#yoyo rodriguez critical

[moonlayl]

The satisfaction when daisy punched yoyo in that scene lmaooo. The team treated daisy like shit in s5 and it still pisses me off

(i criticize but also defend yoyo here so... beware if you're going to read the rest i guess)

ngl I would've preferred that punch to be aimed at Simmons... but there was a bit of satisfaction to it. Though every time I think about their fight I get furious.

1) because of what it means for Daisy.

Like you said, anon, Daisy was put through so much unnecessary crap in season 5 and the majority of the team treated her like shit.

2) because of what it means for Yoyo.

I've said before that I understood her and where she came from during the season, mostly about wanting to do anything to prevent the end of the world. Her working with fitzsimmons made sense since they specifically told her of the location of the gravitonium machine, and she was like "cool! new IMPORTANT mission" (and since this is just after her injury, she most likely wanted to feel useful, and taking apart the machine would've done just that). What I also understand, is Yoyo killing Ruby. Ruby at that moment could've very likely been the destroyer of worlds, and she was out of control. She killed her own boyfriend and she was threatening to kill fitzsimmons and torture them with a smile on her face. Plus, she cut off Yoyo's arms. Something Yoyo had JUST been considered okay from until the new robotic arms failed to work properly with her speed abilities. Add all that together, plus intense physical and emotional pain, and the severity of the chaos in that moment, and yeah, I understand it. Ruby was personally responsible for Yoyo's disability, and her arms being cut off only made the future where Yoyo was enslaved and tortured with DEATH itself for DECADES, all the more real and possible. (plus Ruby wasn't an actual child, she was a 19 year old assassin who was losing control and could snap daisy's neck in that one moment, which she actually tried to do.)

What I DON'T understand, is Yoyo's complete lack of sympathy for Daisy. THAT didn't seem in character for me. At the end of s4, when Mack stayed behind in the framework, Yoyo was angry at Daisy for not getting him out, and they yelled about it, but it quickly became obvious that Yoyo was just hurt and that she didn't blame Daisy at all. In S5b though? She's blaming Daisy for coming back even though Daisy had no choice in it? While simultaneously she said NOTHING about Fitz bringing back the 'destroyer of worlds' powers? REALLY?

Elena "when I use my powers, it should be my choice" Rodriguez (actual quote btw) would have zero sympathy for Daisy, and instead blame her for simply existing for the end of the world, but wouldn't also shift the blame to the guy who actually cut into Daisy to force her 'destructive' powers on her??? And after that team argument, when things calmed down a bit, Yoyo had a conversation with Mack, trying to explain, despite Mack clearly not agreeing with her, she couldn't try to have one with Daisy? And then when the alien invasion happened, triggered by Yoyo's own actions, she blamed Daisy for not being there (keep in mind, Daisy is the leader at that point and literally does not need to inform everyone of everything) despite Daisy having good reasons, and then she stole her bag acting as if she was entitled to look at 'what kept daisy outside' Seriously?

So yeah, when it comes to Yoyo in s5, I'm honestly conflicted, because I DO understand her. So much, but she also does a lot of things that I don't like at all and that are unfair, and while the reason is probably "after the trauma of s5a and her injury, Yoyo wasn't really being herself" and maybe that would've been reason enough, because again, it's understandable, the fact that we got Daisy to step down from being leader, (she decided to do that after a convo with DEKE of all people) and her speech was her apology and her trying to appeal to the team (specifically the ones who hurt her and unfairly judged her all season: yoyo, fitzsimmons) and then we literally get NOTHING from yoyo (or fitzsimmons) as an apology in return or as a "maybe we were at odds, but we're still a team" (something that Daisy actually said-paraphrased- right after her fight with yoyo) is Bullshit. Because once again, Daisy is the only one apologizing and willing to compromise for ONE reason only, and it's to keep the team together, and to mend the fences.

If we'd gotten a conversation with Daisy and Yoyo after? One that had Yoyo apologizing for a lot of the bullshit she did. If we'd gotten a scene where both explained where they were coming from, and we got to see both of them understanding the other?

