Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 1.08 Review: Anger, Fear, and Hate


Anyone that has yet to watch last night’s episode of Agents of Shield, entitled ‘The Well’, I suggest you go and watch it before proceeding ahead. As always, this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.
While not as exciting an episode as I would have liked, this episode did manage to develop the characters more into well-rounded people. Going in, I wasn’t as happy to watch an episode that alluded to the latest Thor film, but I am glad it wasn’t as spoiler heavy as I expected it to be. Although the fact that this series is trying to broach both film and television and have them crossover into one another isn’t working as much as I think they’ve tried to make it.
The one thing I did just mention that I was happiest regarding this episode was the character development. Finally most of the cast is seeming to appear like they are fully developed human beings, because that’s what this series is supposed to be about, the every day heroes. I liked getting to see more behind Ward’s character and the things from his past he keeps hidden, even though I can’t quite recall what this series has said happened to him. Also, May also seemed to get a little closer to being a realistic persona, although she’s the one of the entire core cast that I don’t think has gotten there fully. Otherwise, all the characters seemed to be going in the right direction, and that makes quite happy to see in a Whedon production.
That being said, this wasn’t as exciting as it could’ve been. This series doesn’t seem quite confident enough in itself not to need to rely on its film series brethren. That’s sad because it doesn’t seem to be able to connect as well as it could have due to the lack of confidence. I’m kind of getting bored of this alien artifacts and all the sort, I’d really like it to go back to the pilot episode kind of writing. I prefer mystery, character development, and a slow, but not too slow, burning story arc. I’m not really getting that this season is fully connecting within itself.
All in all, I’m growing more disappointed in the way this series is being written. The characters finally seemed to be getting more interesting and better developed, but the story behind each episode doesn’t seem to really know where it’s going. I’d really appreciate it if this series didn’t try so hard and instead just let itself become what it needed to become. It’s not feeling like it is fully together and that it even knows what direction it intends to go. The writing is sloppy, and story development seems like it’s just spouting out things at random and trying to tie them together.
My rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Best Lines:
“She’s ruling out a panic attack.” – Fitz clarifies Simmons’ series of questions.
“The crusades, the Black Death, disco.” – Skye spouts out terrible things the Professor would have lived through.


Okay, I’m off to watch Supernatural now, which I’m now actually more excited for than this show. Check back soon.

No comments:

Post a Comment