Agents of SHIELD

Season 2, Episode 13

Wednesdays 9|8 EST

Spoilers, obviously

 

 

Karla Faye Gideon is your average lonely woman with razor-blades for fingernails, but her life changes when Cal and two thugs - a genius who doesn't like food and a jacked-up thug with .5 brain cells - show up at her door, release her hands from their SHIELD-induced bonds, and invite her to come on Cal's mission of revenge. Because she has nothing better to do than watch black-and-white movies on TV and eat alone, she accepts.

 

Back at SHIELD, Skye has been put on the Gifted Index, but she's okay with that - in fact, she thinks she's got herself under enough control that she can get back in the field sooner rather than later. Jemma is still highly upset that Fitz lied about Skye's condition, and not even Bobbi's coercing can get her to hold a real conversation with him. Mac calls Bobbi from a mysterious safe house, where he has Hunter handcuffed to a bathroom sink, and Bobbi promises to plan an extraction for them.

 

May goes and finds Garner, her extremely likable psychiatrist ex-husband, and brings him back to assess Skye. Skye is less-than-enthused about talking to a shrink, but she accepts, telling Garner that with May's help, she's calming herself down and learning how to stop the tremors.

 

Meanwhile, Cal and the Scream Team break into a psychiatric hospital that secretly housed SHIELD gifted. Coulson and Bobbi fly down to investigate, and this conversation happens-

 

Coulson: Hey, you know, we haven't seen Hunter - one of our top field agents, the guy I offered a permanent job to, remember him? - in a while.

Bobbi: He probably didn't want a permanent job here. NBD.

Coulson: Oh, okay.

 

They arrive at the hospital and find one man missing; David Angar, a man whose experimental cancer treatment went really, really wrong and gave his voice the ability to induce catatonia to whoever hears it. I would have gone with chemotherapy, to be honest. Turns out Angar's riding with the Scream Team now, but Cal left the words 'FIGHT ON' painted across the walls of Angar's former cell.

 

On the Bus, Fitz comes across the shocking sight of May being human around Garner and takes his coffee elsewhere. He and Jemma actually have a brief conversation about the Marner situation, but things quickly get rough as Skye sets off an earthquake in her sleep.

 

Meanwhile, Cal tells his tale of woe to the Scream Team in a diner booth - about how nasty SHIELD took his baby girl away, how he couldn't protect the people he loved, and how he turned to chemical enhancements which were, erm, of dubious success.

 

Coulson and Bobbi share some heart-to-heart lies, and then follow Cal and the Scream Team to Coulson's hometown (yay for Coulson Holmes and Bobbi Watson)! Coulson calls in to the Bus and tells May, who says they'll come immediately for backup. Immediately is right - she doesn't even give Warner a chance to get off the Bus before she takes off, headed for Wisconson.

 

Cal and the Scream Team arrive at Coulson's hometown highschool and Angar puts the entire football field of students into catatonic states. (A few birds get the short end of the stick, too.) Using the stadium microphone, Cal lures Coulson onto the football field where the students are lifeless (are they dead? Asleep? We never really find out) and Coulson is surrounded by Angar, the Genius, the Brute, and Faye. Cal firmly believes he has the moral high ground, and proclaims that he's not going to let SHIELD abuse Skye just because she's Gifted.

 

Bobbi and Coulson take on the Scream Team, but the standoff becomes more complicated when May arrives on the scene with a gun to Skye's neck, bringing Cal onto the field and telling him she'll shoot Skye if he doesn't quit it. Cal freaks out again (apparently he really hoped Skye got wings with this whole package deal) and gives the microphone to Angar, but before Angar can send the entire town into catatonia, blue light appears and Gordon -

 

 

- arrives, grabs Cal (no 'hello beautiful' for you, Mr. Crazypants) and whisks him away.

 

 

Everyone is really weirded out for a few seconds.

 

 

Then May, Coulson and Bobbi start fighting the Scream Team. Skye begins to quake, bruises appear all over her forearms, and she passes out. Skye wakes up on the Bus, and Simmons (who appears to have come down a little from her DISEASE!PLAGUE!MUTANT!GENOCIDE! high) + Garner tell Skye that she has a bunch of bruises and hairline fractures because she wasn't subduing her abilities, but dangerously internalizing them.

 

Garner recommends that Skye quit SHIELD, which May doesn't seem to agree with. Garner says, "After Bahrain, you of all people should know how badly this can end." He says that SHIELD is exactly the same as it was before, but he and May part on decent terms.