If we'd gotten Daisy and Yoyo actually interacting a lot in s6? Or simply if there wasn't a one year time skip where daisy and yoyo literally don't see each other, I wouldn't feel this conflicted. But we didn't. It was all done off screen and just barely. (we did get a daisyoyo hug in a s6 flashback and Daisy inviting yoyo to space, so there's that)

Anyway, sorry to ramble anon, it's just, for me, I dislike this fight because honestly, while I'm glad Daisy stood up for herself, I was pissed at the fact the writers wrote Daisy so unsympathetic to Daisy all of s5b, when up until then, she always was. They were literally always working together well, and getting along just fine. I don't like what that fight scene made one of my favourite characters be like. But the same way I disagree with Daisy in the end making the decision to use the serum to save coulson, and i disagree with her almost becoming physical when yoyo grabbed the serum, but love her and understand completely why she made that decision and why she was hurting, with yoyo it's the same. I disagreed with things she did this season (very much) but I still love her and she is one of my favourites because she really did go through hell this season also, and it makes sense for her to not be her usual self and for her to snap. (and from 7x08, we find out Yoyo is guilty over what happened with Ruby, so it's logical to assume she herself isn't supportive of her own actions and regrets them. Her pleading with Coulson and apologizing and praying furiously also makes it clear that she was just hurting.) Just wish we would've gotten an apology from her.

(holy crap this is sooo long, sorry anon!)

[alenkorra]

i just found out about natalia's post and i can't believe people tried to cancel the whole show (which isn't even airing anymore so it's pointless) when that's clearly not what she wanted to achieve. Jed and Mo were not racist/xenophobic towards her, she wouldn't have stayed friends with them if they'd threatened her like that. and it's funny how people were so quick to attack them (bc they're salty for their writing choices) but i've seen almost no posts mentioning chloe bennet.

the truth is we don't know what happened and if natalia said no names it was bc she didn't want us to know. but let's be honest, it's weird how all of a sudden her and chloe stopped being friends. natalia looked uncomfortable when they were together. she said she took it to the higher ups and there were people who backed her up and some who turned a blind eye. and honestly? if the roles were reversed and it was natalia who'd potentially done that, she would already have her social media filled with hate comments and people would've cancelled her.

i love chloe i always have but idk if i'm comfortable supporting her now that we know she might have been one of those people. i've excused so much shit she's said and done in the past because i thought deep down she always had good intentions, but i have to draw the line somewhere. natalia deserved support from EVERYONE in the cast & crew and it's disgusting that some people ignored what she was going through.

with that said, the actual show has nothing to do with that. yoyo was fucking amazing representation for latinos and so well written because natalia was allowed to give her her own little quirks and really make this latina woman feel authentic and real. so many of us saw ourselves in her so acting like suddenly the rep in the show is worthless is not the woke thing to do. and the fact that everyone who did that were non-latinos, philinda stans who're still mad they weren't endgame is fucking gross. you don't get to use natalia's struggles in the industry to shit on the showrunners and the show she was so proud to be a part of. keep her out of whatever gripe you have with Jed/Mo. if youl actually cared about her you'd know how deeply she loved yoyo and the representation she was able to give us through her, and i don't give a fuck if i'm generalizing if you're a philinda and you actually cared good for you but i hope you also called out these idiots.

[moonlayl]

so i’ve had this post in my drafts for a year now, and since we were talking about changes we would’ve made to agents of shield yesterday, might as well share it. 

The POTENTIAL that 7x07 could’ve had.... 

If I was the writer of aos there are two different ways i would’ve went about this episode. 

Option #1: Yoyo is the one stuck with Mack for a year in the 80s instead of Deke. 

After she had to witness what happened to Mack’s parents, it would make sense for HER to be the one to go out and check up on him. They’d be stranded and she would be there for him the way she was there for him after Hope, and the way he was there for her after she lost her cousin, and was rejected by her friends in season 4. 

