No matter if you're among the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. viewers who are looking forward to getting some proper answers to season-long mysteries (as well as details on the more recent game-changing revelations) and/or the guest-star appearances lined up on the episodes ahead - or feel that it's all too little, too late - there's no denying that Marvel Studios' first expedition into the realm of TV entertainment is looking to finish its first run (read: season) with a bang.

Among the name actors who'll be popping up alongside Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) and his "family" on the weeks ahead are Bill Paxton - reprising as the seasoned Agent Garrett from episode 14, "T.A.H.I.T.I." - as well as two familiar fan-favorites to the Whedon small-screen universe, in the shapes of comedian/actor Patton Oswalt (who, in case you forgot, had a guest-starring run on Joss Whedon's Dollhouse) and Amy Acker (Person of Interest), who's been working on Whedon productions since she costarred in the Buffy the Vampire spinoff Angel back in the early aughts.

Acker will be playing Coulson's love interest, a.k.a. the mysterious cellist, who was first casually brought up in a short background conversation between Phil "His Name is Agent" Coulson and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) in The Avengers. The musician in question, named Audrey, has been the source of fan speculation for a while now - and even still, considering that her upcoming debut will reveal a little more about her history, pre-Coulson.

That subject is broached in a new interview from Marvel.com, wherein Acker talks about her desire in recent years to reunite (again) with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. co-creators Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen - in addition to admitting her own interest in learning more about Audrey the cellist, as a fan of Marvel's Cinematic Universe herself:

Well, I think one of the things that was so interesting about the role is that she has this backstory and she has been talked about in the TV show as well as the movie and you knew that she was someone important to [Coulson] and, therefore, to everyone and, as an audience member, important to me. I was curious to see who they were going to cast as that person, never actually thinking it was going to be me. [laughs] But [I was] just excited to see how that storyline would play out. So when Clark called me personally and said how important this role was to him, that it [needed to be] cast with the right person, it was very flattering that he thought that I was that person.

You can check out the first official image of Acker as Audrey the cellist, below (click to enlarge):

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Amy Acker

Acker isn't the only Angel alum on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., as her former costar J. August Richards has been appearing on the show since its pilot. Richards, to recap his story arc thus far, started out as Mike Peterson - a blue-collar work and single father, who ended up being used as a guinea pig by Centipede for its A.I.M. knockoff technology (a.k.a. the tech introduced in Iron Man 3).

That was before Mike participated in a mission-gone-wrong for S.H.I.E.L.D. and was presumed dead afterwards, only to turn up still alive (if also permanently-mained) - having been captured by the mysterious Clairvoyant's forces and then, transformed into the mind-controlled cyborg code-named Deathlok (check out Richards in costume).

For a proper look at Deathlok in action, check out this two-minute clip from the upcoming Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 1, episode 16, "End of the Beginning":

Richards' storyline/character trajectory has been one of the more - if not the most - rewarding parts of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. so far (even during the ungainly first half of season 1), so hopefully the developments ahead will continue to impress - that is, either by wrapping up that subplot in a satisfying way, or laying the groundwork for Richards' cyborg to make future appearances in the Marvel-verse.

That goes double for other pending revelations, whether they concern Acker as the cellist Audrey or the identity of the Clairvoyant, whose voice can (seemingly...) be heard briefly in the preview below:

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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns with season 1, episode 16, "End of the Beginning", which airs on Tuesday, April 1st, 2014 on ABC.

Source: Marvel.com