This week's episode finds the gang in Greenwich on a cleanup operation after the events of Thor: The Dark World. They're soon diverted to Norway where an Asgardian artefact has been found, then on to Seville and then to Ireland. Phew. Is this the most globe-trotting SHIELD yet?
Ok so the promised crossover was a little bit of a letdown, especially considering the post-credits sting of Thor: The Dark World (come on Marvel, you know we all wanted to see the team deal with that). However, it did lead to some quality team interaction, particularly Simmons' majestic opening voiceover, Coulson's 'the God of cleaning up after yourselves' and Skye and May's description of 'dreamy' Thor. Totally with you ladies. The chemistry in the ensemble is really sparking now as the cast have had chance to work with each other for a while and the writing has improved a whole lot.
There was one small issue I had with the episode though and this is more about laziness than anything else... why were the Norwegian characters speaking English to each other in their own country? It's all very convenient and I understand that they are significant to the plot and needed to establish some decent exposition. However, it's small details like that which are still holding SHIELD back from looking a bit cheap and cheerful rather than a multicultural, globe-trotting procedural that is usually so capable of being. It's my only gripe with the episode, but it's enough to stop the whole best episode so far review; it's easily on a par with last week's The Hub, but doesn't exceed it.
Following on from last week's focus on Fitz, this one shifts to Ward as he becomes affected by the Berserker staff and gets all ragelike. First up, it took them so long to get to a Hulk joke, I thought they were never going to get there. Secondly, this was much needed for Ward, a character I'm starting to warm despite thinking he was initially about as interesting as a plank. I like that Ward is now settling into the big brother role, something which he clearly hasn't been able to do in his personal life (I'm still not sure of how the bullying brother works just yet). He's the supportive, stoic backbone of the younger members of the group and his scene with Simmons climbing the tree was adorable. It also made his rage that bit more affecting as he laid into the younger team-mates with workmanlike vitriol, played beautifully by the cast, particularly Fitz' expression after the saving Simmons line.
Does this mean we're going to get a May episode soon? I hope so, because I love Ming-Na Wen in the role and she really deserves to have a bit more to do than just look stern a lot. Though she does do that very well. One thing does worry me though, we seem to be heading towards dangerous love triangle territory... or am I reading too much into the longing glance at the bar and the enigmatic hotel door shutting? I hope so. At least for now. These characters are still settling down and introducing something that can quickly become tiresome might put even more people off.
Returning to the episode, the Asgardian story strand, whilst not entirely to do with Thor: The Dark World, was a neat extension on the events of the film. SHIELD dealing with the aftermath, particularly the human element, is exactly what the show needs to be doing. Although they weren't explored too much beyond being the bad guys, the Norse Paganist cult is an interesting idea as a reaction to the discovery that aliens are real and also happen to have been gods in our world. Whilst this was another character piece, it would have been good to go into the ideology of the cult and explore how these revelations have been affecting the regular public.
Peter MacNicol was an excellent guest star and his scene with Ward and Coulson was easily the highlight of the episode; his reaction to "Do you know Thor?" was very amusing with Skye and FitzSimmons' commentary. It also built into the more grounded element of Thor: The Dark World, a look at the Asgardians who don't go around having inter-dimensional feuds with their brother, and was a nicely affecting story too. Again, he is a character it would have been worth spending more time with. As Skye points out, this is a man who has lived through a lot. Let's hope they can get MacNicol back for at least one more episode.
Then, there was a neat Dollhouse reference in the episode sting - "Did I fall asleep?" "For a little while" - Could this be a hint at what has happened to Coulson? Dollhouse was a show about messing with minds and repurposing bodies and we all know that something's a bit dodgy with our Phil. Lots of people have been pointing to Marvel canon with the Life Model Decoys, something which SHIELD writers and producers would surely know that fans would allude to. What is the important thing though is that, as we build to the mid-season break, this storyline actually seems to be progressing somewhere, even if its just with Coulson's growing realisation that something isn't right.
