The Whimsies have been enjoying the second season of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, they just haven’t been talking about it a whole lot. I asked, and they said there was just too much to think about, and they weren’t really sure what they felt about everything that was happening on the show. After the final episode of the “Fall Season,” they were exceptionally quiet about it for several days. But several more days have passed now, and in typical Whimsie fashion, it turns out they have MUCH to say about their favorite TV show. I happened to be passing by when I heard this conversation:
TILLIE. So, girls!
TRIXIE. So…what?
TILLIE. So, what do you think?
TRIXIE. What do we think about what? You know we already have all kinds of ideas going through our heads on a constant basis. You have to be a little more specific, Till!
TILLIE. What do you think about SHIELD?
TESSIE. (throwing up her hands) Aaaargh! I was afraid you were going to ask that!
TRIXIE. Me too!
TILLIE. Why afraid?
TESSIE. Because I don’t know WHAT to think! My mind is all a-jumble!
TILLIE. Well, me too. But I’m starting to sort out my thoughts and feelings about it, and I think I’ve figured out a way we can all talk about it.
TRIXIE. Leave it to you, Till! You’re so smart, you always figure things out. What do you want to talk about?
TILLIE. Well, we all know that this is our favorite show, but some things that have happened are good, and some things that have happened are bad.
TRIXIE. Yeah! But even more than all that, there are still so many questions!
TILLIE. Exactly! So this is what I propose: let’s talk first about what was good, then about what was bad, and then let’s see what kind of questions we have.
TESSIE. Great idea! And you know what? It may even be that as we talk we can answer each other’s questions! I’m game!
TRIXIE. Me too! Shoot!
TILLIE. Okay, then. Let’s start with what was good. What did you like most about this season?
TRIXIE. Ooh! Ooh! I can answer that one right away! I LOVE that they brought in Mockingbird!
TILLIE. Mocikingbird? Who’s that?
TRIXIE. You know, the new Agent. Bobbi.
TILLIE. Oh yeah! The tall blonde! Very pretty…
TRIXIE. Yeah! But most of all…she can kick BUTT, can’t she!
TILLIE. I agree. She’s one tough chick.
TESSIE. What? Like this show doesn’t already have enough tough chicks?
TRIXIE. (laughing) Yeah! They do! May, of course, and now Skye’s getting pretty tough herself, isn’t she? But it never hurts to have some more tough chicks.
TESSIE. I like their new headquarters. The place that’s all brick. It’s so HUGE!! It was really getting kind of cramped on “The Bus.”
TILLIE. Yeah, but I still love “The Bus.”
TRIXIE. Me too. But I see where Tess is going with this. They have so many new people, they needed more space. Especially Coulson needed room for drawing all those symbols.
TILLIE. But oh!! Don’t forget the best part! The “jail.”
TESSIE. With the invisible wall! How cool is that?
TRIXIE. Yeah. It was kind of funny to see Ward down there, like he’s free…but then he’s really not.
TILLIE. Ward! Don’t get me started on Ward! I have plenty to say about Ward!
TESSIE. So, is that what you think is “good” about the show? Ward?
TILLIE. Well…in a way…yeah. I mean, you have to admit, he’s a much more interesting character, now that he’s a bad guy. But let’s not go there yet. First, let’s talk about the REAL bad guys!
TRIXIE. You mean Hydra.
TILLIE. Yes! They are BAD. They are EVIL, aren’t they? They’re just plain…scary. And their leader—who thankfully was killed in the last episode—that Whitehead guy, he was just plain…creepy!! Brrrr! Didn’t like him at all. Glad he got killed.
TESSIE. So, wait. That’s what you think was “good” about the show? That the bad guys are bad?
TILLIE. Yes! Absolutely! Last season we just sort of floundered around, introducing everyone, getting the lay of the land, and then of course there was Garrett, but we didn’t know he was the bad guy until very late in the season. I mean, there was the idea of the Clairvoyant, right? But that was only one person. This is a whole organization!
TRIXIE. Right! And even though that Whitehead got killed, you know what they say? Cut off the head, and two will spring up in its place!
TESSIE. Don’t talk about it! I can’t imagine it! It’s too scary!
TRIXIE. Hey, Tess. That’s the way it is. The Marvel Universe is not always a nice place.
TILLIE. Well, I don’t mind if it’s not nice. It IS a drama, after all. And there’s no drama without conflict. But there’s one thing that really irks me.
TESSIE. Ooh! Are we now moving to what what we don’t like about the show?
TILLIE. Yes, and here’s what I don’t like: I don’t like it when characters do STUPID things to move the drama along.
TRIXIE. Nobody likes that, Till! But what are you thinking about?
TILLIE. Well, we were just talking about Ward being in that prison that looks like it has no wall, and that was kind of creepy, thinking that a maniac like him could get out. But then a decision is made to let him out, and when they do, of course he escapes!
