Agents of SHIELD. Season 1 Discussion Thread

[MNM]

I really want to like this series, but three episodes in all I can say so far is... I am underwhelmed.

I liked Coulson in the movies, but not so far in the series, maybe it's just too much of him I dont know.

Fitzsimmons are cool, I like them. But I dont like the hacker girl and the shield agent she's clearly going to be boning by the end of the series.

Hopefully it improves, because like I said, I do want to enjoy this series.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Yeah, Buffy set the standard that has been followed with others in a quasi-serialized setting (notably with the new Doctor Who, but also with shows like Burn Notice that usually had a more overt ongoing plot at the beginning and end of episodes before a stand alone episode in the middle).

That being said, while there's certainly two ongoing character plots (with Skye and Coulson), there doesn't really seem to be an ongoing bad guy or threat just yet that's been hinted at in more than one episode.

Really? What about the Rising Tide? Not sure they are actual bad guys, more like a random element of chaos, but I'm sure they will get involved more.

 

[The Old Mixer]

^Rising Tide would get lumped under "Skye".

Just rewatched the episode...when Skye was talking in her mic at the party, I wanted Daniel Craig to show up and tell her to stop touching her ear.

Don't know if somebody's already brought this up, but regarding the Coulson/LMD theory, wouldn't it tie in nicely with the established MCU (and his fixation with old things) if he turned out to be Phineas Horton's synthetic man...?

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Really? What about the Rising Tide? Not sure they are actual bad guys, more like a random element of chaos, but I'm sure they will get involved more.

So far, I've interpreted the Rising Tide as part of Skye's character development. They exist to give her conflicted loyalties. Otherwise, there hasn't been any indication of other members doing anything whatsoever. If they get involved more, you'll be right, but they haven't been involved more yet, so I don't share your confidence.

Just rewatched the episode...when Skye was talking in her mic at the party, I wanted Daniel Craig to show up and tell her to stop touching her ear.

Yeah, I thought the exact same thing.

 

[Turtletrekker]

The doctor that gave J. August Richards the Centipede device in the pilot will be returning (Along, presumably, with her mysterious benefactors) in two weeks, and Franklin Hall/Graviton is already set to return.

 

[Relayer1]

Well, I really wanted to LOVE this show. I love the MCU, Whedon's the man, it must be great.

I've just watched the third episode and although it's kind of O.K., it's just not really gelling for me. The techies are annoying, Ward is identikit bland and Skye is just really cute. There's no meat to the stories and SHIELD looks like the organisation behind Chuck. Not exactly impressive.

I'll probably stick with it, but if it wasn't part of the MCU it would go the same way as my series links for V, Falling Skies, Grimm, Arrow and most of the recent ,genre' shows - deleted.

 

[LaxScrutiny]

Don't know if somebody's already brought this up, but regarding the Coulson/LMD theory, wouldn't it tie in nicely with the established MCU (and his fixation with old things) if he turned out to be Phineas Horton's synthetic man...?

I like this on so many levels.

Coulson has always been the dry wit, and halfway to an android already.

Horton's synthetic man has, of course, already been presented in the MCU.

The nice thing about this is how it sits beside Coulson's collection of Captain America cards. He would have this whole subset of programming from the 40s that would be lurking in the background.

It leaves the door open for the Vision, without necessarily opening the door for unlimited LMDs. Yes, LMDs are part of the Marvel comic universe, but they kind of complicate potential storylines in the Cineverse. Suddenly every character becomes replacable and expendable.

Horton's man was a one-off. It would make Coulson unique, like Data. And Data had to be unique, or else every starship would have had a thousand of him.

 

[Turtletrekker]

I think that it would hilarious if Stan Lee did a cameo as... himself. "Stan Lee: Legendary creator of such fictional Marvel super-heroes as Spider-Man, The X-Men and the Fantastic Four!"

Heck, we can already infer the existence of DC Comics in the Marvel Cinematic Universe through Rhodey's "Super-Friends" reference in Iron Man 3.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

The doctor that gave J. August Richards the Centipede device in the pilot will be returning (Along, presumably, with her mysterious benefactors) in two weeks, and Franklin Hall/Graviton is already set to return.

Yeah, I've heard. That means there's two recurring bad guys, but that doesn't mean there's a unifying theme or plot beyond the character plots.

 

[Guy Gardener]

S.H.I.E.L.D. fights Hyrda, that's the natural course of things.

 

[The Old Mixer]

I like this on so many levels.

Coulson has always been the dry wit, and halfway to an android already.

Horton's synthetic man has, of course, already been presented in the MCU.

The nice thing about this is how it sits beside Coulson's collection of Captain America cards. He would have this whole subset of programming from the 40s that would be lurking in the background.

It leaves the door open for the Vision, without necessarily opening the door for unlimited LMDs. Yes, LMDs are part of the Marvel comic universe, but they kind of complicate potential storylines in the Cineverse. Suddenly every character becomes replacable and expendable.

