Agents of SHIELD. Season 1 Discussion Thread

[Turtletrekker]

Also, another reason why I think Po is the Clairvoyant. After his first "consultation", he says that the Clairvoyant is having trouble seeing "the man who holds the key to stage three".

But immediately upon seeing Coulson and Peterson, without consulting the Clairvoyant, suddenly Po knows that Coulson is the key to Stage Three.

 

[RJDiogenes]

If that critic is complaining that the action is too boring, the dialogue is interminable, and the characters are themselves, then he simply wants the show to be a different show-- something more along the line of Avengers, which was 99% explosions and 1% snippets of character nods.

 

[FPAlpha]

Maybe there wasn't any place better?

That was the impression I got, that it was supposed to be an open area without a lot of viable sniper vantage points nearby. However, modern snipers with the right equipment and training can take a shot from a few miles away, I think, so they fudged it a little there. (Though I'm not one to judge, since I made a similar mistake in Only Superhuman).

Yeah.. realism vs. TV drama and realism always loses. Sniper rifles can hit consistently at ranges of over a mile given a good team but that would be boring to see and doesn't serve story purpose.

So Ward had to be at normal rifle range and quite exposed so he could be hit later on leaving the viewer to wonder if he'll make it (of course he will just as Coulson will escape.. they'reemain characters after all).

I've long ago accepted this fact and try not to be bothered by it which is why when such situations are used anywhere and are realistic i do tend to notice and make a mental note.

 

[Pauln6]

It got off to a tepid start but the characters are developing nicely, the Thor tie-in was fun, the introduction of more super-heroic elements is gathering pace, and the gradual build up of potential recurring characters will help. We've had cameos by Fury and Hill. They might do other movie tie-ins too. I'd love to see Hawkeye and Mockinbird feature (although Renner might be too expensive unless it's tied into the number of appearances he had in his movie deal). They could certainly do origin episodes for some of the lower key Avengers to save time in upcoming sequels.

Ming Na Wen remains the greatest part of the show and I can't wait to see her levels of ice cold stoicism being chipped away as the show progresses.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

FWIW, after last episode, I'm starting to think the African American combat specialist they're adding might actually be Akela Amador. My thought before was why not just say they're adding her if they're adding her. But it's possible they didn't want to risk spoilers related to last night's episode. She doesn't know who was controlling her, but she's the closest they have to an inside agent after Mike's departure (I would say death, but others want to dispute that so I'll let it slide). Plus, she has a plausible motive to join the team and can be enough of an outsider to shake things up (while still having the skills to justify being a member of the team in a way that Skye can't do).

It might not be her, of course, but I'm really starting to hope that it is.

 

[Christopher]

(of course he will just as Coulson will escape.. they're main characters after all).

You do remember this is a Whedon show, right...?

 

[DEWLine]

I'll reiterate my own hopes re: Pascale Armand and her character Akela returning to SHIELD. Preferably on a continuing basis.

Both Akela and Mike, actually. But we'll see what happens after "The Magical Place" airs...

 

[Gaith]

If that critic is complaining that the action is too boring, the dialogue is interminable, and the characters are themselves, then he simply wants the show to be a different show

Lemme stop you right there - until "The Well", the lowest grade the critic gave was a few B-minuses. He wants the show to be better.

My personal view is, if you agree with this review, then you shouldn't watch the show. I don't see why anyone should watch a show they don't enjoy. It just makes them miserable and everyone else miserable when that person inevitably complains about not liking the show.

Believe me, I didn't and don't want to be a downer on this show, and, like the AV Club's critic, I thought the eps up 'til "The Well" were fine, but that those past three have been markedly worse. I want to see more fun capers like "Eye Spy" and "The Hub"; the return of Hand is indeed a promising sign.

 

[timothy]

All of you just need to say arrow is the best show there is.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

If that critic is complaining that the action is too boring, the dialogue is interminable, and the characters are themselves, then he simply wants the show to be a different show

Lemme stop you right there - until "The Well", the lowest grade the critic gave was a few B-minuses. He wants the show to be better.

In my mind, The Well was one of the best episodes so far, so I can't help him there. This show wants to be about the characters first and foremost. This show isn't about The Avengers and it isn't about massive action scenes. The criticisms of The Well seem to be that the action was small-scale and that it didn't have a character from the movie. But I think the episode stood really well on its own and, watching it, it's clear it isn't supposed to have a movie character. If it helps to think of this as the "Lower Decks" of the Marvel universe, that's fine. To me, I liked the Asgardian in the episode. I like how Coulson knows Thor better than he does. It fits the lower decks style. Lady Siff isn't going to show up because why would Lady Siff show up?

My personal view is, if you agree with this review, then you shouldn't watch the show. I don't see why anyone should watch a show they don't enjoy. It just makes them miserable and everyone else miserable when that person inevitably complains about not liking the show.

