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.

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.