Another strong instalment, SHIELD finally seems to have settled into itself and is progressing nicely. Of course with ratings dropping like a stone, a second season could be a tall order, but let's keep our fingers crossed that people will rediscover it. A little gentle encouragement couldn't hurt.
- Becky
You can read Becky's review of The Hub here.
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I know I say this every week, and it must be getting a little boring to read, but SHIELD really is getting better with each episode. The Hub may not have carried the same level of thrills or death-of-character potential as FZZT, but it had heart and a sense of humour that made it the most enjoyable instalment so far.
Coulson's SHIELD team are dispatched to The Hub, one of the bases for SHIELD field ops, where they meet Agent Victoria Hand (an excellent Saffron Burrows) who has a mission for two of their members. A weapon has been identified in South Ossetia, rather dramatically entitled Overkill, an object so powerful it can set off weapons all around it with the power of soundwaves. A fairly standard Marvel McGuffin then, but just like in the films, it's not the object they're going after that's important, it's what the characters do to get to it. In this case, it's splitting the team up into up unusual pairings which finds Fitz with Ward and Simmons with Skye. The results are nothing short of hilarious.
The combination of Ward and Fitz was a joy to behold throughout the episode with both Brett Dalton and Iain de Caestecker rising to the challenge of both the comedic moments and the emotional beats. The sandwich scene was a delight, as was Ward's constant bemused reactions to Fitz' successes. Fitz has always been presented as a bumbling incompetent when it comes to field work; both he and Simmons failed their field assessments as revealed last week and he seems to have taken it a little to heart. After Simmons' trauma last week, he's struggling with feelings of inadequacy which are soon undermined by his brief action hero prowess and some wise words from Ward.
Speaking of which, I'm finally starting to think Ward may not be so dull after all. After last week's brilliant self-impersonation, Dalton has seemingly embraced Ward's stick-in-the-mud attitude and there's a more knowing level to his performance. Ward's commitment to the system (much like Coulson's) is now played more for laughs than as a dramatic device. It's working much better, allowing Ward to be the big, brawny action hero when needed, as well as the big brother type who feels its his duty to look after younger members of the team. As such, he's become a far more endearing character than he had been in the earlier episodes and his interactions with FitzSimmons are a real highlight now.
The partnership of FitzSimmons has been something I've loved from the very beginning and last week, we finally saw just why they were so dependent on each other. I know in interviews that de Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge has spoken more about the pair's relationship as one between siblings, but in this episode, it struck me as more of a Mulder and Scully type deal. They don't carry quite as much sexual tension as their FBI counterparts, but there's a massive co-dependence there which is based on a mutual respect and knowledge of each other. Their reunion at the end of the episode was a great example of this, as well as going back to the comic relief the pair represented at the beginning.
Another dynamic that has improved the characters a whole lot was the Buffy/Willow feel that the writers gave to Simmons and Skye this time around. Their attempts to hack into the Hub for information about their team-members reminded me of a similar moment in which the Sunnydale pair must distract Giles to steal the Watcher Diaries. Another very funny scene, Henstridge in particular demonstrating that the cast seem to have finally struck the balance between dramatic and humourous. I'm still struggling to warm to Skye, but this episode was a vast improvement on what has gone before, especially with the parentage reveal.
The more regular partnership of May and Coulson produced some great moments, particularly in the latter's one-sided conversation as May went about her business expressionless. She may have had little to do so far in the season, but Ming-Na Wen has got the raised eyebrow comic timing down and it made for some wonderfully deadpan punchlines. Coulson too was at the centre of the episode's debates around classification and hierarchy, ceasing to follow orders (though it appears that this was expected by Hand) and trying to track down what really happened to him in Tahiti. Note how the 'it's a magical place' stuttered a bit this week. I liked the final post-episode scene with Coulson trying to access his own file, showing that even SHIELD's stalwart is starting to suspect that they can't be trusted, but we're going to need a little more if this narrative arc isn't going to become dull.