TRIXIE. Of course! He’s Ward! He’s a trained professional!
TILLIE. Exactly! You know that, and I know that, but apparently Agent Coulson completely forgot that, because he lets Ward go with only two guards guarding him. When I saw that, I started asking myself, “What the heck is going on here? Am I missing something here? Does Coulson WANT him to escape?”
TESSIE. I know what you mean. I was thinking the same thing. I was thinking, why don’t they drug him first, knock him out? Unconscious! That’s the only way you should be transporting a prisoner as dangerous as Ward.
TRIXIE. I agree. Epic fail on the part of the writers. It didn’t make sense at all. I didn’t like that either.
TESSIE. Okay, but wait, Trix. You can’t take the same thing as Tillie just said. You have to come up with something on your own. What else didn’t you like?
TRIXIE. (silent, thinking…)
TILLIE. Trix…?
TRIXIE. (still thinking…)
TESSIE. Hmmm….? Nothing….?
TRIXIE. No, wait.
(They wait. Then…)
TESSIE. Well, if you don’t have anything—
TRIXIE. Skye’s hair.
TESSIE. What?
TRIXIE. Skye’s new hairstyle. I don’t like it.
(TILLIE and TESSIE look at each other. Then…)
TILLIE. That’s it?
TRIXIE. Yeah, that’s it. I don’t like her new hairstyle.
TILLIE. Really! Are you kidding? It’s so cute!
TRIXIE. No it’s not.
TILLIE. But she looks so much better!
TRIXIE. No she doesn’t.
TILLIE. (rolling her eyes) Pfft! Well, there’s no accounting for taste…
TESSIE. (suddenly, seeing that an argument is about to break out regarding Skye’s hairstyle) Well, you know what I don’t like? What they did to Tripp in the end.
TILLIE and TRIXIE. (together) OOOOOHHHH!
TESSIE. It’s not fair! I mean, it looks like he’s dead, doesn’t it? How could they go and kill him? I was just getting to like him quite a bit, and then this…
TILLIE. Well, you know how it is. We’ve talked about this before, and in fact, in the last episode, our new character, Hunter, even said something about it. Remember when he said, “Join SHIELD. Travel to new and exciting places. Meet new people. And kill them.” Well, that’s kind if Joss Whedon all over, isn’t it?
TRIXIE. Yeah. We meet new and exciting people, and just as we get to like them… he kills them!
TESSIE. (under her breath) Joss Whedon must pay for this…
TILLIE. And now only that, but what about Mac?
TRIXIE and TESSIE. (together) OOOOOHHHH!
TILLIE. Yeah, I was just getting to like him too, and now what’s happening?
TRIXIE. Well, wait. He actually might be okay. In the end, it looked like maybe his eyes were going back to normal.
TESSIE. I hope so! I like him too! And not only that, but Fitz likes him! He and Fitz have become good friends, and poor Fitz, he really needs a friend now.
TRIXIE. Yeah, things are not so good for him now. I mean, at least he’s alive, but…but… what a shame that all his great brain power is there, but he can’t really access it.
TESSIE. And not only that! What about Simmons! He and Simmons can barely talk to each other now! It’s very awkward, and I don’t know how we’re going to get past it.
TILLIE. I see lots of development in the future for Fitz and Simmons, though maybe not with each other.
TESSIE. But speaking of Simmons, I thought the best episode was when she was working undercover for Hydra. I really liked the way that episode started. And then I liked the way it ended. Because you didn’t know at first if she had really gone over to Hydra, and then when Coulson shows up at her apartment, you had no idea what might happen next, but then you find out everything is okay, and she’s just working undercover, but then it got scary, because she got called up to the boss’ office, and she’s a terrible liar, and I thought she was going to be found out.
TRIXIE. That episode was a real roller coaster ride! But my favorite part was when she was walking down the hall at the end—no, running down the hall—trying to escape, and then here comes Mockingbird, only at that point you don’t know it’s Mockingbird, you think she’s really a Hydra agent, and you think she’s going to capture Simons, if not KILL her, but then she pulls out those battles staves—and when I saw that, I said “OMG! It’s Mockingbird!”
TESSIE. Well, Trix, you have the benefit of a lot of Marvel Comics knowledge that we don’t have. I’m still not really sure about all this Mockingbird stuff you’re talking about. I was just so glad when we found out that Bobbi was there to help Simmons, not to capture her, and for me the best part of that episode when she finally got back “home,” got to their underground headquarters, and from that point on you knew she was going to be all right. Even if she and Fitz are not all right together, at least she’s SAFE.
TILLIE. That was a good moment. That was a good episode. But you know the one I really enjoyed? I liked the one where the writing was on the back of the painting, and Coulson and May had to go undercover at the party, and they were dancing.
