This is the one that ties into Thor: The Dark World, isn’t it?
Yes. Yes it is.
Ambitious, or foolhardy? Lets find out.
1. That’s The Ticket!
Last week I said that SHIELD was at base expectations of what it should be. This week, SHIELD took Mike from Breaking Bad’s advice — no half-measures.
If you ask me, this is what every episode of the show should be. Calling a Thor 2 tie-in seems off (it’s a tie-in like most comic event tie-ins actually matter to the overall comic event) as it happens to feature Asgardian stuff in the aftermath of Dark World as opposed to anything relevant, but playing off of what happened in Thor 2 is smart; it works towards the cohesiveness of the shared universe and still allows SHIELD to occupy its own space.
There’s even a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it incredibly subtle reference to something about Coulson from the Avengers that I thought was a nice touch. Way to
Not only that, but the show is beginning to solidify all of the cast into roles as a unit as opposed to self-absorbed individuals fighting for the limelight. It reminds me of Angel in a way, and how that show struggled to juggle a cast against the one character you tuned into watch based on his role elsewhere; obviously your mileage may vary when it comes to the cast, but I’m beginning to like them more as they interact with one another than I ever did when the show chose to spotlight them.
So, yes, SHIELD is the SHIELD I thought SHIELD would be when SHIELD was announced. It’s about time.
2. “I didn’t see that coming!”
One nice thing about the episode is that it featured two twists, both of which I did not see coming. Maybe you are more clever than I am and maybe I just wasn’t trying hard enough, but both the revelation about Ward’s past and that the the professor was an Asgardian caught me off guard. In a good way.
Twists are hard to pull off. I think we as viewers become inherently jaded and always try and guess what is coming, not allowing ourselves to get lost in the moment. “Pfft, that was obvious from the beginning” is something we all frequently say, especially in an age where TV narratives of this kind are often very predictable (I think I’ve said it before here, but I love Psych and still always know the killer when they first arrive).
Yet SHIELD hid its mysteries in plain sight and still executed them well. The Asgardian reveal was well done, changing the tone of the episode completely and subverting my expectations about where the episode was heading. I had thoughts about Ward and his past too, but it was nice to see that I was wrong and that they weren’t going to go the easy road about how he grew up.
So, yeah, thumbs up on those twists, SHIELD! This could also because I have low expectations on the show and don’t expect it to even try something like this, but still. I was surprised, and pleasantly.
3. The Problem with Heroes
“Heroes? Why is he talking about that?”
Remember that show? I do. I was a big fan in the first season! But you know what always bugged me about Heroes? They’d have all these fun super powers, and when it came time to put their money where their mouths were and actually show a big throwdown they’d wuss out (season one’s Sylar battle, anyone?).
This is a Joss Whedon show, though. Whedon shows have never really shied away from that. Until now, anyway.
One thing that disappointed me was that when it came for Ward to harness his rage and throw down, we only really saw the aftermath. I don’t think we need to see big fights and whatnot in every episode and we’ve certainly see Ward kick ass in previous episodes (the pilot, for instance), but for such a tremendous scene it feels like the only reason that they threw the flashback in there was in order to avoid some major choreography (as much as I liked that flashback).
And did the lighting budget of SHIELD just get thrown out the window there, or is there something wrong with my TV? I haven’t needed glasses since I was 14, but I may have to invest in that again apparently.
Continued belowThat said, quickly following it up with May’s fight made up for it, even if it was the lesser fight (although definitely still Final Boss status). I admittedly wasn’t surprised that it was the female character that got the spotlight when it comes to kicking ass as that’s a major recurring element of Whedon’s work, and I’m always happy when Ming Na Wen gets to take the stage and show everyone up.
4. SHIELD’s Last Major Obstacle
I’m happy with SHIELD. I really am. I’m warming to the characters, I like the direction of the story, I’m excited to tune in every week.
But, if I took out the title SHIELD, I could probably replace it with anything else and it would be the same show. The only thing that sets the show apart is its tie to the Marvel universe; in the world of recycled drama, it’s pretty standard Tuesday night television. Heck, it’s pretty standard Any Night television.
I think SHIELD‘s main struggles for identity are mostly over, but the show still needs to do something to set itself apart from every other show on television in the same way that Marvel’s movies have. What made those films enjoyable is not just that they connect or they feature big budget superheroics, but each one is different — different genres, different narrative habits, different outlooks. Marvel’s cinematic line has a great deal of diversity within what we see from those kinds of films, but so far their television show is pretty much what we see in every kind of procedural televiion show.
I don’t know what the key to fixing this is or to getting SHIELD to really stand on its own. Where it is now, I’d definitely call it a good show — but it’s not a great show. It can still be better. It could be as simple as just utilizing the Marvel Universe more; not just references, but maybe more familiar characters showing up (Victoria Hand was a nice touch, but how about Luke Cage? Screw Netflix!).
I hope with many aspects of this show finally solidified, they ramp it up and really bring the noise in the upcoming weeks.
5. A Magical Place
Oh, and Coulson’s weekly “What happened to me :(” moment is still my least favorite part of the show.
We get it.