All in all, The Hub was a character piece, one that cemented the team as an odd sort of family, complete with bickering, secrets and heartwarming moments. It gives the SHIELD can't be trusted theme more dramatic weight and I'm fairly certain it won't be long before we see the team cast out and forced to fend for themselves. In the meantime though, we're going to see them dealing with the fallout from Thor: The Dark World, a tantalising prospect indeed.
- Becky
You can read Becky's review of FZZT here.
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Agents of SHIELD returns after a weeklong break and brings with it yet another episode which improves on what has gone before.
FZZT was exactly the kind of episode we needed at this point in the season, one which stripped away the fantastical and the action and focused in on the team's dynamics and how they work together to defeat a problem. Placing one of the team member's in jeopardy is a tried and tested method of doing this and SHIELD takes the concept and comes up with one emotional moment after another as Simmons is exposed to a Chitauri virus with little hope of discovering a vaccine. Sorry, I mean anti-serum.
It's fitting that Titus Welliver's Agent Blake returned for this episode as it bore a couple of similarities to the Marvel One-Shot, Item 47, in which his character first appeared. In that, a couple find a piece of Chitauri weaponry and go off on a bit of a spree whilst in this, a group of volunteer firefighters are exposed to an alien virus when they take a helmet as a souvenir from the Battle of New York. Blake's presence was another neat way of tying SHIELD into the wider Marvel universe without it becoming a bell-ringing moment.
SHIELD seems to have found the balance now between carving a new identity whilst remaining part of the same universe as The Avengers. The inclusion of the helmet as MacGuffin didn't feel clunky though it does raise the question of whether we'll be seeing the virus again as I'm sure other people at the Battle would be affected. Likewise, the New York connection wasn't used to labour the point about the changes wrought by the battle, but was abandoned once the central plot regarding the virus took over. This bodes well for the recent announcement that a new episode would follow on from the events of Thor: The Dark World.
However, the clumsiest aspect still remains the mystery behind what happened to Coulson. It's through no fault of Clark Gregg's though who gives a brilliant performance throughout. We got one excellent scene in which he talks to the fireman about to die and reassures him that it's not bad at all, but we've still had no development other than the confirmation of a scar and Coulson recognising that something is wrong. This should feel like a bigger revelation, but it doesn't after weeks of hearing 'there's something different about Coulson...'
This episode was not confined to just developing Coulson though. I've loved the FitzSimmons duo from the start, but they've not warmed themselves to a fair section of SHIELD's audience so far. This episode sought to explore the pair's relationship by first splitting them up and then getting them back together as Simmons' life is put in danger. Throughout the show so far, they've done little more than bicker and spout technical jargon with abandon, which both Iain de Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge do with aplomb. This episode, however, is their first real test as characters rather than comic relief.
Both actors rise to the challenge and produce the best scene the season has had to date as the pair argue in their trademark way before they realise that they are inextricably linked and share a unique history and connection that they're not ready to sever just yet. Henstridge's stiff upper lip approach worked well and we got a good hint as to how far she is willing to go to protect her team. However, it was de Caestecker who really stole the show, particularly in the aforementioned scene as he slowly realises just how much Simmons actually means to him.
What also made a huge difference to the emotional connection to the episode was that we actually weren't sure whether Simmons was going to make. Executive producer Joss Whedon has a bit of a reputation when it comes to killing off characters and in a sense, this entire episode was a trolling exercise based on this fact. It raised the stakes a considerably amount for the characters and then explored the team's dynamics stemming from this. She may have had a smaller role this time around, but Chloe Bennet gave a strong supportive performance and I love that Ward really is just a stick in the mud. The impressions of him also helped and moments like those felt much more natural. They've really started to click and so too has the show.
