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Larry Young raised a point of interest over at spunkybean.com during his review of the episode as a whole. I'll wait while you read that, and then quote about half a paragraph that I'd like to address here with my opinion.
Okay?
Good.
The quote:"One of the things I just don’t understand is where S.H.I.E.L.D. fits in après-Winter Soldier. They haven’t really spelled it out other than they’re persona non grata to civilized society, and the ATCU has seemingly been activated to confront the threats S.H.I.E.L.D. used to. But, incongruously, they’ve still got access to quinjets and the Zephyr and whatnot, so they’re still a going concern. I loved the ol’ “S.H.I.E.L.D. isn’t a secret, but what we do is.” Now it seems simultaneously fractured and disavowed and fully-funded and a going concern, which causes a little narrative dissonance."
I answered him directly elsewhere, but I want to put the answer down here on LJ as well:
What SHIELD is now? Operating on something maybe two or three ladder-rungs above a shoe-string budget. They can run maybe 100-200 cell-sized "field offices", a handful of larger bases including the Playground and whatever drydock "64" was sitting in up until Ultron hit Sokovia, a couple of squadrons' worth of Quinjets and Zephyr-One, and I think that's about it for now.
Going a bit further with those thoughts:
Coulson would love to get that Official Hunting License back from Washington, Turtle Bay, anyone else in a legal position to grant it and the cash flow that would go with it. Whatever money they're running on right now is likely coming from assets derived from Fury's Toolbox. How long it took Fury and whoever else to set it up, I can't even begin to guess. Fury probably had 20-30 years since SHIELD poached him from the US Army to the Insight Disaster to accumulate that wherewithal.
How long can Coulson's Crew keep running on that tankful?
Only the writing team of the series and the offices of Jed and Joss Wheden, Melissa Taurenchen, Ike Perlmutter and Kevin Feige probably know for sure. And they're not telling. Yet.
That's it.
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Date: 2015-12-11 05:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-12-11 06:43 pm (UTC)Stark
Rogers
Potts
Fury
Hill
Coulson
May
Whoever's handling the accounting duties at Stark, Avengers Admin, and SHIELD HQ.
RIght?
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Date: 2015-12-14 12:24 am (UTC)I also doubt Rogers is keeping an eye on the books. Kinda busy rebuilding the Avengers. Though he's got to wonder how Fury recommissioned the Helicarrier?
Potts might know something being she handles the day to day operations. Depends how far she trusts Hill.
Fury and Hill already know Coulson is alive and running SHIELD. So do the US Military and what's left of the ATCU.
Coulson, obviously.
May, maybe, she hasn't been in the office that much.
Accountants, yep, but probably all ex-SHIELD or Black Ops.
I also suspect Widow and Hawkeye may have been told by Fury.
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Date: 2015-12-14 02:12 am (UTC)FRIDAY has inherited JARVIS' role as Tony's AI conscience. Whether she got all the files...? Probably, but Tony has attention-span issues.
Rogers might not keep a close eye on the books, but he has to talk with them fairly regularly, because all that money for the upstate NY base, fuel for new-model Quinjets, and everything else has to be dealt with in at least broad-strokes terms.
Potts and Hill are on regular cellphone chat terms. Assume they've got "more-secure-than-the-rest-of-us" systems. Hill was ranting about having to answer questions on Capitol Hill about all the stuff that they had to infodump onto the Internet. Betting they still keep talking regularly.
Talbot and assorted other admirals and generals definitely know about Coulson. I can't see that not leaking to Stark and Rogers because manhunts organized out of Talbot's Pentagon office were underway for months.
Romanov and Barton, via either Fury or Stark and Rogers.