absolutely love grant wardâs character. even if fans and the audience liked/hated/loved him, or disagree with how he wasnât given âredemption,â he served the narrative so well (IN MY OPINION). his character and his actions continued to haunt everyone even after his death. his betrayal revealed aspects of everyone elseâs character.
Skye saying sheâd never forgive him⌠she meant that and her actions through all the seasons showed it. Her calling him a murderer, but heâs always been one, he was always a specialist for shield. In episode one, we know his first instinct was to kill. It only changed after finding out he was Hydra. But everything else he did until the betrayal, that was Shieldâs orders. THEN IN SEASON 2, Skye works on her emotional state and finds herself completing more tasks that requires her to shut it down. The murder of Donnie Gill, the whole way it was framed, putting him down if they couldnât get him under SHIELDâs control. Judge, jury, and executioner? (CUT TO SEASON 4 with GHOST RIDER) Mack saying Robbie/GR canât decide who lives and dies.
You could argue Donnie is powered and can do so much more damage. We see the idealism from Coulson in season one, urging Fitzsimmons to create a nonlethal solution for a powered Mike Peterson. Putting the lives of his team over all. In season 2, everything is under a blanket of secrecy, his decisions to continue with the mission, resulting in the deathâs of Idaho and Hartley. He needed the cloaking because Fitz was having trouble figuring it out without Simmons and with his brain injury which happened because of Ward. Wardâs imprint is on everything, itâs crazy.
Back to betrayal. We have Fitzâs initial reaction to the betrayal being denial and even after he tried so hard to appeal to Ward. The feeling of being useless and alone after the dust settled. Unable to connect to people he formerly wouldâve called family and hallucinating in the earlier episodes. He lost Jemma and the science, the things that made him him.
JEMMA? OH BABY. It often felt like she was easily able to detach from him, but we know she handled it differently. The anger and betrayal she felt. with Fitz spiraling after the revelation, it was Jemma who offered consolation and talked about it in a more resigned manner. Then, the almost drowning. Unable to be around Fitz, whether she thought she was making him worse or being unable to figure out how to conduct herself after the injury, she left and infiltrated Hydra. She developed a colder exterior during season 2. Then, she tries to kill Ward and HE SAYS HES DISAPPOINTED IN HER? go die ward Sheâs changed so much as a result of Ward revealing himself as Hydra.
Back to Skye. Wardâs kidnapping of her (second time by the way). The way she shot him, it was so unexpected. Flashback to season one, Mike asks if she lets Ward die, sheâd be a murderer, albeit indirectlyish. She saves him in that moment. Cue episode 10 of season 2, she shoots him 4 times without any hesitation. The person she became because of him and SHIELD. Damn. Anyways, it created a domino effect. Underground city, to Tripâs death, and her powers.
FORWARD TO Kara and Ward. They are such an interesting dynamic to me. Kara revealed herself to be a victim of Hydra and SHIELD. Ward and Kara brought a lot of perspective up in regarding SHIELDâs ethics. This really is a clear matter of perspective that I enjoyed.
Kara dedicated years to SHIELD, one of their most talented and loyal agents, and sheâs given up by them to be tortured and brainwashed and forced to do things that she would have never done with her own free will. Then, when her handler dies, she is still lost for months, not knowing who to be, who she was. That is cruel and painful and devastating.
BUT we have Bobbi who is undercover and trying to take down Hydra who has killed a number of her colleagues and friends, she needs to get more access because taking them down will save more people from getting hurt. So she burns a safehouse that she doesnât even know is housing someone. She chose the lives of many over maybe one person. Was she wrong for choosing to save more people? It doesnât matter.
Kara signed up to be a SHIELD agent, which meant she was putting her life on the line for SHIELD, would she sacrifice herself for the lives of many if she had been able to choose, very likely. But in the end, it wasnât her choice, and it felt like they threw her to the wolves.
I think Kara was in an incredibly vulnerable state and Ward benefitted from it. Sheâs a half blank slate with someone who sort of gave her a new life after Hydra. Whether with intention or not, she wouldâve hung onto his words and his beliefs because heâs the one helping her out from the darkness. But it was nice to see him help her figure out who she is, who she wants to be. Yâall I wish she didnât die so early. I probably would like her a lot.
Anyways, her death becomes Wardâs reason to destroy SHIELD and he fucks them up and dies and HIVE arc. Not gonna even go in depth except, Daisy says âlike Ward wasâ in response to her being controlled. She has so much hatred for him, but thereâs little snippets where she shows more understanding as time goes on and what she experiences and thatâs just so cool when they continue to call back to previous events.
AND FITZ SAYING IM JUST LIKE WARD
WARD FITZ DAISY PARALLELS GO SO CRAZY
Daisy saying, you gave me a belief, solid ground to stand on, thereâs nothing without you to Coulson.
Thatâs what Garrett gave to Ward at a time where Ward was vulnerable no matter how fucked.
Daisy was willing to sacrifice the city and let more civilian deaths happen to save Coulson when she refused to use the centipede dosage for the odium.
Ward betrayed the team because Garrett needs the Centipede and GH325 information to heal himself and not die.
Fitz became a very different person willing to experiment sacrifice people for science and kill in the framework, this change came from his father being in his life..
On the other hand, we have Ward who met Victoria Hand instead of Garrett. Heâs trying to help and save people as an undercover for SHIELD.
Daisy: âOne regret canât change an entire life. It doesnât change who you are.â
Ratcliffe: âOne person in your life, one decision, one sentence has the power to change you forever.â
A person is made of their experiences and actions, and those experiences and actions continue to shape and influence us. I think Grant Ward demonstrates that so well.