The only trouble with the episode was that it took too long to get there. The scenes in which the volunteer fire officers succumbed to the disease were suitably creepy and as I said before, the Coulson scene was a good callback to the ongoing mystery surrounding his return. However, we've had some important character development and it's really starting to look like SHIELD is on its way now.
- Becky
You can read Becky's review of the previous episode here
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Well that was much better wasn't it?
This week harks back to the show's pilot as the Centipede serum, designed for making super soldiers, makes a reappearance along with the Rising Tide and a blast from Skye's past. When a street magician Chan Ho Yin (Louis Ozawa Changchien) displays his ability to create fire in his hand and attracts the attention of both SHIELD and the titular girl in the flower dress, Reina (Ruth Negga). It's not long before things take a darker turn as Chan finds himself with Raina working to persuade him to become a superhero. What she is in fact doing is harnessing his power to improve the Extremis based serum.
Yet another vast improvement on the previous episode, Girl in the Flower Dress was the first episode where most aspects of the show came together to produce something worthy of the hype that the show received. Often the show has struggled with the central characters and whilst there is still little development outside of Skye's role, the team seem to have settled into an easy dynamic. Little moments like Skye and FitzSimmons waving at Agent Kwan whilst the other remain stoic highlight the age and professional differences and the Battleships scene had the kind of easygoing humour that SHIELD has been aiming for from the start. I also really liked the scene between May and Coulson as they fought with Chan; "Ah crap, they gave him a name" was great.
The episode also helped to further the relationships that have been building throughout the season so far, particularly Skye and Ward and then Skye and Coulson. Ward still may be a little bland but Brett Dalton has a nice chemistry with Chloe Bennet and the scene in which he discovers that she has been betraying them had a sense of disappointment that was almost palpable. In fact, it was this scene when the team are going through Miles' apartment that was probably the strongest we've had yet. I loved the quieter moment between Fitz and Simmons when the former can't quite comprehend why Skye has lied to them. Foundations for the paternal relationship between Coulson and Skye has been laid down from the start, but it was in this episode that it really found its feet.
Clark Gregg's deadpan performance gave way to something more emotional, yet just as reserved here as he was faced with his possible mistake in recruiting the Rising Tide hacker. The final scene between the pair was an emotional payoff as we learn just why Skye has been digging around in SHIELD and not telling anyone about it. Parental motivations may be an age-old plot device but it felt much more satisfying than Skye babbling on about freedom of information or civil liberties, two things she was quick to dismiss once joining SHIELD. And now we have a reason why. With Skye still on the team, it's the perfect moment in which to start exploring the other characters. This episode was an excellent starting point, but now I want to know more about Ward in particular, but also FitzSimmons, who I just adore.
Elsewhere in the episode, the central narrative was another plus point, linking to the Extremis super soldier thread that has been building since the pilot. With the reappearance of Debbie, the scientist, and her subsequent fiery demise (a tad gory for a pre-watershed show maybe?), we now have Reina to take us through this narrative arc. Ruth Negga made a compelling presence in the episode, a quieter form of villain perhaps, but one whom carried the necessary gravitas to make the Scorch origin story convincing. The sting scene was also intriguing, not only hinting towards the idea of precognition (called that last week), but also a potential Big Bad for at least the mid-season finale if the super soldier serum is nearing readiness.
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of this episode though, was the moral ambiguities it explored in pitching Centipede versus SHIELD, both dealing with gifted people in remarkably different ways. For SHIELD, the method is containment, convincing these people not to use their powers but let them live a nearly normal life. Yet SHIELD's methods are called into question by Skye's ex Miles, another hacker who believes in freedom of information until someone offers him a nice fat cheque. Not only is the idea of information leaking prescient in this age of Wikileaks, but there is also the idea of prevention rather than punishment and how much control the state should have over the privacy of its citizens. This is something that the Captain America: The Winter Soldier trailer has hinted towards (a crossover is also rumoured) and has been an underlying theme in this series; just how far is too far when it comes to the protection of citizens?
