I'm still recovering from the mid-season finale of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. "Maveth" really changed things in a big way. There will be major spoilers as we talk to Brett Dalton about what happened between Ward and Coulson on the alien planet on the other side of the portal. If you haven't watched the episode yet, you've been warned!

You can also check out our recap and review HERE.

Once again, Grant Ward has gone through a major change. Is there any way he can return from this one? It was tough to watch and tough to talk about but we got some answers from Brett.

COMIC VINE: That episode. I watched it with my daughter. She had tears.

BRETT DALTON: [sighs] Yeah. Her and me both. It was a pretty emotional day on set.

COMIC VINE: When did the writers let you know what was going to happen in the mid-season finale?

BRETT DALTON: They let me know the episode before. It was about the same amount of heads up I had with the first turn in Season 1. So, not a lot. Sometimes knowledge can be a blessing and a curse. I think with a story that unfolds an hour at a time, sometimes it’s best if you only see what’s in your headlights rather than what’s far up ahead.

COMIC VINE: What were your thoughts when you found out?

BRETT DALTON: In some ways, it’s a bigger shift than what had happened to Ward in the past. Before it was, “Hey, by the way, you work for a secret organization and you have this really troubled past.” That was the big reveal there. This is one is like, “Hey, by the way, you're changing and being occupied by this thing…” You can see where there’d be a lot more questions there. I’m not even playing a human being anymore. This is a big shift.

COMIC VINE: Are you prepared for the reactions from the viewers?

BRETT DALTON: I’m eagerly looking forward to that. I think they’re going to be extreme. I think there will be a lot on both sides of the line. I think there’s going to be a lot of, “Oh my god, this is the coolest thing that could happen” and also, “What are you guys doing? We really liked this character. Why are you changing him?”

I think it’s kind of fun. It’s really dropping the bomb and then closing the door because there’s no follow up to that. It’s a great cliffhanger. People have to sit with that until March. Hopefully that means they’ll be tuning in with eyes glued to the TV, trying to figure out what is next.

COMIC VINE: Where would you like Ward to go from here?

BRETT DALTON: I’m just happy that he’s still alive. Albeit in a different form but he’s still alive. The show has given me a real opportunity to play a whole bunch of different things. It feels like I get a new character every season. That’s a real blessing as an actor. Also, I think it’s real exciting. He’s a very big, if not the biggest agents of change in the show and he’s the opposing force to S.H.I.E.L.D. When he’s on screen, stuff is about to go down. I’m just happy he’s still on screen.

COMIC VINE Since Will recognized Fitz while possessed by “It,” do you think there could still be some Ward inside?

BRETT DALTON: There is no “It” without a host body. That’s how this particular creature has been able to survive for centuries. This is sort of the information Malick dropped on me before I went into the portal. There’s this whole history HYDRA has, trying to bring back this creature.

As for any bit of Ward still being inside, I do think so. I do. I think the physical form of Ward and the version of Ward we’ve been developing (and hopefully grown to know and love) is no longer. This is a new chapter for Ward. He’s still somewhere inside of there. It’s something we’re kind of playing with right now. We’re only a couple episodes ahead in the shooting schedule. That’s something we’re currently exploring. I only know as much as what’s in the script. They’re a good ten episodes ahead of me but I haven’t seen those. I think the idea that he/It contains all of the memories of all of its past hosts. So there’s this crazy collection of skills, memories, wants and desires. The being can access all of that stuff. In some ways, it’s like taking books off a shelf and seeing what’s inside.

COMIC VINE: Do you feel Ward has achieved closure on the alien world before everything went down?

BRETT DALTON: I do. I do. I think it’s not the closure he expected. It’s not the way he imagined this would go down. For how many episodes has he been pursuing Coulson with this sort of bloodlust? That’a been his ultimate goal ever since Agent 33 left his life last season. He’s had his crosshairs on Coulson and bringing S.H.I.E.L.D. down. I think his original on exacting revenge was, “Take them down, I feel good and all will be right with the world and I’ll be righting all these wrongs.” Yet, we’ve seen in his past, whenever he exacts revenge on his brothers or his mom or his dad, he doesn’t feel terribly satisfied. I think in some ways, this is a big maturity point for Ward. He’s able to see the bigger picture and to see himself as a hero in HYDRA’s big destiny.

COMIC VINE: With this transformation, does this mean the HYDRA happy rebranding isn’t going to happen?

