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It is Skye’s idea.
“Come on guys. We’re on this bus all the time. We should hang out together instead of just sitting alone in bunks,” she says.
“Fitz and I aren’t by ourselves, and we’ve invited you to join us watching Doctor Who in Fitz’s bunk many times,” Simmons reminds her.
“I know, and thanks, but the bunks are kind of small for three people. Plus this way everyone can join in.”
Ward looks suspicious. “How do we pick what movie we watch?”
“We’ll take turns,” Skye said. “We can go in order of rank. That means you’re up first A.C.”
Coulson looks thoughtful. “I have a movie in mind.”
Coulson: The Dirty Dozen
Skye tries to get into the movie, but about halfway through she cannot help but whisper to Simmons, “This movie is kind of violent.”
“I agree. I like to watch movies to relax and unwind, not to see men shoot each other.”
“Yeah, we can do that in real life.”
On the other side of Simmons, Coulson is watching with rapt attention. Ward also looks engrossed in the movie.
“Maybe it’s a guy thing,” Skye suggests.
Simmons gestures at Fitz, who is playing with his phone. “I don’t think so.”
The most shocking moment comes at the end of the movie when they realize that Coulson is crying. Ward, Fitz, Simmons, and Skye stare at him awkwardly as tears run down his face. May though does not look surprised. She hands him a box of Kleenex.
“He does this every time,” she says rolling her eyes.
Ward: Equilibrium
Skye winces as gunfire erupts again and sneaks a look around the room. Ward and May are watching the movie intently, but Coulson looks bored, and Fitz and Simmons are squirming. Simmons has her hands in front of her eyes, and Fitz is wincing and grimacing.
“This movie is super violent,” Skye whispers to them.
They both nod. “This is even worse than Agent Coulson’s pick,” Simmons says.
The worst part is the ending. When the katana slices off the villain’s face, Simmons gasps and covers her eyes, and Fitz makes a face like he is going to throw up. Even Coulson looks a little disturbed.
Afterwards, Ward says, “Well, what did you think?”
“That was the most violent movie I have ever seen,” Skye says. “Jesus, Ward.”
“I thought you’d like it,” Ward says. “It’s about a bunch of individuals rebelling against a repressive government.”
“That part was okay, although it really felt like a rip-off of 1984. But the violence was ridiculous.”
“He had to defend himself against the other Clerics.”
“He killed over a dozen people to save a puppy.”
“The violence was rather excessive,” Coulson agrees.
Fitz is still grimacing, and Simmons pats his back. “I think I might be sick,” he moans. “I can’t believe that’s Ward’s favorite movie.”
“I didn’t say it was my favorite,” he says, “but I like it, and I thought everyone else would too.”
“Well, swing and a miss,” Skye says.
May: Top Gun
Skye and FitzSimmons have been placing bets on what movie May will pick for movie night. Fitz is certain that she will pick a martial arts movie like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.
Skye guesses that she will pick Kill Bill. “That seems like a May movie. I bet she’d like the Bride.”
Simmons disagrees. “I’m sure that specialists don’t have a lot of time to watch movies. It’s probably something older.”
Simmons is right. May’s choice is Top Gun, which neither Skye or FitzSimmons have seen.
“How have you guys not seen this movie?” Ward asks.
“It came out when FitzSimmons were babies, and I wasn’t even born yet.”
Coulson and May exchange a look, and May rolls her eyes.
“May loves this movie,” Coulson says. “It’s how she got her nickname at the Academy.”
“Top gun?” Skye guesses.
“Maverick,” Coulson says.
May rolls her eyes. “Only you and Garrett called me that.”
“I didn’t know you were at the Academy with Garrett,” Ward says.
Coulson and May exchange a look, and he gives Ward an enigmatic smile. “Let’s start the movie.”
As they watch the movie, Skye wonders why May loves it so much. The movie is nothing but shots of Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer flying their jets. The only part she likes is the scene with Goose and his wife singing around the piano. During that scene she sneaks a look at May and is surprised to see her looking more emotional than Skye has ever seen her. When Goose dies, May even looks like she might cry, and Skye notices that Coulson reaches over and covers her hand with his.
When the movie ends, Ward says, “Great pick, May. I love that movie.”
Even though Skye is sure that she saw them fall asleep during the movie, Fitz and Simmons nod in agreement.
May stands up. “I need to go to the cockpit,” she says.
“Yeah, you gotta keep us flying, Maverick,” Skye says.
Skye swears May gives her a small smile before she leaves.
Simmons: Love Actually
“You’re going to love it,” Simmons gushes. “My mum and I both adore it. It’s so romantic.”
