Rosalind & Coulson May Be More Than 'AoS' Rivals

From almost the very minute Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returned to our screens, former director Coulson was at odds with Advanced Threat Containment Unit leader Rosalind Price. While she was on one side of the fray doing her best to, well, contain advanced threats, he had his team systematically infiltrating her operation, all while he acted the part of paparazzo... and snagged a quick snap of her before she could roll up the windows on her ritzy government car. They couldn't possibly be more adversarial at this point — but is there potential for their relationship to go from spy vs. spy to Mr. and Mrs. Smith? Could Coulson and Rosalind get together on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ?

If you caught their tension-filled banter showdown near the tail end of last week's episode, you know that the 'shipping possibilities are near-infinite. Both parties seemed to take a special relish in trading barbs in their little game of one-upmanship. Basically, their combined sass game was so high, that Coulson even felt the need to wryly point it out as a part of the conversation, effectively creating banter about banter; and that's not something you see every day. At any rate, their chemistry is pretty much undeniable — and we all know how much AoS loves its 'ships (case in point: Fitz's death-defying quest for Simmons in "Laws of Nature").

Plus, Clark Gregg's interviews on the subject seem to hint at a possible eventual love match between Coulson and Price (if you put on your tin foil hat and read between the lines, that is). In an interview with Marvel.com, he named Rosalind "a formidable match for Coulson" and joked that the two at-odds leaders immediately start trying to figure out who's toughest. He also mentioned in an interview with TVLine that Price is "a potent ... I wouldn’t say doppelganger, but she’s definitely got a lot in common with Coulson." Now, it's not as if he comes straight out and says that they're in love, but there's a definite... tension to his comments, no?

Besides, let's face it: Coulson is pretty darn dreamy. He has the whole tortured backstory going for him, I mean, dude was killed by Loki and subsequently brought back to life by Nick Fury, only to lose a hand saving his team from some Terrigen crystals. We all know he has quite the propensity for adorableness (if you've seen him interacting with Steve Rogers, you know what I'm talking about).

Even though S.H.I.E.L.D. and the ATCU may share a common enemy with rogue Inhuman vigilante Lash, chances are, they're still going to be at major odds. After all, Daisy Johnson/Quake's new leadership role and the ATCU's "use lethal force if necessary" mantra aren't exactly going to mesh well together. This may not be the ideal environment for a potential relationship to blossom, but it does set the stage rather nicely for some good, old-fashioned Romeo and Juliet-style star-crossed love on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. this season, doesn't it?

Images: Kelsea McNeal/ABC (2); Giphy