Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D may have ended more than five years ago, but its stars are still haunted by memories of being covered in “poo water” while shooting a season 1 episode.
Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, and Chloe Bennet were all visibly disgusted as they recalled the smell of the liquid used to create the snow their characters were forced to walk through in the scene during an appearance at 2025’s New York Comic Con.
“It was one of our many journeys into the arctic,” said Gregg, who played Phil Coulson on the series. “They used reclaimed water for that snow. Let me tell you what reclaimed water is…!”
The trio did not remember the title of the episode, but given their recollections it seems to be the first season’s 18th episode, “Providence.”
Marvel/ABC
Released in 2014, the episode followed Coulson’s team as they arrive at the secret snowy S.H.I.E.L.D base Providence. There, they meet Eric Koenig (Patton Oswalt), who notifies Coulson that Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is not actually dead following the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
The fake tundra surrounding the cast definitely had a distinct odor to it. “It smelled like poop!” Bennet, who played Daisy “Skye” Johnson, shouted at the NYCC panel. Wen, who played Melinda May, quickly backed her costar up, adding, “It was so stinky!”
They were in a complete state of shock over the pungent situation. “We just kept looking at each other like…” Wen began, with Gregg jumping in, “I don’t want to find Patton Oswalt this much!”
To make matters worse, they shot their snow scenes on a particularly warm day.
“This one day, it was so hot and they had to use this sewer water to make this fake snow,” Bennet exclaimed as the crowd at the event audibly groaned. “And we’re pretending to be cold and this poo water is on us!”
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“Moving on!” Gregg exclaimed. “Moving on!”
Marvel/ABC
Gregg, Wen, and Bennet starred on all seven seasons of the series, which broke ground as the first MCU television spinoff, from 2013 until 2020. Gregg later reprised his role on the Marvel animated series What If in 2021.
While speaking at NYCC, the stars expressed their interest in starting a rewatch podcast for the series. “I guess, yeah, why not, right?” Wen said.
