Agents of SHIELD. Season 1 Discussion Thread

[Gryffindorian]

I'm really liking this show, and I don't get why some people would go so far as to say it's crappy. Seriously, if they're expecting superpowered beings in tights, then they'll be disappointed because I don't think the show promised to be anything like that.

I like Coulson and most of the other characters and the relationship dynamics. Ward and Skye, Coulson and May, Fitz and Simmons, and you see those dynamics on every episode, like how Coulson and May perceived ex agent Amador differently, whether to take her in or take her down. I've got a crush on Ward; Brett Dalton is hot. I hope they talk more about May's background and how they refer to her as "The Cavalry."

 

[LaxScrutiny]

And at least so far, we're not really seeing "normal people coping with a world of superheroes" either. We're just seeing a handful of agents chasing after weird alien/scifi tech while making cute wisecracks, and then locking the tech away somewhere at the end. They don't seem terribly troubled or haunted by what they're finding at all (at least so far).

What we are seeing is nominally "Marvel's Men in Black." Now, the real Men in Black was nominally "Get Smart" which was a take off on "Man from UNCLE" which was one of inspirations for "Nick Fury."

Confusing enough? Chistopher put it quite well, SHIELD isn't a superhero team, it's a spy team, and what we get is (John Steed + Emma Peel) * (Maxwell Smart) * (James Bond + Q) * (Napoleon Solo + April Dancer).

 

[LaxScrutiny]

"There is absolutely, positively no such thing as ESP. Now excuse me, I'm getting a text from Thor."

To be fair, Skye did call her out on that "no ESP" thing and I was thinking the same thing before Skye said it. Really, this is a universe where there should be no "Skeptical Skullys" given everything that's happened in the MCU up to this point.

The Vulcan Science Directorate has determined that time travel is impossible.

 

[Icemizer]

Well that one almost put me to sleep. Do we need to mention the aliens in New York every episode?
So F&S were amazed by the eye tech and its small size which was a decade ahead of anything they had ever seen but were soon able to make something just as small that fit into a pair of glasses. Oh and of course Coulson is not the same again this week. The extra shows ordered this year are only going to drag that out.
The one good thing this week was the false bad guy at the end. Not doing the reveal of the bad guy/group was well handled.

 

[Mr Light]

The Battle of New York was the 9/11 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I expect them to mention it a lot.

 

[Reverend]

"There is absolutely, positively no such thing as ESP. Now excuse me, I'm getting a text from Thor."

To be fair, Skye did call her out on that "no ESP" thing and I was thinking the same thing before Skye said it. Really, this is a universe where there should be no "Skeptical Skullys" given everything that's happened in the MCU up to this point.

The Vulcan Science Directorate has determined that time travel is impossible.

Actually all she said was that there had been no credible studies that proved the existence of ESP. She didn't say it was impossible.

I suppose it's possible that a certain professor in up-state New York has made sure that no such studies produced positive results, or made sure the successful ones weren't seen as credible.

 

[Booji]

Well that one almost put me to sleep. Do we need to mention the aliens in New York every episode?
So F&S were amazed by the eye tech and its small size which was a decade ahead of anything they had ever seen but were soon able to make something just as small that fit into a pair of glasses. Oh and of course Coulson is not the same again this week. The extra shows ordered this year are only going to drag that out.
The one good thing this week was the false bad guy at the end. Not doing the reveal of the bad guy/group was well handled.

this. i thought the show had improved each week it has been on, but episode 4 was very dull. And it doesn't help that, other than Coulson and FitzSimmons, I really hate the cast. I hope this show improves soon.

 

[Borgminister]

Nicely directed by Roxanne, and probably the best episode so far, but I just can't seem to invest in the characters for some reason. Being confused by the safety versus cartridge in a gun is funny how many times? Not sure someone hardened after years of captivity wouldn't be a bit more "brainwashed" other than to have that "failsafe" in her eye. Story development is just too superficial to take hold on an emotional, I- care-about-you-level. And another penis reference to a bottle to urinate in while in the van?

Not sure this show has decided whether it wants to be camp or serious or has got the combination of the two right. Guess I'll give it another shot next week if I think of it, but I'm more likely to remember Sleepy Hollow and The Blacklist than SHIELD, and as an old-timer comic book lover, that's saying something.

