# 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:** 15\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![2sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e47774/32.png) [@2sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2sense)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/161 "2014-05-13T06:37:49Z")
> [@simster](#): > > I, for one, would not buy an redemption for Ward - and I think its a better show if they don’t try and redeem him. I agree. He’s killed his fellow agents. If he turns good and surrenders he should get taken to the new Fridge and dumped off. Though I’d rather they play the on the relationship between Good Girl/Bad Guy until it’s played out and then have her put 2 between his eyes. Though I’m not a big fan of his replacement. It’s nice that the show isn’t so white anymore but I keep hoping they will bring aboard someone with some kind of special abilities. I mean, it’s a comic book show. Sam Wilson/The Falcon would be great. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/162 "2014-05-13T08:04:09Z")
In one of the older _Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D._ threads, someone posted a quote (with a cite) from either one of the Whedons or the Whedon-In-Law saying that every one of the main characters had a secret. We’re nearly at the end of the season with two secrets (by my count) yet to be revealed. [ul] [li] **Couson:** He was dead for way longer than _x_ minutes and he was brought back to life with alien technology/biology. One might suggest that this wasn’t _his_ secret but, rather, a secret kept _from_ him. How about: He was the head of the alien technology/biology project- still in the “secret kept from him” category? I think all of this counts as Coulson’s Secret. If it turns out he also has a secret he’s keeping, it’ll be overkill.[/li][li] **May:** Reporting directly to Fury, manipulated the assembly of Coulson’s team, keeping an eye on Coulson.[/li][li] **Skye:** Joined the team to try to advance her search for her identity/parents, turns out she herself is a secret of some kind.[/li][li] **Ward:** OMG totally teh HYDRA![/li][/ul] So, that leaves us with:[ul] [li] **Fitz** [/li][li] **Simmons** [/li][/ul] I’m not on board with the Simmons/HYDRA speculation, though I know it’s a popular theory here. Fitz? He _loves too haaaaaard_? Does that count as a secret? I dunno. I don’t have a guess for him either. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2014, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/163 "2014-05-13T08:17:43Z")
I suppose you could argue that Fitz’s secret is that he’s in love with Simmons. It’s pretty obvious but he hasn’t told her so I guess it still counts as a secret. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2014, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/164 "2014-05-13T08:20:22Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > I’m not on board with the Simmons/HYDRA speculation, though I know it’s a popular theory here. I think I’m the first one who mentioned it. But I’ll admit I can’t see it as still viable after the most recent episode. There’s no way Simmons wouldn’t have revealed herself as a Hydra agent on the plane. ---
**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 13, 2014, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/165 "2014-05-13T12:32:02Z")
I bet Simmons’s big secret is that she’s actually a Skrull who was sent to Earth to study human physiology and map the human genome. That way, Skrulls could mutate and morph more effectively and infiltrate the human race by having DNA that doesn’t detect as alien. Not that they would have any trouble getting into SHIELD. Any loon who spent 5+ years in the woods with a dog can get in. That’s why she hasn’t been returning Fitz’s affections. He’s an icky human. ---
**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 13, 2014, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/166 "2014-05-13T12:50:55Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I think I’m the first one who mentioned it. But I’ll admit I can’t see it as still viable after the most recent episode. There’s no way Simmons wouldn’t have revealed herself as a Hydra agent on the plane. Which is a shame - having Simmons pull out a gun and blow Fitz’s brains all over the door, then calmly say “Hail Hydra” would have been the best TV moment of the millennium. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/167 "2014-05-13T14:04:22Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Let’s sum up. > > A totally meaningless red shirt gets killed in one series and an actor gets booted for drug use in another. > > So no main character ever has died in a first season because “Whedon likes to kill them off.” > > Got it. Yeah, his reputation isn’t entirely justified. My run-down of deaths by shows (as I remember it), kept as vague as possible for those who don’t mind spoilers but might watch one day. But to be clear, they _are_ spoilers: In Firefly: No one died until the film when they knew the show was over anyway, so why not kill off a few? It didn’t serve any purpose plot-wise. In Buffy: A few key characters died but came back to life later. One member of the gang died permanently, and it wasn’t a “there from the beginning” type character. There was an episode where Buffy’s mother died and it was pretty damn _harsh_, but that was more about Buffy’s loss than the character’s death. One of my favourites died in the last episode, but the last episode doesn’t count. In Angel: The aforementioned Doyle, but it sounded like real-world reasoning was behind that. Two other characters died near the end, but they were particularly painless for the audience (one died after not being in the show for a while and the other’s body was taken over so the actor remained in the main cast, just playing a different character). In Dollhouse: No big deaths that I remember. One character turns out to have died before the show even started, but they’re still around, so… He couldn’t even kill off Coulson properly in The Avengers. