With an age span of four to forty, there are only a few shows every member of my family enjoy equally. Every Tuesday night, my family gathers in the living room to watch one of them.
We are are all obsessed with Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., a spin off from the highly popular Marvel movie series that follows the agents that investigate the unusual and extraordinary, and in some cases protect ordinary citizens. They are usually the ones that have to clean up after one of Marvel’s more well known characters. That’s the storyline for this week’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode “The Well”, which takes place just after the events that unfolded in Thor: The Dark World. Apparently, there was something left behind in the wreckage that causes the agents some trouble. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, don’t worry. The episode stands on its own. You can watch “The Well” Tuesday, 11/19/13 at 8/7c.
In anticipation of this crossover event, I had a chance to interview Chloe Bennet, who plays Skye. Her character is interesting to me, because she’s not an agent but has been swept into the team. You can see her struggle with identity and loyalties, simultaneously forcing her to face her past and figure out her future. She is also a hacker, and portrays a very strong, capable and smart young woman. As someone who works to get kids comfortable with technology and hacking, I was naturally drawn to her.
Chloe was friendly and engaging during our talk, delighted that my children had written my interview questions for her.
She said that as the sister to six brothers, she’d grown up a Marvel fan and was ecstatic to get the part of Skye. The process took two months of auditions, and when it was over she celebrated with relief and excitement. The call came at 4:04, and since 4 is her lucky number, it seemed to her like this part was her destiny.
I asked her if she was prepared for the overwhelming fandom that comes with being a part of Marvel, and she said that they prepared her for what she might experience, but she is such a big fan herself that all her supporters feel more like peers.
We were all very interested in the portrayal of Skye as more of a black hat hacker (the bad kind) but we don’t think she would see herself that way. Chloe agreed, pointing out that everything Skye does is not for money or malicious intentions, but about her curiosity about her family. Admittedly, she has been led astray at times, but her new position within S.H.I.E.L.D. will change her life. Trusting the system as the other agents do goes against her nature, but she trusts Coulson, who is becoming somewhat of a father figure to her.
As a side note, I imagine that as Coulson finds out more about Skye’s family, what he does and does not tell her will affect that relationship and her future actions.
Unfortunately, I had many other questions but my five minutes with Chloe were up. So I pleaded for just one more: what the heck happened in Tahiti?
“I wish I knew!” she exclaimed. I guess that mystery is one we will all have to wait for an answer to.
