Tuesday’s episode of Agents of SHIELD marked a significant event for Agent Coulson when he finally put an end on Ward’s life. In a postmortem interview, showrunners Jeff Bell and Jed Whedon hashed out the repercussions of Coulson’s shocking move as the ABC series moves forward.
The Dec. 8th installment of Agents of SHIELD focused heavily on Coulson’s heightened rage with Hydra baddie, Ward. By the end of the episode, viewers finally saw how Coulson turned into a killer by ending his former colleague’s life. However, the storyline came with a twist. A dangerous Inhuman took over Ward’s body which also made it through the portal.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Jed Whedon weighed-in on whether the Ward fans have known is truly dead. “It’s safe to say that he didn’t make it out of there the same. He was definitely left for dead and not breathing when Coulson walked away from him, so take from that what you will,” he commented.
Asked if Brett Dalton will play a completely new character in the back half of season 3, co-showrunner Jeff Bell dropped an ominous tease about Dalton’s presence on Agents of SHIELD next year.
“Coulson believes he left that person dead on another planet as does Fitz. Should they happen to run into each other in the back half, I think it will be fairly explosive and interesting,” Bell told the Hollywood Reporter.
As for Coulson, Bell admits that the character could’ve just walked away after defeating Ward. Moving forward, viewers will see him regretting his decision. “He doesn't feel good about that. He's not proud of it. He's going to question his own morality,” the showrunner explained.
Actor Brett Dalton acknowledges that Ward and Coulson have reached the point where getting revenge against each other is their ultimate goal. For Coulson, killing Ward will have major consequences in the remaining episodes.
“Coulson crossed a line. Some would say that Ward has crossed every line there is, but Coulson now has crossed a line, and I think this season has drawn a whole bunch of parallels between the two,” Dalton told Variety.
Coulson’s decision to kill Ward will draw an interesting plot point for the SHIELD director. For the remainder of season 3, it remains to be seen whether he will embrace this new found darkness or stick to whatever he still believes in.
Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD will resume its third season on Tuesday, March 8 at 9PM.
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