 

[davejames]

Well that one almost put me to sleep. Do we need to mention the aliens in New York every episode?
So F&S were amazed by the eye tech and its small size which was a decade ahead of anything they had ever seen but were soon able to make something just as small that fit into a pair of glasses. Oh and of course Coulson is not the same again this week. The extra shows ordered this year are only going to drag that out.
The one good thing this week was the false bad guy at the end. Not doing the reveal of the bad guy/group was well handled.

this. i thought the show had improved each week it has been on, but episode 4 was very dull. And it doesn't help that, other than Coulson and FitzSimmons, I really hate the cast. I hope this show improves soon.

Agreed. Despite my criticisms, I rather enjoyed the last two episodes (at least as a cheesy guilty pleasure level). But this one just seemed incredibly slow and dull to me for some reason.

And I can't say I found any of it particularly deep either. Sure Coulson felt bad about what happened to his former protege, and was a bit more serious than usual... but that's about all I could see going on.

I will say I like the odd little friendship that seems to be developing between Coulson and Skyle though. Their scenes together are easily my favorite of every episode.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Overall thumbs up, this week.

 

[kirk55555]

This was a good episode this week.

Spoiler: SHIELD

Agent boring and generic hacker girl weren't the focus, and the scenes they were in were actually interesting and sometimes funny (I liked seeing Ward get the message to "seduce" the guard ). It was nice to see Coulson, supposedly the main character (and definately the best actor), get some real screen time and focus. The overall story was interesting and actually used the spy/tech stuff in a good way, unlike last week's snorefest.

That said, 'm excited to get some superhero typew stuff next week. SHIELD is at its best when it breaks away from telling super generic stories that any spy type show could tell. A guy with fire powers seems interesting, and its more the tpe of story I like to see fro SHIELD.

 

[Beagleman]

Pretty good episode, probably the best so far. Feels like things are picking up.

 

[FPAlpha]

Thank you.. finally the first good episode.

The team felt like a team, everyone had their task to do and they were all needed according to their specialty, Coulson tied them all together and the plot was decent.

They finally introduced a good new mystery that can serve as this seasons big bad (maybe the entire show big bad) and the humor was used sparingly but well.

The tech due is still a little bland and a bit annoying but they just didn't get around to fleshing them out a bit.

Melinda May is still an iceblock but it's nice to wonder what she did pre-show and how she came to be known as the "Cavalry".

Please continue to improve and by mid season i might be really glued to my seat.

 

[Christopher]

They finally introduced a good new mystery that can serve as this seasons big bad...

Aren't you forgetting the mystery of who was responsible for the experiments in the pilot episode? Personally I suspect the same group is behind them both, and I suspect it's AIM.

 

[Nine of Four]

^ I share that suspicion. No way they could make up an entire organization interested in super-abilities. Fans, including myself, wouldn't accept it if it wasn't Shield.

 

[sojourner]

LoL, when they mentioned the math on the wall possibly being alien in origin my first thought was "Cool! anti-life equation!!", then I remembered, "Oh yeah, Marvel not DC".

 

[Turtletrekker]

And who is this Vanchat? In the pilot, Ward stole the Chitauri neural thingee from him and in "Eye-Spy", we learn that Amadore was believed killed on a raid on one of "Vanchat's gulags".

 

[stj]

While watching video on demand, I did the sudoku puzzle in the daily paper. Didn't miss the time out from watching, which says something about the engagement this show inspires.

The scene with Squarejaw trying to do something spy-like, namely, manipulate another human being for information, was a painful reminder of how stupid the show is in its own professed terms.

SHIELD is not a spy agency, it is a band of thugs. This dreamworld where US gorillas get to stomp people all around the world is getting offensive.

Nerd and Nerdette still have no personalities, which says to me that their whole point is to be foils to make the leads look good.

The old rule used to be that a character with an exotically cool name, like "Sky," was given that name because the character was a Mary Sue. Or, just possibly, a thinly disguised erotic ideal. This show is not rising above fan fic with this character.

Does anybody really care how they reconcile this Coulson with Coulson's death in the Avengers move? Do you realize that unless there's a bunch of people who do, the relelentless emphasis on that is boring and inept?

 

[sojourner]

This dreamworld where US gorillas get to stomp people all around the world is getting offensive.

SHIELD is an international organization. Now, considering the show is for American audiences, it does tend to focus more on american characters and viewpoints.

"Sky" is an exotic name??? Lol, ok.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Almost half the team is Scottish.