# Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D S02E17: Melinda **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 15, 2015, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e17-melinda/717702 "2015-04-15T00:11:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pricciar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@pricciar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pricciar)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e17-melinda/717702/1 "2015-04-15T00:11:56Z")
“Melinda” Directed by: Garry A. Brown Written by: DJ Doyle With an episode title like this, I don’t know how they can go wrong. [Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D S02E01: Shadows](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735202) [Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D S02E02: Heavy is the Head](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735949) [Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D S02E03: Making Friends And Influencing People (open spoilers)](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736682) [Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D S02E04: Face My Enemy](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737365) [Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D S02E05: A Hen in the Wolf House](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=738138) [Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D S02E06: A Fractured House](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=738875) [Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D S02E07: The Writing on the Wall](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=740542) [Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D S02E08: The Things We Bury](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=17911046) [Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D S02E09:…Ye Who Enter Here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=742435) [Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D S02E10: What They Become](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=743084) [Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D S02E11: Aftershocks](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=750827) [Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D S02E12: Who You Really Are](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=751400) [Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D S02E13: One of Us](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=751940) [Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D S02E14: Love In the Time of Hydra](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=752626) [Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D S02E15: One Door Closes](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=753195) [Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D S02E16: Afterlife](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=753853) ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e17-melinda/717702/2 "2015-04-15T06:21:03Z")
Only took almost two years to explain the cavalry. Not a nice choice to have to make. On the other hand, they appear to be setting the stage for agents of sword. No complaints bout that ep. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Reverse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@Reverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reverse)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e17-melinda/717702/3 "2015-04-15T09:44:03Z")
No, Raina, _you_ are the clairvoyant. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e17-melinda/717702/4 "2015-04-15T10:27:28Z")
FTR the real life Bahrain [does not look like a Brazilian shantytown](http://www.alsafirhotel.com/assets/d/alsafir/media/slide/__thumbs_980_360_crop/night_skyline.jpg@50ebd9d925ce4) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e17-melinda/717702/5 "2015-04-15T10:45:05Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > FTR the real life Bahrain [does not look like a Brazilian shantytown](http://www.alsafirhotel.com/assets/d/alsafir/media/slide/__thumbs_980_360_crop/night_skyline.jpg@50ebd9d925ce4) Because countries are perfectly uniform - every single part of them looks the same. ---
**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:** [April 15, 2015, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e17-melinda/717702/6 "2015-04-15T11:08:15Z")
Not sure I care for tying The Cavalry to Skye having to keep the secret of her Mom from everyone. That’s a pretty weak connection, seems strained. But in a way, Skye’s mom created May as much as she created Skye. May’s transformation didn’t really resonate with me - she killed several men by snapping their necks and stabbed the mother to death in front of her daughter. Killing the girl was a difficult decision, but not something that should change a hardened field operative like that. I picked up on Raina being able to see the future as soon as she said daisies. That was too specific, and too tied to Skye (her real name) to be random chance. What in the world was Sparky even doing there anyway to see it? All you need is an electric hairdryer and you’re all set. I’m begining to really like Hunter. Don’t care much what Coulson’s secret project is all about - probably a movie tie in. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e17-melinda/717702/7 "2015-04-15T11:17:37Z")