I cannot stress enough how much I wanted a mackelena centric episode. And ESPECIALLY after the events of season 6 and the first half of season 7? With everything they went through? Fitzsimmons got an episode in s6 to deal with their problems. Mackelena could’ve gotten the same but in their own way. 

Mack would get to grieve and take a much needed break with someone who loves him and who he’s comfortable around. They would eventually come to grow both as people and as a couple. (Also I can’t get rid of the image of yoyo being the one to take care of a young mack and visit without mack knowing and him finding out and being absolutely stunned and happy)

In the episode, towards the end, maybe they’d establish a small shield team and would become accustomed to mack being a leader and her actually getting to work with him as director. Maybe they’d decide that with what they’ve been through and their losses, it was time to start a new story and their own family. 

Maybe Yoyo would propose and they’d make the decision to get married while waiting for the team (or maybe get married after the mission was over.) Their time would also encourage them to adopt Flint once the mission is over, and it would fit since it was THEM who brought Flint here and they’d hinted at taking him in back in season 5. 

And, maybe in this episode, Yoyo would start to focus more on why her powers weren’t working, which would lead to the next episode 7x08 quite well. 

Option #2: May is the one trapped with Mack in the 80s.

Brooooo. May got powers this season. Powers she had no idea about but then I’m supposed to believe that within a few episodes and only a few days in the actual show, she was able to control it no problem? 

Give me an episode of her being there for Mack. The two eldest members of the team getting to support each other. May, who understands so much about grief, understanding the space and time mack needs. Their relationship which grew so much in season 6 should’ve been expanded on.

And in this episode we’d also get a May who lives with her newfound powers for a whole year and manages to accept them as a part of her. Starts to learn how to control them. It would add on so much more to episode 7x08 where she’s asked to help Yoyo, and it would also add on to her conversation with Kora about control (and would also maybe make her want to visit afterlife for herself as well)

My point is that this episode could’ve been a much needed one where multiple underrated characters of colour got the time, recognition, and development they required. An episode where we got to view these beautiful relationships and friendships between poc grow and develop. But *sigh* instead we got the typical. 

[alenkorra]

Since this showed up on my feed with no anti-yoyo tags I might as well give my two cents as someone who absolutely loves both Daisy and Yoyo. They're my 2 favorite AoS characters and I feel very strongly about season 5 Yoyo as a whole because that's the arc that made me love her so much in the first place.

First of all I'd like to aknowledge the fact that the AoS fandom has a bias for the bus kids. Let's just get that out of the way because I know damn well that if Ruby had cut off Daisy, Fitz or Simmons' arms, her death would not have been as controversial and no one in the fandom would've suggested that she should've had a redemption arc and joined the team.

Which leads me to my next point: you and anon said that Daisy was treated unfairly by the team in 5B but you could argue that Yoyo was too. And she was. This is what I mean when I say the fandom doesn't show as much empathy to Mackelena and May (3 people of color, by the way). Wanna talk about trauma? Season 5 was constant pain and suffering for her. She went through absolute hell in that season, more than any other main character in terms of the traumatic ass shit that she lived through (and let's be honest, everyone in season 5 was going through it). And it all happened so fucking fast for her too, she barely had any time to process seeing her disabled dying future self tell her that everyone she loved was gonna die if she let them save her friend, and then she lost her arms in the span of what? a day? 2 days?

Don't get me wrong, this isn't me saying Yoyo was 100% right in everything she did in 5B, because she could've approached certain things in a different way (like the Daisy thing but I'll get to that in a bit). This is me saying put yourselves in her shoes and give her a break because god knows she deserved one just as much as Daisy.