TESSIE. OMG! That was hysterical! Yeah, that was my favorite episode TOO!
TILLIE. Okay, listen. I think we could probably talk about SHIELD all day. But let’s not forget we have some shopping lists to prepare for Miss Chrissy so she can go to the store and buy everything she needs to make those Christmas Eve treats!
TRIXIE. Oh yeah! We have to get that list done! Let’s do that now!
TILLIE. Okay, but one more thing. We never got to our questions! I mean, I’m sure both of you have questions, just like I do.
TESSIE. Absolutely!
TILLIE. So let’s just ask our questions, and then we can think about them, and maybe later we can come back and see if we can figure anything out. Who wants to go first?
TRIXIE. Well, Tessie should go first, because we all know what her question is.
TESSIE. We do?
TRIXIE. Yes, of course! You want to know about Fitz! You want to know if he’s going to be okay, and if he gets his smarts back, and if he and Simmons can be friends again.
TESSIE. Well…
TRIXIE. Am I right? Or am I right?
TESSIE. Well, of course you’re right! I was so worried about him at the end of the first season, so it’s good to see he’s still alive, and can do some of the things he used to do. I keep hoping maybe there will be some supernatural cure that will send positive energy, or oxygen, or something like that, back into his brain so he can be totally smart again.
TILLIE. And you’re hoping Simmons will fall in love with him!
TESSIE. (sighing) Well…that would be nice too. But I think that’s less likely to happen.
TRIXIE. Yeah, we thought they were building up something between Simmons and Tripp, but now it looks like he’s totally been…I don’t know…dusted, turned to ash—
TESSIE. Oh, don’t talk about it! I wonder about that too. I wonder if they will somehow bring him back. Oh, I hope so!
TILLIE. Well, don’t waste too much time hoping for things with this show. Because you never know what you’re going to get. Case in point: my “I wonder.” I wonder what the heck is going on with Ward. I wonder if he’s now a good guy or a bad guy.
TESSIE. Well, of course he’s a bad guy! He’s killed people! Innocent people! Lots of them. Including his brother!
TILLIE. Funny you mention that, because that whole thing with his brother, I’m thinking, “Ah ha! At last we’re going to find out the truth about Ward and his brother!” But when it was all over, I didn’t know what to believe.
TRIXIE. That’s what they want. They want to keep you guessing! Ward is a bad guy, but it’s possible he does some bad things for good reasons.
TILLIE. What’s his agenda?
TESSIE. Skye. He’s all about Skye. I thin that’s it. He’s obsessed.
TRIXIE. And that’s what I want to talk about. What about Skye? What happens with her now? So she’s met her father, and she’s done this thing with the obelisk, and now it seems she’s been maybe changed somehow, but we don’t yet know how.
TILLIE. I liked that at the very end. Something really big just happened to her, but all we could see in her face was how sad she was about Tripp dying. It was just…too, too much, know what I mean?
TRIXIE. It was so emotional!! And not only that, but she met her father, and I guess you guys don’t know, but I think I know who he really is, and that means I think I know who Skye really is—
TILLIE. You mean…Daisy? Was that what he called her?
TRIXIE. Yes, and that could mean A LOT! But I guess we won’t know until next season, which I think starts in March, after the Peggy Carter show.
TESSIE. Oh, the Peggy Carter show! I can’t wait to see that!
TRIXIE. Yeah! Talk about strong female characters!
TESSIE. And she likes hats! Just like we do!
TILLIE. Okay, that’s enough! We’ve talked about SHIELD for too long already! We need to stop and go make that Christmas Baking Shopping List!
TRIXIE. (scurrying off) You guys go ahead! I’ve got to go talk to Russ!
TESSIE. (confused) Russ? Who’s Russ?
TRIXIE. (stopping suddenly) The Man! Russ is The Man, and he likes Marvel Comics as much as I do!
TESSIE. The Man’s name is Russ?
TRIXIE. Don’t be silly, Tess! We hear Miss Chrissy call him that all the time.
TILLIE. Well,no…actually, mostly she calls him “Hon,” or “Sweetie…”
TRIXIE. Sure. But his name is Russ. Everybody has a name, right? His name is Russ, and he knows almost as much about Marvel as I do. We have lots of good talks about comics all the time. I’ll bet he’s got some ideas about Daisy. I’ve got to go ask him what he thinks—
And so as Trixie goes scurrying off for an in-depth conversation about Marvel Comics with the only person in Whimsieville who knows just as much about Marvel Comics as she does, Tillie and Tessie find a pen and a piece of paper and start making up that shopping list: flour, sugar, butter, walnuts, cinnamon, cloves, more butter, more sugar, eggs, butter, multi-colored sprinkles, chocolate, butter, etc., etc., etc….
