'Marvel's Agents of Shield' Season 3 SPOILERS: Clark Gregg Discusses Shocking Midseason Finale

Marvel's Agents of Shield aired its Season 3 midseason finale this week, and one of the most shocking moments in the episode occurred when Coulson (Clark Gregg) killed Ward (Brett Dalton) on the alien planet. In a post-mortem interview, Gregg discussed the events of the episode.

Coulson went on a quest for revenge when Ward killed Rosalyn (Constance Zimmer), with whom Coulson had started to fall in love. So when he followed Ward to the alien planet and managed to pin him down, he used his artificial hand to end his enemy's life once and for all.

But before he did so, Coulson imagined Rosalyn's face once again. In an interview with TVLine, Gregg said he feels this is what ultimately spurred his character to kill Ward.

"It's such an interesting moment they wrote, because he couldn't leave Ward on the planet," he said. "It really gets down to the heart of leadership. I think [Coulson] is going to spend some time trying to figure out whether it was an act of vengeance or an act of protecting others, or both. But I don't think it's going to sit well."

It seemed to already not be sitting well by the end of the episode when Coulson shared a look with Fitz (Iain de Caestecker), who was on the planet, as well. It certainly felt like the Director's decision was weighing on him.

"There are a lot of ways in which Ward and Coulson were on very parallel and linked journeys, and in some ways they both undergo very deep transformations in that episode, from which they will never wholly return," Gregg said.

At the end of the episode, we saw the creature that lived on the planet had possessed Ward's body and is now on Earth. Gregg confirmed he has not yet arrived at the point in filming where Coulson has met this new Ward, but he's looking forward to it.

What do you make of Gregg's remarks? Let us know in the comments section below.