This unit has been remarkably detached from the wider SHIELD agency so far and as such, the organisation still feels very much in the shadows, endlessly resourceful yet very much with its own agenda. If there is a crossover with Captain America, at least in theme, it would become a very interesting moral dilemma for our characters. Skye is seen constantly defending SHIELD in this episode, but what she's actually doing is defending the actions of her team, rather than what the rest of the agency is up to. We know they had something to do with bringing Coulson back from the apparent dead of course, but other than that, they remain as distant as they do in the cinematic branch of Marvel.
Right from the opening scenes, everything felt much more cohesive and balanced than it has done in previous weeks. Overall, an absolute scorcher of an episode (sorry...).
One more thing; writers, please stop trying to make 'hactivist' happen. It's not going to happen.
- Becky
You can read Becky's review of the previous episode here
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A blast from Coulson's past appears to be behind a spate of heists across the world, but he's not convinced that everything is as it seems.
SHIELD could hardly be described within the horror genre with its glossy visuals and comedy thriller sensibilities, but there were several aspects of Eye Spy that I found quite chilling, particularly the central plotline of a hijacked person. Not to mention any scene in which an eye was injected or operated on. I was with Fitz. The cold open with the red masks and the drone-like behaviour of the security agents was bad enough, but then we were introduced to who looked to be their target but was in fact their assailant, Akela Amador (Pascale Armand). Another mission, another personal connection to Coulson, it turns out that Amador was a former protege of the deadpan super spy. A former SHIELD agent who seems to have initially gone rogue, it turned out Amador was actually being controlled with an ocular impact complete with killswitch if she went off mission.
There was some great misdirection as Skye makes the not illogical leap to Amador perhaps developing superpowers like precognition. Although May is quick to jump in and say there is no scientific basis, I can't help but think that we will have psychic abilities before this season is out. In this case though, it was entirely technological. That thought of not only being controlled but of having someone watch your every move was really quite terrifying. Then again, as Coulson so wryly observes, we're in a society where we all surveil ourselves. It was a humourous aside within the episode, but the parallels are clear; we're making sure people can see our every move. It's not a big step from there for someone to be doing this for us.
The central narrative was perhaps the strongest we've seen so far, building around the central mystery of just what has happened to Amador. It may have been simple, but there was enough misdirection around what she was doing or how she was doing it. It also seems to be part of the ongoing secret antagonist that we don't seem to know about yet; could it be the Rising Tide? Far from wrapping up neatly, the reveal that her handler was also being controlled in a similar fashion could have been an anti-climax, but it managed to feel much bigger than that, developing the mystery further. There is also the intriguing final moment with Amador as she questions what has happened to Coulson; she notices that he behaves differently, reminding us all that we still don't know how Coulson came back. Well, apart from resting in Tahiti; it's a magical place.
The connection between Coulson and Amador led to some decent emotional beats, particularly the verbal scrap between May and Coulson as she calls him out on his personal connection to the case. I really love that although everyone is working together much better as a team, there is still conflict and tension there, particularly between the 'Mum' and 'Dad' of the group. Skye's relationship with Coulson is also developing nicely as the comparison is made with Amador. Everyone seems to have settled into the humourous aspect of the show too, the dialogue mining natural humour out of the characters rather than trying to force them into signposted one-liners. I particularly enjoyed Ward's response to the 'seduce him' command. Even he managed to be more interesting this week, given things to do other than reprimand Skye. Though of course that happened. The lack of clunky Marvel references has also ensured that the dialogue flows much better when characters aren't having to shout 'Captain America!' to connect it all back.
Another improvement on the previous episode, SHIELD continues its run with an intriguing tale of hijacked people and questions of autonomy. It's building well and I find myself actually looking forward to the next instalment. Let's hope it keeps going in an upward direction.
