Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 1.10 Review: Making the Choice

Anyone that has yet to watch Tuesday night’s episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., entitled ‘The Bridge’, now would be your last chance to do so devoid of spoilers before proceeding ahead. For this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

Well, I have to say that this week’s episode was the strongest it’s had in a long time. No, it wasn’t the most spectacular piece of television I’ve ever seen, but it was a big improvement from past endeavours. It may have even been the best episode they’ve had since the pilot, and that’s not just because Gunn – I mean Mike Peterson – was back on my screen this week.

The characters, I think, really improved this week. We even got to see Melinda May crack a smile or two. Most notably, I found an improvement in Melinda May and Ward. I actually managed to see a bit of chemistry between the two bedfellows during workout session. Also, I was actually able to catch snippets of seemingly genuine emotions on May, as well as Ward. Skye, as always, was top notch, and Coulson also managed to do well. Fitz and Simmons were pushed a bit to the side this week, but I was even able to see some reality in their characters interactions over such brief moments. Basically, the characters, while nowhere near as good as they could be, were a lot more natural this week then they have been overall. They’re actually appearing to become characters that could be real people.

This all-encompassing arc that the villains are taking is something I’m hoping is typical Joss, with his season long big bads. Otherwise, I’m not sure this popping up now and again thing is working as well as it managed to do on Buffy. It kind of seems like it’s inconsistent storytelling, and not feeling very worthwhile, in my opinion. Maybe it’s that these people don’t really feel as evil as they could be, and that they’re still a little superficial in our dealings with them, despite them having kidnapped Coulson, and possibly killed Mike. Oh, man, I hope he’s not dead; I really missed having J. August Richards on my television screen every week. I mean, the man’s forty but so doesn’t look it, despite having a thinness in his face.

All in all, I feel like they’re finally moving towards a place where this series could manage to last. The characters are developing into more well-rounded people, and while there do seem to be so many strings of stories that it’s hard to remember them each week, especially when having to deal with which one will be involved this week, they are doing well. Also, the music managed to be a little better this week, and not completely superhero feel to it. This series still needs to become a tad more grounded – and that’s not to say they literally need to be on the ground – because the heart isn’t always there in each episode every week. Also, some shots are a little too close-up at points, and that could definitely be worked on.

My rating: 7 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“He’s standing right behind me, isn’t he?” – Ward asks, regarding Mike. And a classic line at that.

“When did you stop talking?” – Simmons questions. “About three embarrassing sentences ago.” – Fitz replies.

“Having powers is cheating. But the suits pretty cool.” – Ward remarks.

Okay, now I’m caught up with Tuesday. I have watched Nashville and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but those reviews won’t be up until tomorrow. Check back then.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 1.05 Review: Broken Trust

For any that have yet to watch tonight’s episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., titled ‘Girl in the Flower Dress’, I suggest you vacate the premises until such time that you have done so. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

What Skye has been holding back finally came to a head in this week’s episode, where her hacker boyfriend sold information to the group known as Centipede. This definitely happened earlier than I would’ve expected. I’m not sure if it’s much withheld information when we’re given the answers three episodes later. The writers probably would’ve been smarter to hold this to the halfway point of the season, but then I’m not privy to their season long plan.

This is definitely a solid B series. The writing isn’t as great as it could, the villains not as interesting as I’d like, and the progression is a little too rapid for my taste. Plus, half the time the characters are very superficial in their acting; they don’t feel like fully developed people. Maybe that’s the acting, or maybe it’s the writing, but the only one to show emotion other than anger that is too subtle to really be able to see was Skye. She’s kind of the best thing this series has going for it right now.

For a Joss Whedon production, I have to say I’m disappointed with how this series is turning out. Usually his work is so great at developing real people, real villains, real emotions, but I’m not getting much of that here. Maybe he’s just not as able to be as hands on with this project as he was for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Dollhouse (I’ve tried watching Firefly, but I’ve never been able to get into it), but he’s usually great at picking a team out to work on his projects, so I really don’t know what’s going on here. This certainly has the superhero kind of feel to it, but even in the Marvel films, real emotions gripped at the characters, and we were really able to dissect who they were in a two-hour span. We’ve had five hours (okay, minus commercials) with this series, and haven’t gotten much. Little pieces to little mysteries solved, but almost no big picture to really try and grasp at.

When Skye’s hacker boyfriend and Ward both basically said the same thing, they gave each other a look, which I suppose could be read as jealousy, but there wasn’t enough of that to really be able to see. Fitz also complaining about not knowing all these things about Skye to Simmins, it was like he also had a bit of a crush on Skye, but again there was no depth to it. Whedon, really, get your act together on this project; I have higher standards for you.

My rating: 7 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“And I like board games.” – Ward makes an offhand comment.

“Awe, crap, they gave him a name.” – Coulson mutters about the name Scorch – which I have to say was a terrible choice, but then I suppose the Torch is already taken.

Okay, I’m off to struggle through New Girl, which I’m very close to calling it quits on, a good few seasons earlier than I gave The Big Bang Theory. After that it’s Trophy Wife, The Originals, and Supernatural, again not necessarily in that order. Stick around.