Skye has never seen it before, but she finds all the plots confusing. There are so many characters involved, and they all seem to know each other. Some of the plots are sweet, but others have her rolling her eyes.
At the end of the movie, Simmons asks expectantly, “Well what did you all think?”
May rolls her eyes. “It was unrealistic. No woman would behave like that.”
“Like what?” Coulson asks.
“So passive. Natalie should have punched that man for harassing her -”
“That man was the president of the United States,” Coulson points out. “I’m pretty sure that would have started a diplomatic incident.”
“Fine, but what about Emma Thompson’s character? She should have divorced her husband.”
“They wanted to make their marriage work. They had two kids together,” Coulson says.
May glares at him.
Skye nods in agreement with May. “That plot with Keira Knightly too. That guy gets to be an asshole to her and stalk her because he has an inappropriate crush?”
Simmons rolls her eyes. “You’re overanalyzing this. It’s romantic.”
Skye wants to make Simmons feel better about her choice in movie, so she says, “Well, I liked the part with Liam Neeson and his stepson. That was really sweet.”
May nods. “Liam Neeson is sexy.”
Simmons sighs and looks at Coulson, Ward, and Fitz. “What did you guys think?”
“I thought it was sweet,” Coulson says.
Fitz looks sheepish. “Sorry, but you know I don’t like girly movies.”
“It’s not girly just because it has love and feelings!” Simmons looks at Ward.
“There were a lot of different stories,” Ward says.
Simmons sighs and says defensively, “Well I love it.”
Fitz: GoldenEye
Skye tries to be patient while watching GoldenEye, but she finds herself sighing and rolling her eyes at the ridiculous plot and action sequences. She sneaks a look around the room and realizes that everyone except for Fitz looks bored too. She is a little surprised. Given the fact that Coulson, May, and Ward had all chosen action movies, she thought they would like James Bond. When the female villain tries to crush James Bond with her thighs, Coulson smirks at May, and she rolls her eyes.
After the movie, Fitz looks around expectantly. “What did you think?”
“It was exciting,” Simmons says a little too brightly. “James Bond is so dashing.”
“Yeah,” Skye says. “That dish was really cool.”
“Of course you know it’s not really a death ray,” Simmons says. “It’s a radio telescope in Puerto Rico -”
“I know all about the Arecibo Observatory,” Fitz interrupts. “The largest single-dish radio telescope in the world. The movie was filmed at the actual location.”
“I didn’t know that,” Skye says. “That’s awesome.” She looks at the others. “What did you guys think?”
Coulson just kind of shrugs and says, “It’s fun, but not very realistic.”
“Those fights scenes are pretty cheesy,” Ward says. May nods.
“Well at least my movie didn’t have someone’s face getting sliced off with a sword,” Fitz says.
“Maybe action movies aren’t the best choice for this crowd,” Skye says.
Skye: The Incredibles
“I hope you didn’t choose another chick flick,” Ward says as they settle down for movie night.
“No, don’t worry. I was going to pick Dirty Dancing -”
“I love that movie,” Simmons squeals.
“- but after the reactions to the other movie nights, I decided to go for something else.” She holds up the DVD case.
“A cartoon?” Fitz asks.
“Not just any cartoon. It’s a cartoon about superheroes.” Seeing their blank faces, Skye says, “Come on guys, it’s a good movie. And the Incredibles remind me of us.”
Ward stares at the box. “How?”
Skye rolls her eyes. “I had to sit through all of your choices,” she reminds him. She pops the DVD in the computer. “It’s your turn to watch mine.”
During the movie she sneaks glances to see how her teammates are enjoying the movie. Nobody falls asleep or plays with their phone, and Skye hopes that this means that they are enjoying it.
After it ends she asks, “So what did everyone think?”
“It was surprisingly realistic regarding the handling of gifted individuals,” Coulson says. “I wonder if the writers of the movie have had any firsthand experiences with S.H.I.E.L.D.”
Skye looks at FitzSimmons who are nodding. “They certainly put a lot of thought into the gadgets and the costumes,” Simmons says, “I loved the part with Edna Mode, where she’s going over the intricacies of designing uniforms for gifted individuals.”
“It’s a lot harder than it seems,” Fitz says. “I also liked all the robots that the villain made. He was really quite ingenious.”
“You liked the villain?” Ward asks.
“I like characters who are intelligent,” Fitz says, “and I liked his robots. You probably liked Mr. Incredible.”
“He was strong, and he protected his family.”
May rolls her eyes. “His wife had to go rescue him.”
“The kids helped too,” Skye says. “I love Dash. He’s so cute.”
“Good choice, Skye,” Coulson says. “Maybe you should pick the movie every movie night.”