 

Simmons brings a report to Coulson and tells him she thinks they should put two categories in the Gifted Index - those who are 'Enhanced,' i.e. not born with abilities, and those who acquired them naturally. (I have an idea. Let's call them Inhumans. Yes?) Coulson tells Simmons to keep studying, but also gives her a gag order. GREAT, BECAUSE SIMMONS DOESN'T HAVE ENOUGH STRAIN YET.

 

In the post-credits scene, Mac and Hunter are extracted. Mac pulls Hunter's blindfold off and when Hunter demands to know what's going on, Mac says that he and Bobbi are working for SHIELD - the new SHIELD. We get a shot of a newly-designed SHIELD logo on the wall.

 

Hunter isn't the only righteously indignant individual around, as we get a shot of Gordon, who has absolutely no sympathy for the tantrum-throwing Cal.

 

(actual footage of Gordon's brain)

 

Gordon tells Cal he extracted him because he was "making too much noise," and adds, "You're not one of us." (Considering the fact that he's had three speaking scenes and probably 90 seconds of total screen time, I'm 100% obsessed with Gordon.) Gordon then sends Cal to someone who's going to decide his fate.

 

I hope it's a doozy.

 

P.S. WE GET WARD BACK NEXT WEEK!!!!!! HOORAH! Seriously, once Ward, Luke Mitchell and Gordon are all in the show - I mean, uh, I watch it for the plot.

 

The 100

Season 2, Episode 16

(season finale, returns this fall)

8|9c on the CW

 



This is going to be the most difficult recap I've ever written. The season 2 finale was intense, and not your average, every-day popcorn-flick intense (not that The 100 ever is). It was the kind of intense that reaches inside your chest, grips your heart in iron fingers and squeezes the breath out of your lungs, and you let it. Most of you already know that The 100 is my favorite show, and that I am more emotionally in love with and invested in Bellamy Blake (+ Clarke Griffin) than any other fictional characters, ever, period. So bear with me, because I'm probably going to wax poetic and lengthy here.

 

My favorite thing about this show (aside from/including Bellamy) is that none of the characters are static. They're actual people. They grow. They change, not always for the better. They adapt and evolve and they're so beautifully real, and the show really highlights their character development/devolvement.

 

At the end of the last episode, we left Clarke, Bellamy and Octavia facing Mount Weather, each separate, each alone. Lexa had made a deal with Cage to release the Grounders, and she walks away, leaving Clarke. Octavia disobeys Indra's orders and stays when they retreat, realizing that Bellamy is her home. Bellamy knows he has to protect everyone, somehow, but he's not sure how to do it.

 

In this episode, Cage has gathered the remaining kids as well as the newly-captured Kane, Abby and Monroe, and has them all chained to walls while, one by one, their bone marrow is mortally extracted. Cage has moved everyone (except Dante, who refuses to budge from his cell) into level 5, and seems fairly confident that nobody can get at them after the deal he made with Lexa.

 

However, Bellamy opens the door to the reaper tunnels and he, Monty, Jasper and Maya are re-united with Clarke and Octavia. It's a happy few seconds but after that, things quickly take a turn downhill. They get Dante and bring him to the control room, where they watch their loved ones being tortured on camera. Clarke attempts to bargain with Cage, saying she'll spare Dante's life if he lets her people go, but Cage refuses. Clarke shoots Dante and tells Monty to reverse the turbines that keep the mountain radiation-free, which would enable them to flood Level 5 with radiation, killing everyone inside. Monty gets it ready while Jasper and Octavia attempt to find more oxygen tanks for Maya's suit.

 

In the woods, Lincoln is tied up at the Grounder camp, and this conversation happens.

 

Indra: You have to choose; Octavia or us.

Lincoln: I will literally always choose Octavia you should know this by now.

Indra: I was just messin' with ya, give O my love *leaves a knife so he can escape*

 

Back at Mount Weather, there's nothing for it, and Clarke knows that if she wants to save her people she has to destroy everyone inside the mountain - even the innocents she and Bellamy have tried so hard to protect. Before she pulls the lever, she hesitates, but they're running out of time. Gently, Bellamy says, "Together," places his hand on top of hers, and they flip the switch, pulling irradiated air into Mount Weather and killing the inhabitants, including Maya, who, before dying in Jasper's arms, whispers, "None of us are innocent."

