Training or not, it was a little unnerving to watch Fitz stab a guy in the hand.
Agents of Shield - Season 4
- Thread starter MarsWeeps
- Start date
More than that, given the situations he's found himself in since the end of season 1, it would be somewhat irresponsible for him not to have sought out some kind of defense training (hell, we've even seen Simmons training with firearms, not to mention using them several times now). I don't expect him to be beating up trained fighters any time soon, but he should be able to handle himself in a situation like this one (element of surprise, assistance from two highly capable fighters in Mack and Coulson, plus support from Yo-Yo).
While Christopher is on target with the way both the MCU and the DC tv shows have gradually ramped up the fantasy quotient, I've never quite grasped why actual magic is supposed to be such a big stumbling block for mainstream audiences.
I mean, we're talking about the same general audience that flocked to see HARRY POTTER, the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN movies, TWILIGHT, FROZEN, etc. Hogwarts is insanely popular, but somehow Asgard is too far-out for modern audiences? Harry Potter cast spells from day one, but we needed a long, slow buildup to "prepare" audiences for DOCTOR STRANGE?
Is it mixing genres that's supposed to be the problem? Maybe, but I can't help wondering if those kind of genre distinctions actually matter more to enthusiasts than to the general audience,who may be less concerned with splitting hairs between fantasy and science fiction.
I suspect that, as far as most people are concerned, IRON MAN is a comic-book movie, THOR is a comic-book movie, GHOST RIDER and HELLBOY are comic-book movies, and comic books are all about weird, freaky stuff like mutants and aliens and magic..
I mean, we're talking about the same general audience that flocked to see HARRY POTTER, the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN movies, TWILIGHT, FROZEN, etc. Hogwarts is insanely popular, but somehow Asgard is too far-out for modern audiences? Harry Potter cast spells from day one, but we needed a long, slow buildup to "prepare" audiences for DOCTOR STRANGE?
Is it mixing genres that's supposed to be the problem? Maybe, but I can't help wondering if those kind of genre distinctions actually matter more to enthusiasts than to the general audience,who may be less concerned with splitting hairs between fantasy and science fiction.
I suspect that, as far as most people are concerned, IRON MAN is a comic-book movie, THOR is a comic-book movie, GHOST RIDER and HELLBOY are comic-book movies, and comic books are all about weird, freaky stuff like mutants and aliens and magic..
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I can see where audiences that are ok with magic and technology may need to be eased into mixing them when they previously weren't. Like if the fifth Harry Potter movie started having muggles with magic nullifying ray guns fighting the wizards I imagine people would balk.
I think part of it is just that they are comic-book movies, and that means they've had an uphill battle against generations of being dismissed as silly and cheesy. Comics-based shows and movies are all the rage now, but there's long been a tendency to try to tone down the sillier and weirder and more comic-booky aspects in order to seem more reputable -- X-Men avoided the bright costumes and even poked fun at them, Smallville adamantly avoided the Superman costume and spent years trying to pass itself off as a supernatural teen drama, the MCU films have generally tried to keep the use of superhero code names to a minimum, etc. Arrow didn't even have Oliver start using a code name until season 2, and it didn't become "Green Arrow" until season 4.
So it's not magic specifically. It's just that comic-book movies and shows have historically had a respectability gap to overcome, and so they had to win audiences over by starting out comparatively normal and proving that they were worth taking seriously, and once they'd earned the audience's trust, they were able to push the envelope farther. And that applies whether it's stuff specific to comics, like code names and bright skintight costumes, or stuff found in other genres too, like aliens and magic.
So it's not magic specifically. It's just that comic-book movies and shows have historically had a respectability gap to overcome, and so they had to win audiences over by starting out comparatively normal and proving that they were worth taking seriously, and once they'd earned the audience's trust, they were able to push the envelope farther. And that applies whether it's stuff specific to comics, like code names and bright skintight costumes, or stuff found in other genres too, like aliens and magic.
