#moleymoleymoley

Group 1: Hard Nope

Lincoln Campbell: The moment the preview came out and Coulson appeared suspicious of Lincoln, I crossed him off my list. They need a red-herring for the actual reveal to have any weight, and he’s apparently going to be it. He’s a new enough guy, so he works. But honestly, they've made the team suspicious of him in their own ways already, and he’s been suspicious of them. For him to actually be the “mole” we would have to be either way more invested in him as a character, or he would have to look way less suspicious. Plus he’s got enough plot going on that he doesn’t need another thing when there are so many other likely candidates!

Andrew Garner: We’ve seen this reveal already, and many people saw it coming... Nope! Plus, he was no "mole”. He was just... horribly horribly misguided.

Grant Ward: Again, been there, done that, soo season 1. It’s also been made pretty clear that whoever Ward was, Ward was always Ward, until he became dead. He gets a different plot than the “mole”.

Group 2: Unlikely

Daisy Johnson: Daisy is supposed to be one of the most relate-able characters for the audience and the closest thing this show has to a lead besides Coulson. I just think she’s far too busy assembling her team and fighting the good fight at this point to add “mole” business to the mix. If she were to be the “mole” it would just be too confusing for the audience to follow, and again, there’s other characters that need a chance at having some solid plot.

Leo Fitz: I think Fitz is safe from being a “mole”. The story would be AMAZING if he were the “mole”, because NO ONE would suspect it. But where would he have found the time? Yes, he was away a lot hunting down ways to crack the space-rock over the summer, but he was also SUPER focused on it, and that panned out for him. And again, he’s had much meatier plots to deal with than this. They need to make use of their other characters.

Melinda May: I mean, a little more likely than the others, but again, we’ve already had the “May is suspicious and probably a mole!” plotline in season 1. She makes it higher on the list of suspects simply because it would be cool to see it play out that she finally IS a mole. She did have enough time away from the team for something to have happened to her over the summer, so there’s opportunity if we go the Skrull-route... But we also got to see a lot of what she went through while away already, and she’s had a heavy plotline about it. It would be interesting if she’s the mole simply in how it would affect Coulson and Skye, otherwise... I think we have bigger fish to fry.

Bobbi Morse: Bobbi is getting her own show. They’ve had quite a few press-releases about that one, so I don’t think she’s going to be the “mole” The opportunity could be there with her having been benched over the summer, and not necessarily having much plot under her belt so far. But she was the “mole” last year, so it wouldn’t be a new plot. Plus, did I mention she gets her own starring show? I could see a plot where the rest of the team might think she’s the “mole” and drive her off to her own serialized storylines, but her actually being the “mole”? I doubt it.

Joey Gutierrez: I mean, he totally *could* be, he’s been there since the beginning of the season, but he’s probably not the “mole”. He’s got 1 major strike against him: He’s not a regular. He’s expendable. If they decide to make the “Mole” plot quick and have a swift ending because it leads to a way bigger plot, then he fits the bill. He can be the guy on the inside that they can get rid of and serve a nice satisfying cup ‘o justice to! However, he is too new. He’s meant to be the eyes of the whole “New Inhumans” experience. That’s his purpose. We don’t know him well enough, we’re not invested in his character yet, so him suddenly being a mole would just not pack any punch at all. And that just aint the AOS we know!

Group 3: Suspicious...

Jemma Simmons: Now we’re getting into the real contenders here, in my mind. Jemma had ample opportunity to be mind-controlled by Hive, and even if she doesn’t end up being the “mole”, my money still is on the fact that Hive used his mind-messing abilities on her... However, not sure if this is going to be related to the “Mole” plot at all, or if Jemma gets to keep her very own plot-strand that fixes all the suspicious activity beyond episode 5. How much of a punch would that really have for the whole show though, if she were the mole? I mean. Yeah, Fitz would be devastated. A few other people would be upset. But let’s be honest... Shield still ran pretty smoothly without her. They were ready to write her off. It would be an emotional blow, but for the entirety of Shield, she’s just a biologist with access to their tech. Not their strategies or schemes or anything. Still important, especially because she’d have info on the Inhumans... But again, I think she has meatier things to handle in her own plot that are separate enough from the whole “mole” business.

Phil Coulson: Okay, I know I said he and Daisy are basically the main characters and that was one of the reasons Daisy is ruled out... but there’s a difference here. We are no longer seeing through Coulson’s eyes. He is no longer a voice of the audience like Daisy is. Darth Coulson is rearing his head. It would be fascinating for him to be the “mole” because he’s the one trying to root it out! He’s also in the perfect strategic position to be a “mole” if we’re going the Skrull-doubling route. But. His character is only just diving head-first into the Darth-Coulson plot. He’s dipped his toe in before, sure, but we’re actually seeing him swan-dive (through the portal) into this darker story-line. I think he’s going to have an interestingly dark story arc in 3b, but I’m dubious as to whether or not it will be him as a "mole” within his own Organization. (Unless he’s a mole for shape-shifting green aliens of course, but *shrug*)

Group 4: Danger Zone!

Alphonso “Mack”: Here’s the thing. Mack is the voice of the audience. Period. That is his role. Period. Mack is not an interesting character beyond that. (S1 Ward, anyone?) Yes, he’s hilarious! But where’s his own plot? Where’s his own arc? His personality can be boiled down to quips and one-liners. So he’s suspicious of alien crap and gives out nick-names? So he is good at tech and can throw a mean punch? but... that’s it. He doesn’t really push the plot forward ever. Where’s his depth? Where’s his development? I’m on HIGH ALERT for Mack as a Mole.