 

“When Bellamy put his hand on hers on the switch, that was the ultimate moment of self-sacrifice for him. He knew she was going to have to shoulder this decision and he decides to share it with her.”

—	Jason Rothenberg

 

When Clarke and the others run down to free their people, Clarke fights back tears and tells Abby, "I tried to be the good guy. I really tried."

 

Meanwhile, Murphy and Jaha have reached 'the city of light,' which turns out to be a lighthouse on a small island. Jaha proved that he's officially crazypants when they're attacked by a shrieking eel and he shoves a man out of the boat to give them time to reach the shore. Murphy, shocked and horrified, leaves Jaha once they reach the island and discovers a hatch (Dharma Initiative, amirite? We even have Desmond!) and goes inside to find a bachelor pad and a cryptic suicide/video message by a man who apologizes for the bombs, says it was 'all her fault,' and shoots himself.

 

Jaha follows a drone to a spotless mansion and is greeted by an attractive hologram named A.L.I.E., who thanks him for the missile she found from the Ark's wreckage and tells him she has big plans.

 

Back across the water, everyone makes it back to Camp Jaha (which should really be re-named Camp Maya since Jaha's alive and insane and Maya's dead and martyred). Kane and Abby are holding hands, Wick is carrying Raven, Monty looks sad in an adorable cardigan, and Jasper is in a state of emotional trauma after the loss of Maya, and blaming Monty, Clarke, and Bellamy for what happened.

 

Bellamy walks over to Clarke and says, "We could use a drink." After a moment, Clark says, "Have one for me." She then tells Bellamy that she can't stay; she can't stand to see everyone's faces and be reminded of what she did to protect them. "What we did," says Bellamy, with the most tragic, heartfelt, pleading expression on his face. Hailing back to 1x08, he says, "Look - if you need forgiveness, I'll give that to you. You're forgiven. Please come inside."

 

And then came the moment when everyone's heart broke. Mine broke loudly and into a million irreparable pieces. Clarke presses a kiss against Bellamy's cheek, wraps her arms around him, and tells him to take care of their people. "May we meet again," she says, and walks away. He takes a deep breath, a tear rolling down his face, steels himself, and nods. "May we meet again," he repeats, and they walk separate ways - him into Camp Jaha, and her away, into the unknown.

 

 

 

|TAKES A DEEP BREATH AND REBOOTS|

[ I'll be 21 in a little over a month and then I can drink wine while I write these. Yes indeedie.)

 

THE PARALLELS IN THIS SHOW. The /RELATIONSHIPS/ and the /EVENTS/ and the /DIALOGUE THAT HEARKENS BACK TO TWENTY EPISODES AGO THAT YOU REMEMBER CLEARLY BECAUSE IT WAS JUST THAT GOOD/.

 

Jason Rothenburg told us we would be getting a Bellarke scene, and he was right. They said we'd love and hate them for it, and they were right. We started from the ground up - Bellamy and Clarke couldn't stand one another. They fought, they butted heads. Now, two seasons later, we've reached the point where, as Jason Rothenburg said, they need one another, and they trust one another. It might be more, but they haven't processed that yet. They're not screaming and blaming the other person - they're hugging one another, they're understanding, they're loving and they're letting go.

 

Did Clarke and Bellamy do the right thing? That's an interesting question that this episode addresses, but ultimately leaves us to decide. Would Bellamy have pulled the lever if Octavia would have died? Would Clarke have pulled it if it meant the death of someone she loved? I don't know. When Abby and Clarke are reunited, Abby hugs Clark tightly and says, "Maybe there are no good guys." While I don't believe this to be a true concept - good and evil are most definitely real - situations do arise in which gut-wrenchingly difficult decisions have to be made. If Clarke and Bellamy hadn't pulled the lever, their people would have died torturous deaths - however, they sacrificed 300 'innocent' people in order to save their own.

 

Jason Rothenburg released some hints about season three. Bellamy is going to be in charge of Camp Jaha (!!!!). A.L.IE. is going to be a huge problem. Richard Harmon (Murphy) is going to be a regular rather than a guest-star (WOOOOOHOOOO). But there are more questions that we don't have answers to, such as...

 

WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED TO THIS CHARACTER AND WHY HAS NOTHING BEEN DONE ABOUT IT AND I MEAN IT HASN'T EVEN BEEN/ ADDRESSED/ WHY ON EARTH NOT???