The exact explanation is to come later. Basically someone with access to some nation's governmental resources believes in the Watchmen's cause and is willing to use knowledge gained from adherents to the Sokovian Accords to their advantage.
Well there's always been a gap between what audiences will accept and what the suits *think* audiences will accept.
My personal take though is that they wanted to keep some sense of consistency to the universe, even across the various genres they're drawing from. So when say Iron Man and Thor interact there's some common ground to their worlds.
Another possible consideration is the problem of magic being too easy a plot resolution so tying it down with some rules limits what can be done and allows a credible story to be told. Magic in stories like 'Harry Potter' is a bit easier to deal with since it's a 'Magic vs Magic' conflict. Now try and put Harry up against a muggle with a gun and all of a sudden it's a trivial threat. and not very exciting.
I look forward to the moment to when this dirty Watchdog senator is exposed to the public for who she really is.
The power that the Inhuman race, I mean TV viewers needed was the personal connection of an anti Inhuman among the global political elite class to show just how unjustified they are in their goal. Now little brother may have been like Hunter and trying fish oil while sister won't eat anything from the sea while hoping her genes are recessive.
In the comics, they just debuted a new character, Mosaic. In his comic, it was pointed out that there was no known timeframe for how long it took to hatch from a cocoon.
The terrigen statue was a nice twist ending.
They're really making good use of the Inhumans as a metaphor for the hate mongering that goes on in the world today, especially in the United States. While the Inhumans themselves are a poor metaphor for real-life minorities, since they do present a legitimate danger, by presenting it as a Humans versus Inhumans conflict, and making it a point to include all demographics in the anti-Inhuman crusade, they emphasize the nature of the problem without exacerbating the conflict between ethnic groups (or genders) as is currently the norm in the current political climate. And by making the hate group a bunch of Humans posing as Inhumans, they parallel the increasing use of sock puppets to manufacture artificial conflict. Very nicely done, but, of course, will the people who most need to get the message actually get the message.
Fitz really got to shine in this episode. Not only did he save the day with rudimentary science, but his teasing of Mack about Yo Yo cracked me up.
And it's nice to see Yo Yo playing a bigger part. Her relationship-- or maybe non-relationship as she might say-- with Mack is fascinating to watch. It's unfortunate that her friends are so bigoted. Maybe this will mean she will be spending more time with SHIELD.
The Mad Scientist guy is hilarious, and he and Simmons make a great team. I wonder if May will experience any after effects from her experience. That seemed way too easy.
They're really making good use of the Inhumans as a metaphor for the hate mongering that goes on in the world today, especially in the United States. While the Inhumans themselves are a poor metaphor for real-life minorities, since they do present a legitimate danger, by presenting it as a Humans versus Inhumans conflict, and making it a point to include all demographics in the anti-Inhuman crusade, they emphasize the nature of the problem without exacerbating the conflict between ethnic groups (or genders) as is currently the norm in the current political climate. And by making the hate group a bunch of Humans posing as Inhumans, they parallel the increasing use of sock puppets to manufacture artificial conflict. Very nicely done, but, of course, will the people who most need to get the message actually get the message.
Fitz really got to shine in this episode. Not only did he save the day with rudimentary science, but his teasing of Mack about Yo Yo cracked me up.
And it's nice to see Yo Yo playing a bigger part. Her relationship-- or maybe non-relationship as she might say-- with Mack is fascinating to watch. It's unfortunate that her friends are so bigoted. Maybe this will mean she will be spending more time with SHIELD.The Mad Scientist guy is hilarious, and he and Simmons make a great team. I wonder if May will experience any after effects from her experience. That seemed way too easy.
Killing her seems too easy?
Yes.
Watchdogs.
And as for who's backing them...
I think the exact wording implied someone with great international influence and connections and wealth, and scientific knowledge that surpassed even Shield.
My first thought was Ian Quinn, as he's been shown to have an international network that could be capable of mobilizing in many cities all at once. And as for the brains behind the EMP, well, he's got Dr Hall, right?
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