Nice summary review on io9: [Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.: “Melinda”](http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/marvels-agents-shield-melinda-218071) I enjoyed it. I agree that the tie between Skye/Mom and Melinda/kid worked less literally, but more as a general theme for this episode. Working out mother/daughter stuff on a comics show? Cool. They tried a lot to show the softer side of May, so the act would have resonate. The contrast with the hardened killing, while unrealistic, was purposely done, IMHO, to heighten the contrast. From a storyline standpoint, I thought it worked. You know, I hadn’t understood that Sparkplug was thinking Raina was clairvoyant; I will have to go back and see it. I kinda thought he was being won over to Raina’s POV - wow, she IS being treated unfairly!! :smack: ---
**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:** [April 15, 2015, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e17-melinda/717702/8 "2015-04-15T12:00:31Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Not sure I care for tying The Cavalry to Skye having to keep the secret of her Mom from everyone. That’s a pretty weak connection, seems strained. But in a way, Skye’s mom created May as much as she created Skye. May’s transformation didn’t really resonate with me - she killed several men by snapping their necks and stabbed the mother to death in front of her daughter. **Killing the girl was a difficult decision, but not something that should change a hardened field operative like that.** I’m buying that it was a life changing moment for her, though they did lay it on a little thick. She & hubby want to have a baby, and she’s forced to choose between killing an obviously disturbed little girl or letting her kill 12 people she’s duty bound to protect? That would screw up anyone. And don’t forget - when she killed Eva, as far as she knew Katia was just a random hostage, not Eva’s daughter. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e17-melinda/717702/9 "2015-04-15T12:45:30Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > I’m buying that it was a life changing moment for her, though they did lay it on a little thick. She & hubby want to have a baby, and she’s forced to choose between killing an obviously disturbed little girl or letting her kill 12 people she’s duty bound to protect? That would screw up anyone. > > And don’t forget - when she killed Eva, as far as she knew Katia was just a random hostage, not Eva’s daughter. She also thought that the little girl was a product of (her mother’s) evil. So however justifiable it was, it was still an innocent girl in May’s mind. I think a part of me made the Psychic Rayna connection before I realized it because when she said “daisies” I thought “hey! just like her real name!”, but I didn’t completely register that it would be relevant. Is whatever Coulson doing setting up this eventual spin-off that I keep hearing about? I also heard on early reviews that Avengers 2 has a shit ton of characters in it, so maybe some will be from the show… Lastly I LOVED the last scene. The 1000% change in Cal’s behavior and the way he told the story. I loved loved LOVED how when Skye’s mother said “She doesn’t know her birthday”, Cal’s face lit up and the way he said “I do!!”. I love him and his character and I don’t fully believe is a bad guy and I think he has yet a major part to play. ---
**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:** [April 15, 2015, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e17-melinda/717702/10 "2015-04-15T13:13:14Z")
Pretty much a “let’s move the story arcs along” episode. We now know May’s background story, we’ve seen more about Skye and her family, and we’ve learned the Coulson has a secret project. No monster this week. The May story worked for me. I feel it fit with what we’ve seen of May’s character. The Skye story isn’t resolved yet. Skye is clearly so desperate to have a family that she’s ignoring the reality of what kind of people her parents are. I’m sensing that Jiaying is actually worse than Cal - she’s just better at hiding it than he is. I think the eventual reveal will be that Cal, for all his flaws, will be the one who genuinely cares for Skye while Jiaying just wants to use her. I like the direction that Coulson story is heading in. I now finally can see how the concern about him is legitimate and why outsiders like Gonzalez would be so worried. A wild speculation about Coulson’s project. The MCU is planning on eventually bringing out the Defenders as another super-powered team in the movies. I’m wondering if we may be seeing the groundwork being laid for this. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e17-melinda/717702/11 "2015-04-15T13:17:09Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Pretty much a “let’s move the story arcs along” episode. We now know May’s background story, we’ve seen more about Skye and her family, and we’ve learned the Coulson has a secret project. No monster this week. > > The May story worked for me. I feel it fit with what we’ve seen of May’s character. > > The Skye story isn’t resolved yet. Skye is clearly so desperate to have a family that she’s ignoring the reality of what kind of people her parents are. I’m sensing that Jiaying is actually worse than Cal - she’s just better at hiding it than he is. I think the eventual reveal will be that Cal, for all his flaws, will be the one who genuinely cares for Skye while Jiaying just wants to use her. > > I like the direction that Coulson story is heading in. I now finally can see how the concern about him is legitimate and why outsiders like Gonzalez would be so worried. > > A wild speculation about Coulson’s project. The MCU is planning on eventually bringing out the Defenders as another super-powered team in the movies. I’m wondering if we may be seeing the groundwork being laid for this. Nice speculation. The Skye Parent Thing would be a classic Whedon flip - in a good way in terms of keeping plots engaging. Coulson: yep, his project is likely a new Marvel/Disney project. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e17-melinda/717702/12 "2015-04-15T13:22:33Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Coulson: yep, his project is likely a new Marvel/Disney project. If King Mickey comes out weilding the Keyblade, I’m going to lose it. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e17-melinda/717702/13 "2015-04-15T13:39:08Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Because countries are perfectly uniform - every single part of them looks the same. You are Israeli, so you cannot go to the Gulf, and will probably be unable to appreciate. The Gulf statelets are infact uniform, desert and high rise cities and thats all. Bahrain is pretty much the epitome of that, well them and Qatar. Its quite depressing acually. Back on topic, the Skye sub plot is boring. The mother-daughter bonding sessions were cringeworthy… only redeeming quality was the link to the end. I called the little girl being the daughter pretty quickly. ---
**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:** [April 15, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e17-melinda/717702/14 "2015-04-15T13:50:57Z")
> [@Reverse](#): > > No, Raina, _you_ are the clairvoyant. While it would be really neat if they had planned that reveal since the very beginning, I wouldn’t believe them even if they swore to it. ---
**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:** [April 15, 2015, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e17-melinda/717702/15 "2015-04-15T14:46:51Z")
Skye’s mom keeping their relationship is really, really dumb. Gordon knows that Skye is her and Cal’s daughter, since Cal referenced that and Gordon was there when she thanked Cal for finding their daughter. Raina knows that Skye is Cal’s daughter, and it’s unlikely he was quiet about his unaging Chinese wife whom he’s obsessed about, so she can probably guess that, too. Cal has been imprisoned by the Inhumans for a while, and has absolutely no self-control to shut up, so has probably blabbed quite a bit about his daughter and wife. And now, Lincoln randomly shows up to the family dinner (as waitstaff?), where the family is talking about being a family. How is that in any way keeping their relationship secret? > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > A wild speculation about Coulson’s project. The MCU is planning on eventually bringing out the Defenders as another super-powered team in the movies. I’m wondering if we may be seeing the groundwork being laid for this. The Defenders is going to be a Netflix limited series. _Daredevil_ – as seen in the ads during this show – is laying the groundwork for the Defenders. It’s all on Netflix; not movies. (Unless they get runaway great viewership, maybe.) ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e17-melinda/717702/16 "2015-04-15T16:08:58Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > Skye’s mom keeping their relationship is really, really dumb. Gordon knows that Skye is her and Cal’s daughter, since Cal referenced that and Gordon was there when she thanked Cal for finding their daughter. Raina knows that Skye is Cal’s daughter, and it’s unlikely he was quiet about his unaging Chinese wife whom he’s obsessed about, so she can probably guess that, too. Cal has been imprisoned by the Inhumans for a while, and has absolutely no self-control to shut up, so has probably blabbed quite a bit about his daughter and wife. And now, Lincoln randomly shows up to the family dinner (as waitstaff?), where the family is talking about being a family. > > How is that in any way keeping their relationship secret? Yeah, not much of a secret. I think there’s trouble brewing in Inhuman Land. I can see Raina using her new power to twist things and “see” things and start recruiting followers. ---
**Author:** ![Nauplius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nauplius/32/51_2.png) [@Nauplius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nauplius)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e17-melinda/717702/17 "2015-04-15T16:52:53Z")
Was there any significance to Skye being 26 instead of 25? It almost felt like they were going to reveal she wasn’t really their daughter for half a second. Then they all just started laughing and enjoying their dinner. ---
**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:** [April 15, 2015, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e17-melinda/717702/18 "2015-04-15T19:11:49Z")
> [@Nauplius](#): > > Was there any significance to Skye being 26 instead of 25? It almost felt like they were going to reveal she wasn’t really their daughter for half a second. Then they all just started laughing and enjoying their dinner. It certainly felt like it was significant. The script made a point of Skye saying she was 25 earlier in the episode and she clearly reacted to being told she was actually 26 (for what it’s worth, Chloe Bennet is 22). But if there’s some significance behind this, they’re holding off the reveal. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e17-melinda/717702/19 "2015-04-15T19:36:52Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > It certainly felt like it was significant. The script made a point of Skye saying she was 25 earlier in the episode and she clearly reacted to being told she was actually 26 (for what it’s worth, Chloe Bennet is 22). But if there’s some significance behind this, they’re holding off the reveal. I thought it was her not knowing basic stuff about herself. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e17-melinda/717702/20 "2015-04-15T20:11:11Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > I thought it was her not knowing basic stuff about herself. I’ll second this one. I thought it was just another example of her past that was lost, now has been found. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s02e17-melinda/717702.md?page=2)