 

Is Clarke going to Polis? Please say no.

 

Is Echo going to be Bellamy's season 3 love interest? Please say no.

 

Is Jaha actually going to become a villain? Because I can totally see that happening.

 

Are we ever going to see Emori again?

 

How is A.L.I.E.'s mansion so clean? Holograms can't clean things.

 

Also, I would like to announce that I spent six freaking hours creating a Bellarke fanvid to /their/ song (aka Superheroes by The Script) and it turned out beautifully. And it won't save. So you can't see it. I apologize.

What did you guys think of the finale? Any season 3 predictions? Any emotional support? If you need me I'll be over here re-watching season one and sobbing over character development.



Agents of SHIELD

Season 2, Episode 12

Wednesdays 9|8 EST

Spoilers, obviously

 

 

I've decided to create a petition. I'll call it 'PROTECT THE BABIES', and I hope we all sign it. The babies, by the way, include everyone. All of them. They're all babies and they must all be kept safe. Unfortunately, they don't seem to realize that, which leads us into the episode with a Portuguese beach, where Lady Sif emerges and proves her stance on being badly flirted with. I.E., she doesn't go for it. When the onlookers ask who she is, she tells them she doesn't know. (I don't know about you, but I found myself wondering if Loki - who has been masquerading as Odin since the end of Thor: Dark World and apparently doing a great job of it - erased her memory and banished her, or some other such nonsense. Had she been LOKI'D?)



Meanwhile, on the Bus, Skye's training is apparently improving (she even manages to flip May over her head! Points!) but May knows Skye is holding back. Skye fudges around the truth, saying she doesn't want to hurt May, who gives her the most May expression possible. Fitz, being the gloriously wonderful human being that he is, walks in and tentatively suggests that maybe Skye should take a break. Skye assures him she's fine.

Bobbi and Hunter have been getting their sexy-times on, and apparently they're both so good at multitasking that no sooner have they rolled off each other that they begin discussing work - mainly, how Coulson has asked Hunter to stay on permanently, and Hunter has decided he wants to.

Coulson tells Mack that, after watching him in Peru, he's decided he's wasting his talents under the hood of a car, and he wants to put him in the field. Mack is hesitant, saying he doesn't like violence, but Coulson points out that Mack doesn't even have to twitch in order to look intimidating.

Before they can fully discuss it, May walks in and announces that Sif is on earth. Coulson and May go to where some Portuguese officials are holding her, and they explain that the only reason she hasn't caused trouble is because she's looking for someone named 'Kava,' and they told her that they would bring Kava to her. Coulson says, "I'm not Kava." The official smiles and says, "I'm just glad I'm not the one who has to tell her."

Coulson talks with Sif, who remembers she's from Asgard + some basic knowledge but not much else. May comes in and says Skye found a video on Twitter that shows Sif combatting a man who wins the fight and runs off. Said guy shows up at a hospital in Portugal, asks where the supplies are, turns blue (literally) and assures the nurse she won't remember any of this.

The SHIELD team goes over the video again and sees that when Sif strikes him, some kind of blue sparks shoot out. They decide to send a team to examine the boardwalk, and Jemma all gung-ho about nipping-the-threat-in-the-bud, shooting-first-and-asking-questions-later, much to Skye and Fitz's dismay.

Mack, Hunter and Fitz go to the boardwalk and sniff around while Bobbi and Skye go to the hospital. The head nurse tells them that she hasn't seen the man they're looking for, but they notice in the background that a nurse is asking her colleagues who she is and why she can't remember anything.

Coulson and May find a balloon vendor on a beach who says that someone stole the nozzles off his helium tanks. They call Simmons, who says a lot of sciency things, and they figure that he's somehow using the nozzles to power a disguise suit to keep him from turning blue (??????).

Bobbi and Skye find the man in the hospital supply room and take him on, but he knocks Bobbi out and Skye quakes so hard her gun explodes and she knocks a shelf onto herself and the guy escapes.

Back at the Bus, they figure out that he's a Kree; and 'kava' is the Kree word for 'keys.' Mac and Bobbi have a vague chat about whatever-it-is-they're-hiding and Mac insinuates that Bobbi can't get close to Hunter. Mac reminds her how the team felt when they discovered Ward was HYDRA. "We're not HYDRA," Bobbi says, but Mack replies, "But you know how they felt."