- Becky
You can read Becky's review of the previous episode here.
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After last week's fairly run of the mill episode in which the team were established and Skye feels a little more at home, The Asset focuses on watching the team work and sees them taking on multi-billionaire Ian Quinn to rescue one of their own.
The Asset opens with one of the best set pieces of the short series so far with a SHIELD agent trucker transporting precious cargo across country before it is hijacked by a mysterious shooty-uppy-in-the-air thing which later turns out to be gravitonium (a name marginally better than vibranium and whole worlds ahead of unobtainium). The truck reveal was a great switch and a nice reminder of SHIELD's reach across the world and the wide variety of agents they must have in their employ. It works to demonstrate that, although May and Ward's fears in the previous episode about the quality of the young agents on Coulson's team, their hiring isn't so out of place with SHIELD's overall make-up.
The previous cargo is one Dr. Franklin Hall (played by special guest star Ian Hart), a name familiar to those with an extensive knowledge of Marvel comics. I've had to research it a bit, which is quite honestly, endless fun for me. In the comics, Hall is a physicist working with gravitonium who accidentally becomes fused with molecules of the element, developing the ability to manipulate gravity and taking the rather impressive Graviton as his new identity. Now we don't see too much of that here until the final sting of the episode, a rewrite of the character's history but one that ties Hall inextricably with Coulson. Fury's appearance may have been funny, but that hand reaching out to the screen was positively spine-tingling.
The climactic confrontation between Coulson and Hall was the first scene where SHIELD really hit a high note with both Gregg and Hart excelling their respective roles. A particular highlight was their initial exchange in which Coulson went to outline the exit strategy only for Hall to respond that he's already in the right place. Gregg's brilliantly dry delivery of 'I'll be honest. Our strategy did not take into consideration you saying that" was a real laugh out loud moment. And then there was the scene in the rotating room, the characters clambering over furniture, walls and ceilings as the gravitonium shifted the gravity in the room.
It was an impressive scene not only in visual terms, but also in the themes that it brought to the fore. Rather than the outright villain straight away, Hall was trying to prevent his work from falling into the wrong hands, including SHIELD's. I commented in the review of the pilot that a common theme of Whedon's work was dealing with shady corporations handling technology that they didn't know how to control and it once again crops up here. SHIELD have already brought an alien invasion, as Hall rightly points out, and they are an organisation famous for going after technology they don't understand. Coulson's decision to shoot away the glass, killing Hall in the process, is another tally for SHIELD being the bad guys and something that Coulson will have to deal with. The re-working of Graviton's origin will have massive implications now not only for SHIELD but for Coulson himself.
The episode is not without its low points; Ward is still a fairly dull prospect with a lame back story, Ian Quinn was a suitably bland villain and if he appears more, they're going to have to make him more interesting. If he's going to be a TV bad guy version of Tony Stark then they need to run with that rather than just making him a charisma vacuum in a suit. However, there was also lots to love; Skye getting caught almost immediately in her first mission, Coulson in his suit in the attack on the compound, Fitz's monkey, the glare that Fitz got after his suggestion that Skye was using her 'assets' on Quinn, the lack of references to the MCU and Melinda May promising to get back into the action.
The Asset is the first episode that has really gelled for me; a blend of origin story, heist movie and character piece all rolled into one that hints at big things for the series. That final post-credits scene had me sold. Do we have a Big Bad?
- Becky
You can read Becky's review of the previous episode here.
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Marvel's agents return with a much stronger second episode, hinting at better group dynamics and snappier writing in the show's future.
With the team assembled and sort of ready to go in the pilot episode, it is left to second instalment 0-8-4 to see if these mismatched individuals can actually work together as a cohesive whole. When the titular 0-8-4, SHIELD lingo for an 'object of unknown origin', is discovered in Peru, our heroes are dispatched to the site in order to work out what it is. Coulson brings Skye along as a consultant, much to the disappointment of May and Ward, both of whom think that the last thing they need is more inexperienced agents in the field. And it turns out, they may have point when the team are put to the test by a face from Coulson's past.