But I’m getting ahead of myself. The point is that once again it is time for Putting on Thinking Caps and coming up with some wonderful foods to both impress and delight the other members of their family. As we Whimsies hear them talking about what they should bring, we couldn’t care less if they decide on Tuna-Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes or Pigs in a Blanket. But when it comes to the matter of SWEETS, our whimsical ears perk up, and we are all about trying to help them decide. Not only because we want their family members to be both impressed and delighted by their wonderful choices, but also because we know that if by any chance they happen to make just a wee bit more than will actually fit on the serving platter, some of it will stay home, and we’ll get to try a few bites.
Tillie has chosen this dessert—but don’t ask me to say it, because it’s spelled P F E FF E R N U SS E. Actually, don’t ask me to spell it—or say it! The book tells us that this is a German version of “pepper nut” cookies, so we’re guessing that word must be German, and we don’t know how to speak German. At first I was not altogether sure “pepper nut” cookies sounded like a good idea, but Tillie persuaded me when she read the recipe, which includes cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and firmly packed brown sugar. MMMMMmmmm…….Of course, the recipe also includes a half a teaspoon of ground black pepper, which seems very strange in something that is supposed to be a SWEET. But I guess I would be willing to try it. Who says us Whimsies are not adventuresome spirits??
As for Trixie, she’s campaigning for these Mexican Wedding Cakes. Hey, wait! Are those some Pfeffernusse nestled there in between the Wedding Cakes? Sure looks like it to me! But if you read this recipe, you’ll see that in addition to your usual flour and butter, these sweets also call for masa harina which is some kind of flour made from CORN. Yep. Corn. I’m not so sure about that. I would really have to wonder what these little cakes would taste like, with corn in the mixture. I think perhaps when Trixie chose this recipe above all the others in the book, she was trying to outdo Tillie’s international sense of adventure in choosing Pfeffernusse. I think Trixie must be thinking more along the lines of “impressing” the other Christmas Eve guests, rather than “delighting” them. Though you have to admit, those little cakes dipped in chocolate and covered in sprinkles do in fact look mighty delightful! So! I might be willing to give the Mexican Wedding Cakes a go, as well…
Except for this! My favorite recipe from this book of Holiday Baking is Raspberry Linzer Heart Cookies. Oh, don’t they look so adorable! I’m not really sure what “Linzer” is all about (another German cookie term?) but I certainly understand Rasberries and Hearts! If Miss Chrissy and The Man were to bring these cookies to the Christmas Eve noshing, the cookies may not scream “Merry Christmas!” the same way candy canes and cordial cherries do, but they would certainly say, “Baked with LOVE.” Holiday or not, there is never a time when raspberries are not appropriate. And delicious. These cookies also contain a good deal of walnuts, which are not a favorite Whimsie food when eaten on their own, but in a recipe with lots of sugar and butter and raspberry jam, I imagine they would compliment all the other flavors very nicely, thank you very much!
Now, how about Trixie? Well, we all know what Trixie is like, so it’s no surprise that she has chosen to wear a baseball-type “cap.” This cap has an exceptionally long and large brim, for keeping the sun off your face when you are walking outside. Miss Chrissy used to wear this cap all the time when she went walking, but lately, she has discovered two other defenses against the sun—one: using a treadmill, indoors, or two: walking with a “
Moving on, I’ve saved the best for last! Not necessarily because this is a picture of me, but because I am wearing the most terrific hat of all! This is not one of Miss Chrissy’s hat, but instead, it belongs to The Man, and it is indeed a man’s hat, because it is a replica of the hat that was worn by Indiana Jones in all those Indiana Jones movies. How cool is that? We Whimsies love Indiana Jones movies (especially the first one) because they are so full of spine-tingling adventure! Well…we don’t like any of the parts with spiders …or bats …or snakes …but other than that, those movies are tons of fun! And that’s why I get such a kick out of wearing an Indiana Jones hat! And don’t you think it looks just lovely paired with my blue polar bear jammies?
When I first saw this Whimsie, her appearance was so intriguing, I knew I just had to write about her. She has a fresh, bright, beautiful look, which makes you sit up and take notice. I’m calling her The Christmas Peppermint Fairy Angel, because, to me, every one of those words fits her just perfectly. 
First of all, as you know, we are now getting very much closer to Christmas, and there’s something about this outfit which strikes me as so festive. True, there is nothing about her that absolutely screams “Christmas!” but still, she makes me think of the holidays. Maybe it’s all those red and white stripes. Red and white are good Christmas colors, they are the colors of candy canes, and if you close your eyes for a moment, you may not be entirely sure if this Whimsie is holding a lollipop or a candy candy. It could easily be either!
So I love her white hair. It reminds me of an Angel. (I always imagine angels have ethereal, white hair.) That’s why I call her an Angel. But I also call her a 
