Agents of SHIELD: Season 6

[Christopher]

Interesting. I just blew through DD S3 a lot faster than I planned to, and was considering using the extra time to try The Punisher, which I'd originally considered to be a "maybe" after finishing JJ. Without getting too spoilery, anything in particular that really turned you off the show?

I didn't have a problem with season 1 -- at least, no more than I had with the basic concept of doing a Punisher series in the first place. That season was a pretty interesting exploration of PTSD and recovery, and it managed to portray Frank Castle in a way that didn't glorify his actions, that explored the moral questions his violence raised, and that ended on a fairly positive note. The problem with season 2 is that it undoes all that in the name of perpetuating the Punisher formula, something that's rendered even more gratuitous by the cancellation of the series. The main storyline feels like an afterthought, a rehash of plot and character threads already resolved in season 1, and it's hard to see what the point of it is. And it's packed together with a completely unconnected new storyline that jostles for the spotlight with the other one and doesn't have enough room to get adequately fleshed out. Basically season 2 did exactly what I feared it would do, invalidating what worked about season 1. Jon Bernthal still does some terrific acting, but he's playing a more one-note version of the character this time. It would've been better if season 1 had been the end of Castle's story.

 

[Morpheus 02]

I apologize for being off topic...but I especially loved this episode....in some ways like a clip show but with all brand new material...especially loved seeing younger FitzSimmons get recruited by the Coulsob we know and love...and the callback to how we thought they were one person.

And their bickering....seems like they were trying to catch up on married life!

Got a question....was Fitz always this angry? Or just since he recovered from brain damage after almost drowning?


The strength of this show is the characters...

 

[David cgc]

He definitely got more short-tempered after season one, but it's hard to say if it was the physical trauma from the drowning, the psychological trauma of being betrayed and nearly murdered by Ward, or the psychological trauma of having everything he valued about himself taken away and feeling like a pathetic shell that everyone had to condescend to. Probably the last one, since he threw Jemma "abandoning" him when she went undercover in her face in this episode.

 

[kitik]

What a fantastic episode. Totally worth the 6 year wait. No, that sounded wrong, because most of the past 6 years have been great too. 6 years of everything I've liked about this show all crammed together. That's better.

We've been getting lots of Coulson flashbacks lately. He's probably been spending extra time in the makeup chair. And yeah, those FitzSimmons flashback versions were great. I loved how they slid in and out of discussions and memories. Half of a scene was a memory of what actually happened, and half of it was analysis of either their memories or their current prison.

The second Mac said "I bet they've already busted out" I so wanted to see them magically appear right then and there.

Also, regarding Deke, he's only appeared in 1 of the 6 episodes so far. You would think he's going to play a much bigger role in the second half of the season.

"Oh, I almost forgot, you're a grandfather."
"What the bloody hell does that..."

 

[RJDiogenes]

As far as I know it has almost nothing to do with the comics, beyond the basic concept of the character, so I wouldn't let your feelings about the comics version stop you from checking the show out.

Looks weird. I'll see if the first season is on On Demand.

I've never cared for the comics Punisher as a antagonist, never mind an a protagonist.

I've never read a Punisher book. He was created as a villain in the 70s as a parody of, or homage to, those paperback series vigilantes like the Executioner and the Butcher. Making him out to be a hero was one of the most glaring examples of the sudden dark turn that culture took in the 80s, so I really have no stomach for the character.

 

[The Old Mixer]

He was created as a villain in the 70s as a parody of, or homage to, those paperback series vigilantes like the Executioner and the Butcher. Making him out to be a hero was one of the most glaring examples of the sudden dark turn that culture took in the 80s, so I really have no stomach for the character.

I wouldn't call him a villain...an antagonist, but ostensibly on the same side as the heroes, just using harsher methods. His pretext for fighting Spider-Man in his first appearance was that Spidey was wanted in connection with a couple of deaths in that period.

 

[RJDiogenes]

I wouldn't call him a villain...an antagonist, but ostensibly on the same side as the heroes, just using harsher methods. His pretext for fighting Spider-Man in his first appearance was that Spidey was wanted in connection with a couple of deaths in that period.

He was a killer. He didn't leave bad guys tied up with a note for the police, he just executed them.

 

[Reverend]

I'm not up much on the source material, but the general impression I get is that most consider version of The Punisher from the early 2000's Ennis run to be the more definitive, and the original version is viewed more or less the same way one might view the Adam West version of Batman.

He's still a killer regardless, because that's what soldiers do. The question of where the war ends and civilised society begins (and various other veteran specific issues) has been at the core of what he's about for a while now.

 

[Jayson1]

Him flat out killing bad guys is one of the reasons the character works. It makes him more unique when compared to other heroes. More of soldier aproach since he doesn't super powers. Not ever character has to the exact same code because that would be repeditive. Jason

 

[The Old Mixer]

most consider version of The Punisher from the early 2000's Ennis run to be the more definitive

Millennial Punisher? Is he posting selfies while he assassinates crime lords?

Anyway, I've started Season 1.

 

[JD]

Looks weird. I'll see if the first season is on On Demand.

If you have Hulu the first two season are on there, that's how I'm watching it. They are not adding the new episodes as they air, so I'm assuming they'll add all of Season 3 after it's over, that's what they did with Season 2.

 

[SolarisOne]

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[RJDiogenes]

^^ I love that.

If you have Hulu the first two season are on there, that's how I'm watching it. They are not adding the new episodes as they air, so I'm assuming they'll add all of Season 3 after it's over, that's what they did with Season 2.

Sadly, I do not have Hulu.

 

[Guy Gardener]

^^ I love that.


Sadly, I do not have Hulu.

It's not free anymore (in North America)?

 

[Turtletrekker]

Elizabeth Henstridge and Iain de Caestecker are TVlines performers of the week...

https://tvline.com/2019/06/22/eliza...UIjZiIZb8oCDv_ORky8kWeedVdR1gGDGCNTKu2Dp7_A0g

 

[RJDiogenes]

It's not free anymore (in North America)?

I thought it was a pay service like Netflix, but I'll look into it.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Hulu (with commercials) used to be free in the United States, but it hasn't been for quite some time.

 

[thribs]

Nice to see RDJ’s best pal, Anthony Michael Hall in a role. Hopefully this isn’t his only appearance.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

^ I was just about to post that he's making me very aware of my own age. "That can't be Farmer Ted!"

Interesting that Deke explicitly lays out the time travel multiverse concept.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Hulu (with commercials) used to be free in the United States, but it hasn't been for quite some time.

Thanks. That's what I thought.