Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D Season 01 Review

Creator: Joss Whedon

Starring: Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, and Chloe Bennet

First Air  Date: September 27th 2013

It has been a very long time since I’ve done a television review, and since the MCU seems to becoming a television powerhouse it’s only fitting I review their shows. Television always was DC’s playground, say what you will about their movies but they have given us some of the best Superhero related television shows ever. From Batman the Animated series all the way to Arrow (I have yet to watch it but I hear it’s great) DC was always the TV guy. After the Avengers destroyed box office numbers Marvel announced that they would be making the leap from the big screen to the small. Agents of SHIELD was their first show and to make it even better Joss Whedon would be involved in some way, now Whedon is the king of geek television, Buffy, Angel, Firefly, need I say more? Everyone was excited for a show that would be primarily focused on the peacekeeping organization that never really got its time to shine in the MCU movies. To make it even better fan favourite Phil Coulson was going to be coming back from the dead to head the show, everyone was excited and then it aired.

I hate to say it but I originally dropped this show after three episodes. Most shows have growing pains when they first start out but nothing as bad as SHIELD. Even after watching the entire first season (which I ended up enjoying) I have to say those first few episodes are pretty bad. Agents didn’t know what it wanted to be, was it a spy thriller show? Or a monster of the week series in the vein of the X-Files? Well it’s kind of both but if you watch the show and can’t find the strength to get past those first few episodes than heed my advice and the rest of the fan base, it does get better.  I’m not kidding, Agents of SHIELD started out as a muck of a series and then when you least expect it the series pulls a bunny out of it’s hat and immediately becomes incredible.

Agent’s takes place some time after Iron man 3, the world now is aware that there are people on Earth that have extraordinary abilities, some are willing to exploit these individuals for profit, others want to protect them, and some just want to know the truth. Enter a freshly resurrected Phil Coulson who is tasked with creating a small task force to take care of special cases all across the globe, from powered individuals to strange objects of unknown origin, Coulson's team is on the case. However around every turn for Coulson and his team is the mysterious organization Centipede and their even more mysterious leader the “Clairvoyant”. Who the Clairvoyant is and what his endgame is for SHIELD will rock the very foundations of the organization, and the MCU.

Just like the Avengers Agents is an ensemble show. The cast is pretty large and each member of Coulsons team do have their own personalities, it just takes a long time to get attached to any of them. Of course the one character that should help you through all of this is Phil Coulson, a character who was more of a fun little cameo in Phase 01 of the MCU. Now we get to know Coulson like never before, sure it’s awesome that he is the star of his show but I personally find that bringing him back from the dead sort of sullies his sacrifice in the Avengers, because it was his death the Avengers, well, avenged.

His arc for most of the show is surrounded behind his mysterious resurrection and "T.A.H.I.T.I" (it's a beautiful place), the answer to this question is sort of a let down but it gives us some great scenes with Coulson that gives Clark Gregg some room to work with unlike the other MCU films. It’s a double edged sword but Coulson still remains a great character, regardless of how Joss Whedon feels about bringing him back (I don’t even want to get into that bag of marbles).

Our eyes into the world of Agents of SHIELD come from Skye played by Chloe Bennet, Skye is a hacker who works for the Rising Tide, a organization that wants to dig up any meat on SHIELD and the superhero phenomenon that’s sweeping the globe. Before she knows it she is brought into Coulson’s group and plays a very important role in the series. At first I really hated this character, I take it up actually to Joss Whedon’s writing (I know what is this madness!?), I can stand almost anything Whedon writes but for some reason that first episode really went out of it’s way to make her annoying. As the series progressed however and we learn a little more about the mystery that is Skye I found myself genuinely caring about her well being and I am still very interested in knowing her past which is more interesting than Coulsons arc.

Brett Dalton plays Grant Ward, the muscle of the group. He is your typical pretty boy action star with a brooding past, the character is very boring but it is all done intentionally. Wait until you reach the middle point of the show, you are going to be in for a real treat with this guy. The techies of the group are Fitz and Simmons played by Iain De Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge. I found them annoying at first as well, but after episode 6 which in my opinion is the best episode in the season, I found myself really starting to dig these characters.

Now I’ve saved her for last, but the best character in the entire show is Melinda May played by Ming-Na Wen. This character is everything I wanted in this show and is the one reason why I stuck with the lacklustre first half of the show. She's the strong female character that the MCU actually needs. Her purpose isn’t to just become a love interest for the hero, instead she is a force to reckon with and I actually think she’s the only female character in the MCU who strikes up a sexual relationship with someone not out of love. I love May, I’d actually just watch a show with her as the only character.

Like I said in the beginning of this review,  the first half of the season is a mixed bag. Sometimes you’ll get lacklustre episodes like the pilot, but then you’ll quickly get a gem like episode 6 (FZZT). There is a ton of cringe inducing lines that actually made me want to drop the show, but you know what I made a promise! I am finishing the MCU in it’s entirety and I will not let some bad episodes in a show get in the way. Just when I thought that I couldn’t take the show something happened, the Winter Soldier came out. The release of the Winter Soldier and it’s drastic effects it has on the MCU quickly made Agents of SHIELD an amazing show. I was giving single episodes 6’s and 5’s but I quickly noticed that either they fired the writing staff and hired new competent writers, or the Winter Soldier was something that this show desperately needed. The series quickly goes a 180 and treads into darker territory.

Many people just tell new viewers to watch episode 01 and skip right to the Winter Soldier fallout. Don’t do that, this is a Joss Whedon show remember, even the most pointless monster of the week episodes somehow make an important plot point in later episodes. I found myself actually excited when the Hydra weapon from episode 02 made an appearance down the line. Things matter in this show, and because of that it made me appreciate the earlier episodes a little bit more.

There are a few good Whedon cameos in the show, off the top of my head I think there were three actors that I noticed from his other works. One in particular plays a very important role in the season and I think he does a good job, but I won’t spoil it just watch that for yourself. There are also a few MCU cameos sprinkled throughout, and don’t think you’ll be seeing any of the Avengers in the show, that’s a very unrealistic thought to even consider,those actors were busy doing other projects when this show was being filmed, and will most likely still be when the series continues.

The show does have a really rough start, more so than most series and if you do stick with it you’ll find yourself having a pretty good time. I know it’s hard to believe internet hype sometimes but for once the hype and good word of mouth is real, Agents is a better show once you hit the middle point. It seems that there are two different shows that are inhabiting the season, one lackluster muck of a show and an incredible spy thriller that really lives up to what was promised when the show was pitched.

I give the first season of Agents a 7/10

It if wasn’t for the first half of the season I would be giving this an 8. But there are problems with the show, the characters kind of suck and the episodes just seem like fodder until later. I had a great time watching it and you can now consider me a fan.