Believe me, I didn't and don't want to be a downer on this show, and, like the AV Club's critic, I thought the eps up 'til "The Well" were fine, but that those past three have been markedly worse. I want to see more fun capers like "Eye Spy" and "The Hub"; the return of Hand is indeed a promising sign.

In that case, give it a chance through the break and see the next couple of episodes. Maybe through 14 or 15 and then decide if you want to watch the back seven or so. My guess is you'll enjoy a couple episodes but probably not every one.

 

[Turtletrekker]

The mysterious "Vanchat", who has been mentioned twice (Ward stole the Chitauri neural link from him in the pilot, and Akela Amadore was captured leading a raid on one of Vanchat's gulags), will make his first appearance in ep.11, "The Magical Place".

ETA: He is to be played by Aiden Turner, "Kili" from the Hobbit movies.

ETA again: The ep will also see the return of Ron Glass' Dr. Streiten.

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ It's about time. I was disappointed that Glass was not a recurring character.

If that critic is complaining that the action is too boring, the dialogue is interminable, and the characters are themselves, then he simply wants the show to be a different show

Lemme stop you right there - until "The Well", the lowest grade the critic gave was a few B-minuses. He wants the show to be better.

Fair enough then. He and I have a difference of opinion. I still think he's criticizing the show for not being a different show, though.

 

[FPAlpha]

(of course he will just as Coulson will escape.. they're main characters after all).

You do remember this is a Whedon show, right...?

It's not a "Joss" Whedon show but his brother.. Joss is just giving main direction to the show to have it tie in well with the larger Marvel movie universe.

It's also too early in the show to kill off main cast characters, especially Coulson without whom the entire show would tank pretty fast.

So i don't expect them to kill of anyone in the first 2 seasons at least, if ever.I don't know if they have total creative control or if Disney is making sure they don't endanger the product by making controversial creative decisions (i doubt that if Firefly would have been a Disney show that Wash would have been killed off for example).

They don't shy away from a bit of controversy such as Couslon making some hard choices that are unusual for prime time entertainment shows but i don't know if that would extend to the main cast (though if Sky would be chosen to die i'd not lose sleep at all over it).

 

[theenglish]

(of course he will just as Coulson will escape.. they're main characters after all).

You do remember this is a Whedon show, right...?

It's not a "Joss" Whedon show but his brother.. Joss is just giving main direction to the show to have it tie in well with the larger Marvel movie universe.

It's also too early in the show to kill off main cast characters, especially Coulson without whom the entire show would tank pretty fast.

So i don't expect them to kill of anyone in the first 2 seasons at least, if ever.I don't know if they have total creative control or if Disney is making sure they don't endanger the product by making controversial creative decisions (i doubt that if Firefly would have been a Disney show that Wash would have been killed off for example).

They don't shy away from a bit of controversy such as Couslon making some hard choices that are unusual for prime time entertainment shows but i don't know if that would extend to the main cast (though if Sky would be chosen to die i'd not lose sleep at all over it).

I disagree. Wheadon is famous for doing nasty things to characters early in the show's run. I fully expect somebody to be killed or turn out to be a traitor by February sweeps.

 

[Christopher]

Well, I was teasing before, of course. I actually don't expect any major deaths or Whedonesque twists, because this isn't like his other shows. It's not purely a Whedon show, it's a Marvel show, one that Whedon created and oversees on Marvel's behalf. So that means he's probably less free to go wild and do big, daring things, because there are other people's interests involved.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Interestingly, it wasn't Whedon's idea to kill Coulson in Avengers, but he didn't think anyone would believe him.

 

[theenglish]

Well, I was teasing before, of course. I actually don't expect any major deaths or Whedonesque twists, because this isn't like his other shows. It's not purely a Whedon show, it's a Marvel show, one that Whedon created and oversees on Marvel's behalf. So that means he's probably less free to go wild and do big, daring things, because there are other people's interests involved.

Still, Coulson aside there are several characters who could easily be done away with in the cast.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I don't know Whedon shows as well as many people, but does he usually kill off the superfluous character? I thought he kills off a character you wouldn't expect to die instead. Given that, the only real characters I'd expect to get killed off who are in the main cast are Ward and May, with May being the most likely.

Granted, I didn't expect Mike to get killed off the way he did. I could see that happening as well.

 

[The Old Mixer]

If they do bring back Amador, I fear for May. Seems like those two would cover too much overlapping ground character-wise....

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Amador might be less stoic than May.

Either way, the character was described as a close-combat specialist so, if she's female, she'd overlap with May. If she's male, she'd overlap with Ward. It's only a techie type person that would be different from them and they'd overlap with FitzSimmons. Really, if Amador were added as a main character, I'd fear for Amador.