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/168 "2014-05-13T14:11:58Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > That’s why she hasn’t been returning Fitz’s affections. He’s an icky human. And yet she’s swooning whenever Trip saunters by? ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/169 "2014-05-13T14:19:48Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > In Dollhouse: > > No big deaths that I remember. One character turns out to have died before the show even started, but they’re still around, so…. several in the last few episodes, at least. And depending on how you view the metaphysics behind the central conceit of the show, someone died every time an active got wiped back to “tabula rasa” state. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/170 "2014-05-13T14:24:48Z")
> [@gonzoron](#): > > several in the last few episodes, at least. And depending on how you view the metaphysics behind the central conceit of the show, someone died every time an active got wiped back to “tabula rasa” state. Thanks. I don’t really remember that. Obviously it wasn’t _that_ tragic! ---
**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 13, 2014, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/171 "2014-05-13T14:31:12Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > In Angel: > > The aforementioned Doyle, but it sounded like real-world reasoning was behind that. Two other characters died near the end, but they were particularly painless for the audience (one died after not being in the show for a while and the other’s body was taken over so the actor remained in the main cast, just playing a different character). What about Wesley? Granted it was in the last episode, but he still died. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/172 "2014-05-13T14:50:42Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > What about Wesley? Granted it was in the last episode, but he still died. Ah yes, another I missed. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/173 "2014-05-13T19:00:20Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > So, that leaves us with:[ul] > [li] **Fitz** [/li][li] **Simmons** [/li][/ul] > I’m not on board with the Simmons/HYDRA speculation, though I know it’s a popular theory here. > Fitz? He _loves too haaaaaard_? Does that count as a secret? I dunno. I don’t have a guess for him either. Interesting. They secretly like each other! They’re secretly brother & sister but only one knows! ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/174 "2014-06-06T14:35:22Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Didn’t Shield think Hydra had been destroyed in World War II? It makes sense that they weren’t looking for agents of an organization they thought was defunct. Hydra probably even had cover stories for its agents so that if any of them did get caught, they’d look like KGB agents or something more current. I see these episodes after the rest of y’all, so I am coming in late, but this posting made me think–wouldn’t HYDRA have infiltrated a bunch of other secret organizations? Specifically [SMERSH](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMERSH)? Is James Bond canon in SHIELD backstory? How about Kim Philby? Recruiting agents to join a secret organization is pretty hard. I understand in the bad old days of the spy wars in Berlin a lot of agents had doubled so often they themselves didn’t know who they worked for. There are some great stories to be told about the inner corridors of SHIELD. Maybe that will be touched on in Agent Carter. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868/175 "2014-06-06T18:16:22Z")
> [@Reno\_Nevada](#): > > I see these episodes after the rest of y’all, so I am coming in late, but this posting made me think–wouldn’t HYDRA have infiltrated a bunch of other secret organizations? Specifically [SMERSH](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMERSH)? Is James Bond canon in SHIELD backstory? How about Kim Philby? Nick Fury is the James Bond of the Marvel universe. Bond himself doesn’t exist, except as the same fictional character he is in the real world. SMERSH was disbanded in 1946, so I’d be surprised if Hydra was spending a lot of time in 2014 trying to infiltrate them. Okay, granted, 1946 was two years longer than the Nazis lasted, and they’re still around in the Marvel U. But the Nazis have a big advantage over SMERSH that keeps them circulating in pop culture: specifically, their name doesn’t sound like Ben Grimm sitting on someone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s01e21-ragtag-open-spoilers/687868.md?page=8)