Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. begins Season 3 on Tuesday night, and they're doing something that's almost completely unheard of for a television show in its third year. I'm not talking about the ways that the MCU weaves plot lines and characters throughout a giant story. We learned that Skye is Daisy Johnson on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in Season 2, and from here on out she's going by her given name. They are fully committing to this character name change.
Yes, the name Skye has "gone to Cougar Town," a new phrase I've invented that is attributed to how desperately the producers of Cougar Town wanted to change the title of their show. Cougar Town is now a magical place where all retconned ideas in fiction go to die. Milling around Main Street are the "gas leak" season of Community, the life Buffy Summers had before Dawn, and hopefully Jon Snow's death.
It's hard enough for me to keep track of my newly married friends' names on Facebook. I even have trouble remembering when people ask me to call them by their new nickname of choice. How am I going to manage a fictional character going by something totally different after two whole seasons? What if I miss the name Skye too much? Even Chloe Bennet understands the struggle, and created a guide for IGN about saying goodbye to her character's old name. Here is her advice, according to that interview.
"We all have to say goodbye to Skye, so look up at the sky, and blow a kiss."
I think we can manage that, in these tragic times, with a little faith and a little love. Dearly beloved, let's mourn the passing of the name Skye together.
The Ships
Goodbye SkyeWard, hello DaiWard! Goodbye Skimmons, hello... Dimmons? We've got to get all new 'ship names now.
The Mystery
There was something so heroic an ominous about Skye having an unknown origin and a single name that she gave herself. Granted, Daisy Johnson is a lot better than "Mary Sue Poots," but it still seems so pedestrian in comparison. Raise your glass to the orphaned hacktivist who lived in a van. We barely knew her... name.
The Memories
Let's remember all that we had with Daisy's old name while it lasted. Think about how May, Coulson, Fitz, Simmons, and everyone else in S.H.I.E.L.D. used to call her "Skye." Wasn't it nice? That's all in the past now. They aren't going to do that anymore. It's over. She's got to get a new S.H.I.E.L.D. badge, and a new lanyard as well if Patton Oswalt's character(s) has anything to do with it. Life is so fleeting, for a name like Skye.
Completely changing a character's name mid-series may be difficult for the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents as they go into Season 3, but it's an even bigger adjustment (no pun intended) for fans. The reveal of Ward as a Hydra agent is nothing compared to this.
Finally, I've assembled an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. "Skye Memorial Playlist" to help you through this painful process, beginning of course with the immortal genius of the Bay City Rollers. Goodbye, Skye's name. We may still have Daisy onAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and she may have super powers, but you will never be forgotten.