Horton's man was a one-off. It would make Coulson unique, like Data. And Data had to be unique, or else every starship would have had a thousand of him.

Or he could be Horton's more successful second attempt...the one that didn't burst into flame upon contact with oxygen. Since the MCU would never be able to out-and-out do a character called "The Human Torch" because of rights issues, I imagine that this version never got out of the tube.

I also had a thought today about somewhere they could go with the Ward/Skye relationship that isn't so obvious...and mind you this is pure, unfounded speculation...but what if it turns out that he "plays for the other team", and they wind up doing something with Pippin's..er, Fitz's...infatuation with her instead...?

 

[JD]

Except Hydra is (apparently) gone. In the second episode, Coulson's ex made a reference to the fall of Hydra. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out the just went underground, but as far as anyone knows they're not an issue anymore.

 

[Guy Gardener]

skyeward is a word.

 

[Trekker4747]

Except Hydra is (apparently) gone. In the second episode, Coulson's ex made a reference to the fall of Hydra. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out the just went underground, but as far as anyone knows they're not an issue anymore.

I'd argue any regime is never really "gone" so long as there's one or two people left who still believe in and follow it. I mean, the Nazis are "gone" in that they're no longer a major world threat, collected or organized but there's still Nazis out there. I'd say the same can be true for HYDRA they're only "gone" so much as they're not organized or have large numbers anymore. But there's always the possibility they can turn those two factors around.

...

Did I just Godwin this thread?

 

[The Old Mixer]

^And there could be a connection as soon as the upcoming episode, what with those guys in the red masks....

 

[Turtletrekker]

This early review for "Eye Spy" suggests the establishing of a big bad of some sort. Slight spoilers...

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/10/12/first-look-marvel-agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-1-4-eye-spy/

If they are connected to the recurring threat from "Pilot" and "Girl in the Flower Dress", then that will make 3 of the first 5 episodes building them up. Plus another that established a recurring villain.

As for "The fall of HYDRA", well "Cut off one head, and two more will take its place".

 

[Alidar Jarok]

The Fall of Hydra (combined with taking refuge in Latin America) was a direct reference to the fall of Nazi Germany. Whether Hydra is entirely eradicated I suppose is something to wait and see on, but I think the idea is that they fell when Germany fell.

 

[Nerys Myk]

This early review for "Eye Spy" suggests the establishing of a big bad of some sort. Slight spoilers...

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/10/12/first-look-marvel-agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-1-4-eye-spy/

If they are connected to the recurring threat from "Pilot" and "Girl in the Flower Dress", then that will make 3 of the first 5 episodes building them up. Plus another that established a recurring villain.

As for "The fall of HYDRA", well "Cut off one head, and two more will take its place".

Yep. They need to bring in Baron Von Strucker.

 

[Guy Gardener]

And Zemo.

It's really amazing the happy sentiments I have toward Hemlut Zemo after tucking a decade of Thunderbolts under my belt.

 

[Christopher]

Yeah, Buffy set the standard that has been followed with others in a quasi-serialized setting ...

I think Babylon 5 was actually the show that pioneered the hybrid episodic/serial format with planned season-long arcs. Other shows had added serialization before then, Hill Street Blues being the pioneering case (along with nighttime soaps like Dallas), but B5's innovation was treating each season as a distinct "novel" with a cohesive story arc resolved in the season finale (and escalating things for the next season).

I think that it would hilarious if Stan Lee did a cameo as... himself. "Stan Lee: Legendary creator of such fictional Marvel super-heroes as Spider-Man, The X-Men and the Fantastic Four!"

Heck, it's always been an established fact of the Marvel Comics universe that Marvel Comics and its creators exist within that universe and publish comics about the real superheroes that inhabit it. Cf. Lee and Kirby being refused entry to Reed and Sue's wedding, or Claremont and Byrne looking on as the X-Men go into action and discussing how they'd better get back to the office to write down what they just saw (or something like that). Jennifer (She-Hulk) Walters has actually used issues of Marvel publications as evidence in legal cases involving their characters. (I'm not sure how the secret-identity issue is dealt with. Presumably the versions of, say, Spider-Man or Daredevil comics published within the MU aren't exactly the same as the ones we read in the real world.)

So they could just as easily have Lee be the publisher of comics based on the real-life adventures of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, etc. Although, well, most of the MCU characters are recent arrivals in the world, so maybe he just did Captain America comics (I think we saw some real Golden Age Cap comics covers at a newsstand in the movie, so those are part of the MCU, at least) and maybe Human Torch comics (the '40s android one).

Except Hydra is (apparently) gone. In the second episode, Coulson's ex made a reference to the fall of Hydra. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out the just went underground, but as far as anyone knows they're not an issue anymore.

In the comics, Advanced Idea Mechanics originated as the special-weapons branch of HYDRA. And we know AIM exists in the MCU.