There's a difference between being pretty and looking like you're a change of clothes away from a stroll down the catwalk.
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Thread starter ghostryder
- Start date
There's a difference between being pretty and looking like you're a change of clothes away from a stroll down the catwalk.
You're missing the point.
It isn't that she's a hacker and looks so beautiful, polished, and modelesque.
It's that she LIVED IN A VAN and looked so beautiful, polished, and modelesque.
seelsa73
Sr Member
Even pretty people can be homeless...it still seems a rather poor reason to hate somebody
Again, there's a difference between having aesthetically pleasing features and looking like you spend a lot of time on your looks. As I have stated before, I have no problems with the concept of the character. What I have a problem with is the execution of the character.
The character of Skye should have been one of those "hidden gemstone" characters... y'know, the ones that you can tell are beautiful, but on rare occasions come out swinging in the looks department.
Two examples of this right off the bat are Felicity Smoak from Arrow (Emily Bett Rickards) and Parker from Leverage (Beth Riesgraf). Both of them are very pretty women, but their looks are downplayed in favor of their skills. Get them into a situation where they need to dress up, though, and they simply blow your socks off when they appear.
With Skye, though, it seems like her looks are just thrown in your face. "LOOK AT HER!!! LOOK AT HOW PERFECT HER SKIN AND HAIR IS AND HOW WELL TANNED SHE IS!!!"
There's no working for it... and there should be, considering that she's a main character.
That said, though, I have stated that as of the recent episode, Chloe Bennett seems to be upping her game in the acting department.
Father
Sr Member
Ok... so in the pilot she should have had oily hair, some unpopped zits, not so white teeth, and some raggedy looking clothes (and BO if you have smellivision). After she's picked up by SHIELD, they have a "Pretty Woman" shopping/make-over montage and from then on she's hot. I agree, that would have been better.
On a side note... I was watching The Crazies and thought the girl was Agent Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge)... turned out to be Danielle Panabaker. Thought the similarity was worth mentioning. Or not... maybe I'm crazy (pun intended).
Last edited:
Okay, snideness aside, you're taking things too far in the opposite direction. See my previous post in regards to what I was talking about.
You ain't crazy. There is a resemblance between the two, mainly in the facial region. Elizabeth Henstridge is more petite than Danielle Panabaker, though, and definitely not as tan.
rodneyfaile
Sr Member
Why would she have to look rough? Sure, she was operating a computer in a van, but I'm sure a girl who looks like her would have no problem finding someone to let her take a shower, sleep over, or have dinner with them. They have just chosen not to show us that side of her operation, and focused on her doing what she could with a laptop in a van that had sentimental value to her.
Wow, is everyone gonna mistake what I've been saying?
She doesn't have to look rough. Think of it as a girlfriend in high school. Yes, she's pretty, but when Homecoming or Prom comes around, she goes all out and is an absolute vision to behold. Skye was introduced to us as at Prom-levels of beauty instead of normal levels.
All things being equal, though, comparing Episode 1 to Episode 7 reveals that they seem to be toning her looks down a bit.
Oh so she should be portrayed as someone who uses her looks as a tool to get a meal, shower, and a place to sleep? Yeah, THAT's better...
They have a name for that... Escort.
I don't think they ever said Skye was poor. Maybe she chose to live in her van because she's mobile and no one can pin down where she's accessing things from? She also obviously has a network of friends and/or accomplices that would let her crash or take a shower.
When she first appeared in the pilot, I asked my husband 'Where do you think she plugs in her curling iron? And 57 thousand electronic devices?' At this point, the question becomes WHY did she live in a van? Why not have a small apartment and just operate out of the van? But that they made it integral to her character that she lived in a van is key. Even if they didn't mean for it to be, it has become a very defining thing for that character.
I don't think she is a bad actress. I mean I haven't really SEEN her act yet. She's been so flat and one-dimensional for the most part. I really really dislike the character and how they have tried to make her a special snowflake, but in a universe that is already so very populated with special snowflakes, they had to really push to make her stand out.
She makes a horrible POV character for that reason alone. Instead of giving us a sense of what a normal person would be like in that universe, we see what SuperHackerBarbie is in that universe.
I don't think she is a bad actress. I mean I haven't really SEEN her act yet. She's been so flat and one-dimensional for the most part. I really really dislike the character and how they have tried to make her a special snowflake, but in a universe that is already so very populated with special snowflakes, they had to really push to make her stand out.
She makes a horrible POV character for that reason alone. Instead of giving us a sense of what a normal person would be like in that universe, we see what SuperHackerBarbie is in that universe.
Oh, they meant for it to be that way. Episode 2 dialogue has Skye telling a SHIELD ground crewman to not take any joyrides in the van because it's her house.
Exactly, but based on the ending of the last episode, she does show some promise as an actress. Let's just hope that it wasn't a fluke.
You just took my entire argument and boiled it down to its simplest terms. I like you for that.
If that's the case, than the argument that she's just some girl who lives in a van is a completely meaningless detail about her character. That's not how the show goes about it by insisting that she's so below the norm by giving us details on how she's a high school drop out and her home is literally her van. It's like the show is conflicted about how to portray her. Is she a hacker who is on the low end spectrum by living in her van, or is she more fortunate than she appears by looking great, having a super hot boyfriend and being able to gain access to pretty much anything?
Riceball
Master Member
In the show's defense, it is only a few episodes into its first season and it's obvious the writers are still trying to figure out where they want to go with the show and how they want to portray the characters. It's not exactly unheard of for characters to change from the way they were originally written, sometimes it's due to the way they want the character to develop and other times it's because the way the original way the character just isn't working out the way they thought he/she would on paper. So I wouldn't be too surprised to see Skye's character change as the writers get a better feel for her as well as any possible input from the actress and how she might see her character develop, that and it's Whedon show so I have faith in Skye, along with the rest of the characters developing and improving as the show goes along.
I'm not saying that they should never change the characters, but the point is that it's the very basis of the character. It would be similar to just deciding to retcon Coulson ever having been killed. It's been firmly established, it's past the point where it can be tweaked and modified without changing the character itself. If they just wanted to leave it open ended that she was a hacker whose hacking was based out of a mobile unit like a van, that's fine. But they have so firmly established certain things about her, it's something you can't really take back.
If it wasn't important to point out that she is a high school dropout hacker who lived in a van and had nobody in her life outside of the Rising Tide who she mainly communicated with online, they wouldn't have stressed these things so much.
If it wasn't important to point out that she is a high school dropout hacker who lived in a van and had nobody in her life outside of the Rising Tide who she mainly communicated with online, they wouldn't have stressed these things so much.
rodneyfaile
Sr Member
Not every girl who goes on a date, happens to sleep over, and takes a shower at their place is an escort. I wasn't commenting on her morals, I was saying there are reasonable explanations for how a hacker girl in a van may still look well groomed. From her condition I would say the girl obviously has options.
rodneyfaile
Sr Member
These characters are really starting to fill out. Can't wait to know more about Melinda May.
rodneyfaile
Sr Member
My girlfriend pointed out the dialogue about "falling asleep, for a little while" is straight outta Joss Whedon's Dollhouse.
Similar threads
