Well the long awaited day has almost arrived … AOS is coming back tomorrow! While Agent Carter definitely helped to tide us over with some excellent episodes over the past 7 weeks, I’m sure that you were as eager for the return of Coulson and the Agents of Shield as I was. So where were we when the show went into hiatus?
In “What They Become,” we got to see Skye & Raina transform after being exposed to what we presume was the Terrigen Mists. Unfortunately this transformation was not completely painless as the change also impacted Tripp somewhat adversely and while Skye seems to be physically unmarred, the transformation to Raina – well that seems to be a bit more drastic to say the least. Common consensus is that Skye is actually Daisy Johnson – the inhuman known as Quake, but speculation is rife as to who or what Raina is and there is even a question about Tripp also as while it seemed he died (pretty convincingly) there are questions about whether or not this is a fake out entirely, so lets look at what we know and go from there.
Raina
In What They Become, we only got to see a glimpse of Raina’s eye & the assumption is that this lady, always so prim and proper, with a level of confidence only rarely impacted, is going to be physically and drastically changed. Raina has wanted this change more than anything else and has been chasing it from the start, but I think we’re going to see that the price she’s had to pay is more than she initially expected or quite possibly wanted!
“We’re going to see how this process affects both girls differently,” added Whedon.
We expect part of that difference will be in the physicality of it. Some Inhumans, like Crystal, can pass as human without problem. Others, like Triton, are unmistakably something else…
At the end of the second mid-season finale, Raina undergoes the process of Terrigenesis, revealing her to be an Inhuman also, but unlike Skye (Daisy Johnson/Quake), Raina undergoes a physical transformation causing a change in eye color, black, spiky protrusions on her skin and blackened fingertips. Whether she has actual powers is yet to be revealed. Questions abound about who or what Raina could be – there are some references to Tigra based purely I’m sure on the physical characteristics shown and while this is a distinct possibility another that’s been circulating is that while Marvel is restricted from using mutants (due to their deal with respect to the XMen) there is no restriction on their creating NEW characters that are unique to the MCU. This is probably a stretch also as there is so much history within the Marvel Universe it would be somewhat silly to start a new character from scratch here (not mentioning the uproar in the Interweb when all the fan theories fall to dust), however just because it doesn’t make sense to you or I doesn’t mean they won’t do it! So long answer short? No clue … I know that her transformation into some sort of creature while leaving Skye physically unmarred is going to have a significant impact on her psyche, but I guess I’m more old fashioned and really want to see what her powers are!
Tripp – is he alive?
Now the main thing fueling speculation here that he might be alive is a supposed tweet from the actress Ming Na Wen who plays Agent May on the show. I’ll be honest, I’ve tried to find it and I couldn’t so there might be truth to the rumors, but his death looked fairly conclusive to me. In fact the way he went out – a true hero who literally saved the Earth from the Diviner and its destructive “choosing”/weaning of humanity … well that’s what you want in your hero’s … someone that’s selfless and thinks of others first. It’s a real pity as he’s a background character true, but he’s one that could have been developed into someone quite interesting and useful instead of a glorified red shirt.
AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. has improved dramatically since last season and if the final run of episodes this year can rival the same time season, we are in for quite a treat. AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. returns on March 3rd.