Now this is more like it. A much stronger episode all round, 0-8-4 benefitted from all of the admittedly clunky leg-work done in the pilot to hit the ground running with a good storyline in which we got to see how the dynamics of the cast regulars would work. First of all, it was a great move to address the fact that, without computers to hack, Skye doesn't seem to have much to offer the SHIELD team, something which is repeatedly referred to throughout the episode. However, she does naturally find out where she fits over the course of the narrative which develops in a suitably organic way as the other characters also slot into their various roles with ease.
The conference between Ward, May and Coulson was a nice way of pointing out where a lot of the dramatic conflict will arise throughout the season, particularly in relation to the inexperienced characters. Ward and May are quite right to question Coulson's thinking and let's face it, I bet there were a few audience members thinking the same. However, not only does he clearly see some potential, so do we as the audience; it's going to be much more interesting watching a group of people learning to overcome obstacles together whilst dealing with their own anxieties than it would if these characters arrived fully formed and heroic. After all, that's part of what made the Avengers so compelling.
The 0-8-4 of the title turns out to be a weapon powered by Tesseract technology, granting us both a decent MacGuffin and a chance to shoehorn in some clunky Marvel Cinematic Universe references: "HYDRA! Captain America!". Thanks Fitz, we got it. Whilst I'm loving some of the easter eggs dropped in (the hammer one was great and a good example of how it should be done), they still feel like they are pandering to people rather than putting these references in for the good of the story. I'm fairly confident in saying that the audience watching the series will already be fans of the MCU and will know what you mean when you say the Tesseract by now. What also needs to happen is less of the technological babble. We know Fitz and Simmons are smart, but we shouldn't be alienated in the process.
Speaking of MCU references, the cameo was not so long-awaited as I thought it would be and proved to be a welcome reminder of SHIELD's movie origins in both character and tone. For Coulson, it was especially good as we had been seeing Action Man Coulson a lot, a side we were not used to from the movies (other than his Marvel One-Shot). Having Fury back in reminded us of Admin Coulson, a man who still seems to have an inferiority complex around certain characters. Clark Gregg plays both aspects of the character well and the novelty of seeing good old Phil back again has not worn off just yet.
As for the action of the episode itself, less reliance on special effects and a couple of neat set pieces made this quite the thriller. Though I don't think the physics of a rubber dinghy re-pressuring an aircraft necessarily checks out, the scene of the team pulling together to solve the problem, culminating in said inflatable was a quick and confident way of developing these characters as an ensemble. Individually, Skye and Ward shared some nice scenes and it's always good to see Ming-Na Wen's May kicking all kinds of arse. We're still lacking depth for Fitz and Simmons but I'm enjoying the pair's chemistry and they will no doubt get an episode devoted to their third dimensions very soon.
A much stronger episode all round for SHIELD then. There are still kinks to be ironed out and a couple of awkward phrasings still stick out. However, the potential is still very much apparent. It's likely to be a while before we see any more cameos, but hands up, who else wants to see Tony Stark get to grips with Fitz and Simmons?
You gotta love it when a team comes together.
- Becky
You can see Becky's review of the Pilot episode here.
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To say that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was highly anticipated is something of an understatement. Not only is it following in the wake of one of the biggest movies of all time, but it is also created and the pilot directed by current man of the moment, Joss Whedon, finally in the spotlight after years as a cult favourite.
Those expecting to be instantly blown away by the show or expecting all the best bits of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a TV episode might be disappointed. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. does not immediately hit the ground running with fully formed characters, a cohesive team or the atmosphere that Marvel have garnered in their films. And nor should it because this an expansion, not a recreation. Thankfully, it is a solid start to a television show that has the unenviable task of emerging from the shadow of the MCU, but also of ensuring that it belongs in that world of superheroes, operating on a much smaller scale than an Iron Man movie.
