Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D… where do I start… I want to like this show for two main reason: it is inspired by comics and created by Joss Whedon (I dug all of his other shows & films). But it’s not clicking with me. Something is missing. It seems tame, almost like the creative team is holding back. Would the show have a different tone if it was on another network? Did the ABC/Disney element mute the tone?
What I liked:
- The hints of characterization for May before she reverted to cliche warrior woman.
- More clues about Coulson has changed after being shanked by Loki (I still believe that he’s Life Model Decoy (highly advanced robotic duplicate of SHIELD Agents)).
- The prospect of improved Extremis villains.
- More details about Skye’s past.
What I was expecting:
- Some of Steranko’s trippy spy fiction.
- High tech weaponry and gadgets (the hovercar isn’t enough).
- Official Uniforms.
- Recognized Agents like Carter, Wu, Dum Dum, and Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine
- Some actual villains because the “making of Graviton isn’t enough” and these pastiches of established characters aren’t enough. Tired off the misunderstood post-humans after NotLuke Cage.
- A fully fleshed out cast: it seems like Coulson and Skye are getting all of the characterization, Ward, May, Fitz & Simmons are so cliche.
Review (Spoiler Free):
Tonight’s episode felt like a remix of the pilot episode. Both episodes featured seemingly innocent post-human goes nuts after interacting with Centipede. “Scorch” lacked the emotional tether & motivation of NotLuke Cage and the drive for acknowledgement wasn’t enough for me.
Visual Expectations (courtesy of Kris Anka):
(Courtesy of Aaron Kuder)
Through the Shattered Lens 
I pretty much agree with most everything you just said except for the recognized agents point. I think I understand why they’re not bringing in the more established Agents from the comics.
I think most people who seem disappointed with the show so far have been the die-hard comic book fans. Even though I consider myself one I do think that bringing in too many names from the comics would come off as too fanservicey towards the diehards while making the casual Marvel fans (which I think pretty much constitutes the majority of the MCU fans) scratch their heads.
In the first early episodes the show was quite heavy on referencing the films and people complained about that.
So, I think that just like all of Whedon’s shows in the past one has to give it time to let it grow on it’s own. I mean if you ook at the first three episodes and these last two there’s already a change in how it looks. First three were too brightly lit like they were trying to copy the comic book page look. These last two seems more in line with the hyper-realistic tone the films were going for. A world that could be just like ours but with superheroes in it.
The cast itself could need some trimming and I wouldn’t be surprised if the show does kill off one or two of the established characters. Whedon has done it before. Anyone else remember Doyle from Angel.
The show looks to be in a weird position in that it could really soar like Buffy, but it also seems held back by the fact that it seems like it’s a jumping off point for groups and ideas meant to flesh out the film side of the universe.
One thing about tonight’s episode that I found interesting and this is from my die-hard side is how this Centipede group could be a splinter from Killian’s AIM but with a more militaristic agenda. When those men came for Chan Ho Yin in the fire suits…I could almost think they looked like AIM soldiers, just silver suits instead of the comic book’s traditional yellow.
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I would trade established agents for some more cool technology. Some slick Steranko weapons designs and a ton of gadgets (maybe I am mistakenly assuming that they would be relatively cheap to make). I dug the Scoobies from Buffy fairly quickly outside of Cordelia. The same goes for the Firefly cast excluding Jayne. No one really stands out with the SHIELD crew outside of Coulson’s change & Skye’s personality. I will give it a few more episodes before deciding to stay or drop it.
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I’m sticking with the show pretty much til the end of the season to see what the first season payoff will be. I’ve learned in the past when it comes to Whedon shows that it’s a long-gestating process. It’s definitely not for everyone, but as some who have followed Whedon’s tv work since the beginning, “IN WHEDON WE TRUST”. LOL
Yeah, I hope they introduce more fancy gadgets outside the little gizmos they’ve shown, so far. I wouldn’t mind a cameo of the Helicarrier.
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This doesn’t feel like any iteration of SHIELD that I am familiar with. I want more super spy stuff injected into this series
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I think we’ll get that once events with Winter Soldier comes to pass. I do believe that Coulson and his team will split from S.H.I.E.L.D. (which I sense the same for Capt. America, Black Widow, Fury, Hill and Barton).
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That would be an interesting spin. Sort of like an A-Team but super spy version
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As I stated last September after the first episode
Centipede was an arm of HYDRA and agent Coulson
Will be revealed as an LMD all I have stated nearly has come true
It is not hard to read the plot of the shield program if you think about it
Next part will be an attempt to crush the HYDRA take over of the shield
Operation
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I grudgingly admit that the second season of Agents of SHIELD is better than the previous. The episode that I managed to catch were interesting
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