And I disagree about her not being fully herself, I think saying that does a disservice to her character. 5B Yoyo was 100% her traumatized, selfless self. It's not a coincidence that the writers chose her to be the one who saw herself in the future and fought to prioritize the whole world before Coulson. Because that's so in-character for her. And it was also in character for her to try to do everything by herself even if that ended up causing some of the conflicts within the group. This is the woman who got her powers and immediately thought "ok girl you were given a gift, now go use it for the greater good". Yoyo's selflessness and willingness to help the little people is a huge part of her character. Hell, it's the whole reason why she didn't trust SHIELD in the beginning and preferred to go vigilante-style AND the reason why she helped Daisy in season 4: she was a middle-class latina in Colombia who'd seen the worst of corrupt government organizations, so she didn't want to join one.

But I digress, my point is that she was her true self in 5B, she was just under a ridiculous amount of pressure to save the world so she made some mistakes and pushed some people away (mainly Mack and Daisy) because she felt like they weren't listening to her, hence why she breaks down in the finale saying she's been screaming at the top of her lungs but no one's listening to her.

Now, about the Yoyo/Daisy conflict. I'm obviously not a fan of it because they're my best girls but, as much as I hate to say it, it makes sense that they fought. I think it's fair to say that throughout the course of the show they both made impulsive decisions and lashed out due to trauma. And it's valid, I think the fandom was dismissive of their trauma multiple times, though I myself saw way more people dismissing Yoyo's trauma than Daisy's during season 5. Anyway, to me it makes sense because they both react to trauma in similar ways and they're both very driven and passionate women. The thing is, they were passionate about 2 opposite ideas in 5B. Granted, Yoyo was technically right in the end but I 100% empathize with Daisy too and understand where she was coming from. And again, Yoyo didn't help her case either by locking Mack in a room or grabbing Daisy's bag like that.

What I don't understand or like at all is the physical fight that they had. To me it felt cliché and dumb to have them turn on each other like that and beat each other up, especially when the show claims to stand for female empowerment and the stakes were so high... it felt forced to me but then again, they are my faves so I'm biased.

Honestly I would've liked some closure for that as well, but I'm not mad that we didn't get it because at the end of the day Yoyo and Daisy were friends before that and the only one who wasn't on edge on 5B was Mack. I'd like to think that it'd take more than a couple of punches to break their bond.

That and we saw they were on good terms in season 6, they hugged in the flashback and Daisy invited her to go to space with them so they were clearly still friends.

Then there's 2 moments towards the end of the season that I think are very underrated. Yoyo literally sacrificed herself so Izel wouldn't posses Daisy. And obviously from a logical point of view it made sense, but I don't think people realize she had no way of knowing what Izel would do with her body after that. She was willing to die to stop her from getting to Daisy.

And lastly, Daisy just couldn't bring herself to put Yoyo down in the finale and I think that's proof that she still considered Yoyo a close friend friend (and family). We all know how hard it was for Daisy to lose people she loved.

The satisfaction when daisy punched yoyo in that scene lmaooo. The team treated daisy like shit in s5 and it still pisses me off

(i criticize but also defend yoyo here so... beware if you're going to read the rest i guess)

ngl I would've preferred that punch to be aimed at Simmons... but there was a bit of satisfaction to it. Though every time I think about their fight I get furious.

1) because of what it means for Daisy.

Like you said, anon, Daisy was put through so much unnecessary crap in season 5 and the majority of the team treated her like shit.

2) because of what it means for Yoyo.

I've said before that I understood her and where she came from during the season, mostly about wanting to do anything to prevent the end of the world. Her working with fitzsimmons made sense since they specifically told her of the location of the gravitonium machine, and she was like "cool! new IMPORTANT mission" (and since this is just after her injury, she most likely wanted to feel useful, and taking apart the machine would've done just that). What I also understand, is Yoyo killing Ruby. Ruby at that moment could've very likely been the destroyer of worlds, and she was out of control. She killed her own boyfriend and she was threatening to kill fitzsimmons and torture them with a smile on her face. Plus, she cut off Yoyo's arms. Something Yoyo had JUST been considered okay from until the new robotic arms failed to work properly with her speed abilities. Add all that together, plus intense physical and emotional pain, and the severity of the chaos in that moment, and yeah, I understand it. Ruby was personally responsible for Yoyo's disability, and her arms being cut off only made the future where Yoyo was enslaved and tortured with DEATH itself for DECADES, all the more real and possible. (plus Ruby wasn't an actual child, she was a 19 year old assassin who was losing control and could snap daisy's neck in that one moment, which she actually tried to do.)