A neat introductory montage quickly establishes the shifts that have taken place in this Marvel universe since the Battle of New York with flashes of Thor, Captain America, The Hulk and Iron Man all making a very brief appearance. The biggest connections though are the shiny insignia of S.H.I.E.L.D. itself and its agents, Maria Hill (a guest appearance from Cobie Smulders) and the returning Coulson, first name Phil (Clark Gregg who is just great). The longstanding connection across the MCU, Coulson's death in The Avengers was the galvanising factor and a suitably gut-wrenching moment. When it was announced he would return, I thought it would cheapen this but thankfully, there seems to be much more going on then he was dead for a little bit/held his breath. Also, his entrance was immediately my favourite moment of the episode. I may have guffawed.
The scale of S.H.I.E.L.D., when compared to what has gone before, is much smaller, but this is not to the detriment of the unfolding action which takes on a more individual focus through the figure of Mike, played by Whedon stalwart J. August Richards, who finds himself blessed/cursed with super-strength. With his backstory of being made redundant due to an injury and unable to find a job despite his new powers, Mike is a product of the economic climate; an everyman who can't catch a break. He's also very aware of his place in the story; rather than go for the moral black-and-white of 'he's about to explode = bad guy", Mike is placed firmly the grey area, capable of being the hero or the bad guy. The MCU may be dealing with gods, aliens and monsters, but the television branch has firmly set out to tackle the human story, those dealing with the knowledge that they are no longer the most powerful beings on Earth.
In the middle of it all is S.H.I.E.L.D., the agency tasked with preventing these situations from getting out of hand, tracking down Chitauri technology (if you haven't seen the Marvel one-shot on this theme, Item 47, track it down) and contain any threat. Now if you're familiar with Whedon's work, you'll know that shady corporations causing problems for our heroes are a fairly standard theme; think The Initiative, Wolfram & Hart or the Alliance. The thing this, now S.H.I.E.L.D. are the shady organisation, something which Mike is quick to point out to Coulson in their confrontation. It's an interesting dynamic and following on from Nick Fury's meddling in The Avengers and the shadiness surrounding Coulson's resurrection, it's clear that the upper echelons of S.H.I.E.L.D. may still not entirely be the good guys.
We also have potential antagonists, The Rising Tide, who we are introduced to early and meet one of their members, Skye (Chloe Bennett) who also serves the function of our introduction to S.H.I.E.L.D. Every science-fiction show seems to have this; the new recruit discovering this world for the first time and thus allowing the audience to do so too (think Dana Scully, Olivia Dunham, Gwen Cooper - I'm now noticing another pattern here...). However, in S.H.I.E.L.D., we got two of these and it was perhaps the only aspect of this episode that felt very clumsy. First up, there was Ward (Brett Dalton) and his assignment to Coulson's new team and then Skye herself, who for someone so against S.H.I.E.L.D., was remarkably quick to sign up. Convenient for the pilot yes, but just a little jarring.
The characters do look promising though and I particularly loved Ming-Na Wen's performance as obvious badass Melinda May whose backstory I am already desperate to know. Currently fulfilling the nerdy comic relief requirement, the combination of Fitz (Iain de Caestecker) and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) also promises a great deal while Ward fills the action man requirement nicely. Much of the episode kept the team apart so whilst they had moments to individually shine, there's not much to go on just yet as to how they gel as an ensemble though I'm looking forward to learning more about them as the show progresses. It is, as expected, Clark Gregg who steals the show. All of the affability and then badassery that makes Coulson so great was present and correct and so too was the gravitas that makes him such an effective thru-line in the Marvel movies.
A promising start then from the men and women in dark suits and sunglasses. There is enough of a hook to keep everyone interested and it's going to be fun to get to know these characters and find out what place in this Marvel world they will possess.
- Becky
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