BRETT DALTON: I think the webisode between Joe Quesada and I, that seems where it’s going to live. I thought it was a really funny thing that I kept wanting to happen. But perhaps a little too lighthearted for the show as it stands this season. It’s not going to stop me from baking cookies or making t-shirts. It just won’t air Tuesdays on ABC at 9:00. It’ll still be going on in my head.

COMIC VINE: Last time we talked about The Resurrection of Gavin Stone and The Tourist. Any updates on when we’ll be able to see those?

BRETT DALTON: Thanks for following up on that. They’re actually in the screening process with The Resurrection of Gavin Stone. I know less about The Tourist but Gavin Stone is full speed ahead. There’s every indication it’s going to be submitted early next year for all the film festival circuits. It’s already been picked up. Now they’re talking about distribution. There’s no doubt in my mind it’ll be in theaters next year. It’s very cool and exciting. Apparently the numbers and the screens and all of that are very very good. It means we’ve put in the work and it’s paying off.

The Tourist I don’t really know about. I check in every once in a while. It’s just developing slower than this other one. But it’s still moving forward.

COMIC VINE: Did you ever get a chance to play Until Dawn?

BRETT DALTON: I did, I did! I just played it recently. I did an interview with IGN and it was a really good game. We did this interview and they said, “Hey, we have it, do you want to play it?” I got to play about twenty minutes of it. I was very impressed with how exciting and fun it was. It’s not like you need to know all these button combos. It was just so fun and creative. I really really enjoyed it. I was surprised at all of the little subtleties in the motion they were able to get, all the little micro-expressions in there. Even the screen where you’re choosing which chapter to play is a close up. The technology is insane. And it’s truly genuinely terrifying. I think that’s really hard to do with video games too. It got me a couple of times.

We'll have to wait until March 8, 2016 to find out what happens next. What did you think about the twist. Has Brett's words given you hope?

Man! What an episode though. Ward is such a despicable guy but he's the villain you love to hate. He's not just a moustache-twirling villain, he's so human, I think that's why people still connect with him. Anyway I was bummed when he died so I'm glad he's back in some form or another, Brett's just too good to let go.

I'm glad Ward's dead. Brett opened a new chapter in the series. I'm glad for him and his new version of Ward. We all know he's gonna slay.

Glad Ward is gone but Brett's still on the show, that was my biggest fear with the war between Ward and Coulson. Too bad Tripletts dust and can't return from his mid season death.

I actually liked the "good" Ward and had hope that his character could be redeemed but unfortunately Ward quickly became un-redeemable so his character deserved to die. Brett has been fantastic in this show -- Ward was a great villain and I'm happy he is still on the show.

someone spoil this for me in brief.... please

@superior_prime_maybe: You can read our recap unless that's not brief enough.

http://www.comicvine.com/reviews/agents-of-shield-episode-310-maveth/1900-4340/

Ward is a great character one of the best villains on the show.

So glad Ward isn't gone from the show. I was really worried for a few minutes there. I love this idea for him too.

@panther21: he'd be the MCU's best villain if it wasn't for Kilgrave last month.

@batarangbamz: but, he's dead. so i still stand by my statement.

what twist? the ending was completely predictable. in fact, the entire episode was fantastic except for the "twist" ending. ugh.

@panther21: like mine contradicted it. AOS and JJ are two different shows, shared universe. You missed the whole point. By that logic Ward is dead too.

I'm not entirely convinced Ward is perma-dead. It's a little unclear how Hive's powers work at this point. Will it basically heal Ward and take him over? If the creature is extricated, would Ward basically 'wake up'?

Will was shot full of holes and set on fire so we didn't get to see what would've happened, his leg didn't heal, but maybe that was because it wasn't at full power on that planet, or lacked sustenance, what if Mallick repairs Ward's heart?

I can see them working it to have Ward return at the end of the season to be honest.

@rogueshadow: I think that snake parasite Inhuman thing can only take a host that's dead.

I get the same feeling. Also, remember that the alien had told Fitz that Will died trying to save Jemma.

I know there's no confirmation but it seems "it" is Secret Warrior's The Hive with some MCU alterations. If this is true then maybe Ward gets saved since the Hive was able to be removed from Madame Hydra even after death, and she was fine...

We just need MCU's Norman Osborn to make his entrance and do it.