Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
FZZT :: Coulson Opens Up
Season 1, Episode 6 Preview

11/05/2013

Clark Gregg, "FZZT," 1x6 | © ABC Studios and Marvel Studios

"Sir, you have to get out of there right now. He's going..."

Updated on June 10, 2020.

And Coulson takes the earpiece out. I love this about him. He doesn't run away when someone is in trouble. So far, we've seen that he does everything he can to save them, to talk them down, no matter how dangerous. We're quite familiar with his heartbreaking heroics from Avengers, but it's nice to see this smaller moment. Using personal examples is wonderful, giving us insight into his mindset. This lovely moment shows us he suspects more than just the muscle memory problem, which I wasn't expecting. This is back when the show hadn't yet revealed what "Tahiti" really was, when we still feared he could be an LMD and we were champing at the bit for the truth. Giving it a little more time, we found the truth staggering and Clark Gregg's performance when the time came was poignant. Giving it years of adventure and world saving and sacrifices, we've accepted with open arms what he eventually became in season 7, because we really love this character in any form. I've been saying that since before the series started...and I went a little off track with this update.

Someone said (I think on Facebook) that Coulson is finally being serious about what happened. Finally? The "Tahiti is a magical place" mantra I don't think was Phil just trying to shrug off an uncomfortable topic. Seems to be an automatic response to divert attention away from questions about what happened that he wasn't really aware of until Skye told him he mentioned it before. Whatever that really is, Coulson wasn not being glib for at least the last two times. May was the one who was attempting humor while also admonishing him for letting Skye in when she said, "Are you sure it didn't go into your brain?" Not petty my ass. Coulson was allowing himself to be vulnerable and got squat for it, and that's when you'd tend to go back to keeping feelings to yourself again and joking around. At least I know I would, but that's me. This is something else entirely. This is admission to a stranger (much easier than opening up to those close to us) that he knows more than he was letting on, that he was somewhere else. From what I've seen in just a minute and a half, Clark Gregg owns this scene and really shows his talent, subtle and emotional, but not melodramatic. The show seems to get heavier here. I love it how it is, with the nice mix of action, comedy, and relationships, but, like everything Whedon, I'm sure it can and will veer into darker territory at times. I'm really looking forward to this episode.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is on on Tuesdays at 8PM EST on ABC. Yes, that's tonight. I meant to post this two days ago, but I got super busy tumbling The Blacklist, my other favorite new show. Too many ideas at once. Can't watch live, DVR it for later, or watch on demand? Then catch up on Amazon Prime Video.