And someone on my flist also pointed out the ickyness of our heroes going to South America, where they shoot lots of brown people and then rescue some other brown people, who also turn out to be evil and have to die (or be sent to detention facilities). Which leaves a rather more sour taste in my mouth than I started with..

I think they were trying to offset that with the new team member discussing the rebels, etc. before they landed. not sure it worked, but I think that's what they were going for I think.

I think that would have worked better if the Peruvian police hadn't turned evil too.

And I liked the final twist. Coolness!

I totally called "I'm in." But I think she'll be ~*conflicted*~. Still, fun place for the character to go.

Definite improvement over the pilot. I like the team dynamic, and I like the way its fits into the Marvel universe.

Is it just me, or does Ward suddenly have a crush on Skye?

It seemed like that. But it also seemed like Fitz did, with his excitement that her bunk was next to his. So I mark him for death. Alas, I like his dwarf drones.

What is the significance of the number 616 in the Marvel universe? I've seen that reference in the fic, and HQ said something like "SHIELD 616, you are clear for something or other" at the beginning.

Earth-616 is the designation for the Marvel universe comics canon continuity. We live in Earth-1218.

Marvel cinematic universe is Earth-199999.

I think that would have worked better if the Peruvian police hadn't turned evil too.

Well, wasn't the premise going in that they were the people being fought against?

They didn't shoot some and rescue others, unless I'm overly cynical to think there were no rebels there at all. That would be way too convenient to get into the ship and the stuff. I had thought "Oh, how convenient to get not just her but her armed force into the ship near the stuff there's no other way to get to." I figured there wasn't a rebel around.

The script said Peru and Inca, which could work with approx 500 years, but they said the device had drilled itself in far deeper. Also, someone railing at the inaccuracy of saying Mayans (they did not) did point out that the visuals were way Mayan and not Incan. So I think the writing was basically consistent and the art direction took a turn and then some time travel.

Well, wasn't the premise going in that they were the people being fought against?

The Peruvian police showed up, there was a standoff, Coulson came out, and then the rebels (or "rebels") showed up. People absolutely got killed, because Coulson and Ward, at least, weren't shooting blanks, and Ward got winged, so someone on the other side was using live ammo.

My read is that Reyes' original plan was to surround/strongarm Coulson into giving up the artifact on site, and that she changed her plan to hijack the plane when the rebels showed up and she realized they were outnumbered.

So I think the writing was basically consistent and the art direction took a turn and then some time travel.

Possibly, yes, although 500 years ago was pretty near the end of the Incas...

Hm. I didn't like this one as much as the pilot - I thought it had a lot of typical second-ep issues. Hopefully we won't be getting a low-rent Avengers remake every week. (They're a team full of loners who don't know how to work together! Until someone hijacks their plane and then they suddenly do! Quip, snark, fight, trust, done.)

But generally, I feel like shows like this pick up by ep 5, so my hopes are still high.

I appreciate the calling out of tropes ("It's an origin story," "You just gave them a common enemy"), although it could definitely get old.