# Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D S01E21:Ragtag (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 7, 2014, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868 "2014-05-07T04:00:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/101 "2014-05-09T14:36:51Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Who’s agent carter? [Agent Carter short film](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_r0Lx3jhd0). ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/102 "2014-05-09T14:46:46Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The series is supposedly going to show the early days of SHIELD and how Carter fought sexism as well as HYDRA in the glory days of the 40s. Hopefully both opponents will respond to punching and firearms. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/103 "2014-05-09T14:55:14Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > the early days of SHIELD and how Carter fought … HYDRA in the glory days of the 40s. Well, if the recent episodes of SHIELD are any indication, she did an amazing job with that. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/104 "2014-05-09T15:01:08Z")
Yeah, that’s what happens when you hire a chick to do a man’s job. Ow, ow, ow! Stop hitting me! It was a **joke**! ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/105 "2014-05-09T15:07:25Z")
> [@gonzoron](#): > > Well, if the recent episodes of SHIELD are any indication, she did an amazing job with that. :rolleyes: It’s taking longer than we thought. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/106 "2014-05-09T15:25:00Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > Anybody else think that the novelty spy gear this episode is actually a sly preview of what’s to come with **Agent Carter**? It’s also a callback to comic adverts from the 80’s. There was always a full page ad of garbage you could mail away for, like x-ray specs and joy buzzers, and they looked just like the gear Fitz had on. Looked cool, but it was complete junk. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/107 "2014-05-09T15:56:08Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > … and “Get ready for a big download” gave me the biggest laugh of the entire series. Everyone is mangling the joke in this thread. It was “Get ready for a large file transfer”, which works much better. > [@Lightray](#): > > Anybody else think that the novelty spy gear this episode is actually a sly preview of what’s to come with **Agent Carter**? I’m assuming that Triplett’s oft-mentioned grandfather is going to be a regular in Agent Carter. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/108 "2014-05-09T16:05:20Z")
So it can be like Mad Men - all about how horrible it is to be a woman and/or black in the 40’s & 50’s. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Doom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Dr\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Doom)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/109 "2014-05-09T16:09:01Z")
I’m not interested in Agent Carter. Hayley Atwell, on the other hand, intrigues the shit out of me. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/110 "2014-05-09T16:10:51Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > It’s also a callback to comic adverts from the 80’s. There was always a full page ad of garbage you could mail away for, like x-ray specs and joy buzzers, and they looked just like the gear Fitz had on. Looked cool, but it was complete junk. I look forward to seeing what the Howling Commandos’ sea-monkeys do, then. ---
**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:** [May 9, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/111 "2014-05-09T17:18:58Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > Everyone is mangling the joke in this thread. It was “Get ready for a large file transfer”, which works much better. > > I’m assuming that Triplett’s oft-mentioned grandfather is going to be a regular in Agent Carter. I hope they can get Derek Luke to reprise the role. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/112 "2014-05-09T17:24:48Z")
Agent Carter = Linda Carter = Post WW2 = WonderWoman Is this Marvel’s final shot over the bow of DC on how to do it? ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/113 "2014-05-09T17:28:44Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > I look forward to seeing what the Howling Commandos’ sea-monkeys do, then. That episode would be _terrifying_. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/114 "2014-05-09T17:28:48Z")
Regarding the Garrett and Ward swerve, I really hate that kind of plot development because I think swerves are entirely too common and overused. Every procedural show does it at least once every month. The last Batman movie did it every other scene. Ha ha, we fooled you. The trusted colleagues were actually bad guys all along. We certainly didn’t plan it at the last minute! The problem with swerves is that in reconstructing them, key control points are assumed to have been totally incompetent and easy to slip by. SHIELD is a world security force, so you’d think they’d be a bit more careful about who they’re letting in. How can Ward get in just on Garrett’s say so? Don’t prospective agents have to go through grueling interviews and background checks? It wouldn’t take more than a Google search to find that Ward had a criminal background, got sprung from jail, and followed with a decade-long gap with no record of residence or work place. Also, when you leave somebody out in the woods with a dog for several years and tell them to fend for themselves, they’re not exactly going to come out of the ordeal clean-shaven and civilized. It’d be like trying to get Ted Kaczynski into the CIA. DOWN WITH SWERVES! ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/115 "2014-05-09T17:34:42Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Also, when you leave somebody out in the woods with a dog for several years and tell them to fend for themselves, they’re not exactly going to come out of the ordeal clean-shaven and civilized. It’d be like trying to get Ted Kaczynski into the CIA. DOWN WITH SWERVES! To say nothing of having become a crack shot and a super-martial arts expert. Why in the world would he be accepted as a SHIELD agent without undergoing the training that we’ve seen for everyone else? I also think that the season finale has enough loose ends to address, that the question of Buddy in the rifle sights won’t come up. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/116 "2014-05-09T17:39:46Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > So it can be like Mad Men - all about how horrible it is to be a woman and/or black in the 40’s & 50’s. That’s what I’m expecting, if I’m right about Triplett’s grandfather. Or more to the point, we’ll be supposed to admire SHIELD for its open-mindedness in listening to both a woman _and_ a black guy. “Hey look, they’re not racist even though this is set in the past” is a pretty standard way to tell audiences they’re supposed to respect a character. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/117 "2014-05-09T17:41:30Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > To say nothing of having become a crack shot and a super-martial arts expert. Why in the world would he be accepted as a SHIELD agent without undergoing the training that we’ve seen for everyone else? There was a 5 year period between the wacky forest adventure and Ward’s acceptance into SHIELD, with none of the in-between shown yet. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/118 "2014-05-09T18:02:12Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > Everyone is mangling the joke in this thread. It was “Get ready for a large file transfer”, which works much better. True. :smack: My failing memory is getting to be an issue. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/119 "2014-05-09T18:27:27Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > There was a 5 year period between the wacky forest adventure and Ward’s acceptance into SHIELD, with none of the in-between shown yet. Yeah, I didn’t really have a problem with that. Ward could certainly have acquired the skills for firearms, hand-to-hand combat, etc in 5 years with training from Garrett. But he wouldn’t be educated or well rounded - I think he wouldn’t fit in at SHIELD at all. I have doubts that he would have been accepted unless we assume Hydra was already behind the scenes. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/120 "2014-05-09T18:36:02Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Yeah, I didn’t really have a problem with that. Ward could certainly have acquired the skills for firearms, hand-to-hand combat, etc in 5 years with training from Garrett. But he wouldn’t be educated or well rounded -\*\* I think he wouldn’t fit in at SHIELD at all\*\*. I have doubts that he would have been accepted unless we assume Hydra was already behind the scenes. Which is why he operated as a loner. Natural fit for his personality. SHIELD was a huge organization - there was a need for all types of agent. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868.md?page=7)