Board Thread:Episode Discussion/@comment-112155-20160301233224/@comment-27112771-20160706062159

SonOfAres1 wrote:

Elledy92 wrote: BTW this thread is huuuuuuuuuuge. And 4 months old. And should be dead.

I think they wanted to avoid a HYDRA connection because if it was uncovered by the SSR, then there would be a big loophole: How did HYDRA continue to survive after the war despite being discovered by their greatest rivals?

I could maybe see the Secret Empire as the American branch of the old HYDRA who grew disillusioned with sacrificing good men to a rock, so they decided to focus more on political/economic domination rather than something that could be false. I mean, the SSR never has to find out about the Hydra connection. They don't--and according to Captain America 2, never do--know about Zola and Fennhoff working together on the Winter Soldier project. So just show it in a scene between the villains. There's all sorts of minor ways to build this in while making it organic to the story and important to the MCU.