What I DON'T understand, is Yoyo's complete lack of sympathy for Daisy. THAT didn't seem in character for me. At the end of s4, when Mack stayed behind in the framework, Yoyo was angry at Daisy for not getting him out, and they yelled about it, but it quickly became obvious that Yoyo was just hurt and that she didn't blame Daisy at all. In S5b though? She's blaming Daisy for coming back even though Daisy had no choice in it? While simultaneously she said NOTHING about Fitz bringing back the 'destroyer of worlds' powers? REALLY?

Elena "when I use my powers, it should be my choice" Rodriguez (actual quote btw) would have zero sympathy for Daisy, and instead blame her for simply existing for the end of the world, but wouldn't also shift the blame to the guy who actually cut into Daisy to force her 'destructive' powers on her??? And after that team argument, when things calmed down a bit, Yoyo had a conversation with Mack, trying to explain, despite Mack clearly not agreeing with her, she couldn't try to have one with Daisy? And then when the alien invasion happened, triggered by Yoyo's own actions, she blamed Daisy for not being there (keep in mind, Daisy is the leader at that point and literally does not need to inform everyone of everything) despite Daisy having good reasons, and then she stole her bag acting as if she was entitled to look at 'what kept daisy outside' Seriously?

So yeah, when it comes to Yoyo in s5, I'm honestly conflicted, because I DO understand her. So much, but she also does a lot of things that I don't like at all and that are unfair, and while the reason is probably "after the trauma of s5a and her injury, Yoyo wasn't really being herself" and maybe that would've been reason enough, because again, it's understandable, the fact that we got Daisy to step down from being leader, (she decided to do that after a convo with DEKE of all people) and her speech was her apology and her trying to appeal to the team (specifically the ones who hurt her and unfairly judged her all season: yoyo, fitzsimmons) and then we literally get NOTHING from yoyo (or fitzsimmons) as an apology in return or as a "maybe we were at odds, but we're still a team" (something that Daisy actually said-paraphrased- right after her fight with yoyo) is Bullshit. Because once again, Daisy is the only one apologizing and willing to compromise for ONE reason only, and it's to keep the team together, and to mend the fences.

If we'd gotten a conversation with Daisy and Yoyo after? One that had Yoyo apologizing for a lot of the bullshit she did. If we'd gotten a scene where both explained where they were coming from, and we got to see both of them understanding the other?

If we'd gotten Daisy and Yoyo actually interacting a lot in s6? Or simply if there wasn't a one year time skip where daisy and yoyo literally don't see each other, I wouldn't feel this conflicted. But we didn't. It was all done off screen and just barely. (we did get a daisyoyo hug in a s6 flashback and Daisy inviting yoyo to space, so there's that)

Anyway, sorry to ramble anon, it's just, for me, I dislike this fight because honestly, while I'm glad Daisy stood up for herself, I was pissed at the fact the writers wrote Daisy so unsympathetic to Daisy all of s5b, when up until then, she always was. They were literally always working together well, and getting along just fine. I don't like what that fight scene made one of my favourite characters be like. But the same way I disagree with Daisy in the end making the decision to use the serum to save coulson, and i disagree with her almost becoming physical when yoyo grabbed the serum, but love her and understand completely why she made that decision and why she was hurting, with yoyo it's the same. I disagreed with things she did this season (very much) but I still love her and she is one of my favourites because she really did go through hell this season also, and it makes sense for her to not be her usual self and for her to snap. (and from 7x08, we find out Yoyo is guilty over what happened with Ruby, so it's logical to assume she herself isn't supportive of her own actions and regrets them. Her pleading with Coulson and apologizing and praying furiously also makes it clear that she was just hurting.) Just wish we would've gotten an apology from her.

(holy crap this is sooo long, sorry anon!)