While that's certainly true and hurts them with the season arc, that doesn't excuse the fact that the writing of the early episodes was so cringe-worthy. I didn't bail from the show midway through the first season because "it wasn't going anywhere" but rather it was because the show was too painful for me to watch.
I don't disagree that the first 2/3 of the season were... rough. But I still enjoyed them for what they were at the time-- new glimpses into my beloved MCU (and the connections to the movies were probably the strongest in the first season).
Even now I can watch them and, while on one hand I appreciate how much the show has improved, on the other hand, so much of what later became important about the show and the characters were established in that first season.
Early S1 over view-
Pilot-- Hey, I liked it. Coulson was then, and still is, my favorite MCU character. While the show wasn't entirely what I was expecting, my expectations are my own problem. The smaller, more intimate story with Mike and his son was engaging to me, and I found myself hoping for his return. I liked the new characters, I liked Mike Peterson and I was intrigued by the mystery presented by the mysterious "Centipede" (which I correctly guessed to be connected to Hydra. You can't have SHIELD without Hydra, right?
084--Meh.
The Asset-- Despite some good character bits and introducing he who would eventually not turn out to be Graviton afterall, -Meh
Eye-Spy-- I liked this one, but it wasn't great. I wish that we had seen more of Akeela Amador.
Girl in the Flower Dress-- Uneven, not great, not bad. There are some things that I really liked, such as the introduction of Raina and Centipede/Hydra's recruitment and discarding of poor Chan Ho Yin (in hindsight I can see Rocket Raccoon mocking poor Chan thusly --- "Bwahahahaha! Your name is 'Scorch'?"). However, I could totally do with out most of the Skye's boyfriend subplot.
FZZT-- Despite a very powerful scene with Coulson telling the man that was about to die that he had been there and it was nothing to be afraid of-- meh.
The Hub-- I really liked this one. The team's first real interaction with big SHIELD. This was the first time that we saw more to Fitz than a vaguely nebbish nerd and realized that he had the makings of both bad-ass and hero.
The Well-- IIRC, this wasn't a popular one, but I liked it. I think mostly people were let down that the advertised cross-over with
Thor The Dark World was no more than a brief opening scene. The rest of the episode, dealing with an ancient Asgardian artifact and an equally ancient Asgardian history teacher (played by Peter MacNicol) was enjoyable. The villains were a little on the weak side (Berzerker Staff enhancements notwithstanding), but the characters had really begun to gell together by this point.
Repairs-- The show's first genuine stinker (IMHO, YMMV), but we learned backstory about May that would be brought up repeatedly over the rest of the show's run and fleshed out fully in S3s "Melinda".
The Bridge/ The Magical Place-- The two-parter that explained Coulson's resurrection (The "how", if not the "why") was better than "meh", but not spectacular. It felt a tad rushed. Coulson's abduction should have lasted a few more episodes before resolution.
Seeds-- Despite the first look at SHIELD Academy and the introduction of the comics villain Blizzard-- Meh.
OK, here in the "back nine" is where the snowball really starts to roll.
T.R.A.C.K.S.-- This was a very clever episode set on a train (and features AoS's one Stan Lee cameo) and ends on the dark note of Skye getting shot in the stomach.
T.A.H.I.T.I.-- This one was a jaw-dropper. The introduction of Bill Paxton as John Garrett and the desperate search for and assault on the facility that brought Coulson back to life. The reveal of the Kree corpse being the source of the GH.325 drug was a real shocker.
Yes Men--Another really good one, marred only by the fact that it interrupted the flow of the "Search for the Clairvoyant" plotline. Featuring one of the show's only real movie crossovers, Lady Sif travels from Asgard to apprehend the villainous Lorelei.
End of the Beginning and
Turn, Turn, Turn were the beginning of
The Winter Soldier crossover, and from here the show never looked back. The only bump in the road for the rest of the season was the "Blackout/Coulson's ex the cellist (played by Amy Acker)" plot in "The Only Light in the Darkness", however the Ward/Skye stuff in that ep that continued the ongoing plot was very intense stuff.