The team discovers there's a city in Portugal called 'Chavez,' which means 'keys,' so they decide to head there. Skye asks to sit this one out, saying she's shaken up from her last encounter with the Kree. May's suspicious, but Coulson agrees, and they find the Kree guy very easily, over an unopened Kree crate. They also capture him very easily, with an electrified net. Yay for technology!

Coulson and Sif question the Kree guy, who tells them his name is Vintak and that he's here to help. He offers to restore Sif's memory with his truncheon, but of course everyone else is skeptical. Bobbi's inspecting said truncheon when Hunter walks in and attempts to flirt with her, but Bobbi pushes him away, saying she wants to slow things down. Hunter is obviously injured but assures her fine, consider things slowed down. As he leaves, Mack walks in and sees Bobbi, who is obviously unhappy about what she just did.

They bring the Kree down to see whether or not the truncheon is biologically wired to him (why not just take the truncheon to the Kree...? Ah, well) and since he knows they won't trust him, he manages to get it out of their hands and restores Sif's memory before giving the truncheon back. Sif remembers that her mission was to pick up the Kree and take him back to Asgard for safekeeping. Sif’s memory. Then she punches Vintac in the face.

This was her mission: to pick up the lone Kree that made it to Earth. She’s heard of how the Kree once came to Earth and changed humans into genetically engineered soldiers to fight in their wars. Apparently, their plan worked a little TOO well on earth, and it was shut down. Vintak is there because he saw that the Diviner worked, and he has to retrieve it and whoever the Diviner changed in order to keep everyone else safe - and to keep the Kree from re-starting the program. There were seven Diviners in the crate they picked up in Portugal, and they're all missing.

Vintak calls these changed humans 'abominations' one too many times and Skye, terrified, starts to quake. The team puts two and two together and suddenly they're split into sides - Sif and Vintak want to capture Skye and take her to Asgard, but Coulson and May are having none of it. Coulson calls in backup and holds Sif and Vintak off while May snatches Skye and flees with her to Cell D.

Vintak and Sif knock Coulson out of the way and Sif follows in pursuit of Skye, but Mac and Bobbi stop Vintak in the hall. "Think we should call for more backup?" Bobbi asks Mac, but they have no time as Vintak attacks and knocks Mac aside. Hunter arrives and fights Vintak, but the Kree is much too strong and bats him out of the way. Bobbi takes him on, but it turns out she's a distraction. Fitz arrives and BLASTS THE KREE DOWN USING THE BAMBINO. I WANT TO THROW FITZ A PARTY. Bobbi then uses Vintak's own hand to stun him with his truncheon, erasing his memory. You go, girl!

Sif finds May and Skye in the cell and forces her way in, but Skye can't stop quaking. In a last-ditch attempt to stop her powers, she shoots herself in the arm, effectively stopping the quaking. Sif takes a very forgetful Vintak back to Asgard after warning Coulson about Skye. The rest of the team feels betrayed by Fitz, keeping Skye's secret from them, but Fitz defends her, saying they would have attempted to 'handle' her and done it badly. 'WE need protection from HER,' says Mac, but his face falls when he notices Skye standing just outside the room. She walks into the interrogation room and puts down a duffel bag, apparently moving in for the safety of everyone else.

In the post-credits scene, we see Hunter approach Mac on the quinjet. He demands to know what he and Bobbi are up to, and says he heard them mention more backup in the hallway. Mac lunges at Hunter and suffocates him until he's unconscious (I THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO KILL HIM AND HE DIDN'T AND I'M SO RELIEVED BUT STILL SO CONCERNED AND NERVOUS AND WORRIED AND JUST /PROJECT PROTECT THE BABIES/).

QUESTIONS

1. WHAT. ARE. MAC. AND. BOBBI. UP. TO?

2. Is anyone else's heart breaking over Jemma's turnaround?

3. HOW IS WARD??? IS HE OKAY???

4. WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY MORE GORDON. I MOVE FOR ANOTHER PETITION - A PETITION TO HAVE GORDON SHOW UP, TELL SKYE SHE'S BEAUTIFUL, AND LEAVE. JUST THREE SECONDS. SKYE NEEDS TO HEAR IT. (That wasn't a question, but still.)

 

Take a look at the promo for the next episode and WORRY WITH ME.

On February 27th, 2015, Leonard Nimoy passed away at the age of 83. He will be greatly missed.

Andrea Wiesner

The world lost a great person this past week. I never got to meet or know him personally, but I know he had a lasting impact... on my dad, me, and millions of others. Prayers for those that did know him!

