Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: How Dark Will Coulson Go?

Will Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) ever be the same?

That's the question Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fans have been wondering ever since Coulson mercilessly murdered Grant Ward (Brett Dalton). And it's a question Coulson himself will be grappling with when S.H.I.E.L.D. returns.

"I don't think he comes back with any easy answer. I think in the moment, it felt like the only course of action possible to him," Gregg tells TVGuide.com. "I don't think he's going to know for some time if this was a terrible mistake that changes him and maybe turns him into a super-villain - it becomes, really, a show about a team run by a super-villain - or not."

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There were fans many who read villainous intentions in the look Coulson shared with Fitz (Iain de Caestecker) after they returned from Maveth. But - at least for now - Fitz won't be feeling the wrath of Dark Coulson.

"I didn't feel there was any malice towards Fitz," he says. "He just didn't care too much about anything in that moment. And that's a dark place that Fitz saw him in, and that's a dark place that he goes back to his team in."

See what else Gregg says about Coulson in the video above.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns Tuesday, March 8 at 9/8c on ABC.