After a quick break upon its return to television, Agents of SHIELD is back despite most of us probably forgetting it was on last night and forgetting to set our DVRs. And with it comes one of the four most hyped episodes of the series (including but not limited to the Thor tie-in, the Coulson reveal and the upcoming Jamie Alexander episode) as tonight brings us a cameo and a new familiar Marvel character to the show’s entourage.
As a note, spoilers are indeed discussed, as I talk a bit about the stuff Marvel ruined in press releases and then the final twist of the episode. You’ve been warned.
1. Now, See, That Was a Good Episode!
My apathy for SHIELD has still not waned, but I do admit that the while the show is incredibly hit or miss, when it hits it really hits. There was a lot to like in this week’s episode: I liked that Coulson wasn’t the lead. I like that the team all got individual times to shine, and then came together to show off their chemistry. I like how the episode was layered, how it didn’t feel like a run-of-the-mill procedural. I like the dialogue and the jokes and the general abundance of wit throughout the episode (“Prostitutes? Plural?” and “Holo-gram… on?” were both well delivered), despite some cliche lines at the end. I like that it actually felt like the show we should’ve always been watching.
It’s really tough sticking by this show, but it’s hard not to admit that when they make it worthwhile, they really do make it worthwhile. It is nice to have the show come back from break and actually make me pay attention, make me laugh and make me somewhat care.
2. Flashes of Marvel
For the benefit of the show, it seems like finally they’re understanding the basic modicum of what we expect in terms of the show’s place within the cinematic Marvel Universe. This episode had five different references to actual Marvel things, almost all of which was just brief throwaway comments. Sure, there’s Cybertek and Deathlok (1, 2) which were mainstays in the episode, but more to the point Coulson mentions he “can’t deal with Asgard today” (3) and then also throws out the detail of Emil Blonsky’s cryo-cell in Alaska (4) — which also finally informs us what happened to the Abomination after Incredible Hulk. Top it off with a Stan Lee cameo (5) and, look, you have something that actually sounds like a Marvel show.
I mean, the people at Arrow get it. They’re throwing around references to every fanboy that’ll accept them with Easter Eggs galore. SHIELD needs more of that. This is certainly what I’d like to see more often.
3. It’s a Train Heist! And Out of Order!
I really like train heist stories. I don’t particularly know why, honestly; maybe it’s the isolation and forced perspective that usually pushes inventive storytelling methods, but they always entertain me. And while this episode wasn’t a full heist or anything like that, I really enjoyed that the majority of the episode was set on a train.
More to the point, though, I really liked the out of order aspect of the story as the various members of the team were split up and each used to detail to us different periods of the story. It was a nice little trick, something that made for a slightly more involved watch as we the audience are forced to focus a bit more and see if we can play along, piecing it all together ourselves.
There was no great mystery or mind bender or anything like that, but I do like shows that try and play games with the audience a bit more than ones that just essentially plod along a track — y’know, like a train.
4. Enter Deathlok
So, this is Marvel’s big hyped arrival of Deathlok. Someone who I wouldn’t even consider a B-List hero/villain, the Deathlok itself is a cyberman from the future who also acts as an assassin (or, well, some similar variant to that formula as there are a whole bunch of different Deathloks out there). The show’s iteration is similar in that he is an apparent assassin, but its attempt to make us care a bit more about the man inside the suit is probably as hit or miss as the show generally is — your mileage will assuredly vary.
Continued belowHowever, what I do like is that J. August Richards is at least being given the opportunity to make his character somewhat worthwhile to the audience. I think that there was a large negative reaction to his character in the first episode, but I saw a character that had large room to grow, someone I wanted to see more of and someone who definitely could be developed. Seeing his character result in Deathlok is not necessarily what I would’ve guessed, but I am intrigued to see what will happen with the character, or if he’ll end up closer to the comics with perhaps some additional cybernetics (gotta get that face mask on).
Which is to say: his first appearance? Nothing ostensibly noteworthy. But, I suppose, intriguing none the less.
5. The Fate of Skye
At the end of the episode, Skye is left in a perilous place as her life hangs in the balance after a particularly gruesome interaction with Quinn. Skye takes two bullets to the chest and is left for dead, and I’m continuously impressed by the people on television who are shot and don’t immediately go into shock like you or I assumedly would.
It’s interesting, because you know that they’re not going to kill off Skye, right? This isn’t that kind of show. Sure, past Whedon shows have played fast and loose with the lives of the characters, with Angel in particular being pretty brutal about it, but somehow I don’t see Chloe Bennet not being around with so many mysteries about her unanswered.
And yet, I actually find myself a little worried. Not worried in the sense that I don’t think her character will be alright, but rather I worry about the potential toll this will take. Outside of the laborious and dull Coulson storyline, SHIELD has done a good job of seeding interest in us about the fates of the characters, which was made most noteworthy when Simmons threw herself out of the plane and for a split second you thought she might not make it. I’m sure Skye will be fine and everyone will have a good hug about this later, but you’ve got to relent that it was a well played scene.