"Live long and prosper. Peace and long life." It seems it could be said that that was true for the man who made those words famous... 83 years, wow! Leonard Nimoy, you will be missed. Thanks for the memories!

Jaime Heller

Despite the numerous roles he’s played over the last sixty years, Leonard Nimoy has been and always shall be my Spock. I don’t want to diminish his talent in any way by saying this, but Spock was the first role I saw him in and the last role I saw him in. And I’ve loved every moment of his character. From the Live Long and Prosper hand signal to the stoic dialogue, he was truly amazing at playing the “pointy-eared hobgoblin” (Bones’ words, not mine).

Star Trek has been something that kind of changed my life in a way only a handful of over fandoms have. For me, it was the “next step” beyond Star Wars to introduce me to my love for science fiction and fantasy. I used to “watch” the show with my dad, which became something much more special than “just another TV show” (we have all three seasons of the original series on DVD). But I’ll admit I didn’t really care much until the 2009 reboot movie came out.

And then I was in love and still am.

Leonard Nimoy starred in that as well—as the pivotal point of the story. And I loved J.J. Abrams and the rest of the crew for including him. Because it wasn’t just a reboot now. It was Star Trek in an alternate timeline. How cool was that?

In addition, Leonard Nimoy had that unique voice that could be recognized anywhere. From Atlantis to Transformers and various other voice acting roles in between I enjoyed watching movies that included his talent beyond just acting. I hadn’t even remembered how influential he had been in other things over the years.


But my favorite thing he has done besides Spock is the famous, hilarious, and downright perfect rendition of “The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins.” It’s definitely worth watching (and learning). And it appeared in the 2013 STID car commercial, “The Challenge,” that featured both Leonard Nimoy and Zachary Quinto (aka both Spocks) in a race to get to the golf country club. Also a hilarious moment that I will forever love.

Following Leonard Nimoy on twitter was also one of the best social media decisions of my life. Because not only was I following an 80+ year old man on twitter, but the advice and encouragement he spread across the web with a few typed tweets was wonderful. He “adopted” anybody who needed a grandpa as his grandchildren (“honoraries”), he encouraged people to stop smoking or not start at all, and he always ended his tweets with the #LLAP (Live Long and Prosper). He was truly an inspiration.

It was a sad day to hear he had died—especially since for me, it came quite unexpected. I immediately messaged my sister about it and we talked about how sad it was (we're both trekkies and she wrote a song for me about Star Trek once). It saddened me further when I realized next year would have been the 50th anniversary of Star Trek and he didn’t make it to that. The world has lost a bright star and it will be long and hard for Leonard Nimoy to be forgotten. He will always be Spock to me and he will always live long and prosper in the hearts of Trekkies everywhere.

Mirriam Neal

Looking back through my life, there are many threads that wind themselves back through every year as far as I can remember. Leonard Nimoy is one of these threads; or, more specifically, Mr. Spock and Star Trek. I grew up with my parents telling tales of Star Trek, tossing around quotes like ‘He’s dead, Jim’ or ‘There be whales here!’ or ‘I feel…fine.’ When I was old enough to watch them, I drank them in and immediately fell in love with Spock; throughout the whole Original Series, he was my favorite. His struggle to maintain his Vulcan dignity while grappling with his human half was something of constant interest.

Several years ago, a friend gave me a dozen vintage Star Trek books. One of them was full of behind-the-scenes stories, anecdotes and tales from the cast and crew. Leonard and William had an ongoing rivalry of the best kind – who could make the other laugh, who could shock the other most. Leonard would put William’s makeup in the fridge so it was freezing the next day, William would crack a joke on set in an attempt to break Leonard up during filming. You can find bloopers from the Original series on Youtube, and watching Leonard is always the best part. 

While he played a stoic Vulcan, Leonard was always the first to smile or laugh, the first to see the joke in any situation. He was a rare person, someone who took his craft seriously, who showed a sense of humor and a sense of solemnity. When I read the news of his death, I could only sit in shock while the reality of it seeped into my bones, and then I cried. It was surreal, a part of my life that would not stretch into my future. 

Leonard Nimoy meant a lot to me. He will always be part of my past, and when I tell my own children tales of Star Trek, I’ll tell them of Spock most of all; of the most human Vulcan in the universe. Thank you for everything, Leonard Nimoy. Live long and prosper.

