Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 1.04 Review: Everybody Deserves a Second Chance

Anyone that has yet to watch tonight’s episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., titled ‘Eye Spy’, then now would probably be a good time to do that. As always, this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

Certainly not the best episode that I expect this series will produce, but it was an interesting one. I really liked getting to see Skye and Ward’s chemistry, and then to see – to put it like Skye – AC and Skye bouncing off each other. It’s easy to say Skye is my favourite character in this series. She’s such a funny, bubbly, dorky, smart girl that just works well on camera.

The way this episode began, I was a little weirded out by the suited men in masks. It almost felt like the opening to one of those dance movies. Don’t get me wrong, those movies can be quite entertaining, but I didn’t understand the need to include that in an episode of this series. Thankfully, that was explained away in a nice little way, so no big issues with that.

There were some great moments to this episode, though, that were rather comedic. I absolutely adore Fitz. His love for snacks, shown at the end of the episode and in his desire to have them in the van, was great. I also really loved when he did that yes fist motion in the van, when he learned he wouldn’t be going out on the op, just staying in there. The name they gave the van was also perfect, short bus suited it perfectly, particularly because Coulson didn’t seem to like it, which was funny in and of itself. It was also really great to learn Ward is ticklish behind the ears, so randomly funny. And a number of lines were quite hysterical in this episode as well.

While I don’t think this series will ever win valued awards, it is a fun little show to watch. Some interesting topics are broached in regards to the human condition, though not always done to the best of their abilities. This show seems to favour lighter tones, rather than the grittier temperaments. My issue with that is that darker, serious topics sometimes need a bit more drama to them, and I haven’t seen that quite concretely in this series. Don’t get me wrong, the characters sometimes come across that way towards each other, and the situations, but the grandeur to the rest of the aspects of this show – like music, lighting, cinematography – seem to take away from those real moments. It very much feels like a superhero movie, where the music swells and you know the hero will make it out alive. Perhaps that’s the difference between this series and Joss Whedon’s other series’, before he was never afraid to push the envelope, to kill a valued character just to show that anyone could be killed. So that needs some work this time around.

This episode definitely added a bit to the mystery surrounding Coulson. The fact that Akela had noticed Coulson had come back too different than would be reasonable for the situation, helped to produce alarm bells regarding the mystery. I continue to question what they did do to him. I just hope that mystery isn’t prolonged for too long that people begin to lose hope that it will ever be solved, and simply give up on watching this show.

There are still many questions I have, other than the one about Coulson. Who is Skye? Who did she have to erase from technological existence? Was it her identity? Is she still working for the Rising Tide? From next week’s promo, it seems like she is, but wasn’t that resolved in last week’s episode? What was the Cavalry? What happened that made May dislike combat so much? So many questions, not enough answers.

My rating: 7 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“She stop saying bang when she pulls the trigger?” – Coulson asks Ward, regarding Skye’s training.

“I owe you one.” – Coulson. “More like three.” – May.

“Bang?” – Skye mutters, right before the van is hit.

“Even though she tried to kill me, and I kind of hate her guts.” – Skye says, regarding Akela.

“Help.” – Ward mutters weakly, after learning he’s supposed to seduce the guard.

“Which way’s South?” – Skye questions, after Ward tells her to meet him South of the building.

All right folks, I’m off to watch New Girl, Trophy Wife, Supernatural, and The Originals next. Stay tuned.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 1.03 Review: Finding Out Where Loyalties Lie

This is a warning. All those that have yet to watch Tuesday night’s episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., titled ‘The Asset’, please vacate the premises. This is not, and won’t likely ever be, a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

That was a much better television episode. While the series drifted a bit last week, with it’s second episode of the series, this week’s episode was a much better improvement. Undoubtedly this series will always have a superhero, over-the-top kind of feel to it, but it can still be somewhat grounded in the way it’s written.

There was definitely more depth to the characters this week. We got to see more of why Skye is who she is, as well as why Ward is who he is. Melinda May seems to have gotten over her fear of combat, or at least she’s struggling less with the fact she never wants to be in combat ever again, which is an improvement. Though that seems to have progressed a little more rapidly than I would have liked, I’m guessing we’ll still see her strive to deal with actual combat in future weeks. They still need to further improve Fitz and Simmons, as they still have a sidekick vibe to them, but there’s time for that. Also, Coulson did have some subtle development. I liked the whole belief that it should be muscle memory; another thought that leans towards my theory of cloning, or something of the like.

One thing I have to say about this episode is how amazing the cinematography was. I was incredibly astounded at how great it was just within the first few minutes of the episode. Whomever directed this episode should definitely direct more of this series, they are particularly good at it. And I’d definitely like to see the cinematographer work on future episodes as well.

I do love that this is a Joss Whedon series, despite how much he might not be completely involved, at least in the way he was at the beginning of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I can still see the balancing effects of comedy with drama, depth with an air of lightness. The way his crew always seems to masterfully be able to that is wonderful, though there is often an easier lean towards the comedy side of things, just with depth to it as well.

A comedic moment in this episode that I greatly enjoyed was when Fitz-Simmons and May are listening in on Skye, and Fitz is just questioning things while he eats a big bowl of popcorn. I definitely would like to see more of Fitz; he very well could be the Xander Harris of this series. Although, romantically that wouldn’t be something he’d like to move towards.

All in all, this was definitely an improvement on the last episode. I expect there will always be this air of grandeur revolving around this series, but I do ask for great things from a Mutant Enemies production. This series certainly needs to work a bit on the characters, rather than just unifying them. Each person does need to be an individual for them to make up a whole. Oh, and I expect to see Hall again, or at least that gravitonium (is that right?) he merged into.

My rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“How can you run if you’re curled up in a ball?” – Skye asks Ward, debunking his metaphor.

“Well, technically it’s an e-vite.” – Skye corrects herself.

This interaction as the camera zooms out:

“And I know there’s a truth serum.” – Skye, not completely sure.

“Whatever you say, rookie.” – Ward replies.

Okay, time for Supernatural. Then Revolution or American Horror Story: Coven, I’m not sure which yet, depends on how much sleep I expect to get tonight… Might try to get both in.