I do admit that him being suspicious in Season 2 knocks some points off of him as a contender... but not enough.

Think about it. He’s already on the Secret Warriors Team. He’s the Acting Director of Shield. That’s some huge power under his belt. Whether they go the Skrull route OR the Hydra/Mind-control route, he’s in the perfect strategic position to have everyone’s trust AND access to ALL of information. Plus, he hasn’t got much purpose other than being a filler likeable character so he has room to grow/shift (I honestly like him, I’m just being blunt). How much more interesting would he be if this seemingly stable, likeable, trustworthy guy turns out to be against everyone? No one would see it coming, and it would affect EVERYBODY. Bobbi/Hunter would be betrayed as old friends. FitzSimmons would be betrayed as new friends/Science buddies. Daisy would be betrayed as his partner. Joey would feel betrayed as a new recruit that trusted the man who took him in. Coulson would feel betrayed for putting Shield in his trust. May would feel betrayed that Coulson put more trust in Mack over her as acting director. I don’t know if Lincoln would necessarily care in any different way than the others, but I’m sure he would have frowns to throw. Either way. That’s a ton of people whose sense of security and safety would get shaken to the core if Mack turned out to be a baddy.

Lance Hunter: On the one hand, see Bobbi. They’re moving to their own show. On the other hand... Okay. 2 things.

One: Hunter is hilarious and irritating to the team and all, but he’s basically the comic relief right now. He’s not pushing the plot forward EXCEPT WHEN HE SCREWS THINGS UP (red flag). But everyone likes him and forgives him because he’s Hunter. This crosses over a lot with the reasoning for Mack in that no one would really see it coming because he’s so likeable. He’s messing up in a loveable way, and being forgiven out-of-hand for just being Hunter. But he’s still messing up. Think of the power this affords him. He’s basically getting away with doing things (plural!) that put the team in danger. He goes after Ward, fails, puts Andrew in danger. He risks blowing the entire team’s cover when he attacks Banks because he was bored! He gets slapped on the wrists for these things, sure, but he’s just being Hunter, ha. ha. ha...

Two: IF he ends up being a baddy, it has less of an impact on all the characters of Shield than if Mack is the baddy... however, he’s not staying at Shield, is he? He’s going to another show. He’s technically expendable. And how much of an impact on THAT show would it be for him to be the big bad to Bobbi’s hero? (You can be upset that it would mean HuntingBird would break up and the ANGST! But lets be blunt again. The writers clearly are against love and happy endings, so breaking them up because Hunter is bad sounds exactly like their kinda jam!) That’s a hook for the show, which it appears to be missing so far. A lack of hook for an entire show is very strange this late in the game (unless it’s waiting for an MCU reveal). Most things I’ve read about the new show say that it’s going to “center around Bobbi Morse”. Pay attention to that. Bobbi Morse. Specifically. At first Hunter wasn’t really mentioned, and only recently was he added in as an “Oh yeah, Hunter’s going too! Duh!” and no one’s really batted an eye, because of course they’d go together. But why the emphasis on Bobbi? Hunter’s been on Shield longer. He’s more established than Bobbi. At this point we’re invested in both of them, which is why most people assumed he was going over too, and then smiled happily when he finally got his mention in the press-releases. But why is it focusing on Bobbi and not both of them? My only un-biased guess for that is because Adrianne Palicki is a more established actor than Nick Blood... right? And mocking-bird is a more recognizable comic-book character than Lance Hunter? (Just an fyi, Hunter in the Comics runs the STRIKE team... whose first leader happened to be a traitor. If things get timey-wimey as they tend to be in the MCU, this could totally be a thing)

But one major thing against Hunter being the “mole” is that they do still need their scapegoat. And once Lincoln doesn’t pan out, they need to pin it on someone else for the reveal to have even more weight. Because of how much Hunter’s been messing up, he’s a great scapegoat. And it gives he and Bobbi enough reason to run off to their own show together, at which point I will happily chuckle at how silly I was being in expecting him to be a bad-guy. But it all depends on how they treat the “mole” plot in-show... as soon as someone mentions “Well Hunter’s been acting fishy!” he’s off the list as fast as Lincoln. If not, he’s our guy.

Here’s how I think it will play out:

Coulson: Someone on the inhuman team is leaking info to Malick! I BET IT’S LINCOLN!

Team (except Daisy): Woah. Yeah. We don’t know him. It could totally be him.

*turns out not to be him, team now trusts Lincoln implicitly*

Coulson/Team: Huh. Someone is still totally leaking info to Malick, BUT WHO?? Who else looks suspicious?

Team: Finds scapegoat to pin it all on that the team is CONVINCED is the mole (This could either be Hunter, May, Jemma, Joey, or Bobbi. I still don’t think anyone would suspect Mack.)

*intervening episodes happen... everyone’s supper bummed / reacting to scapegoat “being the mole”*

Mole: reveals self in last 2-3 episodes, blowing everyone’s minds! 

Of course, that’s all assuming the “mole” is a major plot and not just a device to move us to another bigger plot we haven’t thought of yet (coughskrullcough). Anything could happen! This is purely speculation... but I absolutely have my eye on Hunter and Mack.