Sky Destrian

Star Trek in my family is practically genetic. Just like your hair and eye color, Star Trek gets passed down throughout the generations. While the concept of traveling through space is certainly interesting, it's the heart of the show that I'm after: the people in it. The various Star Trek characters have meant so much to me over the years. So when I found out about the death of Leonard Nimoy, I cried.

I had already heard about the deaths of DeForest Kelley and James Doohan, but those were before I was born. This was real and happening right in front of me. It was my first experience parting with someone from the Star Trek universe, and someone who was extremely important to me at that.

I never met Mr. Nimoy, obviously. And even when it comes to Star Trek, I know the most about Star Trek: The Next Generation, not The Original Series. But, like many of my generation, one of my first exposures to the Original Series was through the 2009 reboot. As Jaime said, Leonard Nimoy starred in that, and he was fantastic. That was only the beginning.

My dad took me through the original Star Trek movies after that. We started with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, in which there's a moment that has every Star Trek fan crying at the end. That scene, and The Wrath of Khan, are both incredibly close to my heart. We then watched Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, which brought Spock to life in the most glorious of ways. 

But, I have to say, my favorite portrayal of Spock is in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Spock tries to fit into the hip and trendy world of Los Angeles, and due to this, he interjects swear words into his speech like everyone else. Hearing a Vulcan use profanity is one of the funniest things I've seen. It's so endearing, in a way, and quite frankly, hilarious. My favorite line is, "They are not the hell your whales!"

Though Spock was a logical being, set on the pursuit of the mind, I would argue that Spock has taught me--and all of us--how to feel. He is arguably one of the most sensible, real characters in Star Trek. While he claimed to be logical, underneath it all Spock was one of the most human characters of all.

As James Kirk said in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, "Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most... human." 

But I'd be amiss not to mention that Leonard Nimoy's life went far beyond his role as Spock. Nimoy was a writer, a director, a photographer, and a musician. He wrote two autobiographies, titled I Am Not Spock and I Am Spock, respectively. The titles (and content) of these autobiographies reflect the nuanced relationship Nimoy had with Spock. While it appears Nimoy grew to appreciate Spock later in life, he certainly felt the difficulties of being so closely associated with the character.

That's why I feel it's important to note Nimoy's other achievements. He had a great love for photography. He did several photo series focused  In 2007, he did a particularly meaningful photo series called "The Full Body Project," centered around celebrating fuller body-types. (There's a really awesome article about it, here.) His photography is also in several museums. 

Nimoy also went behind the camera; he directed several Star Trek movies, starting with Star Trek III. He was also a poet, and shared one last poem with us before he died.

While Leonard Nimoy is not Spock, through his roles in Star Trek over the years, he has impacted many people, the nerd community in particular. As Jaime mentioned before, Nimoy offered himself as an adoptive grandfather to anyone who wanted it. That's the kind of person he was to us: a fatherly figure, always there for us to trailblaze the way to our next adventure. He was the helmsman of what now has become a flourishing community of nerds. In many ways, he has changed the world of story and fandom forever. We are better people because of his existence, and I am thankful that he chose to share so much with us. 

The world lost someone incredible last Friday. However, I firmly believe his legacy will live on in many ways. It will live on every time we continue to look at the world with wonder and excitement, and metaphorically explore the stars (whatever that looks like for us). Most importantly, it will live on every time we improve our world.

"It's all about trying to make the world and the universe a better place. I'm proud to be connected with it. I think we need that in our lives. We need ethical, heroic people trying to do the right thing to help others and to improve life on this planet and in the universe." -- Leonard Nimoy

I can say that without a doubt, Leonard Nimoy has made the universe a better place. Because of him, I am inspired to do the same.

Thank you for your impact on the world and us, Mr. Nimoy. We have been, and always shall be, your fans. LLAP.

In tribute: Leonard Nimoy #Spock pic.twitter.com/x7Y06Y5Fg2
— Andy Marlette (@AndyMarlette) February 27, 2015

Artwork by Andy Marlette.

Please feel free to post your tribute to Leonard Nimoy in the comments.

Agents of SHIELD

Season 2, Episode 11

9|8 EST

Wednesday
SPOILERS, obviously

 



 Well, that was an...interesting episode. I remarked to my sister when it ended that it was kind of like Doctor Who smashed into The Tomorrow People (does this have anything to do with the addition of Luke Mitchell as Lincoln?) really hard; and I get the feeling that we're going to be see a lot more of that vibe since we don't get the Inhumans movie for a few years yet.
Still, I'm super happy to have it back! There was only one minor issue.

