The second week of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is here, and we’re here to see if builds on the debut or loses momentum. Here are five thoughts on the latest episode, titled “0-8-4”, with spoilers discussed at length.
1. Let’s Start at the End
Everything about the last scene, where Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury shows up to sass Clark Gregg’s Agent Coulson about messing up his badass plane, is totally awesome. Jackson being pissed about the hole? Awesome. Complimenting the bar? Awesome. Coulson canceling the fish tank? Awesome.
Unsurprisingly, everything with these two leads of S.H.I.E.L.D. is completely rocking, and I hope going forward there will be more cameos.
2. The rest of the episode…
Not so much, however. Honestly, it’s a little stunning how utterly generic this show really feels. You could switch it out with N.C.I.S. or C.S.I. or any other acronym show, and you’d hardly notice a difference. The feel for the show is what you’d get from any generic procedural or villain of the week show, without any real hook save for Gregg as Coulson. This show is absolutely dying for something to set it apart, but so far it just feels like anything else on CBS and ABC in particular.
3. Gregg continues to excel, everyone else flounders
Honestly, if you have a show built around Clark Gregg in any role, I’d likely watch. The guy is tremendously charming, and he’s a great lead who elevates every scene he’s in. This episode though, no one else is really given anything to do besides bicker and implement the one or two characteristics they’ve been shown to have so far. Agent Ward broods and is suspicious about Skye, Melinda May is quiet and occasionally badass, Skye is goofy and frankly makes no sense to be on the team, etc. etc. In episode two, nothing resembling real development happens, except for the forced “common enemy” bonding moment that was literally taken directly out of “The Avengers.” Not only that, but the actors in the roles do absolutely nothing to really set the characters apart, especially Brett Dalton (who is astonishingly boring) and Ming-Na Wen (who is really given nothing to do).
4. The show looks and feels…cheap
For something that is the flagship for Marvel’s attempts to break into TV, the show really looks kind of like a SyFy series. Mediocre camera work, really blatant green screens and sparse sets dot each and every scene, and it never really feels like we’re somewhere special or watching something special. The whole production feels shoddy from top to bottom, and that perhaps more than anything is a huge disappointment.
5. Might have to call that one a wrap
After two episodes, I think I’m out on the show. It’s a boring show with cliche scripts and plots, poorly drawn characters that aren’t well acted, and even the specter of having cool cameos from movie characters and big actors isn’t enough to keep me going. Some will say that Whedon productions tend to start like this, but I don’t think that’s any excuse. I’m not big on thinking I owe a comic or a TV show or anything like that the chance to prove itself more than a couple issues or episodes, because if it’s not good to start, there’s no reason to expect more coming from it later. For me, this show is a massive disappointment, and there isn’t much else to say but that.
