aired in the UK, and yet Nine’s blithely assuming that we’ll sit around and wait, and haven’t even announced an air date yet. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e11-the-magical-place-spoilers/678234/75 "2014-01-12T08:05:45Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > One more point. In the comic books, Victoria Hand is a lesbian. So in my mind, it’s canon that she and Melinda May were a couple. And we need to have flashback scenes of this. 1. You were a prison warden for too long and 1. You really need to go join the writers, because your ideas are awesome,:D;) ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e11-the-magical-place-spoilers/678234/76 "2014-01-12T08:32:00Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Okay, it’s wild theories you say you want. > > Let’s tie two of the show’s mysteries together: Skye’s missing mother is the Clairvoyant. > > Here’s how it works: The Clairvoyant is a mutant Don’t say mutant. 😉 I had thought that the CV had been established to be a woman before this episode, but people were all he and him, so I dunno. After all those masculine pronouns I did have a thought it could be Kang (or Immortus or any of the chronal counterparts he has) but wouldn’t they save him for Avengers 3 or something bigger than Agents? Maybe he’ll wind up being the Leader, since they don’t seem to be in any hurry to do an Incredible Hulk 2. Maybe his gamma mutated brain lets him extrapolate a hell of a lot of future events without getting into that whole “psychics don’t exist” nonsense they keep repeating. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e11-the-magical-place-spoilers/678234/77 "2014-01-12T10:00:15Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Don’t say mutant. 😉 Yeah, I know. ABC doesn’t have the rights to mutants. So it would have to be a nudge-nudge-wink-wink sort of thing. They wouldn’t call the Clairvoyant a mutant in the show but they’d make it clear to the fans. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e11-the-magical-place-spoilers/678234/78 "2014-01-12T13:11:14Z")
> [@jharvey963](#): > > Seems no one else has mentioned this: When Coulson was being put back together by the brain spider, there was one scene where he looked at himself in a mirror or reflective surface and saw a completely different face. Didn’t anyone else see that? > > My guess: they got another body and “put” Coulson into that one with the brain spider, then did plastic surgery to make that body look like Coulson. > > J. I ran it back on my DVR and he saw his own reflection as far as I could tell. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e11-the-magical-place-spoilers/678234/79 "2014-01-12T17:13:02Z")
I didn’t see Hand as a bad guy (gal). Just colder and more pragmatic. Not “one of the team”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e11-the-magical-place-spoilers/678234.md?page=3)