That, people, is the amount of Ward scenes in this episode. It's also rumored to be the amount of scenes with Ward in the next episode. Because no, his fans aren't all freaking out about the fact he's been shot four times and is hightailing it to safety with Agent 33. No. Not like we care at all, right? Not like we're interested, or want to know where he is?

Anyway, to get to the actual recap - everyone is dealing with Tripp's death in their own way. May is punching things, Fitz is sciencing, Mack is soddering things, Jemma's attempting to flood the Kree city after analyzing it, Hunter's drinking, Bobbi's giving Skye quarantine care packages, and Skye's having a hard time of it. She's kept enclosed in a quarantine room with glass walls (when does she go to the bathroom, exactly? How does that work?) while Simmons and Fitz run blood tests to see if she's all right. The thing is, she's most definitely NOT all right - things are starting to go crazy around her. Objects start shaking. Lights explode. She knows she's turning into something (albeit she isn't aware she's Quake of Inhumans fame yet) but she's afraid to tell anyone, and with good reason.

A Conversation

Jemma: We'll just run some more blood tests to make sure they match up with your previous samples.
Skye: Okay.
Jemma: I hope what happened to Raina didn't happen to you. (i.e., Raina morphing into a thorny cat and killing people before escaping).
Skye: Okay.
Jemma: Because this is basically a disease, it's caused all the world's problems, it's awful -
Skye: Um, I mean, it doesn't have to be THAT bad -
Jemma: - IT'S THE WORST AND IT SHOULD ALL BE DESTROYED see you later!

End Conversation

I can totally understand why the writers wanted Jemma to be the antagonist here - what could be worse than having someone Skye loves and trusts express such hatred for what's happening to her? I just wish they'd been a little less heavy-handed with Jemma's speech - I mean, she used the words 'disease,' 'eradicate,' 'horrific,' 'epidemic,' 'terminate,' and 'plague' all in the same basic paragraph.

The entire crew is under heavy friction which leads to a full-blown argument about whether or not Coulson's idea - KILL ALL THE HYDRA HEADS - is a good one at the moment. Opinions are varied and tensions are high, but they move on (because Coulson's calling the shots) and set up an elaborate, clever ploy which results in Bakshi getting taken to Talbot while the heads of HYDRA kill one another out of suspicion.

We also get a flashback featuring Jiyiang, Skye's mother (played by the gloriously beautiful Dichen Lachman) comforting a fledgling Inhuman boy named Gordon, who has the ability to teleport himself, but also has no eyes. MEANING: I totally called it at the end of the last episode - the eyeless man was the Reader. HAH.

Meanwhile, we feel pretty sorry for Raina, whose outfit lacks flowers for the first time since she first showed up. She's morphed into a body that's a) fairly hideous and b) fairly painful to inhabit, and she seeks out Skye's father, Cal, for help. Instead he shows concern for Skye and what she must be going through, and basically tells Raina that if she's so tired of living as an Inhuman, she should just go off herself. Desperate, Raina walks across a freeway in an attempted suicide, but is instead surrounded by men with guns and then carried off by none other than Gordon the Reader. (How precious was it that he repeated Jiyiang's words of comfort to Raina? I mean. Just.)

Back on the Bus, Fitz has figured out that Skye is the one who caused the earthquake in Peru, but instead of telling everyone about it, he switches up the blood samples, gets her cleared from Quarantine, and promises to keep her secret until everyone else is ready to hear it. I adore Fitz so much. Aside from Ward, he's my favorite character on the show. His character arc has been so beautiful, and he's so precious.

At the end of the episode, we see the little remote-controlled Lola that Mac gifted Coulson with. It's sitting on a desk in Coulson's office, and then suddenly a camera unfolds from the hood and it scans Coulson's desk. Mac tells Bobbi that the 'toolbox' Fury gave Coulson is hidden there, and Bobbi tells Mac that she'll 'make contact' soon.

?????????????????????????????????????????

QUESTIONS

1. iS wARD oKAY???

2. What are Mac and Bobbi up to? Are they working for HYDRA, or possibly Fury?

3. How long can Skye keep this under wraps?

4. Can we have more Gordon, pretty please with a cherry on top???

5. How long do you think Skye can keep her newfound gift/curse under wraps before someone other than Fitz finds out?